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I asked the kidlit agents participating in PiBoIdMo as your “grand prizes” to tell us why they love picture books. Their answers are sure to inspire!

Heather Alexander, Pippin Properties
Picture books are easy to love because they are tiny little windows that offer beautiful glimpses out into the whole, wide, wonderful world, and into hearts like and unlike our own.

 

 

 

 

Stephen Fraser, Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency
I do love picture books! There is nothing more satisfying that to find a picture book manuscript which has been carefully crafted to share a story with the youngest readers.  The Impressionist painter Pierre Auguste Renoir said that painting is “making love visible” and I can’t help thinking that is why some picture books are so endearing and everlasting. They make the love we feel for our children, our grandchildren, and the children within us very visible. It is a true craft which needs to be learned and practiced. And I honor those who learn this craft and honor children.

 

Kirsten Hall, Catbird Agency
Picture books pretty much have me wrapped around their finger. I’m obsessed by the story-telling opportunities offered by this highly-visual genre! Picture books (as a format) seem simple at first blush, but they are often in fact quite layered and even poetic, displaying an elegant interplay between text and art. Best of all, picture books are accessible to everyone. You don’t have to be able to read in order to love them. They can be savored for what they offer visually, and when read aloud, until a reader has command over the written word. Simply, what format is better than the first one that takes children by the hand and turns them into book-lovers?

 

Susan Hawk, The Bent Agency
The best part of picture books, for me, is way words and illustration marry together to create a sum greater than its parts.  I love the way art builds meaning in the story, and how the simplest of texts can be full of emotion and heart.  I remember so well the picture books that I poured over as a child — mystified and delighted to be invited into the world of reading and books.  For me, it’s an honor to represent picture books!

 

 

Tricia Lawrence, Erin Murphy Literary Agency

I love picture books because they celebrate a time in our life we all look back on so fondly. I love being a part of helping to create them because we’re creating books for kids who will look back on them for the rest of their lives.

 

 

 

Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency
I became a reader because of picture books, and I became an agent because of picture books. They are one of the richest and most influential forms of literature. So much feeling, so many laughs, in so few pages, meant to be read over and over again!

 

 

 

 

Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency
I love picture books because they speak to the quintessential child in each of us. They reach across the gaps of age and culture and language and bring us under their spell. A perfectly-crafted picture book is a full-senses experience that can last a lifetime.

 

 

 

Rachel Orr, Prospect Agency
I love the breadth of story and emotion—from clever and comical, to poetic and pondering—that can be found within the framework of a 32-page picture book.  I love the right prose, the visual subplots, the rhythm and rhyme and repetition (and repetition, and repetition).  But, most of all, I love them because they’re short.

 

 

 

Kathleen Rushall, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency

I love working with picture books because they remind me that the earliest literature we read in life can be some of the most memorable (and the most fun!).

 

 

 

 

Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc.
I love picture books because they’re fun to read aloud, and they’re meant to be read with someone else.They can’t not be shared! Even now, I don’t have kids, but when I read a good picturebook, my husband gets to be the audience. He’s very understanding. :-)

 

 

 

 

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What’s The Next Big Thing? Ultimately, No One Knows

So, what’s hot right now? Which manuscripts are selling faster? What would you love to see? Editors and agents hear these questions at every writer’s conference, and I wouldn’t be surprised if after a while these start to get a little tedious.

Many times when I heard these questions tossed at an editor during the conference, they toss this answer back, “what have you got?”

I mean, I can understand. If a writer is to slave away for years on a manuscript, wouldn’t it make sense to maximize her chances of success by working on something that has a better chance of getting accepted? Wouldn’t it make sense to work on something… popular?

But remember, we aren’t sewing dresses here, baking cookies or making toys.

Writing is an art, and arts wouldn’t be arts if everything was this neat and tidy. Art doesn’t always make sense. And is that such a bad thing?

If you’ve been a part of this business long enough, whether as a writer, an agent, or an editor, you learn quickly, that in our industry, there are no guarantees.

Frustrating?

I’d say, exciting!

Think of the possibilities. Look to your heart for answers. Be brave.

When J.K. Rowling first had a vision of a boy with glasses on that train she was stuck in, do you think she wasted her energy worrying about trends?

Still, during the opening of last month’s free craft weekend run by the New Jersey SCBWI and organized by our new RA Leeza Hernandez, agents and editors graciously shared what they knew.

Dystopian and paranormal stories, especially those featuring shape-shifters, such as werewolves, have oversaturated the marketplace and are really “a tough sell right now,” most panelists agreed. It seems many editors are yearning to read something closer to reality these days.

“We’ve been talking a lot about just contemporary, realistic stories,” said Jenne Abramowitz, a senior editor at Scholastic.

“Every time I go to lunch with an agent, I’m asking for a realistic contemporary,” said Sara Sargent, an assistant editor at Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins).

Sara also mentioned that “genre mixing” and all sorts of “mash-ups” evoke some curiosity in the marketplace right now.

“Fantasy is just perennially popular,” she said, adding that she likes stories that feel “very epic” and “adventurous.”

Agent Rachel Orr of Prospect Agency said it doesn’t hurt to keep an eye on the culture, not to chase trends, but to have a feel what’s happening in contemporary society, which includes music, film, news, and more.

“Be aware of what’s going on in pop culture, even outside the book culture,” she said.

In the end, though, all the panelists seemed to agree that no one wants a story that tries too hard to please.

“We’re seeing so many books that feel so familiar,” said Sara Sargent. “Give me something new and fresh, something we haven’t seen. It’s so freeing for you guys. You don’t have to chase trends right now.”

“Trends don’t really matter at all,” said Ted Malawer, agent with Upstart Crow Literary. “Yes, we’re seeing too much dystopian, too much paranormal, but what’s unique about your book? If it’s something that you can walk into Barnes & Noble and see on the shelves already, that’s where we’re going to run into a problem.”

The biggest thing editors are looking for is “having an author and a character you can grow,” said Paula Sadler, an editorial assistant at G.P. Putnam’s Sons. “If you [as an editor] love the kid, you love the kid, and you’ll follow that kid to the end of the earth.”

Of course, it’s only human to wonder, what’s the next big thing to take the YA world by storm?

“Everyone is very excited to see what the next big thing is going to be,” said Paula.

Maybe it will be your story. 

Katia Raina is the author of “Castle of Concrete,” a young adult novel about a timid half-Russian, half-Jewish teen in search of a braver “self” reuniting with her dissident mother in the last year of the collapsing Soviet Union, to be published by Namelos. On her blog, The Magic Mirror, http://katiaraina.wordpress.com Katia talks about writing and history, features interviews, book lists and all sorts of literary randomness.  

Right now, Katia is gathering participants for a new challenge for those who’d like to do better next year in sticking to their goals and making their dreams happen. To participate in the “31” challenge – and the giveaway – visit here and leave a comment telling me about your project and committing to working on it 31 minutes a day, every day in January. http://katiaraina.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/dreaming-up-a-new-challenge/

Thank you Katia for another great article from the November Craft Day.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Filed under: Advice, article, demystify, Publishing Industry Tagged: Jenne Abramowitz, Katia Raina, Paula Sadler, Rachel Orr, Sara Sargent, Ted Malawer

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It's an odd week so far here at Biblio File. First off, I was really hoping to get The Sisters Grimm Book 6: Tales From the Hood, but Amazon is saying that they don't know when it will ship. (It was supposed to ship Monday.) All the other book sites say that it's not coming out until May. Poo.

Then, a book I had ordered used, Libricide: The Regime-Sponsored Destruction of Books and Libraries in the Twentieth Century got refunded because the used seller ran out of copies. (WTF?!) So, no book for me. It's a little on the pricey side to be buying new. Luckily, it looks like my school library has it, so I can still read it for the paper I'm writing.

Also, I'm having serious problems understand how to assign LC classification numbers to books (last week's lecture was a very, very bad one to miss. Stupid back.) I'm also completely blocked on this paper that's due tomorrow, and I need to come up with about 1,000 more words. I also fear that the 1,500 words I have so far don't make much sense. Oh, the insecurities of school.

AND THEN BRETT FAVRE RETIRED FROM FOOTBALL! I mean, ok, he's had a good career and it was a good season to end on (even though the last pass he threw in his career has to be one of the most painful) but... still. I feel like I should go home to Wisconsin so I can mourn with my people.

But! I found the rest of the Drina series at a price I'm willing to pay. And, inspired by the movie Helvetica, I added some super-fun buttons to my Zazzle store. More fonts will be added soon.

Also, I started physical therapy today, which I know a lot of people complain about. Yes, it's hard work, but it makes my back feel so much better! So, in the end, it's all good! And, while driving up the GW Parkway this morning to get to my appointment, the Potomac was super muddy and brown, because of the rain we got last night, but there were daffodils! In bloom! A whole host of little yellow heads that were so... jocund. (So, we all know what Friday's poem will be. 9th grad English has severely warped my mind when it comes to daffodils.) The ones in my yard are only about 7 inches tall, but there's a clump of them coming up.

Did I mention it might snow on Saturday?

But, let's talk about some books, m'kay?

She's a Witch Girl Kelly McClymer

Pru, our magical cheerleader, is back! In this latest installment, Pru is out of remedial magic classes, which means doing even more studying and homework--to the point where she's almost failing math--the one class she was good at. It's a good thing she doesn't have time for boys, because the only way she can get head cheerleader Tara to buy into mortal cheer competitions is by giving Tara along time with her Pru's super-hott next door neighbor, Angelo.

Of course, then it turns out that Angelo might not be as mortal we we thought, and when Agatha finds out about the squad's mortal cheering, she puts a stop to it completely, including cheering at games against mortal schools. This might just get the squad actually working together.

With Pru worrying about things like school and getting Agatha to change her mind, she doesn't spend as much time worrying about being kewl--her social status isn't as precarious as it was in previous volumes. Pru's greater concern about bigger issues, as well as more exploration of the mortal/witch divide takes away some of the plot lines that were becoming annoying and opens new doors for the series to stay fresh. My favorite installment to date!

When Irish Guys Are Smiling Suzanne Supplee

A new Students Across the Seven Seas!

This time we have Delk, who's moneyed Nashville, but after her mother dies, the whole debutante scene just isn't for her. This is especially true when her dad remarries someone young enough to be Delk's sister!

So, Delk is off to Ireland. Holed up in a castle in the Irish countryside, Delk tries to hide her mother's death from her new friends, trying to get fresh start, plus there's the super-cute Pather, who works at the school and lives at a farm down the lane.

Delk's having so much fun, she may never want to go back to Tennessee!

This is my favorite SASS book so far (ok, it's tied with The Sound of Munich). There isn't a lot of drama between Pather and Delk--there's is a pretty straight-forward romance. Delk's drama is much more internal, and her friends have some serious drama, which breaks the mold of this series a little bit.

Miki Falls: Winter Mark Crilley

This is the last volume of the Miki Falls series! And just when Miki and Hiro think they're going to get away with their forbidden love...

Well, we wouldn't have much a story if they didn't get caught, now would we? Of course, all traces with Hiro's existence in Miki's town have been erased, so people are thinking she's a little cuckoo...

I continue to adore Crilley's unusual framing structure, lots of trapezoids and small and large frames on one page--many of his pages remind me of a shattering mirror.

There's also a cool feature-ette at the end of the book on the making of Miki-- including early character sketches, and how the story line has changed over time.

This book will make NO SENSE if you haven't read the previous 3, but I adored this series and highly recommend it.

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Agent News I Swiped from Chuck...

If you haven't visited Chuck Sambuchino's Guide to Literary Agents blog lately, you've missed some children's book agents news. I've stolen a few pieces of news from his blog that might interest you. (He said it was OK. I wouldn't borrow from someone's blog without asking. Plus he's my co-worker and I'm his boss, so it's all good.) If you're looking for an agent, I encourage you to bookmark the GLA blog and visit it regularly. Chuck is really on top of things and continually offers useful, up-to-date info.


Stimola Literary Studios, LLC, has a new e-mail and Web site. The new site includes information on submissions, clients, previous sales and everything in between. It will definitely help if you want to submit to them. According to their submission page, they handle nonfiction and fiction, adult and children's, but they do have a big interest in children's work--middle grade, young adult, graphic novels, etc. The new submission e-mail is [email protected].




Prospect Agency, LLC, has some new agents. Reminder: Newer agencies are golden opportunities for new writers because they're likely building their client list; however, always make sure your work is as perfect as it can be before submitting, and only query agencies that are a great fit for your work. Otherwise, you're just wasting time and postage. Finding one new agent building her client list is a nice treat. But what if you had two at the same agency? That's exactly what's happened at the Prospect Agency. Here's the down-low on these two new(er) agents. Visit the agency's official submissions page!

"Rachel Orr ([email protected]) joined Prospect Agency in 2007, after eight rewarding years editing children's books for HarperCollins. She enjoys the challenge of tackling a wide variety of projects—both fiction and nonfiction—particularly picture books, beginning readers, chapter books, middle-grade/YA novels, and works of nonfiction. Rachel is currently taking on new clients."

"Becca Stumpf, ([email protected]) junior agent, joined Prospect Agency in 2006 after working as an assistant at Writers House Literary Agency. As a reader, Becca falls hard for sentences that are beautifully crafted, for humor in unexpected places, and for characters that come to life and follow you around for a while. Becca is looking for adult and YA literary and mainstream fiction that surprises. She's also interested in select nonfiction, including narrative nonfiction, journalistic perspectives, fashion, film studies, travel, art, and informed analysis of cultural phenomena. She has a special interest in aging in America and environmental issues. Becca is currently taking on new clients."

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Some sequel lovin' for y'all today. Interesting note--these are all sequels to things I read in June as part MotherReader's 48 hour challenge.

First off, woot! A new SASS book!

The Finnish Line by Linda Gerber

Mo is very glad to be escaping her Olympic-champion family to (hopefully) ski jump in peace while studying in Finland. While there, she realizes she can't escape her family's fame. She learns a lot of skiing history and tries to reconcile her feelings about her family with how her host sister is used as a commodity by her host parents.

We learn a lot about injustice--both in how the Roma are treated in current Finnish society and in how women can't compete in the Olympics for ski jumping.

One of the better titles in this series. I especially liked the examination of Roma/Finnish clashes and the history of skiing.

Then we have the sequel to The Salem Witch Tryouts

Competition's a Witch by Kelly McClymer

Pru may be on the cheerleading squad, but she's still stuck in remedial magic and can't cheer at any non-mortal games until then. She needs to study her cheer off if she's going to test out early. That might be a bit of a problem, as the super nosy (mortal) next door neighbor has a super hott son. And Pru's kewl status is hanging in the balance, especially with the squad's dismissal of all things mortal.

But if she can't get her squad to listen to her, how can she get them working together to win the regional cheer competition?

Gotta love a bubbly book about magic AND cheerleading. Lots of fun, but Pru's obsession with kewl is more annoying than ever. It' COOL! Not KEWL! "Kewl" is so "Cartman joins NAMBLA"

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Easy Peasey Lemony Squeezy. Georgia has been read. Review forthcoming.

Reptile World was also awesome. I recommend them highly. I got to pet the biggest python I've ever seen (and, apparently, he's a baby) and help put her back in her box. Man, that snake was HEAVY. (He ain't heavy, he's my python).

Anyways, one of the downfalls of my "no checking out new books" mantra has been the Students Across the Seven Seas books. I've now read all the ones in the series. I reviewed a bunch during the 48-hour challenge here.

So here's the rest of 'em!

The Sound of Munich by Suzanne Nelson

Siena Bernstein lives in Southern California with her mom, where they run a coffee shop. Siena is off to Munich for the semester, the first time she's left California, let alone the country. Siena's father died when she was 3 months old, and her goal in Germany is to finish the last, unfinished task on his life to-do list. When he was a small boy, one of his father's friends smuggled his family out of East Germany, allowing them to move to America. All his life, Siena's father wanted to find this man and thank him, but was unable to. Siena wants to track him down. Add to this new friends (I love Chen, the super braniac biology-nerd cynical poet who looks like a fashion plate). Plus, Siena has a total vibe going with Stefan, the cute (yet verboten) RA. Too bad superficial, bitchy Briana does too.

I loved this one, because the plot to find Peter Schwalm and thank him was really serious, but well done. It added a lot of depth and made me cry more than once. Siena is also a great, free spirit who doesn't let a lot get to her-- I really liked her.

Getting the Boot by Peggy Guthart Strauss

This was an interesting one because Kelly is a very different character than most of the SASS girls. Most of the SASS programs has the one high-maintence cheerleader girl who doesn't seem that interested in the country. Kelly's that girl. Italy sounded like fun--the boys are so cute! But when Kelly spends every night clubbing and breaking curfew with a boy who is nothing but BAD NEWS, she alienates all the girls in her program and has yet to make it to class on time. It gets to the point where Kelly either has to shape up or ship out. Can she get her act together enough to salvage what's left of her summer in Rome?

This was interesting because we usually don't get someone has shallow as Kelly as a main character in the SASS series. Also, the subplot of Kelly's bad-girl exploits (lots of drugs people!) is a little edgier than we usually see in this series, so that was a nice touch.

I wasn't as big a fan of Westminster Abby by Micol Ostow. I was really excited about this one, because it takes place in London. And I do love me some England. Abby has super over-protective parents who are shipping her to London for the semester to get her away from her college-boy boyfriend. But when Abby finds out James has been cheating on her this whole time, she thinks London just might be the break she needs to find her own two feet. And cute British boy Ian just might help her do that...

There were a few little things and two big things that really got me about this book. At one point, Abby's friend Zoe is listening to "subdued eighties New Age angst music". Now, Zoe is a punk rock girl. I think Ostow meant "New Wave music" because she'd be all over The Smiths and Joy Division. I'm not sure what eighties New Age angst music is. Can New Age be angsty?

Then, after a trip to Dublin and the Guiness Brewery, Abby is excited to find out how beer is distilled. Uh... beer isn't distilled. It's brewed. And if you've been the Guiness Brewery, you would know that, I hope.

Here's the big problem. There's a trip to Manchester, which would be SO COOL because Manchester is my favorite city in the whole world and I'd pack everything up and sell most of my books to move back there in a heartbeat. (I lived there from last July 2002-late June 2003.) Abby's guide book calls it a "throbbing urban centre" (which is totally is)

but when Abby gets there, the car ride from the train station...was short but winding as the car cut a twisted path through old, picturesque country roads. Stone walls lined the motorway and sheep grazed lazily on gray-green fields. This was the England of Bronte novels...

That's not Manchester! That's f-ing Yorkshire! Also, yes, you can get England countryside like that not far from Manchester, you're more likely to find mountains (hello Peak District! Remember Pride and Prejudice? Darbyshire is just one over!) Plus, there are 3 train stations actually in Manchester, 2 of which are smack in the middle of city centre. You cannot get to countryside on a short ride from there. The southern train station, maybe. It's in the suburbs, so it might be more country-like, but the whole trip to Manchester wasn't to Manchester. It was to nameless English countryside and broke my heart.

Also, I wanted to smack her for the decisions she made about her love life. WRONG CHOICE SWEETIE!

Pardon My French by Cathy Hopka

This was weird because Nicole is so annoying. She does NOT want to be in Paris, she wants to be at home with her boyfriend, Nate. She's moved around a lot and all she wants for the future is to go to college wherever Nate goes, get married, and have a lot of babies. Nicole doesn't even try to learn French or enjoy herself, but slowly, she comes to realize there is more in life and that Paris doesn't totally suck.

Although I spent the first half of the book wanting to smack Nicole, I really enjoyed her journey of self-discovery. It was a nice ending, but not not so neat and tidy and quick that it was icky. It seemed really natural. Now I want to go to Paris to find a bistro of cafe... Mmmm... Paris. I want to go to Paris. Badly.

Girl Overboard by Aimee Ferris

I really liked this one. Marina is from small town Vermont and off for a semester on a cruise ship to study marine biology and to rethink her relationship with her boyfriend, Damon. We learn lots about marine life, as well as the culture of the different islands and countries they visit. Shallow bitchy French girls! Hott Aussies! Tiger Sharks! Turtles! Saving Baby Dolphins! And IM at sea.

Marina's questions about her relationship are great and true.

How many times can I say "true" before it stops meaning anything? Ah well. Ahoy there! Anchors Away! and Bon Voyage.

Dan gets back from Argentina tomorrow. I can't wait. 3 months until we're off to China. Mmmm... China. That's where SASS should go next!

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