More About Lisa Rogers (She/Her)
Languages: English
Lisa Rogers is an award-winning author who became inspired to write for children during her career as an elementary school librarian. Her first job was shelving books in the local library, where she dreamed of someday seeing her own name on a book.
Her nonfiction titles include Beautiful Noise: The Music of John Cage, which received three starred reviews and is a 2024 SCBWI Golden Kite Award finalist for Nonfiction Text for Younger Readers, and 16 Words: William Carlos Williams and “The Red Wheelbarrow,” which received two starred reviews, was featured in the New York Times, and won the Boston Authors Club Julia Ward Howe Award. Both books are Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections. Her poetry appears in two anthologies and a third anthology will be out in 2025.
Lisa is moved by fascinating stories about real people, the wonders of the natural world, and stories about friendship, family, and what connects us as humans.
Lisa is represented by Erzsi Deak of Hen&ink Literary. She holds degrees in English from William & Mary and Boston College and a library science degree from Southern Connecticut State University. A former news reporter and editor, she grew up in New Jersey yet now considers herself a New Englander. She lives in Massachusetts near the halfway point of the Boston Marathon, which she's run four times. She loves to run, swim, garden, kayak, paint, and have adventures with her loud and lovable hound.
You can find her online at:
Lisa Rogers: Her Author Journey
Read Aloud with Lisa Rogers: 16 WORDS: WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS & "THE RED WHEELBARROW"
Lisa Rogers' Beautiful Noise: The Music of John Cage Book Launch at Wellesley Books
Lisa’s strengths are…
Lisa's strengths are finding the heart of a manuscript, pacing, crafting a resonant ending, researching to uncover key details, using poetic language, trying out structures, line edits and complete revisions, and drawing on her deep knowledge of children's books to identify mentor texts.
What Lisa is looking for…
Lisa is looking for a mentee who is eager to do the hard work of reimagining and revising a manuscript, can handle feedback, and who has more than one manuscript they'd like to share and work on.
A Note from Lisa:
“Reading aloud with children tuned my ear to the rhythms of a picture book and gave me insight into how deeply children think about books. Reading your work aloud will help you notice much you might otherwise miss. You'll hear where your manuscript can be cut, be alerted to pacing issues, and point up where your language can be enriched. Sharing books with children and paying attention to what they notice is excellent training for a children's author.”
Lisa’s Picture Books
Lisa writes in other markets, so to check out her full catalog please visit her website.
16 WORDS: WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS AND "THE RED WHEELBARROW," illus. Chuck Groenink, Random House/Schwartz & Wade Books
BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE MUSIC OF JOHN CAGE, illus. Il Sung Na, Random House/Anne Schwartz Books
HOUND WON'T GO, illus Meg Ishihara, Albert Whitman & Co.
Lisa’s Upcoming Picture Books
WOODY'S WORDS: WOODROW WILSON RAWLS AND WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS, illus. Susan Reagan, Astra/Calkins Creek, Fall, 2025
ELVIS PRESLEY: A LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK BIOGRAPHY, illus. Luke Flowers, Random House Children's Books 9/24/24
If Lisa 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.
An undaunted main character like…
The character Britta in APPLE AND MAGNOLIA, written by Laura Gehl and illustrated by Patricia Metola
Beautiful language in nonfiction like…
ABLAZE WITH COLOR: A STORY OF PAINTER ALMA THOMAS, written by Jeanne Walker Harvey and illustrated by Loveis Wise
A heart-wrenching and hopeful story like…
LOVE IN THE LIBRARY, written by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and illustrated by Yas Imamura
Unexpected and sympathetic characters like…
DEAR STRAY, written by Kirsten Hubbard and illustrated by Susan Gal
A spare but resonant friendship story like…
I DON’T CARE, written by Julie Fogliano and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal and Molly Idle
GOODBYE, FRIEND! HELLO, FRIEND!, written and illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld
Books promoting environmental awareness and activism like…
SAVING DELICIA: A STORY ABOUT SMALL SEEDS AND BIG DREAMS, written by Laura Gehl and illustrated by Patricia Metola
ALL THE WATER IN THE WORLD by George Ella Lyon and Katherine Tillotson
AN ACCIDENTAL HERO: A MOSTLY TRUE WOMBAT STORY, written by Laura Roettiger and illustrated by Debbie Palen
LIGHTS OUT: A MOVEMENT TO HELP MIGRATING BIRDS, written by Jessica Stremer and illustrated by Bonnie Pang
Gentle, heartfelt stories about love and loss like…
AN OFRENDA FOR PERRO, written by Judith Valdés B. and illustrated by Carlos Vélez Aguilera
THE LONGEST LETSGOBOY, written by Derick Wilder and illustrated by Catia Chien
Social-emotional books with heart like…
TOBY TOOTLES, written by Stephanie Gibeault and illustrated by Mary Sullivan
TOO MUCH: AN OVERWHELMING DAY, written by Jolene Gutiérrez and illustrated by Angel Chang
Family stories like…
OLD TO JOY, written and illustrated by Anita Crawford Clark
Picture book biographies with grit that upend expectations like…
TU YOUYOU’S DISCOVERY: FINDING A CURE FOR MALARIA, written by Songju Ma Daemicke and illustrated by Lin
JUST WILD ENOUGH: MIREYA MAYOR, PRIMATOLOGIST, written by Marta Magellan and illustrated by Clementine Rocheron
Lisa is a good fit for…
Lyrical, heartfelt stories
Poetic nonfiction
Family and friendship stories with emotional depth
Stories that honor young readers' intelligence
Biographies with an emotional core
Authors who want to publish traditionally
Lisa is not a good fit for…
Broad humor
Predictable rhyme
Concept books
Authors who only want to self-publish
*Please don’t submit stories that include talking animals or cancer.
Who can apply to Lisa? Unagented AND Agented authors.
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