Your questions


SHOPPING

How do I purchase books from the walker website?

WEBSITE HELP

What if I notice an error on the site?
Website Queries

BOOKS, AUTHORS AND ARTISTS
How can I arrange an author or illustrator event?
How can I contact an author or illustrator?
How can I get information on authors or illustrators for a homework project?
Can I buy a piece of original artwork from one of your illustrators?
Can I hire the Maisy or Wally character costume?  
How can I get information on how to make pop-ups?
How can I search your website for books, gifts and/or author/illustrators?
Can I get a copy of your catalogue?

KEEPING IN TOUCH
How can I contact Walker?
How can I receive your newsletter?
How can I be sent a poster?

GENERAL
Can you provide financial assistance to our charity?
Where can I view current vacancies at Walker?
How can I contact the Permissions Department?
How do I submit a manuscript?
How can I illustrate books for you?

TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS
Can I download teaching resources?

Can you recommend other sites to encourage children to learn?


SHOPPING

How do I purchase books from the walker website?

We no longer sell books directly from the Walker Books website, as of March 2016.

On each book page, we've provided a number of online retailers who you can order the book from. Click on these retailers to visit them, and make your purchase there.


WEBSITE HELP

What if I notice an error on the site?

It might be that you need to clear your cache. Not doing so can sometimes mean that pages aren't visible, and your browser will tell you they no longer exist. You can find out how to clear your cache here

Website Queries

If you have any queries regarding the website or if you notice any errors, please e-mail the Webmaster


BOOKS, AUTHORS AND ARTISTS

How can I arrange an author or illustrator event?

You can organize an author visit for your school or event as follows:

Inviting the Author
Write a letter to the author inviting them to your store, library or school. Send your letter c/o Walker Books so that we have a record of your author request. Please try and give as much notice as possible - at least three months is ideal. The more notice provided, the more likely it is that the author will be available for your event. Tell the author as much as possible about your proposed event. It is essential that you include the following:

- Date and time
- The venue
- Type of event (signing session, workshop, talk etc.). Please note, signing sessions can sometimes feel a bit awkward - sitting at a table with no queue can be a disheartening experience - so think carefully before you ask an author just to sign books. Sometimes ordering in the stock beforehand and getting the author to sign the books in advance can be a more successful method of selling the books, especially if the author is shy. The same can be true of public or open events. However, in general  being able to guarantee an audience is a huge bonus, it will also help the author tailor their session to your audience's requirements.
- Details of the audience they will be talking to including numbers attending and age ranges.
- Whether the fee and expenses are to be reimbursed. It is important that you and the author are clear about expectations - including the number of sessions you would expect them to do in the time. Authors don't usually charge for events in bookshops but will expect a fee if they are asked to go into libraries or schools. The Society of Authors recommends £350 for a full day, with a maximum of two sessions per day, although this may vary depending on the author.
- Don't forget to include the details of your shop, library or school, including contact name, telephone number, fax number and email where possible.

When an event is confirmed
- Clarify payment method. Authors cover their own costs and appreciate prompt reimbursement.
- Ensure that the audience is well prepared for the event by supplying a certain number of book copies in advance. For school events, an audience that is familiar with the work of an author will have a much more rewarding time (as will the author!) than an unprepared one. A lively and enthusiastic audience asking many questions is ideal.
- Make sure details of the event are well advertised in advance. For bookshop events a window display and/or posters can work wonders. For school events, a notice in the staff room so other staff are aware can also be rewarding.
- Contact the local press for media coverage. If a journalist or photographer will attend the event, the author should also be forewarned.
- If you are selling books at the event, make sure they are ordered well in advance.
- Make sure the audience knows if books will be available to buy, (signed copies make a fabulous memento of an author visit), this can work well if organized beforehand but it will require a willing administrator. To receive one of our template letters that can be used to advertise an event and prep the audience then please e-mail
Publicity.


You may also find the following useful:

Celebrate a Book: A DIY Guide to Planning a Book Event
This guide is available from Book Trust and is packed with advice, ideas and activities to help you make the most of your book event and includes advice about planning a book event for a range of age groups. To purchase this guide, go to
www.booktrusted.com or contact them direct on 020 8516 2984.

Speaking of Books
This is a specialist agency that can organise author visits for a small fee - they will locate the author and coordinate the visit. Please write to Speaking of Books Ltd,
46 Vanbrugh Park  London SE3 7J or telephone 020 8858 6616.

Book Events with Walker Books' Authors or Illustrators
Many authors and illustrators have very busy schedules, and need as much notice as possible to attend an event. We are only able to forward event requests to the author/illustrator, and generally do not become involved in organizing the actual event. I am afraid we do not accept requests sent in by email.


How can I contact an author or illustrator?

We cannot give out author or illustrator address details, but are delighted to forward your correspondence to them. Please write to them c/o Walker Books Ltd, 87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ.

How can I get information on authors or illustrators for a homework project?

In the Authors & Artists section of the website you can discover lots of information on a wide range of authors and illustrators.

Can I buy a piece of original artwork from one of your illustrators?

Walker Books has a reputation for working with the best artists to produce the finest children's books. Whilst we don't offer original artwork for sale, you can buy a range from our award-winning illustrators at
www.childrensbookillustration.com and www.illustrationcupboard.com which sell some of the best original work by top contemporary children's book illustrators.

Walker Books' illustrators with artwork for sale include: Jez Alborough, Angela Barrett, Alison Bartlett, Jill Barton, Quentin Blake, Anthony Browne, Vanessa Caban,  Helen Craig, Penny Dale, Belinda Downes, Polly Dunbar, Sara Fanelli, Cathie Felstead, Barbara Firth, Michael Foreman, Sue Heap,
Petr Horacek, Paul Howard, Shirley Hughes, Robert Ingpen, Simon James, Anita Jeram, Julie Lacome, Stephen Lambert, John Lawrence, Francesca Martin, Katharine McEwen, Colin McNaughton, Jill Murphy, Jan Ormerod, Jane Ray, Chris Riddell, Axel Scheffler, Nick Sharratt, Charlotte Voake, Louise Voce, Colin West, Marcia Williams and many more.

Can I hire the Maisy or Wally character costume?

You can hire the Maisy character costume by contacting Rainbow Productions on 020 8254 5313 or by emailing stephanie@rainbowproductions.co.uk

Maisy Costume Hire
Rainbow Productions Ltd
Unit 3
Greenlea Park
Prince George's Road
London
SW19 2JD

Please note that there is a fee for hiring the Maisy costume.

Delivery within the M25 £90

Delivery outside the M25 £120

Delivery to Ireland £250

We also have a number of Where's Wally? costumes available for hire, at a cost of £15 and one Walker Bear costume available for hire. If you’d like to hire any of these costumes you can contact our team by emailing Customer Services

How can I get information on how to make pop-up books?

We receive a great deal of requests asking for this type of information and due to the high volume are unable to answer them individually. We would recommend you purchase Pop-ups! A Guide to Novelty Books published by Book Trust. To purchase this guide, go to 
www.booktrusted.com or contact them directly on 020 8516 2984.

Other useful books are Paper Engineering for Pop-up Books and Cards by Mark Hiner, published by Tarquin and The Elements of Pop-Up by David A. Carter and James Diaz, published by Simon and Schuster.


How can I search your website for books, gifts and/or authors/illustrators?

To search for books and/or storytellers simply type in the book or author/illustrator you’re looking for (e.g. 'Stormbreaker' or 'Anthony Horowitz') in the Search bar at the top left hand of your screen. Then click on ‘Go’ and you’ll be taken to the books that we publish by that author and you can click through using the link to the author's page. If the book that you search for doesn't appear, check your spelling, or clear your cache - you can learn how to do that here

If you can’t find what you’re looking for you should try the
Advanced Search or the Browse tools.

If you're not looking for anything specific, the best way to search for books is to use Advanced Search and search by category.


Can I get a copy of your catalogue?

Our catalogue is currently unavailable but all available titles can be viewed online in the
Bookshelf section of the website.

KEEPING IN TOUCH

How can I contact Walker?

Contact details for Walker can be found in the Get in touch section of the website.

How can I receive your newsletter?

To receive our newsletter visit the Join our newsletter section of the website and simply fill in the necessary details.

How can I be sent a poster?

We have a range of posters available, although stock is limited. If you would like some posters, please send an indication of the age range of posters you require and a self-addressed A3 envelope with two first-class stamps enclosed to: Poster Request, Walker Books Ltd, 87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ.

GENERAL

Can you provide financial assistance to our charity?

Walker Books already make regular donations to a wide range of charities annually as decided by their employees who also make their own contributions with a variety of fundraising events throughout the year and who are also each encouraged to participate in the Give as you Earn scheme for tax free donations from their salaries, therefore we do not as a Company offer financial help for charitable organisations outside of these arrangements. If you have any other queries, please email the
Marketing Department.

Where can I view current vacancies at Walker?

To view current vacancies visit the Work for Us page, which contains a list of the current jobs available at Walker, detailed job descriptions and information on how to apply.

How can I contact the Permissions Department?

If you wish to use content from our titles and/or this site, it is best to
download and complete our Permissions Form or you can send a request in writing, via post, for the attention of the Permissions Department, Walker Books Ltd, 87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ, or by fax to 020 7587 1123.

We give priority to all requests submitted to us in this way. However, you can also make a request by emailing the
Permissions Department or by telephoning us on 020 7793 0909. We estimate a minimum of six weeks from the date of submission for a response to be received to any request, but this estimation may be subject to variation. Please allow sufficient time for our response.

Walker Books reserves all rights in its publications - you may NOT assume if you have submitted a request that permission is granted to you unless and until we have sent you a formal permission licence. You should bear in mind that it takes time to process requests, and we do not always control all rights in the material being requested from us.

When contacting us for permission, please ensure to include the following information relevant to your request, together with your contact details, including a postal address:
* Exact material to be used - both text and illustrations - including page and/or figure numbers from our book (or please attach a copy of the exact material requested indicating its context).
* Commercial, educational or non-profitable - please indicate which category of usage is planned.
* Territory for distribution (e.g. local area, UK, Europe, Commonwealth, the World).

Please also supply details of the following depending on the proposed use of the material:

Publication - books
* Author name and title of your publication.
* Is your book to be published in hardback, paperback or both?
* Is your book for educational or trade distribution?
* Name of your publisher and probable publication date of your book.
* Estimated number of copies to be printed and proposed retail price for each format requested.
* Approximate number of pages in your book and percentage of that number taken up by our material.
* Territory in which your book will be published.
* Language(s) in which your book will be published.
* Do you plan to re-illustrate?

Publication - newspapers/magazines
* Publication date of the relevant issue of your newspaper/magazine.
* Approximate circulation of your newspaper/magazine.
* Territory in which your newspaper/magazine is distributed.
* Language(s) in which your newspaper/magazine is published.
* Retail price of your newspaper/magazine.
* One-off or serial usage (if latter give details as to frequency and dates for proposed usage)?

Website
* What is the proposed download/yearly license fee for your website?
* At what market is the website aimed?
* URL/website address on which our material will be used.
* Whether the website is password protected or generally available to all via the internet.
* How long will our material remain on your website?
Audio/Audio-visual recording (e.g. tape cassette, CD, video, DVD)
* Will this be a straight reading of the text and/or showing of illustrations? (Please specify.)
* If illustrations are to be used do you propose a partial or full dramatization?
* For what market is the recording planned (e.g. commercial, educational, disabled)?
* How many units do you plan to manufacture?
* Where do you plan to distribute the recording (e.g. local area, UK, Europe, Commonwealth, the World)?
* Approximate length of the recording and percentage of that length taken up by our material.
* Proposed retail price.

Public Performance/Dramatization
* On what date(s) will the performance(s) take place?
* Where is the performance venue and what is the seating capacity?
* How many performances are planned?
* What is the exact nature of the performance / how will the material be used?
* Will there be a musical accompaniment to the piece?
* How many tickets do you plan to sell and at what price?

Event Promotion
* In what ways will the material be used to promote the event?
* For how long is the event planned (1 week/month/year)?

Television or Radio
* Is a straight reading of the text and/or showing of illustrations planned? (Please specify.)
* If illustrations to be used, do you propose a partial or full dramatization?
* What is the proposed duration of the programme?
* Where will the programme be broadcast?
* What are the planned date(s) of broadcast?
* Approximate length of the programme and percentage of that length taken up by our material.

Teaching Aid
* In what context will the material be used?
* Will the material be sold as part of a teachers' pack?
* Do you plan to include photocopiable sheets?
* What is the proposed retail price of the teaching aid?
* Do you plan to re-illustrate?

IMPORTANT POINT TO NOTE
The above questions are intended as guidelines only to help with your permission request. They are not exhaustive and therefore we ask you to supply as much information as possible about your proposal.


How do I submit a manuscript/illustrate books for you?

While we do not accept fiction manuscript submissions, we are happy to accept illustrated picture-book stories and/or artwork samples via post or email.

POSTED SUBMISSIONS

ILLUSTRATED PICTURE-BOOK STORIES: Please send an illustrated dummy and/or a typed manuscript. 

ILLUSTRATION SAMPLES: Please send eight to ten colour samples or a CD showing your work.

These should be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope for us to return your material to you if we decide not to pursue it.  Material received without the appropriate SAE will be recycled.  Please note, we can no longer return any material sent from outside the UK, even with international response postage coupons.

Please do not send original artwork or dummies, only copies, as Walker Books cannot accept liability for loss of or damage to material submitted. 

We regret that we are unable to enter into any correspondence about submissions or discuss them on the telephone.  As we receive a large number of submissions in the post each week, please allow up to three months for us to respond.  We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

Please send your dummy/samples to:
Illustrator Submissions
The Art Department
Walker Books Ltd
87 Vauxhall Walk
London
SE11 5HJ

EMAIL SUBMISSIONS

Illustrated picture-book stories or illustration samples should be sent as a jpeg or PDF for images (5 MB size limit) and as a Word document for text.  Unfortunately we are unable to reply to email submissions unless we are interested in your work.

Please send email submissions to: illustratorsubmissions@walker.co.uk editorial@walker.co.uk 

For further information and advice, we suggest you check the following websites: http://www.writersadvice.co.uk; http://www.writersandartists.co.uk/


TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS


Can I download teaching resources?

Teaching resources are available for certain texts. For a complete list of Teaching Notes
please email the Marketing Department.

Can you recommend other sites to encourage children to learn?

Yes, please visit out Links we like page which contains a list of websites we recommend and a special section on literacy and library groups. Our Grown-ups section also offers lots of advice on how to help children to read, as well as a list of common questions that you may have so please do have a look.