As the 2025 mentorship contest deadline approaches, SCBWI-L.A.’s Contest Coordinator checks in with a few past winners who’ve gone on to score major successes…

by Brenda Scott Royce

A few months ago, I was perusing the new release display in my local bookshop when a title called The In-Between Bookstore caught my eye. (I’m a sucker for any book about books, libraries, or bookstores!) I stared at the author’s name for a few moments before it struck me why it seemed so familiar—Edward Underhill won SCBWI-L.A.’s mentorship contest in 2020. The manuscript he worked on with mentor Nicole Maggi, Always the Almost, was published in 2023 by Wednesday Books, an imprint of Macmillan. Ed summarized the mentorship for Kite Tales in 2021, concluding: “Nicole’s mentorship gave me gifts I didn’t even know I needed, and I would not have gotten here without it.”

The In-Between Bookstore is Ed’s adult debut, and it’s garnering rave reviews (and a cover blurb by mega-bestseller Jodi Picoult!). Seeing it on the bookshelves made me wonder about other past mentorship contest winners. How many are enjoying similar achievements—and did their mentorship experience contribute to their success? I reached out to a few to find out. 

Sarah Gottlieb – 2022 winner (nonfiction)

In February 2025, Sarah Gottlieb traveled to Boston to pick up a prestigious gold award for science writing from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She credits her six-month mentorship with Joseph Taylor with setting her on the path to victory: 

“I owe a mountain of gratitude to Joseph Taylor, Editor at Muse Magazine, for plucking my pitch from the [mentorship contest] submission pile and choosing to mentor me. He volunteered his time and expertise reading over various drafts of my middle grade nonfiction book and lending his editor’s eye to my chaotic jumble of information. Along the way, he invited me to pitch for Muse. My first feature article, ‘Dr. Ape Will See You Now,’ came out in April—and this past fall I was awarded the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award in the Children’s Science News category.” 

The judges praised Sarah’s ability to appeal to young readers, with one calling her piece (about the surprising way primates use plants and insects for medicinal purposes) “an engaging, well-paced, and unusual story grounded in solid science.”  

“Interviewing scientists and writing about self-medicating apes was an absolute joy, and I’m so pleased to have published work that can be enjoyed by kids,” Sarah says. “I hope that this award is a stepping stone to finding a publishing home for the manuscript.”

Monica Mancillas – 2018 winner (picture book writing)

When Monica Mancillas applied for the 2018 picture book mentorship with award-winning author Andrea J. Loney, she was “still very new to both the craft and business of writing children’s books.” One glance at her website today reveals that her career has since grown by leaps and bounds! In 2022, Mariana and Her Familia was selected by School Library Journal as one of the year’s best picture books, and How to Speak Spanglish was Target’s Book Club pick for September 2023. Her eighth book, Taco Tuesdays, was released in January from Scholastic.

“Andrea was (and continues to be) incredibly supportive,” Monica says. “She helped me to revise the picture books I was working on, while also answering the many questions I had about the industry. As a result of her encouragement, I joined Twitter and participated in the pitch event that led to an offer of representation and my debut book selling at auction. In the seven years following, I have sold eight books across age categories and genres to some of the biggest publishers in the world and look forward to many more.”

Cassandra Federman – 2017 winner (illustration)

Author-illustrator Cassandra Federman has not one, not two, but three books coming out in 2025. Her first middle grade graphic novel, Story Spinners, comes out in March from Simon & Schuster/Aladdin, and her picture book Gray Squirrel Loses It—about a panicked gray squirrel who cannot remember where he buried his nut—releases in October from Random House. She also illustrated DC’s hotly anticipated September release Aquamanatee by Ben Clanton (creator of the Narwhal and Jelly series). Her other books include This Is a Sea Cow and This Is a Seahorse (both published by Albert Whitman).

Winning the 2017 SCBWI-L.A. Mentorship contest was “a major milestone,” according to Cassandra. “It was the first writing/illustration contest I’d ever won, and it gave me the confidence I needed to start querying agents.”

Cassandra has some sage advice for emerging creators: “If you’re just starting out in your writing or illustrating career, I highly recommend submitting to a variety of contests and mentorships. The competition in agent inboxes is tougher than any contest, but if your work is getting recognized in competitions, you’ll have a strong reason to believe it will stand out in the slush pile. Plus, you can write about all those contests and mentorships you won in your query letter which can give you added credibility.”

2025 Mentorship Contest

Middle Grade Writers: Do you have a novel in progress or a completed manuscript that could benefit from a keen editorial eye? Hoping for the kind of career boost that can come from a having a pro in your corner? 

Our 2025 mentor, Sherry Shahan, understands the power of having a mentor and being a mentor. Best known for her middle grade adventure novels—Frozen Stiff (Random House), Ice Island (Random House), and Death Mountain (Peachtree), Sherry is excited to guide a middle grade author in the early stages of their career. 

Don’t let this opportunity pass you by!  For details about the mentorship and how to apply, visit the SCBWI-L.A. Mentorship Contest web page.  Deadline is April 23, 2025.

If you are a PAL member interested in mentoring, please email scbwilacontests@gmail.com for more information about future opportunities. 

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Brenda Scott Royce is the Contest Coordinator for SCBWI-L.A.  She has authored more than 30 books for children. Her latest, Angela & Lulingu: Two Gorillas, A World Apart, comes out in September 2023, from Blue Sneaker Press.