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More About Natasha Khan Kazi (She/Her)
Languages: English and Bengali
Natasha Khan Kazi was born in Bangladesh, raised in Texas, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and now lives in Southern California, where she writes and illustrates books for young readers, including her debut picture book, Moon’s Ramadan (a 2023 JLG Gold Standard Selection, SLJ Best Picture Book, Chicago Public Library Best Picture Book, and Bank Street Education Best Picture Book.) Her creative work is rooted in empathy, diversity, and childhood joy. Natasha is the blogger behind IslamiMommy and a 2023 Highlights Foundation Muslim Storyteller Fellow. Her recent works include Lulu In the Spotlight (Versify/HarperCollins) and Bela And Lily (Kokila/Penguin).
You can find Natasha online at:
Natasha is a Highlights Foundation Muslim Storyteller Fellow. She shares the impact of finding community in this video. And she hopes to pay it forward.
Natasha’s strengths are…
Brainstorming strong beginnings, strengthening murky middles, surfacing satisfying endings, connecting the internal and external journey to develop strong characters and plots, drafting illustrations to push the emotion, heart, and plot of a story, revising pitches, finding comp titles, polishing query letters, suggesting like-minded agents, preparing for “the call,” navigating the author-agent relationship, building a social media presence, building a brand and marketing strategy.
What Natasha is looking for…
Natasha is seeking a mentee who is passionate about working on their craft. She is especially excited to work with authors and author-illustrators who love wordsmithing, whether through lyrical language, clever wordplay, or visual storytelling, as well as author-illustrators who bring a unique perspective on the world to their work.
Natasha is looking for someone who is committed to growth, does not take themselves too seriously, loves to laugh, and has clearly shown dedication to the journey by putting in months of thoughtful, consistent work. She hopes to connect with a mentee who wants to revise and strengthen polished manuscripts or dummies, learn more about the business side of publishing, and prepare their work to be truly submission-ready.
As someone committed to social justice, Natasha values mentees who have a personal mission and are intentionally working to create a more empathetic world through their stories.
A Note from Natasha:
“When reviewing applications, I am drawn to creators who have taken the time to get to know me and my work. It reflects both respect for the mentorship and a genuine interest in building a thoughtful, long-term creative relationship.”
Natasha’s Picture Books
MOON’S RAMADAN, written and illustrated by Natasha Khan Kazi
BETA AND LILY, written and illustrated by Natasha Khan Kazi
LULU IN THE SPOTLIGHT: A SOUTH ASIAN WEDDING STORY, written and illustrated by Natasha Khan Kazi
SUN’S EID, by Natasha Khan Kazi (Coming Winter 2028)
If Natasha 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.
DIM SUM PALACE, written and illustrated by X. Fang
YOUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE, written and illustrated by Jason Chin
RIVER OF DUST, written by Jilanne Hoffmann and illustrated by Eugenia Mello
NOT QUITE SNOW WHITE, written by Ashley Franklin and illustrated by Ebony Glenn
THE MOON FROM DEHRADUN, written by Shirin Shamsi and illustrated by Tarun Lak
MIXED: A COLORFUL STORY, written and illustrated by Arree Chung
Natasha is a good fit for:
Authors and Author-Illustrators who enjoy writing in a variety of genres (lyrical, humor, nonfiction)
Illustrations in traditional or digital mediums
Lovers of revision
Creators who have read at least 100 picture books that have come out in the last 5 years
People who want to change the world, one book at a time
BIPOC stories
Natasha is not a good fit for:
Rhyme
Books dealing with aging parents/grandparents/grief
Manuscripts/dummies that have been recently submitted to agents
🚫 Please do NOT send stories about sisters and loss.
Who can apply to Natasha?
Unagented Text-only Authors and Author-Illustrators.
⚠️Natasha is ONLY looking for creators from any and all groups that are not well represented in traditional publishing.