Thanks for asking!

It all started with a tweet! Children’s author Kailei Pew felt so grateful for all that she has received from the KidLit community and wanted a way to give back, so she posted on Twitter to see if anyone would be interested in a mentorship opportunity. Then, children’s author Ebony Lynn Mudd (with just as much passion and gratitude for the community) decided to hop into Kailei’s DMs, and the rest is history! Our two co-founders poured their hearts, brains, and souls into creating a program by picture book creators and for picture book creators, with the intention of uplifting and empowering voices from diverse backgrounds.

We would love for you to read more about us here on our home page.

YOU. Always, you.

We are so proud of what this program has grown into and all the things that make us different!

First, we believe that the Mentors and Mentees in this program should reflect what publishing SHOULD look like, and we are walking that walk! We start by making sure our leadership team is diverse. Then, we make sure that the Mentors representing our program come from all different backgrounds and cultures.

Another thing that makes us different is that we don’t exclusively accept unagented creators to apply as mentees. We also have mentors that accept AGENTED picture book creators without traditionally published books or book deals, because we believe that mentorship is valuable at all stages of a creator’s career!

There is NO showcase. We want our rising stars to focus on developing their craft without the fear and worry of having to perform at the end of the mentorship.

And of course, we are a PICTURE BOOK ONLY mentorship program! Our Mentors and workshops cater to the specific needs of picture book creators!

After five years serving over 100 picture book creators, we are so proud of the impact this program has had on publishing and children’s literature.

But all (really) good things must come to an end.

Kailei and Ebony are both entering different stages of their personal lives and careers. When they started, they were pre-published. And now, they are busier than ever!

They are also so proud of what they’ve been able to do for their peers through this program, but the world is changing. Books are being banned. Authors and illustrators are experiencing canceled school visits. So, it’s time to give back and get to work in other ways. It’s time to join the fight with librarians, booksellers, teachers, and caregivers, so kids can have access to the amazing books you are all making.

We will always be giving back. And we are excited for what’s next.

Mentor hopefuls will go through a vetting process. They will be experienced with selling books and navigating agent relationships.

We are committed to selecting a group of creators, diverse in both lived experience and editorial strengths.

Mentors are unpaid volunteers. And Mentees do not have to pay to participate. Mentees are selected through an application and selection process.

We accept all experience levels. All Mentors will choose a Mentee that they can best support based on their strengths, weaknesses, and the work they connect to most. The process of choosing a Mentee is personal to each Mentor.

Each Mentor will get access to all of their applications. The selection process is individual to the Mentor, but they will be considering you based on your manuscript, dummy, or portfolio, and the detailed information on your application.

Each Mentor’s runner-up will receive a different prize. Runner-ups will be informed of their prize during the live announcement on May 12th and via email after the announcement. CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDERS if your name is announced.

Honorable Mentions are invited to an exclusive Ask-Us-Anything Zoom with PBRS Founders, Ebony Lynn Mudd and Kailei Pew. The Zoom is scheduled for June 2, 2026 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.

No. We will not accept any applications that used AI for any reason. We ask that you do not use AI for any text in your story, any art, or any of your application answers.

If you need any translation help or accommodations when filling out your applications, please contact us at pbrisingstars@gmail.com

We walk the walk. Our program is proud to have a Black woman as a leading voice and co-founder. We want our program to reflect what publishing stats SHOULD look like, so we lead by example. We start by choosing Mentors with intention.

Checkout our stats from 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025:

67% of our 2022 Mentors were marginalized creators.

77% of our 2022 Mentees were marginalized creators.

76% of our 2023 Mentors were marginalized creators.

68% of our 2023 Mentees were marginalized creators.

77% of our 2024 Mentors were marginalized creators.

68% of our 2024 Mentees were marginalized creators.

93% of our 2025 Mentors are marginalized creators.

73% of our 2025 Mentees were marginalized creators.

Yes, most likely, if you meet all of the other eligibility requirements.

Please read more about our eligibility requirements here.

Most Mentors are looking for unagented creators only. However, we will have some Mentors accepting agented submissions (which will be noted on their profiles).

Please read our eligibility requirements here.

Creators with self-represented book deals or self-published books are welcome to apply.

Creators with agent-repped PICTURE BOOKS are NOT eligible to apply. BUT creators with agent-repped traditionally published books in markets other than picture books are welcome to apply.

Short answer—yes.

But due to the nature of the personalization sections of the application, we encourage you to only apply to Mentors that you think will be a good fit for your strengths, weaknesses, and career goals.

You will also have to submit a separate application for each Mentor—while most answers you can copy and paste, some will need to be personalized.

*You can submit a different manuscript or dummy for each mentor if applicable.

When Mentors are announced, each one will have a bio, what they are looking for, a visual wish list, and their strengths and weaknesses posted on the website. Please review that information carefully to make sure you are a good fit before selecting mentors to apply to.

Additionally, keep an eye on our blog and subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to learn about our 2026 Mentors. More to come!

We have recently created official PB Rising Stars accounts on Instagram & Bluesky, so be sure to follow us there + use #PBRisingStars when chatting online!

We suggest choosing work that best represents what you hope to publish someday. Please don’t submit work that has been queried widely or published in any way.

You can also attend our Application Prep Party on Feb 12th where we will be discussing this in depth. Register here.

YES! We encourage all past Runner Ups AND Honorable Mentions to apply.

Absolutely! We just ask that you wait until the mentorship is over to query if you receive any interest.

No, but please keep in mind that you will be required to coordinate meetings with your mentor based on your respective time zones.

Mentees are required to be 18+, and there is absolutely no age limit on your dreams!

We recommend only applying with a co-creator if you’d like to share the mentorship with them and only work on the manuscripts you collaborate on together. If you apply together, you would not be able to work on any individual projects with your mentor.

Every Mentor and Mentee pair will mutually decide on a meeting schedule and plan for the three-month mentorship.

The only guarantee is that you will grow as a creator and have the PBRS community + support for life!

Mentees in our program are not allowed to query during the four months. We will not be making exceptions available this year.

Since our mentorship is growth-focused, it is super important to us that each person who applies to be a PB Rising Stars Mentee is ready to set aside the four months to put their head down and focus on craft, the revision tools they are learning from their Mentor, and everything they soak in from our industry workshops and publishing business intensive. We are super passionate about this and have seen amazing results! Taking four months to slow down and focus on the craft and business skills that will sustain your career is a game-changer!

While it would seem like "missing out" on opportunities, we like to re-frame this and say that focusing on yourself and your craft for the summer is ENHANCING future opportunities and opening up doors.

The PB Rising Stars Mentorship does not offer an agent/editor showcase at the end of the mentorship. Our goal for this mentorship is to focus on craft and long-term career development. We do not want Mentors and Mentees to only work toward preparing one piece for the showcase, and we do not want Mentees and Mentors to feel the pressure that “writing for a win” can create. We want Mentees to be able to focus on their specific needs and career goals, and to leave feeling like they are ready to take the next step on THEIR journey, whether that be developing craft further, entering the query trenches, or something else best-suited to them. This truly is a personalized mentorship experience and not everyone’s journey leads to querying right away.

Please apply under the name you’d like us to call you by. If your pen name is different, let us know in the bio section of your application.

Please direct all questions and concerns to pbrisingstars@gmail.com to guarantee a response from our team. We want to be there for you and, unfortunately, Instagram & Bluesky DMs may go unseen.

We are happy to help! Please email pbrisingstars@gmail.com if you need assistance completing your application.