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12 x 12 Contributor

Emily S. Keyes

Emily S. Keyes is the founder of Keyes Agency, LLC. Previously she was a literary agent at Fuse Literary and a contracts manager/associate agent at L. Perkins Agency. Before entering the world of agenting, she worked in the contracts department of Simon & Schuster, Inc where she handled copyright, reversion of rights, and assisted with author contracts. In 2008, she graduated from New York University’s Center for Publishing. She uses her knowledge of contracts, copyright, and the publishing business to benefit her clients.

Emily S. Keyes is a 12 x 12 Featured Agent for 2026.

 

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Financial Need Scholarship Guidelines

All applications will be accepted ONLY via the Financial Need Scholarship form HERE.

The application period is November 1 – 30, 2025.

You will need the following items to complete the application form:

  1. Your bio, written in third person using no more than 250 words. Please include any writing credits.
  2. A short statement about why you write picture books and what you hope your work brings to the children’s book market in no more than 250 words and written in first person.
  3. A short statement describing the nature of the financial need/circumstances using no more than 250 words and written in first person.
  4. A photo of yourself that can be used in 12 x 12 social media posts and communications, if you are awarded a scholarship.
  5. A query letter for the picture book manuscript you are submitting with your application saved as a WORD doc (.doc or .docx) using this naming convention: FIN_FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_QUERY_LETTER.doc or .docx (Replace the first and last name with your first and last name.)
  6. One picture book manuscript of 1,000 words or less, saved as a Word doc (.doc or .docx). The title, art notes, and/or backmatter do not count toward the manuscript’s word count.
  7. Do not include illustrations or photos with your manuscript. Author-Illustrators are encouraged to apply, but applications will be judged based on writing only.
  8. Use this naming convention for your Word doc: FIN_FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_TITLE_OF_YOUR_MANUSCRIPT.doc or .docx (Replace the first and last name with your first and last name. Replace TITLE OF YOUR MANUSCRIPT with the title of your manuscript.)
  9. Pitches for two additional completed picture books.
  10. One or more of the following must be included with your application: your Instagram handle, your Bluesky handle, your Twitter/X handle, your Facebook profile, or your website URL.

 

Ready to apply? Click the button below and submit your application by November 20, 2025.

I'm Ready to Apply Now >

Diversity Scholarship Guidelines

All applications will be accepted ONLY via the Diversity Scholarship form HERE.

The application period is November 1 – 30, 2025.

You will need the following items to complete the application form:

  1. Your bio, written in third person using no more than 250 words. Please include any writing credits.
  2. A short statement about how your work brings an underrepresented voice to picture books using no more than 250 words and written in first person.
  3. A photo of yourself that can be used in 12 x 12 social media posts and communications, if you are awarded a scholarship.
  4. One picture book manuscript of 1,000 words or less, saved as a Word doc (.doc or .docx). The title, art notes, and/or backmatter do not count toward the manuscript’s word count.
  5. Do not include illustrations or photos with your manuscript. Author-Illustrators are encouraged to apply, but applications will be judged based on writing only.
  6. Use this naming convention for your Word doc: DIV_FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_TITLE_OF_YOUR_MANUSCRIPT.doc or .docx (Replace the first and last name with your first and last name. Replace TITLE OF YOUR MANUSCRIPT with the title of your manuscript.)
  7. A query letter for the picture book manuscript you are submitting with your application, saved as a WORD doc (.doc or .docx) using this naming convention: DIV_FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_QUERY_LETTER.doc or .docx (Replace the first and last name with your first and last name.)
  8. Pitches for two additional completed picture books.
  9. One or more of the following must be included with your application: your Instagram handle, your Bluesky handle, your Twitter/X handle, your Facebook profile, or your website URL.

 
 

Ready to apply? Click the button below and submit your application by November 30, 2025. We can’t wait to read your application!

I'm Ready to Apply Now >