Day 3 of Paying It Forward Series
Day 3 of my annual PAY IT FORWARD week. This week I will be sharing the information I received at the Rutgers One on One Mentoring Conference. I hope you find it helpful!
*remember to always follow submission guidelines. Some editors and agents are only taking unsolicited subs from conference attendees (and they do check).
· sorry, wasn’t able to post yesterday due to illness. Back on track today : )
Ty King, Literary Agent Assistant, Writers House. Ty King has worked at Writers House since 2008 as the assistant to senior literary agents, Kenneth Wright and Rebecca Sherman. Ty works with a diverse client list, including PB author/illustrators through MG/YA fiction and nonfiction authors and several adult nonfiction clients. Upcoming titles Ty has worked on include SIREN by Tricia Rayburn (Egmont, July 2010), 4-U by Holly Goldberg Sloan (Little, Brown, 2011) and INTENTIONS by Deborah Heiligman (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2011). Ty is open to books across all age ranges and is particularly interested in humorous MG fiction/nonfiction and high-concept fantasy/adventure series for MG/YA audiences. She is also looking for graphic novels for the MG audience and interested in adult narrative nonfiction. Ty is a graduate of the University of Florida Levin College of Law and a member of the SCBWI and The Young to Publishing Group.
Diane Landolf, Editor, Random House Children’s Books. Diane is looking for MG and YA novels and standalone chapter books. She has edited the Heck series; the Century Quartet (Book 11, Star of Stone, is out this fall); many titles in the A to Z Mysteries series: the medieval historical, The Book of the Maidservant, by former Rutgers mentee, Rebecca Barnhouse (Yay, Rebecca!); and Rebecca’s next book, a historical fantasy called The Coming of the Dragon, out this fall. She is interested in MG and YA novels across all genres, with a particular interest in quirky or dark fantasy/speculative fiction and literary titles. For YA, a strong voice is what she looks for most. For contemporary MG, she loves stories where kids are smart and figure things out, especially by working together. For historical, she prefers pre-20th century. The older the better! Diane will accept submissions of chapter books and novels only (no PBs, please) from attendees for three months after the conference.
Sarah LaPolla, Associate Literary Agent, Curtis Brown, LTD. Sarah is interested in YA fiction ranging from literary coming-of-age stories to urban fantasy and science fiction. She loves complex characters and engaging narrators, and would love to see stronger female protagonists in YA. Sarah is always looking for YA with crossover appeal, but is also open to representing high concept MG. Sarah would not be the best match for writers of PBs, poetry, or early-reader chapter books. She recently worked with Book Arts Bash by providing feedback to the winners of their annual contest for homeschooled authors, and is a member of Young to Publishing.
Kate Lee, Agent, International Creative management. Kate represents MG and YA fiction. She is agent to Anna Carey, author of the Eve trilogy (forthcoming from Alloy), Lesley M. M. Blume (Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters; Tennyson; and Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins, & Other Nasties: A practical Guide by Miss Edythe McFate), Robin Palmer (Cindy Ella; Geek Charming; Little Miss Red; and the Lucy B. Palmer series), Tom Dolby (Secret Society series), Tina Wells (Mackenzie Blue series), as well as award –winning YA author Crissa Jean Chappell (Total Constant Order), among others. She is currently interested in high-concept YA fiction with a commercial bent, NG fiction (both boy-and –girl-driven), and is probably not the best match for PBs and smaller, more character-driven projects.
Alvina Ling, Senior Editor, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Alvina acquires children’s books for all ages (baby-teen), with a particular interest in literary fiction and books with multicultural themes. She is interested in both genre (including science fiction, fantasy, and mystery) and contemporary fiction, and is a fan of beautiful and/or funky PBs with unique illustration styles, as well as trade nonfiction books. Some of her recent publications include the NY Times bestselling PBs Shark vs Train by Chris Barton and Tom Lichtenheld, The Curious Garden by Peter Brown, Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein, illustrated by Ed Young; Eggs by Jerry Spinelli; The Newbery Honor winning Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin; North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley; Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick, Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, and The Candymakers by Wendy Mass. Before starting at Little, Brown in 1999, Alvina was a bookseller, and has always been a life-long lover of children’s books. She is not open to receiving submissions post-Rutgers.
Julia Maguire, Assistant Editor, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Julia has worked on PBs as well as novels, both MG and YA. She has edited the PBs 1 Zany Zoo and the upcoming How Do You Hug a Porcupine?, both GM Spoonful of Stories contest winners. She has also assisted in editing The Talent Show by Dan Gutman, Crescendo, the sequel to the NY Times bestseller Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han and Elixir by Hilary Duff. She is looking for literary as well as commercial MG and YA fiction with a strong voice that is grounded in reality, but she is not averse to paranormal, provided there is a strong emotional center. Julia is not the best match for science fiction or fantasy.
Elena Mechlin, Agency Assistant, Pippin Properties. After a few years in marketing, Elena found the perfect position from which to pursue her love of all things children’s literature at Pippin properties. At Pippin, she’s lucky enough to be reading all incoming queries and loves the treasure hunt! She has also been instrumental in the editing of various upcoming projects, both PBs, Mg, and YA. Elena loves funny PBs, is typically averse to rhyming texts, likes goofy MG, and is on the hunt for some hot YA! If you’d like to submit to Pippin, please email your query to info@pippinproperties.com.
Come back tomorrow for more info. By the way, I’d love for you to follow me on twitter (writergirlrowan). At the end of the Pay It Forward series of posts I will award a sparkling jewelry prize to one of my new followers : )
Day 2 of the Paying It Forward Posts
Day 2 of my annual PAY IT FORWARD week. This week I will be sharing the information I received at the Rutgers One on One Mentoring Conference. I hope you find it helpful!
*remember to always follow submission guidelines. Some editors and agents are only taking unsolicited subs from conference attendees(and they do check).
Katherine Jacobs, Associate Editor, Roaring Brook Press. Katherine works on everything from PBs through YA, fiction and nonfiction. She is editor of the chapter book series Gym Shorts by Betty Hicks and Don Brown’s nonfiction PB Gold! Gold from the American River! She is Jaqueline Wilson’s U.S. editor and has worked on books by Kate Thompson(Creature of the Night), David Whitley (The Agora Trilogy) and Marcus Sedgwick (Revolver). Katherine is interested in smart, fresh, character driven stories for all ages (with a special fondness for historical fiction) and is probably not the best math for gritty, dark, realistic YA novels. She is also a graduate of the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature at Simmons College in Boston, MA. Will accept conference submissions.
Molly Jaffa, Literary Agent and Subsidiary Rights Associate, Folio Literary Management. Molly has been with Folio since 2008, when she began assisting agency partner Jeff Kleinman. She then became the agency’s Subsidiary Rights Associate, selling Folio clients’ audio rights and assisting with foreign rights sales. As part of the launch of Folio Jr., an initiative within the agency devoted to children’s and YA titles, Molly is now actively building her own list. She has a deep affinity for young readers, and loves working closely with the writers who bring their voices to life on the page. She’s particularly interested in voice-driven, high concept MG and YA fiction; projects with elements of magical realism; stories featuring characters who have (or are in search of) strong passions and talents, and books that open up a rich new world for the reader to discover. Molly is happy to accept submissions after the conference.
Grace Elizabeth Kendall, Assistant Editor, The Blue Sky Press and Scholastic Press. Grace assists Bonnie Verburg and Dianne Hess with a wide range of material from board books to YA novels, both fiction and nonfiction. Recently, she assisted Bonnie with It’s Christmas, David!, the next picture book in the No, David! series, written and illustrated by David Shannon. She also assisted Diane with Zen Ghosts by Jon J Muth, the third installation of Mr. Muth’s Zen books, and George Washington’s Spy, the sequel to the bestselling novel George Washington’s Socks by Elvira Woodruff. She spent last spring working with Editorial Director Ken Geist on Eight Days: A Story of Haiti, which is a powerful account of hope and resilience surrounding the Port-au-Prince earthquake. It was published to national media attention and a starred review in Kirkus last month. The editors she works with are always looking for well-crafted, engaging, enjoyable, and enlightening children’s literature. Grace is open to receiving submissions from the 2010 Rutgers One-On-One Conference only. 2010 Conference attendees will please also note that The Blue Sky Press is not currently accepting submissions. Grace is happy though to receive submissions for Scholastic Press, as she also works with an editor of that imprint. Envelopes should be clearly marked as submissions from Rutgers One-on-One 2010 attendees.
*Sorry for the short post today. Had mouth surgery and not up to par.
Come back tomorrow for more info. By the way, I’d love for you to follow me on twitter (writergirlrowan). At the end of the Pay It Forward series of posts I will award a sparkling jewelry prize to one of my new followers : )
Paying It Forward 2010
It’s that time of year again. My annual PAYING IT FORWARD week. This week I will be sharing the information I received at the Rutgers One on One Mentoring Conference. I hope you find it helpful!
*remember to always follow submission guidelines. Some editors and agents are only taking unsolicited subs from conference attendees(and they do check).
Kaylan Adair, Associate Editor, Candlewick Press. Kaylan works on PBs. MG, andYA novels, but is especially interested in adding more MG and YA fiction to her list. She is looking for stories that blend strong, literary writing with compelling and commercially appealing plotlines. Among the books she’s edited are: And Then Comes Halloween by Tom Brenner, illustrated by Holly Meade (PB), Down Sand Mountain by Steve Watkins (MG), and Swim the Fly by Don Calame (YA). She is currently working with each of these authors on their second books and would love to begin long-term working relationships with promising new authors. Will accept conference subs for 3 months after the conference.
Eve Adler, Associate Editor, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. : Eve works on a variety of formats from baby to YA, and is looking for manuscripts for all ages: PBs, MG, and YA. Most recently, she edited Escape by Night: A Civil War Adventure by Lauren Myers and Amy June Bates, and Dead Lines by Jennifer Doktorski. She enjoys manuscripts with a fresh voice and exceptional writing; for MG and YA projects, she likes contemporary, edgy, historical, coming-of-age, humorous stories, and for PBs. She‘s most interested in texts that have a curriculum tie-in or educational hook. Prior to joining Holt, Eve worked in the adult imprint of G.P. Putnam’s Sons, which is part of the Penguin Group. Before entering the publishing world, Eve lived in France, Thailand, and Germany. Will accept subs from conference.
Robert Agis, Associate Editor, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Robert Agis works on songbooks, PBs, joke books, sticker books, activity books, and puzzle and game books. He is interested in acquiring titles with strong backlist potential, and /or titles that lend themselves to new media formats (audio, video, web apps, etc.).Additional submission guidelines are available at: http://www.sterlingpublishing.com/sterling/author-guidelines. He worked with his editorial department on the Peter Yarow Songbook series, and is the editor of the second of Lisa Loeb’s songbooks. Robert is also the creative force behind Listening Along Story, a website featuring free audiobook downloads of select Sterling PB titles. Will accept submissions for two months after the conference.
Jennifer Arena, Executive Editor, Random House Children’s. Jennifer is the line manager of the Stepping Stones line of early chapter books, which include the Junie B. Jones and Magic Tree House series. She is looking specifically for early chapter books with strong plots and interesting characters of around 8,000 to 11,000 words, both stand-alone titles and series, as well as easy-to-reads. Recent titles she has edited for the Stepping Stones series, include Marion Dane Bauer’s The Very Little Princess, Ilene Cooper’s Look at Lucy, David Kelly’s Ballpark Mysteries, and Lynne Jonell’s Hamster Magic. Jennifer is happy to accept submissions after the conference.
Elizabeth Bewley, Editor, Poppy/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Elizabeth acquires fiction and nonfiction for teen readers. She is always on the hunt for smart books that will appeal to a broad readership, and is particularly interested in acquiring new young woman’s fiction for the Poppy imprint. Elizabeth edits Cecily von Ziegesar’s bestselling It Girl series and Joanna Philbin’s The Daughters series. Her upcoming titles include The Magnolia League by NY Times bestselling novelist Katie Crouch, We All Fall Down by NY Times bestselling author Nic Sheff, and Bunheads by former NY City Ballet member Sophia Flack. Elizabeth enjoys fast-paced fiction that contains a healthy dose of social commentary, funny projects that advantage of pop culture phenomena, and insightful nonfiction that speaks directly to teen readers. Elizabeth held editorial positions at St. Martin’s press, ReganBooks/HarperCollins, and Intervisual Books before joining Little, Brown in the fall of 2008.
Erin Blak, Assistant Editor, Scholastic Press. Erin works mainly on MG, and YA novels in the Scholastic Press and PUSH imprints at Scholastic. She has assisted editing such books as Greeting from the 50 States by Sheila Keenan and Countdown by Deborah Wiles, as well as the upcoming Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg and Frontier Magic Book 2 by Patricia C. Wrede. Open to books for all age ranges. Erin is especially interested in fun, quirky MG, and YA fiction with strong protagonists; and good fantasy, science fiction, and steampunk novels. She is probably not the best match for rhyming PBs or most paranormal romance.
Anna K. Bloom, Assistant Editor, Scholastic Trade Paperbacks. While open to material for all ages, Anna works primarily on commercial chapter book and MG series fiction. Anna worked on the MG fantasy Cat Magic and its sequels Dog Magic, Hamster Magic, and Rabbit Magic, as well as the Magic Pony chapter book series. In addition, she edited the realistic fiction novel Winner Takes All, which is part of Scholastic’s Candy Apple line of books for tween girls. She also provides support for the Rainbow Magic Fairy series. Anna is a fan of light fantasy and fast-paced fiction, as well as anything that makes her laugh or sends chills up her spine. She is probably not the right fit for PBs or nonfiction. Will accept conference submissions.
Jennifer Bonnell, Executive Editor, Puffin Books, Penguin Young Readers Group. Jennifer works on MG, and YA fiction and non-fiction and has edited Three Cups of Tea: Young Readers Edition; Yours truly, Lucy B. Parker series and Geek Charming by Robin Palmer; Faithful by Janet Fox, Kieran Scott’s Geek Magnet; Let it Snow by John Green, Laura Myracle and Maureen Johnson; Puffin Graphics graphic novel adaptations of the classics. She’s looking for books that would be a good fit in original paperback—specifically books with great hooks and concepts and very strong voices, and would love to find a killer MG novel for guys. She loves humor, romance, witty voices, very commercial historical fiction, some dystopian fiction (very much grounded in reality, please) and does not work on high fantasy or hard sci-fi.
Marilyn Brigham, Editor, Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books. Marilyn has been working at Marshall Cavendish for the past 6 years, where she edits everything from board books through YA. Her recent titles include Hero Dad, a PB in which a boy compares his soldier dad to a superhero; A Field Guide to Aliens, a MG book of alien profiles; the Ogg and Bob chapter book series, which features two cavemen and their pet mammoth; and Soccerland, a YA girls’ sport novel. Marilyn loves edgy contemporary fiction, boy book, sports books, books with multicultural themes, chick lit, and humor. She would love to sign up more fiction for MG and YA and quirky PBs. She’s not the best match for historical fiction, nonfiction, high fantasy, or concept books. Marilyn recently wrote a board book concept that Marshall Cavendish will be publishing. Will only personally respond to subs received in the first three months. Manuscripts sent after three months will go into Marshall Cavendish’s regular submissions pile and may not receive a response.
Dana Carey, Editorial Assistant Wendy Lamb Books, Random House. Dana Carey works on a variety of books from young readers to MG to YA. Wendy Lamb Books publishes authors with a distinct voice and well-developed stories; themes include historical fiction, science fiction, thrillers, and “boy books.” Some of WLB’s authors include Patricia Reilly Giff, Graham Salisbury, Dana Reinhardt, Gary Paulsen, Eoin McNamee, Arthur Slade, Christopher Paul Curtis, Beth Ann Bauman, Martha Jocelyn, Karen Day, and Suzanne LeFleur. Dana Carey is probably not the best match for PBs or board books. She was an intern with WLB when Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me (won the Newbery Award last year). She will complete her MS in Publishing from NYU in December. Dana is happy to accept submissions after the conference.
Karen Chaplin, Editor, Puffin/Speak Books, Penguin Young Readers Group. Karen acquires MG and YA fiction. Some of the projects she has edited include the Students Across the Seven Seas series, Paris Pan Takes the Dare by Cynthea Liu, Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby, Exclusively Chloe by J. A. Yang, and the Specialists series by Shannon Greenland. Karen is looking for fun, original series fiction as well as stand-alone fiction for the MG and YA markets. While science fiction/fantasy is not her cup of tea, the genres she is looking for include chick lit, fun action/adventure series (boy and girl), mysteries, horror/paranormal, romance, stories with strong female characters (including topics such as sisters and friendships). Anything boy-centric, and commercial literary and edgy fiction. She is open to receiving submissions from conference attendees.
Denise Cronin has been happily working in children’s book publishing for over 30 years. She started at Dial Books for Young Readers, where she worked in various positions before moving to Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers as Art Director in 1981. After Knopf, she joined Viking Children’s Books as Art Director in 1995, and was made Vice President in 2008. Throughout the years, she has had the pleasure of working with many talented artists, writers, designers, and editors. Area of interest range from board books to illustrated MG novels.
Come back tomorrow for more info. By the way, I’d love for you to follow me on twitter (writergirlrowan). At the end of the Pay It Forward series of posts I will award a sparkling prize to one of my new followers
Collingswood Book Festival 10/2/10
Blue skies, the smell of caramel popcorn in the air, and books as far as I could see. It was a good day at the Collingswood Book Festival this Saturday. The Collingswood, NJ Book Festival is an annual event that takes place every October.
As I strolled down Haddon Avenue, I took note of the various booths and which ones caught my eye. Every author, I would think, wants to stand out to promote his or her book. So who, in my opinion, was successful?
Just like a wonderful book cover draws my hand toward a book, smartly designed booths caught my eye. Booths featuring large posters, fun themes, and yes—giveaways. What writer or reader can resist a shiny new pencil or a cool, glossy bookmark? Of course, I gravitated toward those tables. (tip: double-check for spelling errors on promotional material)
Now, once they had me, who was able to captivate my attention?
I admit I am not one who enjoys the strong pitch. It makes me immediately want to run in the other direction. One author actually stood in front of his table, and as I passed by, shoved a pamphlet in my hand and proceeded to relay a detailed summary of his book. Maybe that approach works for some, but I wasn’t even listening to him as I searched for an escape.
Others sat back mute as I read their book’s jacket-flaps—not even introducing themselves as the author. I moved on.
My favorite authors were those who smiled, introduced themselves, and gave me a brief description of their book. Even better were those who attempted to engage me with questions like: Are you into vampires? Ghost stories? What did you think of Twilight? Do you like adventure books?
A few years back, I participated in this book festival as an illustrator. The book I’d designed the cover for was titled Forward to Camelot and was a fictional tale about what would have happened if President Kennedy had survived his assassination attempt. Our booth drew crowds all day. The author, Kevin Finn, and I asked passers by a simple question. Where were you the day Kennedy was shot? People enjoyed telling us their stories and others stopped to listen and contribute. It created a buzz about our booth. We sold quite a few books that day.
Over the next couple of weeks I’m planning to interview some of the wonderful authors I met on Saturday. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about their writing journeys.
Library Lovin’ Challenge
This is a library-loving blog challenge created by my good friend and fabulously talented writer, Jenn Hubbard (check out The Secret Year)!
For every commenter on this post between now and March 27th at 4 pm, I will donate $1 to my local library: Cherry Hill Public Library (Cherry Hill, NJ), up to an amount of $50.
How easy could it be? You comment, I cough up the money, the library gets a gift! If you don’t know what to say in your comment, “I love libraries” will do.
Note that my pledge is “per commenter”—so if a single person leaves 50 comments, that still only counts once! But you can do more by spreading the word ... please link to this post, tweet about it, and send your friends here so they can comment and raise more money.
If you’re moved to make a flat-fee donation to your library, or to start your own challenge, you are quite welcome, and please leave that information in the comments.
For a complete list of participating bloggers (and to visit other sites where you can help libraries just by leaving a comment!) visit the writerjenn blog at http://writerjenn.livejournal.com/
