The Agents' Panel!

Moderated by Alexandra Penfold (far left)(, the panelists at the table are (left to right): Tanusri Prasanna, Ammi-Joan Paquette, Kevin Lewis, Kristen Hall, Tina Dubois, and Jenny Bent

Agent Panel: Alexandra Penfold

Alexandra Penfold is an agent at Upstart Crow Literary. She represent everything from picture books up, with some select adult titles. She's also an author.

In books, Alexandra is a seeker of beauty and truth and light.

At an annual SCBWI conference in NY Alexandra met Jessixa Bagley when Jessixa thanked her following a breakout session. After the conference Jessixa sent Alexandra a picture book dummy. When Alexandra read it, she cried. She signed Jessixa, and together they worked to refine the story. They created changes with small word choices, in order to hit the emotional target. That book became Boats for Papa which won last year's Golden Kite Award for picture book text.

Another SCBWI success story happened at the LA summer conference when Alexandra met illustrator Suzanne Kaufman through friends. This relationship was first one of friendship but then Alexandra had a chance to see Suzanne's work and she later signed Suzanne as a client.

They are now collaborating on a book together called All Are Welcome.

"Work on the things you are afraid to work on."

In terms of submitting, the plan is formulated based on the book. Sometimes Alexandra might take it wide or target in on the perfect person. As agents, they are match makers. 

Publishers are asking agents to see "own voices" stories. 

The Agents Panel!

With Lin Oliver moderating, the panelists are (from left),
Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary
Tricia Lawrence, Erin Murphy Literary
Alexandra Penfold, Upstart Crow Literary
Quressa Robinson, D4EO Literary
Kate Testerman, KT Literary

Alexandra Penfold: Agents' Panel

Alexandra Penfold is an agent with Upstart Crow Literary and is building her list, representing very young picture books up to YA (some select adult).  She is also the author a cookbook NEW YORK a la CART: Recipes and Stories from the Big Apple's Best Food Trucks as well as three forthcoming pictures books.

In terms of Alexandra's client list, different clients have different needs so what she does depends on those needs. When she takes on a client, she thinks of it as taking on a life: in good times and bad.

When Alexandra is looking to take on a client it's important to her to have a conversation with them about their career and what they want. It's a relationship and there is a certain chemistry involved, and there must be trust.

There are different paths to sales for authors. Some who have made the right connections with the school and library market might see their sales grow over time. One example is POP by Meghan McCarthy. It didn't explode out of the gate but it keeps being added to state lists and purchased again and again by libraries. It had a slower build and is still doing well.

This is a great community. On social media be authentic and talk about the things you love, including books. Don't use it to only say, "Buy my book!"

When Alexandra reads something and there is an emotional response to it, that's what she is looking for. That is what she wants to open. One example is when she wrote Jessixa Bagley's submitted manuscript BOATS FOR PAPA, she cried.

A brief piece of career advice:
Be a reader. If you have a rich reading life, you will have a rich writing life.

The Agents' Panel Gets Underway!

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.

Agent's Panel: Alexandra Penfold

Alexandra Penfold is an agent at Upstart Crow Literary and has been working in publishing for over a decade. She is also an author of picture books and cookbooks. She represent everything from young picture books to young adults.

WHAT HOOKS ME

Alexandra likes books that show her something about the world or about life, books that take her to a place away from where she lives. She's drawn to books that recognize that kids are smart.

On cover letters: There's nothing more disappointing than a cover letter that gets you so excited to read the manuscript only to open it up and be disappointed. Be sure your work is delivering on the promise you make in your cover letter.

As an agent (and an editor) you want a writer's second book to be even more successful than their first. As an agent Alexandra wants to help her clients hone their focus moving forward into a career.

If you think about brand as your reputaiton it makes you think about what you do, including on social media.

Lin flips the panel topic around to: What doesn't hook you?

Alexandra gets a lot of picture book submissions. Awful rhyme makes Alexandra cringe. She loves poetry when it's joyful and done well. But it doesn't work when the story bends to fit the rhyme. Books can also be lyrical without rhyming.

Lin: How do you see the children's publishing landscape today?

It's been a fantastic year for picture books. There's been a resurgence. "Yay, picture books."

The Agents Panel Begins!

From the seats...

And close up!

Left to Right: Sarah Davies and Steve Malk

Left to Right: Erin Murphy and Aleandra Penfold

Left to Right: Rubin Pfeffer, Linda Pratt and Laura Rennert

Alexandra Penfold: Sparkly New Agent at Upstart Crow!

Putting great books into the hands of young readers is something Alexandra Penfold has been doing for the last decade, and now she’s doing it wearing a new and very dashing hat.

Alexandra’s career trajectory is a bit different from most editors, she was a business major in school and did a bunch of different internships including interning for the writers' office of All My Children. From there, Alex enjoyed working with Tracy van Straaten, who at the time was in publicity at Simon & Schuster. And Tracy’s awesomeness inspired Alex to jump into a career in children’s book publicity at S&S. Alexandra then transitioned into the editor role at S&S with Paula Wiseman, and for eight years she had a blast there.

Now she’s a newly minted agent at Upstart Crow Literary and her afternoon session is excited to hear what she’s looking for as she starts to build her client list of picture book makers, and middle grade and YA authors.

Alex wishes there was a magical formula to tell us what makes an irresistible book, but there isn’t one.

Which is bad news, but because there’s no magic formula, good news! Alex doesn’t like to poopoo any genre or category, she's open to being surprised by books she never imagined she’d acquire or represent. The only exception to that is high fantasy, she’s still not into it, no matter how much Tolkein her husband reads to her, sorry, Bilbo.

Not only can Alex relate to the editors she’s pitching, she can relate to her clients, too. Alex and a friend co-wrote a flipping awesomecookbook (that will be out in April!) and Alex remembers well her anxiety while on submission as an author.

Alex explains to the group the ins and outs of acquisitions from an editor’s point of view: an editor is putting their reputation on the line every time they bring a book to an acquisitions meeting. It's an investment on all levels and as an agent, Alex will still only represent books she loves wholeheartedly and will fight for.

One of the many lovely tips Alex left us with was the paramount importance of great characters in your work, knowing them inside and out. If you see Alex this weekend and want to get into a heavy discussion, just ask her if Scarlett and Rhett eventually get back together after The End of 

Don't forget to follow Alexandra Penfold on Twitter @AgentPenfold

Writers Roundtable Intensive Afternoon Panel: Editorial Process: Model for Authors/Editors

After the afternoon roundtable critique, we were treated to an expert panel on the editorial process.

With Tina Wexler, Agent at International Creative Management

Jordan Brown, Senior Editor, Walden Pond Press and Balzer + Bray at HarperCollins Children's Books

Alexandra Penfold, Editor, Paula Wiseman Books at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

and

Kate Sullivan, Editor, Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Tina Wexler (at podium) moderating panelists Jordan Brown (left), Alexandra Penfold (center) and Kate Sullivan (right)

The panel covered a lot of territory, from acquiring books versus authors, preparing authors for that first editorial letter, the importance of managing your online reputation, author input into cover design, and even a description of their editorial letters!

Here are some highlights:

"An editor's job is to take what the author has in their head and help them get it on the page in the best way possible."

- Jordan Brown

Speaking of the acquisitions process, Kate Sullivan said, "At Little Brown we have a saying, Do you like this book or do you want to marry this book?"

And Alexandra Penfold offered this tip: "Google yourself and make sure it's what you want agents and editors to see with your submission."

An excellent panel, and the perfect conclusion to the Writers Roundtable Intensive!