We’ve seen a lot of questions from people who want to enter the PBParty contest and apply to the PB Rising Stars mentorship. Guess what? If you meet the requirements for each, you can apply to both. Wahoooo! 🎉
Every year, PBParty receives over 1000 entries, and those from past PB Rising Stars mentees often stand out. Several have become PBParty finalists and signed with an agent.
Go for it! You have nothing to lose…
You wouldn’t believe how many PBParty finalists have admitted that they almost didn’t enter…and it ended up being a huge stepping stone to signing with an agent and/or selling a picture book or more. There’s no reason to skip opportunities like PBParty and PB Rising Stars if you meet the requirements. Do your best on the entry form/application and go for it. The experience alone can help you strengthen your manuscripts…and so much more!
So who is going to take the plunge and enter? Shout it out in the comments, loud and proud. And I’ll send tons of good luck fairy dust your way and a standing ovation for putting yourself out there. ✨
Here’s helpful info from the awesome PB Rising Stars team
Hello, wonderful PBParty Community! We are so grateful to Mindy for welcoming us to her blog today. We are Ebony Lynn Mudd, Kailei Pew, and Layla Fallah, the leadership team behind PB Rising Stars.
Over at PB Rising Stars, we LOVE PBParty. And one of the biggest questions we get is if our mentorship applicants can still submit to PBParty, and our answer is always a resounding YES… IF you are ready! Because there are some differences between PBParty and PB Rising Stars.
PBParty is for picture book creators who are ready to have their work in front of agents and editors. You’ll submit a brief excerpt with the hopes of being chosen as one of the finalists who get agent and editor eyes on their work. [Check out the list of agents/editors, and the 2025 PBParty Showcase will show you what to expect if you’re a finalist this year.]
PB Rising Stars, on the other hand, is for creators who have at least one piece of work that they need help with. It’s for creators seeking mentorship who don’t yet feel ready for an agent or editor to see their work.
Now, it’s definitely possible for a creator to have a piece that is ready to send to agents and editors and another that needs mentorship. So YES, PB Rising Stars applicants can absolutely also apply for PBParty. And even if you become a PBParty finalist and get an agent through it (yay!), you could still benefit from a mentorship with PB Rising Stars!
Let’s talk a bit more about why you might still need mentorship, even if you are applying for this amazing PBParty opportunity.
PB Rising Stars is a completely FREE mentorship opportunity. We pair up-and-coming picture book creators (text-only authors, illustrators, and author-illustrators) with experienced mentors to provide help and guidance along the turbulent publishing ladder. This year’s mentors include Lian Cho, Andrea Wang, Adam Rex, Rio Cortez, and more! We are accepting both unagented and agented creators without agent-repped traditional picture book deals (because we know that landing the agent doesn’t always mean landing the book deal right away). The program runs for four months and is completely FREE.
Outside of working 1:1 with a mentor, you will have access to our FREE exclusive craft workshops from industry pros like Josh Funk, Julia Kuo, Quartez Harris, Anoosha Syed, and Meera Sriram!
More than anything, PB Rising Stars fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion, creating a space that publishing should look like!
And because we believe strongly in progress over performance in a mentorship setting, we do not host an agent and editor round at the end of our program. That’s because we want our mentees to feel like they can work on whatever THEY need to work on and not feel pressure to be ready for an agent or editor by the end.
But that’s why we absolutely LOVE PBParty. Because when our mentees ARE ready to get their work in front of agents and editors, PBParty provides an amazing opportunity to do just that! In fact, a number of mentees who have spent their summer with us learning and improving craft have gone on to be named PBParty Finalists:
Layla Fallah
Andrew Allsop
Sarah Skolfield
Li Wang
Aimee Satterlee
Shristi Vaidya and
Lillie Pardo
So if this sounds like an exciting opportunity to you, come on over to PB Rising Stars! We can help you learn and improve your craft in a way that will prepare you well for PBParty and other great opportunities. And with this being our fifth and FINAL year, now is the time to apply to join our community before it’s too late!
How To Apply:
1. Read the eligibility requirements and FAQs on the PB Rising Stars Website
2. See what mentors are looking for on their mentor pages HERE
3. Click on a mentor’s profile
4. Scroll down and click on the apply button at the bottom of the page
5. Fill out the linked Google form and submit
6. Check your email and spam folder after submitting for an email confirmation
**And don’t forget, you can apply to as many mentors as you’d like as long as you are eligible**
Applications are open NOW through March 13th. They close on March 13, 2026, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time SHARP. Please check your time zone and plan ahead for technical difficulties!
Finally, be sure to subscribe to the PB Rising Stars newsletter. They will send out reminders and details throughout the application window, so you’ll never miss an opportunity. Remember, 2026 is the FINAL year of PB Rising Stars, so make sure to take the opportunity to apply now!
Here’s a note from Ninja Superstar/PBParty judge & PB Rising Stars mentor Sylvia Chen
As a long-time #PBParty judge and as a multi-year #PBRisingStars mentor, I think the world of both programs. It is no small feat to make it into the #PBParty finalist showcase or to be selected as a #PBRisingStars mentee, but these amazing opportunities can only happen if you take a huge chance to reach for the stars! I am always in awe of all the talent that comes through when considering entries for both #PBParty and #PBRisingStars, and I can’t wait to see which wonderful creators will shine in the most exciting ways in both programs this year!
If you have any questions, let us know in the comments. We all love helping writers and author/illustrators succeed, and can’t wait to see the entries/applications flood in!
Pssst…keep an eye out for more PBParty posts over the next few days. I’ll share Google docs with all the info that will be requested on the PBParty entry forms, more tips, stats and other helpful info from the PBParty Prep Zoom, the entry form link, and lots of helpful formatting advice and great ways to share your dummy if you’re an author/illustrator.
The PBParty entry window opens up one week and an hour from now. Wahooooooo! Who is ready to dazzle us?
Good luck, everyone! ✨✨✨
2 Comments
Leave your reply.