https://www.stephenbriseno.com/home daily 1.0 2025-07-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61b7bf0e548fe34ee373b2b5/37148b41-0dd4-41c0-8ab1-1af7a53d5cf0/tamales+cover.jpg Home - Tamales for Christmas is a Best Book of 2024! Publisher’s Weekly named Tamales for Christmas a best picture book of 2024! My grandma would be so proud! Check out the announcement. https://www.stephenbriseno.com/about daily 0.75 2025-07-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61b7bf0e548fe34ee373b2b5/9241b666-cd28-433e-aa76-d11b94db5064/Stephen+Brisen%CC%83o+Headshot+2.jpeg About - Stephen has been writing for kids since 2017. Born in Texas, Stephen grew up loving stories, especially the ones his abuelita told him about El Cucuy. The first book he remembers reading on his own was The Never-ending Story by Michael Ende in the third grade. He wrote Indiana Jones and Goosebumps fan fiction most of elementary school. The first book for kids that blew him away as an adult was Unwind by Neal Shusterman. He reads a ton of picture books, middle grade, and YA. Stephen enjoys life, writes, reads, and drinks a ton of coffee with his wife and daughter in San Antonio, TX. He’s taught middle school English for 15 years, which explains all the gray hair in his beard. Stephen is represented by Lilly Ghahremani at Full Circle Literary. https://www.stephenbriseno.com/books daily 0.75 2025-07-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61b7bf0e548fe34ee373b2b5/119afbc1-f2c0-474b-a159-75195b31603f/Notebook+Keeper.jpeg Books The Notebook Keeper: A Story of Kindness from the Border Illustrated by Magdalena Mora Out now from Random House Studio. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61b7bf0e548fe34ee373b2b5/234c3a1f-fa76-4119-8ddf-61edb63c8a53/Queen+of+Leaves+.png Books - OUT NOW! Queen of Leaves: The Story of Ynes Mexia Illustrated by Isabel Muñoz Out now from The Innovation Press. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61b7bf0e548fe34ee373b2b5/a5a4605f-aafe-4837-8f99-0825a1beef0b/tsfpb+by+us.jpg Books - OUT NOW TEXT STRUCTURES FROM PICTURE BOOKS My wife, Kayla Briseño, and I wrote a book on the magic of picture books! It’s for teachers, classrooms, and for picture book authors. Out now from Corwin Press. Order it here! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61b7bf0e548fe34ee373b2b5/86a817a3-582f-4219-811b-87154a45c080/tamales+cover.jpg Books TAMALES FOR CHRISTMAS Illustrated by Sonia Sanchez Out now from Random House Studio. Order it here! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61b7bf0e548fe34ee373b2b5/cc252492-be7f-42cc-80f0-a1c319af5cd7/jon-tyson-XmMsdtiGSfo-unsplash.jpg Books - COMING SOON! THE VIDALS DIDN’T ASK FOR A SKUNK! Illustrated by Sara Palacios! Releases in 2026 from Union Square! https://www.stephenbriseno.com/contact daily 0.75 2022-01-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61b7bf0e548fe34ee373b2b5/ed946039-1e01-4695-8761-f912ffe6a61a/jess-bailey-X5gDoysLbBc-unsplash.jpg Contact https://www.stephenbriseno.com/poetry daily 0.75 2022-01-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61b7bf0e548fe34ee373b2b5/c159a280-109e-481e-aff0-376f21e51db9/trust-tru-katsande-wDJrBpl-q3Q-unsplash.jpg Poetry https://www.stephenbriseno.com/manuscript-critiques daily 0.75 2022-01-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61b7bf0e548fe34ee373b2b5/042442f2-5517-4d73-b097-7581d38c405e/hannah-grace-j9JoYpaJH3A-unsplash.jpg Manuscript Critiques - PICTURE BOOK MANUSCRIPT CRITIQUES "Stephen is a thoughtful reader with a keen eye and a finely tuned ear. I've always benefitted from his feedback and highly recommend his critique services!" —Angela Burke Kunkel, author of Digging for Words and Penguin Journey "Stephen has a sharp eye for detail, while also having a fantastic ability to pull out big picture and thematic suggestions in manuscripts. An enthusiastic reader, Stephen is an extremely encouraging and energetic reviewer who makes you feel you've got a cheerleader in your writing corner." —Kris Coronado, children's author and essayist Are you ready to query a literary agent? Need to polish up a manuscript so that it's submission ready? Stuck on a story and need a fresh perspective? Just want help on how to approach revision and adding craft? I now offer picture book manuscript critiques! For $40, I will closely read and critique your manuscript. With your picture book critique, you will receive feedback on: the flow of your story structure plot/stakes/heart of your story plot holes or inconsistencies language choices you've made line edits suggestions for revision and putting it all together! As a bonus, once you receive your critique back and make revisions, you can send me a revised manuscript for a quick read through comments. It's like you're getting two for one! You'll be submission ready in no time. Interested? Fill out the contact and I'll be in touch very soon. *Manuscript revision must be sent within one month of critique receipt https://www.stephenbriseno.com/author-visits daily 0.75 2022-04-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61b7bf0e548fe34ee373b2b5/1651358974344-CSJK4DOED3TYC0AXO8PJ/unsplash-image-gsRi9cWCIB0.jpg Author Visits https://www.stephenbriseno.com/shipping-and-returns daily 0.75 2025-05-13 https://www.stephenbriseno.com/stockists daily 0.75 2025-05-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f08d414f5f4477a00337cd3/1598627424186-A4VFSKRWNTCKZWMZX5CN/image-asset.jpeg Stockists - Our stockists Store Name 123 Demo Street New York, NY 12345 Store Name 123 Demo Street New York, NY 12345 Store Name 123 Demo Street New York, NY 12345 https://www.stephenbriseno.com/uplit daily 0.75 2025-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61b7bf0e548fe34ee373b2b5/f466ad6f-e79e-4882-8b72-f73ce963fc87/Screenshot+2025-11-04+at+6.37.21%E2%80%AFPM.png https://www.stephenbriseno.com/store daily 0.75 57814-03-23 https://www.stephenbriseno.com/store/conference monthly 0.5 2025-11-10 https://www.stephenbriseno.com/store/staar monthly 0.5 2025-11-10 https://www.stephenbriseno.com/store/uplit monthly 0.5 2025-11-10 https://www.stephenbriseno.com/store/writing monthly 0.5 2025-11-10 https://www.stephenbriseno.com/store/p/uplit-writing-conference monthly 0.5 2025-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61b7bf0e548fe34ee373b2b5/e4fb3bf4-6f48-4236-9e84-0d18053cd592/Screenshot+2025-11-04+at+10.25.29%E2%80%AFAM.png Store - Uplit Writing Conference - Screenshot 2025-11-04 at 10.25.29 AM.png