Picture Book Spotlight

This site exists to celebrate picture books, their creators, & all who champion them through regular interviews. We feature authors, illustrators, agents, and other industry professionals who work to get picture books into kid's hands.

We try to take a "whole family" approach by spotlighting stars of the industry alongside those just starting out. At Picture Book Spotlight, you'll find entertaining and engaging interviews with querying authors & illustrators, debut authors & illustrators, as well as seasoned veterans, NY Times-bestsellers, and other industry giants.

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Brian Gehrlein

is the creator of Picture Book Spotlight, #PBCritiqueFest, and is represented by Jennifer Mattson of Andrea Brown Literary Agency. He wrote a book. It's called THE BOOK OF RULES (illustrated by Tom Knight and published by FSG/BYR, 2021). His second picture book, THIS IS NOT A SLEEPY BEAR BOOK, comes out in the Fall of 2025. It is illustrated by Jenn Harney and published by Little, Brown.

Brian teaches high school English and lives in Liberty, Missouri with his wife, Katherine, sons Peter and Albee, and their two corgis!

Brian tweets things sometimes. You can read the things by following him on Twitter: @briangehrlein. If you want to stay up on Spotlight interviews and other PB Spotlight happenings, subscribe to Picture Book Spotlight. Want to say hi? Contact Brian here.

Wondering how to pronounce "Gehrlein?" It's like "airline" with a "G."

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