There are so many incredibly talented creators who didn’t lack talent. They lacked access, personalized guidance, long-term support, and safe spaces where they truly felt seen.

PBRS started as a mentorship, but over time, it became clear creators needed something bigger and longer lasting than one season of support. Something they could opt into and not wait to be chosen — where they could choose themselves.

Too many people were trying to piece together growth through workshops, scattered advice, isolated critique groups, and trying to figure out publishing mostly alone.

So, the PBRS Collective was built to become something different.

A long-term creative ecosystem where picture book creators could continue growing their craft, careers, confidence, and community with support that feels intentional, thoughtful, human, and deeply invested in their growth.

The PBRS Collective was built from the belief that picture book creators deserve and need more than isolated workshops and surface-level advice.

We care deeply about helping creators understand not just WHAT works in their picture books, but WHY.

We believe creators grow best when they have access to thoughtful teaching, meaningful support, honest conversations, real personalized strategy, and a community that genuinely wants to see them succeed.

We are especially passionate about making sure historically underrepresented creators feel seen, welcomed, supported, and empowered inside kidlit spaces.

We believe talented creators exist everywhere.

We believe access changes lives.

We believe creators deserve safe spaces that challenge them and support them at the same time.

We believe community should feel intentional, not competitive.

We believe picture book creators deserve deeper conversations about craft.

We believe creators should leave learning experiences with tools they can actually apply to their work.

We believe publishing information should not feel impossible to access unless you already “know someone.”

We believe creators deserve long-term support, not just one moment of encouragement.

We believe representation matters not just on bookshelves, but inside creative spaces themselves.

The PB Rising Stars Collective was intentionally built to feel different from many online spaces. We care deeply about creating a community that feels thoughtful, welcoming, growth-centered, and emotionally safe for creators.

Growth Over Perfection:
We believe creators grow through experimentation, revision, learning, and honest conversation, not perfection.

Support Without Competition:
We believe creative spaces can be ambitious and deeply supportive at the same time.

Thoughtful Teaching:
We value teaching that is actionable, intentional, and transformative, not surface-level inspiration without real actionable direction.

Long-Term Growth:
We believe creative careers are built over time, and creators deserve ecosystems that support sustainable growth instead of burnout.

Human First:
We believe creators are people first, not content machines.

Your Art is the Prize:
…and don’t you forget it!

Representation and inclusion are not side conversations or an afterthought for us. They are deeply woven into the heart of what PB Rising Stars has always been.

From mentorship selections to faculty invitations to scholarship opportunities to community building, we are committed to creating spaces where creators from historically underrepresented backgrounds feel welcomed, safe, respected, empowered, encouraged, and supported.

We know the publishing industry still has a lot of work to do when it comes to equity and access, and while no single space can solve that alone, we believe intentional communities matter.

We believe creators deserve to see themselves reflected not only in books, but in the rooms where publishing conversations, opportunities, mentorship, and growth are happening.

We are proud to be one of those rooms.