About Me — Rachael Stein

Hi! I’m Rachael, a freelance children’s book editor and lifelong lover of books.

Professionally, I worked in children’s publishing for more than 5 years, most recently as an Editor at Sterling Children’s Books. I’ve been lucky to work on children’s books for all age levels (picture books, board books, chapter books, middle grade, and young adult) and on a range of genres (contemporary realistic fiction, humor, science fiction/fantasy, historical fiction, and nonfiction).

Some titles that I've edited include Martin McLean, Middle School Queen by Alyssa Zaczek, which was a Kirkus best middle grade book of the year and a Winter 2019-2020 Indie Next pick; Queen of Physics by Teresa Robeson and illustrated by Rebecca Huang, which won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature and is an NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended Book; and NERP! by Sarah Lynn Reul, which received a starred review from Kirkus.

Beyond my in-house experience, I also have 2.5+ years of experience working directly with writers through writing course instruction, workshops, and critiques. I have co-taught two writing courses through Children's Book Academy, led group critiques through Inked Voices, and done workshops and one-on-one critiques for SCBWI conferences around the world.

A little more about me…

Like many publishing people, I’ve always been an avid reader. As a kid, when I wasn’t in school, I was probably busy reading! I loved reading so much that I started a book review blog in middle school, and eventually realized I could turn that into a career. Fast forward to now—though I’m no longer working at a publisher, I just couldn’t give up editing and working with writers. Being able to help people transform their manuscript drafts into stories they’re proud of is always an incredibly rewarding experience!

I am proudly mixed race, specifically Vietnamese and white, and growing up, I never saw myself in the books I read. This strongly informed my publishing career, from my first publishing internship at Lee & Low Books to volunteering with the Representation Matters Mentor Program. Representation and equity continue to be core values that I bring to all my editorial work.

Currently I live in Brooklyn with my rescue pup and a growing collection of houseplants. In my spare time, you can find me volunteering with my local mutual aid groups, working on my latest sewing project, exploring new neighborhoods by bike, or stuffing my face with something tasty.

I use the pronouns she/her.