Barry Goldblatt is an agent with
Barry Goldblatt Literary.
He's been an agent for 15 years, representing everything but nonfiction (although he's sold it). His client list includes Holly Black, Libba Bray, Lauren Myracle, Jo Knowles. He also represents writers of adult work (mostly science fiction), and this is evolving.
He recently signed a historical fiction graphic novel hybrid. "It was really cool and really exciting."
Brenda Bowen is an agent with
Greenburger Associates, one of the oldest agencies in America. Her list has everything from PBs to YA, poetry, and some adult books (largely illustrated ones). Her clients included Rosemary Wells, Chris Raschka, Mike Curato, Hilary Knight, Samantha Berger, Jo Napoli, Julianne Moore and Nathan Lane (when they write for kids).
She used to be a children's book editor for more than 25 years, and writes books of her own as well—she's written 40 books for kids, and her first adult novel,
Enchanted August, came out in June.
What kind of agent are you?
Barry Goldblatt: Becoming an editorial agent has become part of the territory. Shining something up for editors is part of the job, but he doesn't try to get things perfect because it wants editors to be able to "get their hands dirty." He considers his clients friends, he offers counseling, and he wants to be able to celebrate with his clients.
Brenda Bowen: She's also an editorial agent and does like to do therapy and handholding for clients. The Greenburger agency has lots of support for writers from rights specialists too.
What kind of editorial work do you do? Barry Goldblatt: He isn't doing line edits and grammar. He knows every editor he works with is getting 30 more manuscripts that day. The competition is immense. He wants to make sure what he's sending is the best-looking thing it can be—and then they'll want to work on it and make it even better.
Brenda Bowen: An artist often comes to an agent and says, "I'm thinking of doing this style for the book." She talks to the artist about those choices. She also helps, when there are 20 manuscripts to consider, which one to pursue first.
What's a realistic expectation for a client, in terms of time and energy from an agent?
Brenda Bowen: She'll take a 10 PM call at home from a client. "Not that you should call them from home, but if it truly is a crisis ... I want to talk to them." The expectation is that your agent is really there for you.
Barry Goldblatt: Agenting isn't a 9 to 5 job. He works all the time on behalf of his clients.
What do you look for in a client?
Barry Goldblatt: New writers often misunderstand the power balance in the equation. "When you sign with an agent, they work for you." They give advice and you're free not to take it (but if you don't often, maybe it's not a good match). He gives his clients advice about their career—they get to choose.
Barry's clients once had a mini revolt. By offering them representation, in his head, he was telling them they were the best people. But when he gave feedback early on, he had to learn to reassure his clients. "They need to hear that!" He assumed his clients knew he loved them, but they didn't.
Brenda Bowen: It's a matter of taste. When she opens a query letter, she asks herself if she wants to have lunch with that person. She's a good agent for people she clicks with.
What's the climate in the industry at the moment? What is changing?
Brenda Bowen: There are a lot of consolidations, but there are still publishers, and publishers have adjusted to the ebook crisis. "We know that an adult ebook is taking over the space that the mass market paperback took." Since 2009-2010, a new normal has been established, so publishing has loosened the reins. They're still selective and want big books, but everyone wants to find that wonderful new thing and take risks. There is also more space for YA crossover. Things are unpredictable, but everyone still wants to capitalize on new opportunities.
Barry Goldblatt: The one negative he's seen that isn't quite receding is the focus in-house on deciding books they can get for $25,000 aren't worth publishing. He wishes editors had the space to buy special books that aren't as obvious of money-makers. "A lot of books are not six figure deals. It doesn't mean they're not fantastic books."
What's your dream manuscript?
Barry Goldblatt: Once he participated in #MSWL (manuscript wish list chat on Twitter). He regretted it. His most recent sale wasn't something he was looking for, but it was so fantastic. "I couldn't have described this book before I got it if I tried."
The hardest thing is that you can get jaded and think nothing will knock you off your seat. But that's what he hopes for every day.
Brenda Bowen: She fell in love with Laurent Linn's illustrated novel, and even though she was too busy to take anything new on, she couldn't
not take it on. She wants a book that "slaps you in the face."
Lin Oliver moderates the agents' panel, with (from left), Jodi Reamer of Writers House, Alexandra Penfold of Upstart Crow Literary, Kristin Nelson of Nelson Literary Agency, Barry Goldblatt of Barry Goldblatt Literary, Brenda Bowen of Greenburger Associates and Jenny Bent of The Bent Agency.
To use Lin Oliver's words, Brenda Bowen is a "guiding light" in our industry.
She has headed up the children's book division of several publishing companies, including Simon & Schuster. A few years back, Brenda became an agent with
Greenburger Associates. Today, her clients include Samantha Berger, Tim Federle, Hilary Knight, Mike Curato, and many, many more.
But that's not all! Brenda has written picture books and novels under the name Margaret McNamara, and she's also the author of a novel for adults coming out in June called ENCHANTED AUGUST. So, yes. She's pretty much a luminary in every way.
She moderated the agents' panel, asking questions such as these:
- Do agents actually help authors and artists with their career paths? Or do you just make deals?
- How do you get an illustrator's work in front of people?
- How do agents feel about writers who write across multiple genres?
To find out the answers, check out recaps of
Barry Goldblatt's comments,
Jennifer Laughran's comments, and
Tina Wexler's comments.
Agent Brenda Bowen (at podium, right) moderates the panel - right to left, Barry Goldblatt, Jennifer Laughran and Tina Wexler.
Actor Nathan Lane (pictured, via) and his life partner Devlin Elliott will team up as writers for a picture book series. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers will release the first installment, Naughty Mabel, in Fall 2015.
According to the press release, the story follows “a fabulous French bulldog based on Lane and Elliott’s very own naughty (but adorable) pup. Mabel is the queen of the Hamptons and has a penchant for getting her perfectly pedicured paws into trouble.”
Publisher Justin Chanda negotiated the deal with Brenda Bowen of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates (representing Lane and Elliott) and Abigail Samoun of Red Fox Literary (representing Krall). Chanda will edit the manuscripts. Animator Dan Krall has been brought on to create the illustrations.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Chris Raschka , a two-time Caldecott Medal winner, has inked a multi-book deal with the Abrams Appleseed imprint.
The publisher will release four new Thingy Things titles throughout the year 2014: Crabby Crab, Cowy Cow, Buggy Bug, and Clammy Clam. In addition, four previous-published books from this series will be revised and re-released.
Sanford J. Greenburger Associates agent Brenda Bowen negotiated the deal with publishing director Cecily Kaiser.
continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Brenda Bowen is using Entourage-related images to enhance her talk (subtitled, Somebody Has to Channel Ari Gold.)
There was a time when an writer didn't need an agent, she says. You sent your manuscript, an editor bought it, and they became your editor for life. Richard Jackson was Judy Blume's editor for 30 years.
The agent's job now is to get a book in good enough shape to go to an publisher. These days a manuscript must be more polished before it's presented to a publisher than it needed to be 10 years ago.
Agents create strong relationships with certain editors because they reflect their tastes. They schmooze with editors. They know which ones are cat people and which ones are dog people. It's important for agents to know everybody--assistants, editors, marketing folks, etc. An agent's job is not done once the book deal is signed. The agent's job is to help their authors work with their editors. (Brenda said she even will look over drafts of emails her authors are writing to editors before they send them.)
An agent, she says, takes the heat so you can be a star.
(Brenda gave an email address for submissions and a secret word for the subject line for all the attendees in her session. But I'm not telling.)
A couple of Brenda's pet peeves:
By:
Betsy Bird,
on 5/8/2011
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Like the wind! Faster than lightning! Lots of news and no time to tell it. In brief . . .
Oh, how cool! This is not to be missed. For those of you with an interest in children’s literature around the globe, the blog Playing by the Book offers this fantastic view of children’s literary destinations in Denmark. That Little Mermaid statue is worth the price of the flight alone.
Travis Jonker of 100 Scope Notes was kind enough to stop by my library the other week to say howdy. He recounts his time near the library lions in the post Fuse Live! Cheers, mate!
I was pleased to see James Kennedy post a new entry for the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival that will be held at New York Public Library this November. Of course we need more, people. MORE! If you know any creative kids who would be interested in distilling a Newbery winning book down to 90 seconds, please do not hesitate to read the rules here and have them submit. We must have more!
- A similar article pointed out that the number of characters with disabilities as portrayed in Newbery books is not equal to the number of children in the real world who “attend special education classes”. The report appears to look at the whole of Newebery winners from the past to today. It does acknowledge that things have gotten better, though, so I’m a bit confused about the point of it all. If books today do a much better job than books in the past, isn’t that the point?
- In other news, the picture book is not dead. Nor is it about to be supplanted by apps or anything with spangles and whizzbangs. Allyn Johnston and Marla Frazee explain more.
- The Detroit Public Library recently came under fire for its new renovation. The concern is how much was spent on a single library wing ($2.3 million) while neighborhood branches close. More info here. Thanks to Aunt Judy for the link.
Author of the Year: Rick Riordan for The Lost Hero
Illustrator of the Year: David Wiesner for Art & Max
K-2nd Grade Book of the Year: Little Pink Pup by Johanna Kerby
3-4th Grade Book of the Year: Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
5-6th Grade Book of the Year: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
Teen Choice Book of
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By: SCBWI,
on 8/8/2009
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More highlights from Brenda Bowen @ Agents Panel:
- On revising a client's work: "I was working with an aurhor on a picture book, and he revised it couple times. I said it was good and he said, 'Let's see what an editor says.' (Much laughter from the audience. Brenda shrugs.) Well, I have a different hat on now."
- As a former editor, Brenda says certain agents who have excellent reputations or cache can influence editors' expectations. When she was an editor, Brenda says, "I was aware that some agents' names in the inbox meant that what was attached, although maybe not perfect for me, was going to be really good for someone in the house, and that it was ready to go. I'd like to be one of those agents, like you folks (she nods to the panel)."
- Brenda believes in a long-term relationship with her clients. "I spent my time nurturing creative careers. It's not good for us to make one sale and never sell your work again. You have to imagine a partnership, to trust that we're going to give our best to each other and that we'll be there for the long haul."
Posted by Paula Yoo
By: SCBWI,
on 8/8/2009
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BRENDA BOWEN: "Agents Panel: The State of the Business" Part 1
Highlights from the Agents Panel: The State of the Business featuring Brenda Bowen, Sarah Davies, Stephen Frasier, Dan Lazar, Kelly Sonnack, and Marietta Zacker.
Each SCBWI Team Blogger focusing on one agent.
Stay tuned for live blogs from Lee Wind's blog on Dan Lazar, Alice's blog on Sarah Davies, Jolie's blog on Stephen Fraser, Suzanne's blog on Kelly Sonnack, and Jaime's blog on Marietta Zacker.
I'm focusing on BRENDA BOWEN: She is a literary agent with Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, a full-service agency founded in 1932, and the home of Dan Brown, Fancy Nancy, and Kafka. A former publisher, Brenda specializes in children's books at SJGA, and is always on the lookout for funny books for middle graders.
Highlights from Brenda Bowen's quotes @ the panel:
-- Her imprint, The Bowen Press at HarperCollins, became "a statistic" because it launched in January 2009 and was "axed" in February 2009. "But when a door closes, another one opens," she said to great applause, referring to her new job as a literary agent with Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.
-- What Brenda is looking for: "A strong voice, assured confident writing, and creative use of language."
-- She does like "literary books" but she also has a fondness for funny books and asks that if you plan to submit a funny book, please indicate so!
-- For Brenda Bowen, please put "SCBWI-LA" in the subject line of your email query
-- Although Brenda has only been an agent since July, she's already signed some great clients. She says one person had written such a compelling sample via email that she downloaded the entire 15 pages attached and read it immediately and signed the writer right away. "So it does happen," Brenda says, adding that again, the voice was extremely "compelling" which is what sold her on the writer.
Stay tuned for more highlights!
Layoffs at HarperCollins Include Bowen:
Company Memos Up on Gawker...
Layoffs continue in the publishing world and today's victims are employees of HarperCollins. According to company memos that showed up on Gawker, cuts include the Bowen Press imprint and Publisher Brenda Bowen is leaving the company.
Click here to read the post.
Ginee Seo Resigns from S&S...
Publishers Weekly reports:
Ginee Seo, v-p and editorial director of Ginee Seo Books, an imprint of Atheneum Books for Young Readers at Simon & Schuster, has resigned from her position with the publisher, according to an internal memo sent earlier this week by Atheneum v-p and publisher Emma Dryden.
The short PW piece recalls some other recent changes in editor-driven children's imprints:
The past year has seen several changes at editor-driven children’s imprints at major houses, including the resignations of Laura Geringer and Joanna Cotler from their eponymous imprints at HarperCollins, as well as the formation of two new imprints, HarperCollins’s Bowen Press, headed by Brenda Bowen, and S&S’s Beach Lane Books, with Allyn Johnston at the helm.
Here's the link to the full article.
By:
Alice Pope,
on 8/2/2008
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Saturday Morning Panel: Today in Children's Publishing...
Since I stayed up past two a.m. last night, I didn't make it to the first morning ballroom session on picture books with Arthur Levine, but I did end up having a serendipitious breakfast with illustrator Melanie Hope Greenberg (who was sporting some great temporary tattoos of mermaids in support of her book Mermaids in Parade) and we talked about picture books, so I kept to the morning theme.
After some sub-par $8 oatmeal, I made it to the Today in Children's Publishing panel featuring Brenda Bowen of The Bowen Press and Walden Pond Press, Debra Dorfman of Scholastic, David Gale of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Dianne Hess of Blue Sky and Scholastic Press, Elizabeth Law of Egmont Books USA, and Allyn Johnston of S&S imprint Beach Lane Books. (Interesting to note the the majority of the panel have recently taken on their current positions and several--Bowen Press, Egmont and Beach Lane--are brand new imprints.)
Lin Oliver moderated the panel. One question she asked was What's different now in the industry--what defines children's publishing today?
Here's a little from each panelist:
David Gale: He said publishing now is more complicated and kind of schizophrenic, without rules. The picture book market is still soft. The cost of producing a book is more challenging--tighter P/Ls--it's more difficult to make books earn money on paper when they are trying to get them approved. There's a lot of contradiction, and publishing a book is more of a gamble than ever.
Elizabeth Law: She discussed the fact that a company is always looking for more growth and more cash. And with higher numbers come more pressure.
Dianne Hess: She said marketing is at the forefront of publishing now.
Debra Dorfman: She talked about mass market accounts (Toys'R'Us, Wal-Mart) trying to dictate to them what they should be publishing as well as designs for products and price points.
Brenda Bowen: She said everyone can get their material out there now--as opposed to 10 years ago--via the Internet.
Allyn Johnston: She said, during her days at Harcourt, everything was lumped together in terms of sales. Now, at her new imprint, she feels like there's a spotlight on the outstanding expenses and the pressures on e to sell when their debut list materializes.
Lin Oliver asked if publishers track what's going on online--and they definitely do. They all talked about ways their companies are trying to attract kids to books online, create book projects with interactive elements, finding readers on MySpace, etc. Social networking sites are definitely on publishers' radar it seems.
Michael Stearns Leaving Harper to be an Agent...
I just heard that Editorial Director Michael Stearns will be leaving HarperCollins Children's Books to embark on a new career as an agent, partnering with Nadia Cornier. Brenda Bowen will be taking over Stearns' role as director of foreign acquisitions immediately following the Bologna Book Fair, and the company is looking for a replacement. His last day with Harper will be April 11.
When I get more news, I'll pass it on.
(I know, I'm supposed to be on vacation. But I can't help but read my email. Besides it poured down rain most of the day so I've been inside.)
Dear O’Hare Airport,
One of the nicest and most useful things you could do for those of us who pass through your airport (especially regularly) is add more power outlets. Everywhere. Blanket the gates in outlets, and make sure they’re working. Please. Even your own security guards could use them.
Thanks so much,
Jenny
cc: all airports, all libraries
airports,
power outlets,
segway
It was fun.
(I'll do a slightly dessicated version here, because I'm in the lounge at Narita and don't have long before my plane boards now...)
I was brought in for the Ad Congress -- I gave a talk about the imagination and why it is a good thing, and then, on Saturday morning, did a reading of the complete first chapter of The Graveyard Book, an interview and a signing for about 200 people (it was only meant to be for the first 100 in the line -- some of whom started lining up at midnight -- but I added in about an extra 45 minutes signing at the end). Then to Manila -- on the way I read the finalists for the Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards, and was really impressed by the quality of the prose stories. Fully Booked runs the awards, and on Saturday morning I found myself sitting in Fully Booked while stacks of copies of Expeditions were put in front of me to sign. These were the two collections (prose and comics) of winners and runners-up from the first Award, last year. Many interviews followed, and a mass press conference. And then, in the afternoon, I had the odd experience of being a magicians' assistant (for local magician Eric Bana) and awards presenter, in front of a large crowd (and despite the rain), and I announced the thing we're adding to the awards for next year (a short films category), and at one point I dragged Mike up on stage with me (when I was asked about being a children's author and having children), and I sort of promised I'd come back for the third round, and that I'd do a signing if I did...
(I loved the whole trip but it was made much more fun by having a son with me.)
Then dinner with the winners and judges from this year and last year's competition.
Back to the hotel, and up at 5.00am to leave Manila. And now I'm here.
Expect postings to decrease between here and Xmas. I have a book to finish, and I'm done gallivanting, I hope...
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I'm in Oregon now, free wifi at my hotel - wa-hoo!
I need to catch you up on my Michigan adventure. First the Detroit airport. Which I love
because they have one of those cool colorful tunnels that connects the consourses
and it changes color
a lot!
Connecting through Detroit always means a trip to Sora, in terminal A, near gate 36
for sushi and miso soup.
The Michigan SCBWI conference was wonderful; extremely friendly (God, I love Midwesterners) and upbeat. Big thanks to ![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
rj_anderson (aka She Who Helped With the Myspace Mess In August) for making the drive from Canada, and the conference organizers, and all of the attenders who made me feel right at home.
And there was a real-live reader there! Meet my new friend, Eliza Webb, whose mom was at the conference and who totally made my day by coming over to talk to me.
Along with giving speeches and critiquing manuscripts and meeting kindred spirits, I snuck in a run on a beautiful autumn day. But truly, the highlight of the visit for me was this: Jello salad with Mystery Bits in it. This is a staple at United Methodist dinners, which were a staple of my childhood. If you read CATALYST and wondered about the Jello salad, this is what I was talking about. It's green, it wiggles, and it might be an ingredient in embalming fluid. But damn, it tastes good.
So now I am in Oregon and I have been awake for a million hours. I am at the coolest hotel I have ever stayed at, and I had a great dinner with librarians, and a Famous Author wandered by, and I even worked for a couple hours on my revisions, but all those details will have to wait until after I get some sleep!
Zzzzzzzzzzzz
So I am sitting in the Detroit airport right now, catching up on my email and looking forward to sushi for lunch. I'll take pictures, I promise. The flight here was on time and uneventful; loverly. Fingers crossed for the next leg of the trip.
Theo theoblackhas been working away at his forge, crafting a new look for my website. It is still very much a work-in-progress, but here is a sneak peek at the Novels page.
And here's the new look for the homepage.
What do you think? (Not all of the buttons work yet, so don't worry about that. Just tell us what you like and what you don't like.)
I also asked Theo to put together pages for playlists for all my books. This is where I'd love your ideas: What songs would you put on the playlist for: SPEAK, CATALYST, PROM, TWISTED, & FEVER 1793 (I am looking at you, handworn for that one!)?
Let's see.
Went to Minneapolis airport. Flew to Tokyo. Changed planes. Flew to Shanghai. Got off plane. Got bag. Walked through customs. Thought, "I ought to find out about how I get to my hotel," when I saw my name written on a sheet of paper, and someone said "You're Neil. We're science fiction volunteers. We'll get you to your hotel now." And they did. Magic. (They were Vicky and Hida, and they read this blog, although they weren't sure if I really wrote it or if I got someone to do it for me. Er, behold. It is me actually. Thank you both.)
Sleep now. Up and fly to Chengdu first thing in the morning.
By: Rebecca,
on 7/3/2007
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Andorra
Coordinates: 42 30 N 1 30 E
Population: 71,822 (2007 est.)
If you’re one of a handful of extant micro-states, lacking in natural resources, arable land, or even a sizable labor force, what do you do for money? Well, in the case of the tiny Principality of Andorra, wedged between Spain and France in the Pyrenees Mountains, building resorts seemed to be the best option available. (more…)
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Brenda Bowen is an agent with Greenburger Associates, one of the oldest agencies in America. Her list has everything from PBs to YA, poetry, and some adult books (largely illustrated ones). Her clients included Rosemary Wells, Chris Raschka, Mike Curato, Hilary Knight, Samantha Berger, Jo Napoli, Julianne Moore and Nathan Lane (when they write for kids).
Aah Peter and the Wolf! I reviewed several picture book versions here: http://www.playingbythebook.net/2010/03/18/peter-and-the-wolf/ I can’t recommend Susie Templeton’s animated version of Peter and the Wolf enough (http://www.peterandthewolffilm.co.uk/). It completely revived the piece of music for me. Thanks for linking to Playing by the book – have you seen my “visits” to the other Nordic countries?
Nay, but I will now. A collected list would be superb. It’s all theoretical for most of us here in the States, but for those who travel it might prove invaluable. Cheers!
Funny. that’s the exact cover on my copy of “Starring Sally J. Freeman As Herself.”
Karen, mine too! (And it took me till I was an adult to notice/get the Jewishness of the whole Freedman family. Sometimes we white Midwesterners are slow.)
That’s the cover I had too. And I liked this because this was about as contemporary as a Jewish family got in the books I had growing up (compared to All-of-a-Kind Family) and the family sounded like people I knew.
As Karen and EM says, that’s the cover that was on my copy of Sally J. Freedman too! I think mine even has the same wrinkles.
Thanks for putting up the entry I received for “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon”! (In fact, just today I received ANOTHER entry for Grace Lin’s book — done entirely with shadow puppets — I’ll share it soon!)
Today I put up 2 more 90-Second Newbery entries I’ve received — a really great “Witch of Blackbird Pond” and another rendition of “A Wrinkle in Time.” I’m getting really excited for this festival!
http://jameskennedy.com/2011/05/09/90-second-newbery-the-witch-of-blackbird-pond-1959-and-a-wrinkle-in-time-1963/