More About Rita Lorraine Hubbard (She/Her)
Languages: English
Award-winning author Rita Lorraine Hubbard is a former teacher of over 20 years who now writes children’s books about people who overcome odds with heart and courage. She is the author of The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read (Anne Schwartz Books, 2020), which won the 2023 Great Kids Can Read Award (Kansas City, MO); 2022 Texas Bluebonnet Award; 2022 Anne Izard Storyteller’s Choice Award; 2021 SCBWI Crystal Kite, 2021 Rhode Island Read Aloud award, and many other awards and commendations. Rita has a second picture book called Hammering for Freedom (Lee and Low Books, 2018), which won the 2012 Lee and Low New Voices Award, earned starred reviews from SLJ and Hornbook, and was adopted by the Hamilton County School System in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Rita is also the author of African Americans of Chattanooga: A History of Unsung Heroes (The History Press, 2008), which won the East Tennessee Preservation Award and has been adopted as part of the state of Tennessee’s official bibliography. She recently received the Ruth Holmberg Arts Leadership Award (2024) and is a long-standing member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and Storyteller Academy. Rita owns and manages The Black History Channel online.
You can find Rita online at:
Rita’s strengths are…
Attention to detail (plot holes, grammar, tense, punctuation)
Good time management
Having loads of patience
Rita will help you make your manuscript stronger by helping you...
LEARN YOUR CRAFT BY...
Finding the true heart of your story
Deciding which character can best tell your story. For example, in The Wizard of Oz Dorothy tells the story. But in Oz, the Great and Powerful, the wizard tells the story. And in Wicked, one of the witches tells the story.
Deciding which parts work and which present bumps that slow the manuscript down.
Learning how to place breadcrumbs in your story to guide your readers.
Crafting page turns.
Learning to economize your words (get straight to the point, no fluff!).
Developing realistic characters.
Crafting realistic, age-appropriate dialogue.
Joining craft-related organizations, like SCBWI and Storyteller Academy
LEARN WHAT IT'S LIKE TO...
Visit classrooms and talk to children and teachers
Visit libraries and educational societies and hold Q&A's about the craft of writing
FOR GENRE SPECIALTIES: NONFICTION BIO PB (If that’s what you like!)— RITA WILL TEACH YOU…
How to find unsung heroes
How to find primary/secondary resources to write nonfiction bios
How to build a rich resource library
About the mechanics of shopping your nonfiction bio
About the nonfiction picture book market (today)
Time permitting, Rita and her mentee might also discuss…
Writing strong query letters
Researching agents, editors, and agencies
Learning the ins and outs of self-publishing versus traditional publishing
Rita has conducted many workshops, zooms and webinars including all of the above, and she loves sharing what she knows with emerging writers… because someone helped her back in the day! Her main goal is to educate you – not as a shortcut toward reaching your goal, because THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS... but to build your confidence and skill as you hone your craft. She desires for you to exit this mentorship feeling equipped to take the next step toward reaching your dream.
What Rita is looking for…
Rita welcomes a mentee who is serious (and somewhat knowledgeable) about a career in traditional children's publishing. She is searching for the mentee who knows s/he is talented, but who also knows s/he must put in the work to hone their craft.
If you’re attending webinars and meet-ups, reading the latest picture books, searching out free workshops, and participating in critique groups, etc., you and Rita will get along just fine. Mentees who understand there are no shortcuts but there are opportunities that present themselves to those who have prepared by studying and practicing are the best fit to apply for a mentorship with Rita.
If you are willing to work hard, have fun, and sharpen your skills over time, Rita wants to connect with you.
A Note from Rita:
“Write the book YOU want to write. Think of that story you have always wanted to read but you haven’t been able to find it. Maybe it’s because YOU are the one who’s supposed to write it.”
Rita’s Picture Books
Rita writes in other markets, so to see her full catalog check out her website here.
The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read, written by Rita Lorraine Hubbard and illustrated by Oge Mora
Hammering for Freedom: The William Lewis Story, written by Rita Lorraine Hubbard and illustrated by John Holyfield
Rita’s Upcoming Picture Books
Rita has four picture books due to release within the next two years. Two were penned for the Medal of Honor Museum of Chattanooga, one was penned for McGraw Hill Publishing, and one will be published by Calkins Creek Press.
If Rita created a Visual Wish List, it would be made up of…
Rita’s Mentee Wishlist is BROAD! That’s because she is a former book reviewer of over 20 years and has thoroughly enjoyed reading and reviewing books from almost every genre. Rita reviewed for Random House, Peachtree Publishing, Lee and Low, Owl Kids Books, the New York Journal of Books, and many, many more. She only recently hung up her reviewing hat, but now she’s ready to read YOUR manuscript.
Don’t be shy! Take a look at the following wish list. You may find that you’ve been working on just what Rita is looking for!
PS – This is NOT an exhaustive list. Rita only stopped here because her fingers got tired. Please apply if you think you’d be a good fit.
Touching Manuscripts:
The Wonderful Things You Will Be, by Emily Winfield Martin
The Christmas Quiet Book, written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Renata Liwska
Hanukkah Hamster, written by Michelle Markel, illustrated by Andre Ceolin
Clever and Courageous Leading Ladies:
Virginia Wouldn’t Slow Down: The Unstoppable Dr. Apgar and Her Life-Saving Invention, written by Carrie A. Pierson, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
Beulah Has a Hunch, by Katie Mazeika
Coretta’s Journey: The Life and Times of Coretta Scott King, written by Alice Faye Duncan and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Dark Humor. Eeeeek!:
Tadpole’s Promise, written by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Tony Ross
Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, written by Mac Barnett, Illustrated by Jon Klassen
I Want my Hat Back, by Jon Klassen
Cute Manuscripts:
Boo Hoo Bird, by Jeremy Tankard
please, baby, please, written by Spike Lee & Tonya Lewis Lee and illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Hey You! An Empowering Celebration of Growing up Black, by Dapo Adeola
Cutesy Animal Books:
Little Rabbit Lost, by Harry Horse
Mr. Goat’s Valentine, written by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Kevin Zimmer
Memoirs of a Parrot, written by Devin Scillian, illustrated by Tim Bowers
Funny/Silly/Humorous Manuscripts:
Santa’s Eleven Months Off, written by Mike Reiss, illustrated by Michael G. Montgomery
Crankenstein, written by Samantha Berger and illustrated by Dan Santat
Snow Day!, written by Lester L. Laminack, illustrated by Adam Gustavson
Celebration of Black Life:
When God Made You, written by Matthew Paul Turner, illustrated by David Catrow
Hair Love, written by Matthew A. Cherry, illustrated by Vashti Harrison
I am Enough, written by Grace Byers, illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo
Black History:
The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch, written by Chris Barton, illustrated by Don Tate
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water, written by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson, and illustrated by Nikkolas Smith
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Rita is a good fit for…
Humor with heart
Nonfiction
Authors who write across genres ... She does too!
Rita is not a good fit for…
Rhyming picture books— This takes real skill, and unfortunately not everyone can produce a smooth rhyme. Rita accepts these on a case-by-case basis only, reserving the right to pass at her discretion.
Concept books
Board books
Who can apply to Rita? Unagented authors.
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