Adam Blackman

By Margaret Lea 

 Adam Blackman, like many children's writers, began by making up stories for and with his young son. A specific incident about ten years ago further propelled Adam into the KidLit space. His Kindergartener son picked out pink, light-up, sparkly rhinestone shoes, but when he wore them to school, even in his progressive Brooklyn, NY neighborhood, several kids asked him why he was wearing “girly” shoes. Adam realized that KidLit was the perfect place to let kids know that everyone should have the freedom to express themselves and not be judged for it.  

     Adam has an MFA in Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College and worked as a non-profit bookstore manager for seven years. He began engaging with the KidLit community on Twitter after his son’s shoe incident, and he made connections there that led him to writers, agents, editors, mentors and critique groups. Adam stresses that community and networking, especially through SCBWI, can “invite serendipity.” This happened to him when one of his connections led to a job interview with Maria Dismondy, founder of Cardinal Rule Press, a small independent publisher. Adam got the job and has been the acquisitions editor there for the last five years. 

     Cardinal Rule Press publishes 2-4 books per year from the approximately 3,000 submissions received, so competition is fierce. They only publish realistic fiction picture books— meaning the characters and situations could actually happen in real life (no talking animals, for example). After throwing out the submissions which haven’t followed these guidelines, there are still a LOT of manuscripts, and many great stories have to be rejected. That said, many are also passed over due to being heavy-handed or didactic. Currently they only accept agented submissions and submissions from conference/workshop attendees where Cardinal Rule was present, but they hope to open up in the future for a month of unagented submissions, like they have done before. You can sign up for their email list at cardinalrulepress.com. When each new book is released, they do a read aloud by the author on Zoom, followed by a question and answer time. Many elementary classes attend, but individuals are welcome too.

     As for the submissions Cardinal Rule chooses to publish, it’s a bit of a “we know it when we see it,” thing, but Adam says that the story should be bright, vibrant and full of energy, even if it’s dealing with a heavier topic. And specific situations are fine, he said, as long as there is universal appeal. Readers may not have been in the same situation, but will have experienced some of the same thoughts and emotions. 

     Adam was previously a reader at a literary magazine, and has written stories for both adults and kids. He offers editing services online through his website adamdblackman.com. 

     To hear Adam’s in-depth presentation, “From Submission to Shelf: A Journey Through Acquisitions,” sign up for our Nov. 3, 2025 chapter meeting via Zoom.