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Fatimah (pronounced Fateema) Khan is Associate Editor at Little Brown Books for Young Readers. She is new to the conference circuit and this was her first time addressing a crowd. She confessed immediately to being very nervous but honestly, it didn’t show. She was cute, lively, funny and most importantly, interesting!

She began by telling us that this year has been a great PB year for Little Brown! In this tough economy, that is great news. Especially for those of us who focus mostly on that genre. On the head table she had displayed some of those banner books for us to see and then took the time to give us her take on why she thought they were so successful.




1. THE CURIOUS GARDEN by Peter Brown (Author/Illustrator)
a. Has a timely, environmental theme.
b. Likeable boy character. No parents involved.
c. Fantastic artwork.
d. Spare text. Easy & clear for kids to understand.
e. Great progression with a beginning, middle and end.
f. Clear message. 1. Anyone can make a difference. 2. “Green” message.
g. Eco-friendly packaging.



2. THE I LOVE YOU BOOK by Todd Parr (Author/Illustrator)
a. Love sells.
b. Has holiday appeal. (Valentines Day)
c. Inexpensive price.
d. Designed to look like a greeting card and makes a great gift.






3. BIRDIE’S BIG GIRL SHOES by Suejean Rim (Author/Illustrator)
a. New take on growing too fast.
b. Wonderful artwork.










4. MARTHA DOESN’T SAY SORRY by Samantha Berger(Author) &
Bruce Whatley (Illustrator)
a. Story is character driven.
b. Has lasting value & appeal.
c. A new story with a classic feel.









5. DINOTRUX by Chris Gall (Author/Illustrator)
a. Marketed to boys. Strong boy appeal.
b. Dinosaurs + Trucks = Hit!!
c. Fantastic design & illustrations. d. Great read aloud.


6. OFF TO KINDERGARTEN by Tony Johnston (Author/Illustrator)
a. Low price.
b. Great back-to-school promotion.





Afterward, Ms. Khan shared with us her list of attributes that she feels make for a good children’s book.

1. Child is the hero.
2. Author uses rich, lively text and dialog.
3. Author is NOT condescending.
4. Characters seem real, complex and show growth.
5. There is a twist.
6. No heavy-handedness.
7. Details are included with a child’s sensibility.
8. There is a story arch.
9. Author has created an interesting, believable world.
10. The story is moving. –It makes you laugh, cry, ect.
11. It carries a fresh revelation through repeat readings.
12. The story is enjoyable for both the child and the adult who
reads it out loud.
13. It has a clear approach.
14. Details are carefully thought out. (This pertains to the design
of the book.)
15. Doesn’t follow a trend but has lasting value all its own.


Ms. Khan is always looking for innovative novelty projects with a playful twist, picture books with strong commercial appeal as well as novelty formats, eye-catching holiday, seasonal tie-ins and fresh fun-to-read-aloud stories. She works on books for the youngest readers ranging from board books to interactive lift-the-flap and touch-and-feel projects. Little Brown does not accept unsolicited queries or manuscripts. Most submissions are through a literary agent.

Bonnie Bader, Editor-in-Chief of Grosset and Dunlap, and Price Stern Sloan, two imprints of Penguin Young Readers Group, shares her expertise and give us the low-down on these books that extend beyond traditional trade outlets.

She began by sharing with us the definition of “mass.” Of course, there are many definitions of the word, but the one that worked best for this discussing is that mass simply means; a huge amount.

Mass Market books sell to the traditional bookstores like Barnes & Noble, Borders, ect. . .
They also sell to mass markets such as WalMart, Target, BJ’s, ect. . .
And let’s not forget our favorite independent bookstores like Quail Ridge Books who runs our conference bookstore year after year.

According to Bader, the economy hasn’t really hurt children’s publishing. In fact, children’s books are doing well.

Bonnie then spoke about the kinds of mass market books her company publishes.

1. Licensed Publishing.
This includes tie-ins to movies, tv, dolls, games, ect. (Strawberry Shortcake, Max & Ruby) *Writing for licensed properties is a good way to get your foot in the door.

2. Novelty
This includes pop-ups, lift-the-flap, touch & feel, ect.
(This line is looking for holiday books.)

3. Levelled Readers
Books like All Aboard Reading or Step into Reading.
(Presently her company is working on a new program and is in need of writers for new readers.)

4. Series
Short, fast-past adventures with lots of dialog
(Always looking for good series. Send proposal w/ log line (A quick explanation of what makes your series stand out.) and ideas for the first three books along with the first three chapters of book one.)

5. Inexpensive picture books
(Such as Periwinkle Smith and the Twirly, Whirly Tutu)











Ms. Bader oversees a group of eight editors who actively acquire a wide range of books. She is always looking to hire writers to work on a “for hire” or “royalty” basis. Grosset & Dunlap does not accept unsolicited manuscripts but does review queries. Please check their website for further guidelines.

Keep a watch for the next installment of SCBWI-Carolinas Conference 2009 featuring Namrata Tripathi, Executive Editor of Atheneum BFYR. COMING SOON!

I was lucky enough to attend a small picture book conference in beautiful Beaufort, SC, last weekend. I enjoyed the fact that it was a small gathering as opposed to the massive crowds I experienced in New York back in February. There were three editors in attendance and all were very approachable. The small number of attendees made for a cozier environment and the information shared was in abundance.

Maggie Lehrman, Editor from Abrams Books for Young Readers and Amulet Books, Noa Wheeler, Associate Editor at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers and Jill Dembowski, Assistant Editor at Little Brown Books for Young Readers shared with us their knowledge and a few tips of the trade. Here is a rundown of what they had to say:

They are intrigued by old themes written with a fresh perspective. (THE TRUE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS by Jon Scieszka) Send them humor, but not scatological (gross) humor. They are tired of farts and poop! None of them want to see any more Grandparent stories. The market is flooded with them. Too often, writers send manuscripts written more for adults. It is integral we, as writers, remember to write our stories from the kid’s perspective. After all, it is for them we are writing.

Send your work along with a well-written cover letter. Typos and misspellings make them question a manuscript before they’ve even had a chance to look at it. Be meticulous and keep it quick and to the point. Mention your published works only if they are some that the editor will recognize. If your work has been published in your school newspaper, leave it out. Don’t compare your work to that of other best-selling books. (My book will be the next Harry Potter!) Use a simple font; twelve point, Times New Roman is best.

Keep the text of your manuscript short. Remember, picture books have pictures! Leave room for the illustration to pick up some of the story. Say a lot with a few words. Every word you write in a picture book must count. There is no room for weedy words or long description in this genre. Try to keep your manuscripts around five hundred words or less. (HUSH LITTLE DRAGON by Kelly Murphy is only 200 words.) Take a picture book you like and type it out. See how it looks on the page and try and adapt your own work in the same way.

Poetry is a tough sell. Rhyme and rhythm is hard to do and even harder to do well. There is always room for stories in rhyme, but most are picked up by authors who already have a reputation in that area.

If your book has silly or strange elements, make sure they aren’t there simply for nonsense sake. Somehow, somewhere you book needs to be grounded in reality. Even nonsense has to make sense.

As most of you know, the picture book market has fallen drastically from where it was a few years back. Of course, the present economy doesn’t help. However, all represented imprints are still acquiring material. But be aware, they are VERY selective about what they publish. Your submission must stand out, have marketability and most important, it must have staying power. It takes a long time for a picture book to make money. Your publisher wants it to stay in print long enough to be profitable. Publishing is a business after all.

And finally, all editors agree; the best thing you can do to get your work published is to GET AN AGENT.

-Niki Masse Schoenfeldt