• I’m excited to welcome author and 2019 #PBChat mentee, Stephen Briseño to my blog for a mini interview and cover reveal of his debut picture book, THE NOTEBOOK KEEPER, illustrated by Magdalena Mora! ABOUT STEPHEN: Stephen Briseño is a middle school English teacher in San......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author Vivian Kirkfield for both an interview AND a cover reveal of her forthcoming title, From Here to There: Inventions That Changed the Way the World Moves. * Vivian is offering two giveaways: 1) A copy......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author Kjersten Hayes! * Kjersten is offering one lucky winner a picture book critique. To enter, check out the Rafflecopter giveaway following the interview below. About Kjersten: Kjersten Hayes lives in Bellingham, Washington, in a century-old......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author/illustrator, Susi Schaefer! Susi is offering one lucky winner a Picture Book Dummy critique. To enter, check out the Rafflecopter giveaway following the interview below. About Susi: Susi Schaefer trained as a glass painter in the......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author KT Johnston! About KT: KT Johnston writes historical narrative nonfiction. KT’s interest in the past developed from a sweeping curiosity about the way things were and how history has impacted the way things are. She......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author Valerie Bolling! * Valerie is offering one lucky person a manuscript critique (maximum 500 words). To enter, check out the Rafflecopter giveaway following the interview below. About Valerie: Let’s Dance! (Boyds Mills & Kane) is......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author Elisa Boxer! * Elisa is offering one lucky winner a copy of The Voice That Won the Vote: How One Woman’s Words Made History. To enter, check out the Rafflecopter giveaway following the interview below.......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author Connie Bergstein Dow! * Connie is offering one lucky winner a pb manuscript critique (must be 600 words or less). To enter, check out the Rafflecopter giveaway following the interview below. About Connie: Connie grew......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author Suzanne Jacobs Lipshaw! * Suzanne is offering one lucky winner a copy of I Campaigned for Ice Cream: A Boy’s Quest for Ice Cream Trucks signed by her and the main character. Only those within......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author Shannon Stocker! * Shannon is offering one lucky winner a picture book manuscript critique. To enter, check out the Rafflecopter giveaway following the interview below.  ABOUT SHANNON: Shannon Stocker is an award-winning author and proud......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author Meera Sriram! * Meera is offering one lucky winner a picture book manuscript critique. To enter, check out the Rafflecopter giveaway following the interview below. About Meera: Meera Sriram grew up in India and moved......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author Sarah Floyd! * Sarah is offering one lucky winner a signed copy of TEN CLEVER NINJAS or a pb manuscript critique – winner’s choice. To enter, check out the Rafflecopter giveaway following the interview below.......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author, Pippa Chorley! *Pippa is offering one lucky winner a copy of COUNTING SHEEP. To enter, check out the Rafflecopter giveaway following the interview below. About Pippa: Pippa Chorley grew up in a picturesque village in Cheshire, England......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author, Lydia Lukidis! *Lydia is offering one lucky winner a copy of NO BEARS ALLOWED. To enter, check out the Rafflecopter giveaway following the interview below. About Lydia: Lydia Lukidis is a children’s author with a......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author Virginia Loh-Hagan!  *Virginia is offering one lucky winner a copy of NIAN, THE CHINESE NEW YEAR DRAGON. To enter, check out the Rafflecopter giveaway following the interview below. About Virginia: Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan is an......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, Laura Renauld! Be sure to check out the giveaway that follows the interview. Laura is giving away a signed copy if her forthcoming title, FRED’S BIG FEELINGS About Laura: LAURA RENAULD is the author of Porcupine’s Pie,......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author, Lynne Marie! Lynne Marie is offering a few lucky winners the following. To enter the giveaway, check out the Rafflecopter widget following the interview below. PRIZES: One Pitch & Query Letter Critique from The Picture......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, author Rob Sanders!  *Rob is offering one lucky winner a 3+3+3+ critique of their picture book manuscript. He will list the three things that are working for him in the manuscript, the three things that need......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, agent Charlotte Wenger! About Charlotte: Charlotte Wenger is a literary agent in the Boston area with Prospect Agency. Prior to joining Prospect, she was an associate editor at Page Street Kids. She has her Master of Arts......

  • About Joy: JOY NELKIN WIEDER is an author and illustrator with several children’s books to her name. Joy is thrilled to have her debut picture book The Passover Mouse published by Doubleday Books for Young Readers with illustrations by Shahar Kober, a wonderful Israeli artist. The......

  • Today, I’m excited to welcome to the blog, author, Hannah Stark. Be sure to check out the giveaway that follows the interview. Hannah is offering a copy of her latest picture book, TRUCKER AND TRAIN. About Hannah: My name is Hannah Stark and I’m the......

  • I’m pleased to welcome to the blog this week, agent, Victoria Doherty-Munro. Be sure to check out the giveaway at the end of the interview! About Victoria: Victoria Doherty Munro started at Writers House as an intern in 2010 and, after graduating from Wellesley College with a degree......

  • About Ashley: Ashley Franklin is a writer, mother, and adjunct college professor. Ashley received her M.A. from the University of Delaware in English Literature, where she reaffirmed her love of writing but realized she had NO IDEA what she wanted to do about it. From......

  • Today, I’m honored to welcome to the blog, author, Lindsay Leslie. Be sure to check out the giveaway that follows the interview. Lindsay is offering a copy of her latest picture book, NOVA THE STAR EATER, and a critique of a picture book manuscript. About Lindsay:......

  • About Christa: CHRISTA HESCHKE graduated from Binghamton University with a major in English and a minor in Anthropology. She started in publishing as an intern at both Writers House and Sterling Lord Literistic, where she fell in love with the agency side of publishing. Christa has......

  • Today, I’m honored to welcome to the blog, husband-wife team, Jorge and Megan Lacera of Studio Lacera. Be sure to check out the giveaway that follows the interview. They’re offering a picture book critique to one lucky winner. They’ll also throw in a critique of......

  • About Rebecca: Rebecca Angus is a Senior Literary Agent with Golden Wheat Literary. Rebecca has over five years of experience in publishing, and she’s excited to work with new authors and illustrators. She started as an editorial intern in early 2014, and from there she......

  • Today, we have with us, literary agent Devin Ross of New Leaf Literary. About Devin: Devin hails from the windiest city in the Midwest where she spent most of her childhood. She earned her B.A. in English from Lawrence University and her Publishing Certificate from......

  • About Natalie: Natalie is an agent at Bradford Literary Agency. An honors graduate of the University of San Diego, California, Natalie holds a B.A. in Literature/Writing. Natalie has been an agent since 2009; after nearly four years at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and a brief dabble in writing author profiles......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, Agent Linda Camacho of Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency. About Linda: Linda was always a fan of escaping into a good book, so the fact that she gets to make it her career is still surreal. She......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week the Senior Vice President of Trident Media Group, Alyssa Eisner Henkin. Alyssa’s also offering a partial critique (open to cbs and mg) to one lucky winner (details follow the interview). 1) What’s a day in the......

  • About Joyce: Joyce Sweeney is the author of fourteen novels for young adults and two chapbooks of poetry.  Her first novel, Center Line, won the First Annual Delacorte Press Prize for an Outstanding Young Adult Novel.  Many of her books appear on the American Library......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog this week, agent extraordinaire, Jennifer Laughran of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.  About Jennifer:  Jennifer is a Senior Agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, where she has been repping authors since 2008. She represents select author-illustrators of picture books......

  • 1) What’s a day in the life of literary agent Adria Goetz like? I primarily work from my home office, which is about an hour south of Seattle in a Victorian farmhouse built in 1890. I wake up and have a cup of coffee with......

  • About Alexandra: Alexandra Levick has worked with a wide range of established New York Times bestsellers, national award winners, and debut clients. After graduating from the University of Rochester with a degree in English focused on Creative Writing, Alexandra attended New York University where she......

  • About: I’m especially honored to welcome to the blog this week, my 2018 PBWWTS mentor, author, Pam Calvert. Pam Calvert is an author of children’s picture books, easy readers, and short stories. She has five picture books published with more on the way. Her newest......

  • About Laurel: Laurel Symonds recently launched as a literary agent at The Bent Agency after nearly a decade of experience in the publishing industry. She began her career in the editorial department of HarperCollins Children’s Books/Katherine Tegen Books in New York City and has also......

  • About James: Since interning at BookEnds as an undergrad in the summer of 2015, James has (basically) never left. He’s just continuously level-up-ed inside of BookEnds. Now he is the Literary Assistant and Social Media Manager for the team. James is a Staten Island native,......

  • About Thao: Thao Le is a literary agent at the Dijkstra Agency since 2011. She represents Children’s (i.e. picture books by author-illustrators and middle grade fiction) and Young Adult across genres and in the adult realm is looking for romantic leaning Fantasy and Light Science Fiction.......

  • I’m excited to welcome to the blog, author, Tara Lazar. Her most recently published picture book, 7 Ate 9, earned her the Crystal Kite Award and the Irma S. Black Award. Let’s dive in! You provide, via https://taralazar.com/category/7-ate-9/, some insight as to how 7 Ate 9......

  • About Marietta: Marietta has worked with books, authors and illustrators throughout her career — studying, creating, editing, marketing, teaching and selling. She takes pride in her work as a Latina in the world of publishing. She is always on the lookout for visual and narrative......

  • About Sean: Sean McCarthy founded his own full-service literary agency in 2013. He began his publishing career as an editorial intern at Overlook Press and then worked at the Sheldon Fogelman Agency as the submissions coordinator and permissions manager before becoming a full-time literary agent. He works......

  • About Emily: I grew up in the Midwest, came east for college, and stayed. I was supposed to be a teacher, and went as far as getting an MSEd in secondary English education, but I fell into a job in children’s publishing and got hooked on......

  • About Kira: Kira Watson is ESA Rights Manager. She began working at ESA as an intern in 2014 and now oversees subsidiary rights in addition to building her own YA and MG list. She graduated from Hunter College with a BA in English (with a focus......

  • About Lauren: Lauren Spieller is an Associate Literary Agent at TriadaUS. She has a sharp editorial eye, and is passionate about author advocacy. Lauren is seeking Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction, as well as select Adult fiction and non-fiction. Whatever the age category or genre, Lauren is passionate about finding diverse and underrepresented......

  • About John: John Cusick is an agent with Folio Jr. / Folio Literary Management, representing picture books, middle-grade, and young adult novels. He is also the author of GIRL PARTS and CHERRY MONEY BABY (Candlewick Press), as well as a regular speaker at writers’ conferences. His client list......

  • As owner and President at BookEnds Literary Agency, Jessica Faust takes great joy in helping both her clients/authors and her agents achieve their dreams. In the nearly 20 years since opening BookEnds, Jessica has worked with a number of bestselling and award-winning authors. She has represented authors writing mystery, suspense, thrillers,......

  • About Melissa: Melissa Edwards joined Stonesong as a literary agent in August 2016. Previously, she was a literary agent at the Aaron Priest Literary Agency, where she managed the foreign rights for a 40-year backlist. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis and Vanderbilt......

  • About Amanda: Amanda Isabel Ramirez joined Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in 2016, to much fanfare from her loud, Puerto Rican family. She’s had the honor of working with talented authors like Neal Shusterman, Katherine Rundell, Tim Federle, Andrew Smith, and countless others.......

  • Before joining the L. Perkins Agency, Ben worked all over the publishing industry. He started out at a small publishing company in Salt Lake City and proceeded to do internships at three literary agencies before his most recent position as the assistant at JABberwocky Literary......