Want your application to stand out?! Save the date for our prep events!

  • The “Meet the Mentors” blog takeover happens here February 1-8!
    Subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss out!

  • The Applicant Prep Party is on February 12th from 8:00-9:30 PM Eastern Time! Watch and learn on Zoom as the co-founders, past mentees & mentors give tips on making your work & application SHINE!

REGISTER FOR THE APPLICANT PREP PARTY

More About Janelle Harper (She/Her)

Languages: English

Janelle Harper is a Bronx native who proudly carries her New York accent wherever she goes. Janelle’s artistic work is inspired by city life and the diverse experiences of the African Diaspora. She comes from a long line of educators and spent nearly two decades teaching dance in NYC public schools. As a children’s book author, Janelle is passionate about representation and hopes to create stories that make children fall more in love with themselves. She is the author of My Block Looks Like and Salon Saturday. When she’s not thinking about her next book, Janelle is at home enthusiastically playing along with TV game shows like The Price Is Right and Let’s Make a Deal. You can visit Janelle online at www.janelleharperauthor.com or social media @BXStoryteller.

You can find Janelle online at:

www.janelleharperauthor.com

Instagram

Janelle Harper BronxNet Interview

World Read Aloud Day with author Janelle Harper and MY BLOCK LOOKS LIKE

Janelle’s strengths include…

  • Finding the heart of a story

  • Pacing, flow and rhythm

  • Cutting fluff and honing a writer's voice

  • Creating stories that beg to be read aloud again and again

  • The querying process

  • Career planning

What Janelle is looking for…

Janelle is looking for a mentee who is serious about a long-term career in traditional children's publishing.

She is looking for someone who is actively working on their craft and looking to gain more insight on the publishing industry. She hopes to work with someone with a willingness to learn and try new and challenging things in order to achieve their goals and dreams. She hopes to connect with someone who wants to revise 1-2 manuscripts during the duration of the mentorship, as well as, prepare for next steps on the business side of publishing.

Janelle encourages BIPOC creators to apply, especially Black creators.

A Note from Janelle:

“Publishing is a wild ride full of highs and lows. Keep going! Rejections? Keep going! Disappointments? Keep going! Writer's block? Keep going! Uncertainty? Keep going! Insecurities? Keep going! One day your words will encourage, inspire or transform a child. KEEP GOING!”

Janelle’s Picture Books

My Block Looks Like, written by Janelle Harper and illustrated by Frank Morrison

Salon Saturday, written by Janelle Harper and illustrated by Charlot Kristensen

If Janelle created a Visual Wish List, it would be made up of…

*Unless otherwise stated, the below serves as a wish list only. Each mentor is excited about the opportunity to find a manuscript they can’t stop thinking about. Please apply if you think you’d be a good fit.

Clever Storytelling Like:

THEY ALL SAW A CAT by Brendan Wenzel

Biographies done in a fresh and exciting way like:

There was a Party for Langston, written by Jason Reynolds, Illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey & Jarrett Pumphrey

Song for Jimi: The Story of Guitar Legend Jimi Hendrix, written by Charles R. Smith Jr., illustrated by Edel Rodriguez

Difficult topics in accessible ways for children like:

The Talk, written by Alicia D. Williams, Illustrated by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu

The Artivist by Nikkolas Smith

That Flag, written by Tameka Fryer Brown, Illustrated by Nikkolas Smith

Intergenerational stories:

Martina Has Too Many Tías, written by Emma Otheguy, Illustrated by: Sara Palacios

The Most Beautiful Thing, written by Kao Kalia Yang, Illustrated by Khoa Le

The Movie Encanto

Dynamic Black families:

The Movie Crooklyn

The TV Show Black-ish

The TV Show The Proud Family

Janelle is a good fit for:

  • Lyrical prose

  • Verse

  • Non-typical storytelling structures

  • Fiction

  • Biographies

  • Cultural stories

  • Multi-generational/family

Janelle is not a good fit for:

  • Rhyme

  • Concept books

  • Books centered on trauma or tragedy

  • Humor

  • Animal main characters

  • 🚫 Please do not send manuscripts with death, cancer or animal characters

Who can apply to Janelle?
Unagented or Agented Text-Only Authors who identify as BIPOC.