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More About Livia Blackburne (She/Her)
Languages: English, Mandarin
New York Times bestselling author Livia Blackburne wrote her first novel while researching the neuroscience of reading at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since then, she’s switched to full-time writing, which also involves getting into people’s heads but without the help of a three tesla MRI scanner. Her YA books include Rosemarked (A YALSA Teens Top Ten Nominee), Disney’s Feather and Flame, and Clementine and Danny Save the World (And Each Other) (A Junior Library Guild selection) as well as the picture books Dreams to Ashes (An Orbis Pictus Honor Book) and I Dream of Popo, which received three starred reviews and was on numerous Best of Year lists. She is Chinese American and lives in southern California with her husband and daughter.
You can find Livia online at:
Livia’s strengths are…
Getting to the heart of a story
Streamlining text
Acting as a sounding board for author vision
Providing no nonsense feedback on the business side of the industry.
What Livia is looking for…
Livia is looking for a mentee who is willing to put in the work and dedicated to learning more about the craft and the business.
She encourages writers of East Asian descent in particular to apply.
She's also interested in working with writers who write in multiple categories and genres. Picture book only authors should have more than one manuscript ready to workshop.
A Note from Livia:
“I'll be looking primarily at the manuscript to see if I connect with them and if I can be helpful. Definitely put your best foot forward in the rest of the application, but don't stress overly much about making that perfect.”
Livia’s Picture Books:
Livia writes in other markets, so to check out her full catalog please visit her website.
I DREAM OF POPO, written by Livia Blackburne and Illustrated by Julia Kuo
NAINAI’S MOUNTAIN, written by Livia Blackburne and illustrated by Joey Chou
DREAMS TO ASHES: THE 1871 LOS ANGELES CHINATOWN MASSACRE, written by Livia Blackburne and illustrated by Nicole Xu
BING’S CHERRIES, written by Livia Blackburne and illustrated by Julia Kuo (Coming March 2026)
If Livia 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.
We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
The Antlered Ship, written by Dashka Slater, illustrated by the Fan Brothers
Llama Destroys the World, written by Jonathan Stutzman, illustrated by Heather Fox
Ocean Meets Sky by the Fan Brothers
The Most Beautiful Thing, written by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Khoa Le
Hair Love, written by Matthew A. Cherry, illustrated by Vashti Harrison
Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein
My Papi has a Motorcycle, written by Isabel Quintero, illustrated by Zeke Peña
The Remember Balloons, written by Jessie Oliveros, illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte
Born to Ride: A Story about Bicycle Face, written by Larissa Theule, illustrated by Kelsey Garrity-Riley
Livia is a good fit for:
Universal themes
Strong emotional touchstones (love, family, loss, etc.)
Books that appeal to both children and adults
Humor that works on both kid and adult levels (think Pixar movies or Ryan T. Higgins)
STEM-related books
Creative nonfiction
Books with an epic feel
Fantasy
East Asian voices
Livia is not a good fit for:
Rhyme
Books telling kids how special/unique they are
Slice of life, unless there is a strong emotional core
Who can apply to Livia?
Unagented or agented text-only authors who identify as BIPOC.