Meet the 2026 Mentors: How to Get the Most Out of Mentor Profiles

Hello, friends (and future stars)!

Can you believe we are officially entering February?! Applications open at the end of this month!!!

If you missed our announcement on social media, we are pivoting away from a previously announced Blog Week, and instead are doing one single blog post to help you learn how to navigate each mentor profile as you prepare your applications. Our co-founder Kailei Pew will be coming back to this blog post all week to answer any questions you might have, so make sure to read this post thoroughly and then leave her any comments you have below!

Also, co-founders Ebony Lynn Mudd and Kailei Pew will still be hosting our first ever Application Prep Party, where we will pull back the curtain on how mentors read applications, share what stands out in each section of the application, and help you put your very best foot forward. Remember, 2026 is our fifth and FINAL year at PB Rising Stars, so now more than ever, you’ll want to make those applications shine!

Now, back to talking about mentor profiles and choosing which mentors to apply to.

Our mentors have taken great care to craft some amazing mentor pages! Each one will give you a good idea of what that mentor is looking for in a mentee.

First and foremost, our mentors are looking for someone they can help! So don’t get discouraged if a mentor doesn’t seem like a good fit. That’s okay! Because our mentors know their own strengths and they know who they can best serve. The real question is, how do YOU know who can best serve YOU?

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First of all, check eligibility.

Some mentors are open to unagented creators only. Others are open to both unagented and agented creators without traditional book deals. Some are open to creators from any background while others are open only to creators who identify as BIPOC, etc. It is essential that you double check your eligibility before applying.

PLEASE NOTE: There is a difference between a mentor who indicates they are ONLY open to applicants who identify as BIPOC and a mentor who encourages BIPOC applicants to apply.

If a mentor is ONLY open applicants who identify as BIPOC (or any other group), then you may not apply if you do not identify that way.

If a mentor is encouraging a particular group to apply, they are still open to others and will consider all applicants (who are eligible in other ways).

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Second, look over each mentor’s strengths and “good fit” bullet points.

Then consider your own weaknesses (or what you are most trying to accomplish), and see where you match up and who can best help you improve.

Do you know you need help improving pacing? Find a list of mentors who are really good with pacing!

Do you want to write in rhyme? Check out which mentors are good with rhyme.

Do you want to illustrate using Procreate? Find the mentors who are good with digital mediums.

Please Note: You will not be a perfect match for every single one of these bullet points. If a mentors says they are a good fit for humor with heart, cultural stories, and lyricism, but you only write humor with heart, you should still apply to that mentor even though you don’t write cultural stories or employ a lot of lyricism! If one of the things you do is a match for ONE of the things on their list, they might be a perfect fit!

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Next, check out the mentor’s visual wish list.

These are intended to help you get a sense for what sort of stories and art a mentor is excited about. Do you see a lot of funny books in the visual wish list? Send a funny manuscript in! Maybe there are a lot of books that use water color illustrations and YOU illustrate using water colors. Send it in!

Please Note: The visual wish lists are not comprehensive. Please don’t be discouraged if you don’t see something that lines up perfectly with what you are creating. If you feel a certain mentor would be a good fit, even if the visual wish list doesn’t show something similar to what you are working on, please still feel free to apply!

Then, read about what each mentor is looking for.

Our mentors will give you a good sense of what sort of creator would be a good fit for their mentoring style. Read up on each one and see who feels like a good fit!

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Consider studying each mentor’s published picture books!

While doing this might feel like a big task, it will really give you an idea about what each mentor does well. You will see their strengths right on the page! Then you will know more about their skills that you are looking to improve during a mentorship. We have talked to a number of our previous mentees who took the time to do this and got a GREAT sense of which mentors were the best fit for them.

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Check for videos.

Some of our mentors have provided videos on their mentor pages, describing in more detail what it would be like to work with them and what they are looking for in a mentee. Take the time to watch each one and see who feels like a good fit.

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Remember…

We do not limit the number of mentors you can apply to. You can choose just one or you could (theoretically) choose all 40! (Note that no one would be eligible for all 40!) That said, we hope you will take the time to get to know each mentor through their detailed mentor profile pages and find the perfect number that feel like the best fit for YOU!

Now… you still have almost a full month before applications open! Use this time wisely to determine which mentors to apply to, prepare your applications ahead of time, and invest in yourself. This is your LAST CHANCE to join the PB Rising Stars family! Yes, we will receive thousands of applications, but WHY NOT YOU?! You’ll miss 100% of the chances you don’t take, so get ready! Put yourself out there! And apply to as MANY mentors as possible if they feel like a good fit! You never know, that application you almost don’t send in could be the one that lands you the mentorship.

During Kailei’s second year mentoring, she chose a mentee who almost didn’t apply to her because they only matched up on one or two areas and didn’t seem like the “perfect” fit in other ways. But this applicant knew the areas where they DID match were a GREAT fit. So, at the very last moment, she sent in one more application—to Kailei. And the moment Kailei read it, she KNEW she had found her mentee. And to think it almost didn’t happen…

So, don’t self reject! Get to know our mentors and send in those applications!

And remember, Kailei will be available ALL week to answer your questions, so feel free to leave comments below and she will get back to you throughout the week!

We are so excited to meet our new class of mentees!

Sincerely,
The PBRS Team