More About Mónica Mancillas (She/Her)
Languages: English and Spanish
Mónica Mancillas's award-winning books include Mariana and Her Familia (Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, 2022 School Library Journal Best of Picture Book), The Worry Balloon, How to Speak in Spanglish (2023 September Target Book Club Pick, 2024 Américas Award Commended Title), Sing it Like Celia, Taco Tuesdays, and Leyendas/Legends (August, 2025). Her books center on themes of identity, culture, and mental health, while challenging those outdated tropes that have historically left Latine voices in the margins.
Born in the small coastal town of Ensenada in Baja California, México, Mónica moved with her parents to the United States when she was two-years-old. As a child, she loved nothing more than to study and explore self-expression through writing and music. After graduating Valedictorian from the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, she earned a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley, after which she moved to Los Angeles where she worked for ten years in the recording industry.
Today, Mónica lives in the UK, where she spends her days writing, reading, exploring, and tending to her much-adored daughter, husband, and dog, Annie.
You can find Mónica online at:
Mónica's strengths are…
Mónica's strengths reside in shaping stories with lyricism, depth, and heart. She is adept at creating characters with compelling emotional arcs and at bringing what is both unique and universal in stories to readers.
In addition to helping mentees with all aspects of craft, Mónica is exceptionally capable when it comes to explaining the ins and outs of the publishing process from drafting to editing and revision to navigating the editor-author and agent-author relationship to promotion and marketing books. She has eight books under contract with big five publishers (including PenguinRandomHouse, Scholastic, Macmillan, and HarperCollins) and is extremely adaptable, having written picture books, contemporary Middle Grade fiction, Middle Grade non-fiction, Middle Grade romcom, Middle Grade dystopian, and IP (work for hire).
Mónica understands how challenging the craft and business of writing books for children can be and is thus able to guide her mentees with a sense of optimism, determination, tenacity, and resilience.
What Mónica is Looking for…
Mónica is looking for a mentee who is serious about a career in traditional children's publishing and who is actively working on their craft. She is excited to work with someone who hopes to use their stories and voice to add something of value to the literary canon and who is passionate about promoting empathy and compassion in literature and helping young readers from marginalized backgrounds to see themselves in their books.
A Note from Mónica:
“The best piece of advice I can give any aspiring or soon to be published author is to never lose sight of what brought you to writing in the first place. Come back to that reason every day. Let everything else become background noise.”
Mónica’s Picture Books:
Mónica writes in other markets, so to check out her full catalog please visit her website.
Mariana and Her Familia, written by Mónica Mancillas and illustrated by Erika Meza
The Worry Balloon, written by Mónica Mancillas and illustrated by Betty C. Tang
How to Speak in Spanglish, written by Mónica Mancillas and illustrated by Olivia De Castro
If Mónica 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.
Last Stop on Market Street, written by Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson
The Bronx is My Home, written by Alyssa Reynoso-Morris and illustrated by Kim Holt
Eyes that Kiss in the Corners, written by Joanna Ho and illustrated by Dung Ho
Mónica is a good fit for…
Authors from marginalized backgrounds
Authors who write for multiple age groups/multiple genres
Bilingual stories
Lyrical stories
PBs with a message
Mónica is not a good fit for…
Humor
Who can apply to Mónica? BIPOC, Unagented authors.
Click below to register for our Mentee Announcement (on Zoom) on May 15, 2025 at 8:00pm Eastern Time!