More About Lindsay Leslie (She/Her)
Languages: English
Lindsay is the award-winning author of SO YOU WANT TO BUILD A LIBRARY, DUSK EXPLORERS (an SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner, Bank Street Best Book of 2021 with Outstanding Merit, and Amazon Editors’ Pick), NOVA THE STAR EATER, and THIS BOOK IS SPINELESS. Her next picture book, GUS ❤ THE BUS (illus. by Geeta Ladi), is slated for summer 2025 with Sleeping Bear Press. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, sci-fi/fantasy novelist Ryan Leslie, two awesome teenagers, two fur-beasts, and a guinea pig.
You can find her online at:
Lindsay’s strengths are…
First and foremost, Lindsay LOVES to edit and critique others’ works. Case in point, Lindsay has served as a successful mentor twice for Justin Colon’s PBChat mentorship and has been a critique ninja for Julie Hedlund’s 12x12 PB community for the past four years. This year will be her fifth in that role. Lindsay is a jack of all trades and feels comfortable editing most genres of picture books—from humor to info-fic to nonfiction to lyrical.
Lindsay's strengths are:
Brainstorming new possibilities and layers,
Seeing the big picture needs of a story,
Digging into the tactical details of the writing,
Breaking the PB "rules" in the best ways,
Asking loads of questions to get the writer thinking,
Being forthright, because she wants you to succeed and will have the hard and maybe messy conversations to help you bring your manuscript to its fuller potential,
Being thorough and taking lots and lots of time; she doesn't take this lightly, and
Understanding how not impose her voice and writing style on those she mentors.
What Lindsay is looking for…
Lindsay is looking for a mentee (or manatee)...
With heart, drive, passion and persistence.
Who has multiple manuscripts to work on.
Who is coachable and open to feedback/constructive criticism.
Who is passionate and loves the craft.
Who pushes boundaries in writing and breaks rules (but knows them!).
Who is energized about the process and sees the benefits of all the ups and downs and possibilities.
Who is open, communicative, asks questions, isn’t shy, and wants to push forward and stretch.
Who wants to reach that next goal of theirs.
And who has wicked sense of humor, because ya just gotta laugh!
A Note from Lindsay:
“Be unabashedly you when filling out your application. That is the number one thing I appreciate in someone—authenticity. Share with me your joys and struggles in writing. Show me the passion for your projects and why you are compelled to create. Also, look for the mentor that matches or vibes with your sensibilities and work style, as best you can.
Whoever chooses to submit to me, thank you for trusting me with your work. I’m limited to selecting one mentee, but know I will treat each manuscript I read with care. I’m just thrilled you’re here. Being here and considering this mentorship program says a lot about you. It means you are ready to push yourself and go to the next level. That’s huge! Well done!! And, my favorite Muppet is The Swedish Chef. That is all.”
Lindsay’s Picture Books
NOVA THE STAR EATER
Page Street Kids, illustrated by John Taesoo Kim
May 2019
SO YOU WANT TO BUILD A LIBRARY
Capstone Editions, illustrated by Aviel Basil
September 2021
DUSK EXPLORERS
Page Street Kids, illustrated by Ellen Rooney
June 2020
THIS BOOK IS SPINELESS
Page Street Kids, illustrated by Alice Brereton
February 2019
Lindsay’s Upcoming Picture Books
ROCK AND MOSS: THE PHYSICS OF FRIENDSHIP
KiwiCo, illustrated by Patty Benson
Upcoming
GUS ❤ THE BUS
Sleeping Bear Press, illustrated by Geeta Ladi
Summer 2025
If Lindsay 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.
BUTT OR FACE? by Kari Lavelle
PAPÁ’S MAGICAL WATER-JUG CLOCK, written by Jesús Trejo and illustrated by Eliza Kinkz
I SHIP, written by Kelly Rice Schmitt and illustrated by Jam Dong
WITCH & WOMBAT, written and illustrated by Ashley Belote
THE LOUD LIBRARIAN, written by Jenna Beatrice and illustrated by Erika Lynne Jones. Fun Fact: Jenna was Leslie’s PBChat mentee in 2020 with this manuscript!
NELL PLANTS A TREE, written by Anne Wynter and illustrated by Daniel Miyares
Lindsay is a good fit for…
ANYTHING, but rhyme. Sorry, rhymers. She has not studied that area of the picture book writing craft, and she thinks you would be in better care of one of the other mentors who has.
As for ANYTHING, Lindsay can realize the bones of a great story. If you are a passionate writer and it's starting to come out on the page, she'll catch on and be right there with you making sure that passion is fully realized. Lindsay's published works are all fiction, but the majority of the work she critiques for her writing partners is nonfiction. She loves to jump from STEM to info-fic to humor to lyrical to meta to concept to whatever you want to dish. It's all on the menu.
She is also a good fit for people who want to push the envelope and break rules. Each one of her published picture books breaks the “picture book rules” in some way. Needless to say, she loves a rebel.
Lindsay is not a good fit for…
RHYME! She can't rhyme her way out of a box, let alone a story. (Lindsay wrote this, so she is picking on herself.)
She is also not a good fit for stories that have been told before and do not have a new angle or perspective.
Who can apply to Lindsay? Unagented authors only.
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