The Big Picture in Children's Publishing - Kait Feldmann / TeMika Grooms

 The Big Picture in Children's Publishing - An Industry Panel

Kait Feldmann / TeMika Grooms

Warmly introduced by Sarah Baker, TeMika Grooms, our moderator, is a "New York Times bestselling illustrator of picture books" who will lead us through thoughtful conversation about where the children's publishing industry is now, and where it's headed. TeMika, SCBWI's Manager of Illustration and Design, is "a creative force in our community, and is known for her teaching, her leadership, and a deep commitment to supporting fellow book creators."

TeMika Grooms: Tell us a little bit about what you do, as well as what inspires you in your business as a creative and as a person who publishes books.

Kait Lee Feldmann: Hi, my name's Kait Feldman, I'm an agent at kt Literary. I started as an editor and edited as an assistant. I worked on picture books through YA, and when I became an acquiring editor, I zeroed in on picture books. For 10 years I worked at Scholastic and HarperCollins as an editor of picture books and graphic novels and last year, I joined kt Literary. I only represent illustrators and author/illustrators. 

Kait is open to submissions and you can find more information on Kait's website, katefeldman.com.

TeMika: Thank you all for introducing yourselves and sharing what inspires you most. So, I have questions about relationships between agents, publishers, and clients. Some of our audience may already have agents, and some of them may be in different parts of their publishing career. What do you think is the mark of a great agent for those who have an agent, and for those who don't. 

Kait Lee: I think a great agent is someone who is your business partner and your creative partner. You want someone who understands your vision for the stories you've submitted, but also, where you want to go in your career. l've had people query me where there's something I really like about their work, but they're going in a different direction than me and as an agent, I would never want you to mold yourself to what I want.

Your agent's vision/ skill set should match what you want. Also, do you want an agent who's more editorial, who can collaborate on the creative process, or do you want someone who's going to be more of a business partner to get your work out there. Some agents are more editorial than others, so that's always a good thing to ask.

TeMika: How do you find new clients for people without agents?

Kait Lee: My advice is always to do a reverse search. Start with the books on your own bookshelf or the books that you check out from the library most often. Take note of the authors or the illustrators, and then look up who their agents are. Google it. Sometimes if it's a novel, you can look in the acknowledgements in the back. Look up the authors/illustrators of your comp titles and who represented them. Publishers Weekly has a twice-weekly newsletter called Children's Bookshelf. It's free to subscribe, and it drops on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It has great articles as well as deal announcements. You can look up recently published books to see what's out in the market and what's coming in the next few years.

TeMika: How often would you like to see a submission from someone who's querying? 

Kait Lee: As an editor, I think everyone can relate to "Inbox Avalanche" and the ongoing battle with our inboxes. When I respond to a submission and a new submission comes back immediately after that, it can be overwhelming so as an agent submitting to editors, I try to keep that in mind. I always appreciated the agents who weren't in my inbox constantly. As an agent, I think it's a little different. But if you submit to me and then wait to hear back, I will usually give you feedback because I'm working with artists. If I pass once, it's pretty much just a pass. But if it's about a particular story I'm interested in, I will let you know if I want to see a revision or see your other works.

TeMika: Picture books are a little different, nowadays. Can you tell us if you are seeing anything that's unusual within the picture book space?

Kait Lee: One thing that l've been super excited to see in the last few years is the graphic novel format making its way over into picture books, creating a kind of hybrid with panels, and speech bubbles. I'd say we're not at a point where really long picture books that become graphic novels work but adapting the composition of graphic novels into that 32-page format is something that is fun to explore.

Also, editors are asking for two things that are kind of the polar opposites but one is horror/scary stories for kids, and also, whimsical/goofy books, especially with kids of color. Kids of color tend to be only in educational books about something traditional, or something where learning is a significant part of it. And though we do need those books, we also need the ones where it's just silly, magical stories about kids getting into trouble. Just adventure.

TeMika: Let's talk about Al now. All technology changes. It influences our creative process. What kinds of changes are you seeing in terms of Al?

Kait Lee:  Most publishers at this point, contractually, have a clause that says you cannot use Al to generate your content. There's no test, as far as I know, but that's not something you want to try to skirt around.

On the submission side, I do have a form letter specifically for Al submissions, because I'm getting a lot of them. A lot of the submissions I'm getting are authors who don't realize you don't need to pair yourself with an illustrator. It is not industry standard, but sometimes they will generate Al to help me visualize the book.

"I just tell them, you don't need to do that. In fact, don't do that. And then a gentle explanation of the reasons why Al is bad."

TeMika: l'm a person who loves technology, but I don't think there's anything that can replace human ingenuity, creativity, lived experience, relationships that you've had, and the things that you're actually trying to say. As much as we use it as a tool, I want to encourage everyone to keep creating, too because it's super important. So, I know that you all talked about what inspires you but now, I want to know a little bit about what you hope your legacy to be.

Kait Lee: I think I want to work on the books that would have brought me joy as a kid, which I think is how I operate now. I want to work on the books that make me feel something. I want to continue on things that make me happy, that refuel, and energize me. I want to feel hopeful, but really, I want books where characters eat each other, and get into trouble and mischief.

"I started off inspirational, but if I'm being honest, I want my legacy to be wreaking havoc in the world through a picture."

ROCK ON, KAIT LEE!

Don't forgot that you can access this panel and rewatch through your membership portal until September 14th, 2025!

Kait Lee Feldmann (Agent) is a children’s book agent at kt literary representing illustrators. She has been romping around as a children’s book publishing for the past decade, previously as an editor at HarperCollins and Scholastic. Her list as editor included award-winning books that received a Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, and Sibert Honor; the Ezra Jack Keats Award; and appearances on Best of lists for The New York Times, NPR, Kirkus, and more. In 2020 she received the CBC Diversity Outstanding Achievement Award. Kait resides in a hoarder’s paradise in Los Angeles, surrounded by books. You can review her client wishlist at her website: kaitfeldmann.com/mswl

TeMika Grooms (Manager of Design and Illustration) is a Georgia-based writer and illustrator creating stories with a belief that all children should be able to see themselves as the hero within the pages of a book. In 2021, she was selected as an Illustration Mentee in the We Need Diverse Books Program and was a member of the first cohort for the Highlights Foundation and The Brown Bookshelf Amplify Black Stories program.  She is the illustrator of several children's books, including Put Your Shoes On & Get Ready! by Senator Raphael G. Warnock, Getting Us to Grandma's by Nadia L. Hohn, and A Century for Caroline by Kaija Langley.