Mel Rosenberg

By Margaret Lea

Mel considers himself “a five-year-old at heart,” which drew him to picture books. But before picture books, he spent over 30 years as a scientist and professor of microbiology, and many years as a jazz singer and saxophonist.

Over the past eight years, Mel has focused on honing his writing skills and establishing his presence in the literary world. He has attended conferences, self-published numerous books, and successfully pitched a children’s literature podcast. For the past two years, he has interviewed authors, agents, illustrators, publishers, and librarians on the New Books Network’s Children’s Literature Channel. You can access the podcast directly through his website authormel.com or through wherever you listen to podcasts. 

    Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Mel moved to Israel at age 18 to escape antisemitism. Now he feels at home, despite the difficulties posed by the current war. He notes that people continue with their lives as best they can. 

    When asked for writing tips, Mel advises, “Be yourself. Write what’s in your heart. And, most importantly, never give up!” He also urges everyone to ask for what they want and need, “If you don’t ask, the answer is ‘No!’” He shares how he met his mentor, Harold Underdown (author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books), by simply asking for help with ourboox.com, a website Mel created for authors to create free picture books. Harold agreed to mentor him.

    In his eight years of pursuing picture books, Mel received around 300 rejections. Despite this, he persisted and believes that feedback from agents and editors has improved his work. He recently signed with agents from the Liza Royce Agency and considers himself “one of the luckiest people on the planet.” His first traditionally published book, EMILY SAW A DOOR, was released in May 2024 in Hebrew by Tal May Publishers, and he hopes an English version will follow.

    Mel's passion for writing and supporting fellow writers is evident in his commitment to join our Houston chapter's July Zoom meeting as the guest speaker, despite it being 3 AM in his home in Israel. During this meeting he will help creators “think like an author/illustrator,” while making a picture book dummy. This exercise will help creators envision each page and plan for exciting page turns. (For the non-illustrators, leave the pages blank, or draw stick figures.) 

    If you would like to join us, register here!