The LGBTQ Q&A

Once again it was my honor to host the Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgender and Queer Question and Answer Event!

Our conference faculty attending as special guests were editor Arthur A. Levine, editor Emma Dryden, author Kristin Venuti, agent Tracey Adams and author Ellen Hopkins.

We had over fifty conference attendees attend, and the questions and conversation covered a range including:

Writing the "other"
Post-gay (post-trauma) stories
The need for editors, agents and authors to go outside our comfort zones

There was a lot of discussion about recognizing that when you write an LGBTQ character, that's not the sum total of them as a person.  It's part of who they are.  And you need to write the other parts, too.

As Emma Dryden said so eloquently,

"Stop thinking about them as queer and just think of them as people."

It was a wonderful gathering, and many attendees stayed around afterwards to mingle and socialize (Which was when I remembered to take these photos!)

Agent Panel: Tracey Adams

Tracey Adams (with her husband Josh) runs Adams Literary - a boutique agency exclusively dedicated to representing children's and young adult authors and artists, including many award-winning and bestselling clients!

Tracey starts out by sharing that this month's SCBWI Bulletin's SCBWI Success Story is Veronica Rossi and her debut "Under The Never Sky" - whom she and Josh met at last year's Saturday night pool party... and then Tracey held up the published book!

When asked about e-books and the changes in publishing, Tracey mentioned how they're looking at working with some of the new smaller publishers (like Little Pickle Press) and for all the changes in format, from audio books through e-books and beyond, their goal is to figure out what's best for their authors.

Here's a great quote from Tracey:

While some agencies might be saying 'can I sell this?,' we're thinking 'am I in love with this?' ...We don't give up easily, and if we love something, we're gonna find a home for it."

The panel is funny, and there's lots of great info being share - it's fascinating to get this glimpse into Tracey's process.

Is she an editorial agent (doing revisions with her clients before submission?)

She likens it to real estate, and says

"we see ourselves as stagers - we get it ready in its best form to submit."

whether it takes a pass or two with the author revising it or if she gets it and it's good to go,

"If we see voice, we're gonna grab you up because I don't think you can teach that."

The panel ends with brilliant lightning round, and it was such a great opportunity to learn more about Tracey Adams. Oh, and you can follow Adams Literary on twitter here!