Industry Panel: The AI Debate - Ginee Seo

 

Ginee Seo is VP and Editorial Director of Ten Speed Young Readers, the children's book imprint at Ten Speed/Crown. She has worked in children's book publishing for over 35 years and has held a number of positions, including Executive Publishing Director of Children’s Books at Chronicle Books; VP, Associate Publisher at Atheneum Books for Young Readers, where she also had her own eponymous imprint; and VP, Editorial Director at Harper Trophy. 

A note on this conversation, as AI is quite broad. In this conversation, the panelist are speaking to generative AI technology. Keeping in mind that generative AI has been built on copyrighted material (without compensation for that work). 

Martha asks about AI clauses in contracts.

Ginee shares that PRH doesn’t have a specific AI clause as of now, but they do already have a a clause that expresses that the work is solely created by the author. That said, they (PRH) very much believe in protecting copyright. On the copyright page of each book, there is a statement that any use of generative AI using the book is not allowed (protecting the person/people behind the book). 

She also shares that at Ten Speed, they have core principles:

• Human authorship is essential

• Originality and IP integrity is nonnegotiable

• Transparency and early communication are key

She says it all comes down to protecting you. 

Ginee wanted to be on this panel to share this message: Protect your text. Do not run your text through AI. If you do, you are giving away your material. People are not aware how invasive and intrusive AI is. 

Ginee is not seeing any request from agents or authors to not put their work through AI, but she thinks that’s likely to change

She is asked if any publishers are taking their IP work and putting it into AI to generate more work like it. Ginee hopes not, but she could see a possibility of that happening. 

On the question of using AI to research, Ginee says to consider the information are you giving it. Know it can be wrong. That it is only just a starting place.

Final advice: Ginee fears that maybe the conversation has created a bit of fear. She just wants you all, as book creators, to know: Do not make it easy for these companies to take your IP. Don't take the shortcuts. And, if you were to write something to share with publishing gatekeepers you might say, "All work done by an imperfect human." Imperfection is what makes us beautiful. It's what makes art. 

What an informative conversation about this important topic. If you want to listen, you can still register for the conference at scbwi.org and watch the replay. 

Breakout Session 3: Tying the Knot Without Dating: What to Expect in the Creator-Agent Relationship with Jen Rofe

While this session was initially titled - Tying the Know Without Dating: What to Expect in the Creator-Agent Relationship, Jennifer has retitled it to:

Jennifer Rofé wanted to live in the Berenstain Bears tree house when she was a child. Today, she represents the authors and illustrators who create the characters and worlds that inspire young readers. As a senior agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Jennifer works with creators primarily in the middle grade, picture book, and illustration spaces. Her clients range from seasoned, award-winning, and bestselling authors and illustrators to industry newcomers, including Meg Medina, Christina Diaz Gonzalez, Dev Petty, Mike Boldt, Amber Ren, and Eliza Wheeler. She has been on the faculty of many conferences including the Big Sur Writer's Workshop and numerous SCBWI events, and she is especially known for her The So What? Factor presentation.

Baseline expectations of your agent: 

• communication
• transparency
• negotiation
• advocacy
• honesty 
• handling business

10 MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE CREATOR-AGENT RELATIONSHIP

1. An agent works FOR you. No, an agent works WITH you. It's a partnership.

2. An agent will definitely sell your work and get you more work. And fast! All agents have represented projects that have never sold.

3. Your agent should be your first reader. While a writer might run ideas by their agent, the manuscript should be worked on, revised, and run through critique groups first. 

4. Your agent should love everything you write. 

5. Your agent should always have your work on submission. 

6. Your relationship with your agent will look like their relationship with other clients. Every working relationship is unique, much of that can depend upon what's happening within a creator's career.

7. A junior agent won't help me succeed like a senior agent could. Instead consider what kind of support that agent has within their agency.

8. Having a bad agent is better than having no agent. 

9. Parting with an agent is a failure. There are reasons why things don't work out. No fault to the writer or the agent. 

10. Your agent is always right.

If you are looking to learn more about the what the creator-agent relationship, this session will be wonderfully helpful. Jennifer has been honest and open, sharing helpful information about this important industry relationship. Packed with a lot of information.

If you want to view this session to hear the full content, along with the rest of the conference,

register at https://www.scbwi.org/events/virtual-summer-conference-2025. Replays of the

conferences will be available until September 14th, 2025.

The Big Picture in Children's Publishing : Patrice Caldwell

 

Patrice Caldwell  is seeking commercial, character-driven fiction for middle grade, young adult, and adult readers as well as narrative nonfiction. Across the board, she is especially looking for middle grade and young adult science fiction & fantasy, mythology retellings and reimaginings, romance novels, and anything that can be categorized as horror and/or gothic literature. Patrice loves to champion stories from writers & illustrators from marginalized backgrounds. She does not represent picture books.

Before becoming a literary agent, Patrice was an editor at Disney-Hyperion and, before that, Scholastic. She went to Wellesley College, where she studied Political Science and English, and is the founder of People of Color in Publishing, a grassroots organization.

Patrice just started her own agency in February--The Caldwell Agency. It has a DEIA focus at its heart, not to be exclusionary but to be inclusionary. Patrice wanted to really think about what it means to build an agency that is accessible and has tools to support its creators. Part of why Patrice moved from editorial to agenting was the ability to work with a writer for their entire career, to be an advocate for them. 

Patrice believes the mark of a great agent is someone who's passionate about the thing you want to do. Patrice also says your agent isn't someone you should be afraid of. You want to have an agent that you feel comfortable sharing information with.

Patrice encourages: Don't discount a young/new agent. With the additional note: there are several new agents that will be with The Caldwell Agency soon. A great thing to know for those of you who are looking! 

Great tip: Before you sign with an agent, you should talk to a client or two. Patrice advises you don't talk to their most successful client. Things are going really well for them, so it might be more useful to talk to someone who's debut is just coming out. Or, a writer that's been through several rounds of revisions with her on the same project. 

Patrice notes that the market is all over the place, and that it's harder than ever to sell a debut, but it's never been easier for a previously published writer to do really interesting things (when it comes to genre blending).  

Things her writers are exploring: more illustration, shorter pages, playing with format, and more interactive. 

What do you hope your legacy to be? Patrice shares the choice to start this agency is now her legacy. She's very proud of the work she's done and knowing that her clients books didn't exist a few years ago. Patrice is happy to feel like "I've done good work and I'm happy with the work I've done."

If you want to view this session to hear the full content, along with the rest of the conference,

register at https://www.scbwi.org/events/virtual-summer-conference-2025. Replays of the

conferences will be available until September 14th, 2025.

Breakout: Page by Page: Breaking Down Picture Book Pagination with Kait Feldman

Kait Lee Feldmann is a children’s book agent at kt literary representing illustrators. She was previously an editor at HarperCollins and Scholastic. You can review her wishlist at her website: kaitfeldmann.com/mswl

Kait plans to take a different approach in talking about picture books. She plans to show us how the picture book is produced so we can work backwards which can help us know how to better work on our manuscripts. 

Kait is building a book right before our eyes so we can see how all the parts work: cover, endpapers, self-ended pages, pages, etc. 

The printing process dictates how much space you have to tell your story. 

Kait found some of the best lessons she learned about picture book pacing came from understanding how the physical book is put together. 

This is very much a visual presentation, that’s incredibly helpful to see and understand. Those in attendance, I recommend watching the replay to see for yourself. Those not attending, you can still register. The replays will be available for 30 days. scbwi.org

Tips: 

-Type out an already published picture book to see how it looks in standard manuscript format. 

-Paginate your own picture book as your working on it, but then when you are ready to submit remove the pagination.

Profit Strategies for Authors with Sara Megibow

Sara Megibow (she/her) is the Vice President and Senior Literary Agent with kt literary out of Highlands Ranch, Colorado. She has worked in publishing since 2006 and represents New York Times bestselling authors including Rebecca Roanhorse, Casey McQuiston, Margaret Rogerson and Jaleigh Johnson.  Sara doesn't do picture books or nonfiction, but does represent MG and YA.

She enjoys the chess game of profit strategies when brokering her clients' deals. Sara mentions the 3 paths to publishing are self publishing, small or midsize publishing houses, and the 'Big 5' (Penguin/Random House, Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster, and Macmillan). Big 5/traditional publishing is the zone Sara works in most and what her strategy talk will be focused on.

Sara starts by explaining to us there are four zones the money comes from to make the 'profit' part of profit strategies. Here are three:

1. Distribution is primarily still focused on print sales for kidlit as far as distribution type—it's not uncommon for 90,000 YA print novels to sell but only 8,000 in its digital format.

Print sales distribution chunks are Barnes & Noble, Amazon, indie bookstores, Readerlink (which buys for Target, Costco, Walmart, etc.), and libraries. A good profit strategy looks at where your particular title being published will fit best within one or more of these 'chunks' and tailoring your distribution/marketing to that particular group.

2. Formats (audio, e-, or hardcover) and subsidiary rights — sub rights — (audiobook, movies, and translations) are also considered when an agent is developing a deal. 

3. Publicity campaigns. Which should be tailored to that book's market and what's working well that month for that particular market segment. Social media advertising is mostly tailored to impulse buys, which translates best to e-book sales, which means hardcover picture books aren't benefitting as much from social ads the way plainer, longer text books that translate well to ebook format are. Publishers doing a trade published hardcover picture book will be heavily or totally weighted towards print vs. a YA romance novel may get way more ebook publicity dollars like paying for an Amazon spotlight page or an ebook discount day.

Neither Sara nor her clients can control buy in from the major retailers and whatever economic whim they are currently chasing or what format consumers are preferring to read. Instead focus on what you can control: Your writing/art and keeping *your* website updated (and from that probably your email newsletter list!)

Kate Egan - The Outlook for Children's Publishing 2023

Kate Egan began her career at Scholastic, then veered into the freelance lane when she moved with her family to Maine. As a freelance editor, she worked with authors from Cynthia Lord to Suzanne Collins, and launched a YA imprint, KCP Loft, for Kids Can Press. Now she is an executive editor at Pixel + Ink Books, specializing in IP publishing. Kate is also the author of many books, including the Magic Shop series and Golden Ticket, a middle grade novel. 

Panelist moderator, Martha Brockenbrough, starts by asking the panel why they choice editing book for kids. Kate notes that for her it's not just a business, it's a mission.  The sense of mission in work really appealed to her in children's books. 

Kate went to a high school with a robust tutoring system and as junior or senior it was real honor to be tapped by a mentor teacher to be a writing tutor. When Kate was tapped, her mentor teacher shared that you don't want to tell the student that the work is bad but that her role was to ask questions so that the writer could come to the improvement of the the writing on their own. The teacher underscored the importance of caring for the young writer. Kate felt she was truly helping and loved the experience. She didn't know being an editor was a job early on, but when she did, she knew editing was for her. 

When asked three words that described their taste, Kate shares: accessible, friendly, approachable and she adds a fourth - humor.

Martha moves onto talking about the process and wondering if it's changed at all in the last few years. This opens up a great conversation between the panelists about auctions, with a clear note that while the money is great, it doesn't mean you get the best editor for your book. 

What stands out to these panelists? Kate says it's often emotional connection, work that moves you. 

A way that the pandemic has changed publishing is that much of the publishing staff is working remotely. An editor can be anywhere now and be part of the process. It's opening door for a more people to become editors, allowing folks to come in from many places and backgrounds. 

The Query Cupcake with Kayla Cichello

Kayla Cichello is an agent with Upstart Crow Literary, she's open to picture books through YA and illustrators. Some of her clients include Ana Otaru, author of the upcoming picture book Masquerade for Grandpa (Atheneum/S&S, 2023), as well as author-illustrator Kirbi Fagan, illustrator of Summer of the Tree Army (Sleeping Bear, 2021).

Kayla wants your query to an agent to be as irresistible and delicious as a cupcake is to a toddler. Like a well-made cupcake, a query has a couple of important parts: Intro; Summary; and a Bio.

A quality query starts with the email subject line: For Kayla, please put the title of your story in the subject line, not just "children's book" and include the genre for extra appeal.

The Intro should contain the manuscript's basic info like genre and word count, as well as why you are querying that particular agent. Intros should also include a one or two-sentence pitch summarizing your manuscript (see Eddie Gamarra's session for a whole session on how to craft a pithy pitch), and HOOKS.

Kayla uses Dragons Love Tacos as an example showing what on the surface seems to be just a funny silly book still has deeper themes, something editors are looking for in all picture book manuscripts.

Kayla also covers pitches, bios, and gives examples of excellent summaries for both picture book and MG/YA queries in addition to this handy breakdown of what to include in your summary: 

AGENT PANEL - Real Talk with Four Agents: Saba Sulaiman

Saba Sulaiman is an agent at Talcott Notch Literary Services, a boutique agency located in Milford, CT.

The agency includes Saba and a couple of other agents that work independently with nonfiction, fiction, adult, and children's books. Saba started building her list about five years ago, and she is primarily building the children's list for her agency. 

Saba looks for stories she wishes to champion, stories that showcase the individual and also the world around them. She feels books are a heartwarming way to connect us all through storytelling, and that children are particularly receptive to differences and that they also tend to embrace silliness and absurdity as simple matter of fact.

"We read to understand ourself by understanding others."

Saba represents picture books, middle grade, YA, as well as some chapter books (but mostly clients she already represents). She loves stories with heart, stories with certain sense of urgency, high concept, whimsy, word play, structural experimentation, humor (she notes there is space for humor in everything), honest storytelling, books that open conversations with children, and diversity and inclusivity in all forms. 

Saba has found clients at SCBWI. 

Some authors she represents:

Cathleen Barnhart

Rosiee Thor

Saira Mir

Shelly Anand

Every agent's perspective is different concerning a full list or how big a list they want to have. Saba has about 25 clients right now. 

As a final takeaway, Saba shares that when you're writing, the best way to find success is to be vulnerable and honest. She also suggests that we all should ask ourselves hard and important questions about the kind of people we are and the challenges we will have to face on this journey. 

Follow her on Twitter and IG @agentsaba 

Learn more about her at sabasulaiman.com

AGENT PANEL - Real Talk with Four Agents: Erica Rand Silverman

Erica Rand Silverman is a senior agent at Stimola Literary Studio, a boutique agency that Rosemary Stimola founded about twenty years ago, and has a much-celebrated client list. Stimola Literary Studio is passionate about building careers. Erica has been with the Studio for five years. 

It's personally important to Erica to be awake in this world: to see the wonders and the beauty and even the ugliness. To see the good and the bad. All that is happening to us all the time, and all those really big feeling that come with it. 

Erica feels lucky to work with kids' books, which help kids work through all of that, and she loves working with the writers and illustrators who create those books. 

Erica mostly represents picture books. She loves the interactions between illustration and text.  And Erica has found some of her clients right here at SCBWI. 

In terms of illustration Erica looks for very distinct art styles for illustrators.

She also loves fiction and nonfiction stories that are honest and true to human nature and our lives.

THE BEAR AND THE MOON by her client Matthew Burgess is a good indication of what she looks for.

Erica also represents the author of the bestselling I AM HUMAN series. 

And, as a former teacher, Erica loves books that segue well into the classroom, like MAPPING SAM.

Erica reassures those who are not yet published: "Being a debut is a great place to begin. Know that it works in your favor...Be encouraged if you are unpublished." 

Beyond the typical work she does with submissions and contracts for her clients, Erica puts a lot of effort behind working with her clients on marketing and publicity. She also helps them navigate it all, the many moving pieces and parts of publishing. 

A final takeaway: "It's never too early to get engaged in the industry." 

Erica says a book that will give you a great sense of what she looks for is BLUE, BARRY, AND PANCAKES by Dan & Jason (out soon). There's a great sense of play, and the way you can have fun with your work. Erica recommends to everyone: PLAY YOUR WAY IN!

Follow on IG: @ericasilverman @stimolaliterarystudio

YouTube: Stimola Live

Twitter: @ericasilverman @stimolaliterary

#SCBWIsummerspec Agent Panel: Rosemary Stimola

Rosemary Stimola is a former independent children's bookseller, who founded the Stimola Literary Studio in 1997, a boutique agency representing fiction and nonfiction from preschool through young adult, as well as all genres. Stimola Literary Studio is made up of a wonderful team of agents. 

On the wall of Rosemary's office, hangs a framed print of Maya Angelou's poem I Love the Look of Words. In the poem there is a stanza that says:

When I have stopped reading, 

ideas from the words stay stuck

in my mind, like the sweet

smell of butter perfuming my

fingers long after the popcorn

is finished.

I love the book and the look of words

the weight of ideas that pop into

my mind

I love the track

of new thinking in my mind.

This is a mantra for Rosemary. When Rosemary considers a submission, the very first thing that strikes her are the words and the narrative voice that carries them. 

She's attracted to complex characters, even for the youngest readers that exhibit heart as well as well as a penchant for subversive and independent thinking, challenging the status quo, and traversing boundaries. 

Also, who doesn't love a page turner? 

Rosemary shares authors and illustrators she represents that brought words that stuck in her mind, characters that stood up when the world asked them to, and stories that begged to be read until the last page.

All were written by authors that were not so in love with their words that they weren't willing to revise them. And, all sit well in the current marketplace, that seeks diversity, does not condescend to young readers, and challenges them to see beyond themselves.

Rosemary shared some examples.

INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN by Thanhha Lai is a middle grade novel in verse that came to Rosemary as cold submission with a beautifully written query. After reading it, Rosemary was still thinking about it three days later (the words stuck), but she thought she could already write the rejection letters for it. (Historical. Vietnamese protagonist-this was 2009. Told in verse.) This book sold for a very modest advance but went on to win the National Book Award, a Newbery Honor, and still lives on NYT Bestseller list. 

ONE OF US IS LYING by Karen M McManus came to Rosemary at the right time, in the right place (with what was happening with young people in the world). It came with a perfectly crafted query. Ro couldn't put it down. This book has spent 100 weeks on the bestseller list and sold in 41 languages. Karen has earned the title of Queen of the YA Mystery Thriller.

Mathew Cordell has been with Rosemary for more books and years than she can remember. 

WOLF IN THE SNOW won the Caldecott Medal. It was his 31st book! There are no words in the books, so you might wonder: Where are the words that stuck in Rosemary's mind? They were there, in the art.

Some books recently published.

James Bird, author of THE BRAVE, had Rosemary at his character's first word, which happened to be a number. 18. This main character has unique condition that leads him to count every word spoken to him. It makes him a target for bullies and a source of frustration for his dad. 

THE FELL OF DARK by Caleb Roehrig (Caleb's fourth YA novel) was just published days ago. Caleb's was a cold submission. He caught Rosemary's attention with a sharp and witty query letter. He also had a compelling mystery and complex LGBTQ  characters, in what became his debut novel LAST SCENE LEAVING. 

And a forthcoming title by Irene Latham and Charles Waters. Poets and authors. They write independently, but when combined they form the dynamic duo referred to as the The I&C Construction Company. Together they have penned CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR and DICTIONARY FOR A BETTER WORLD. Their latest brings something very special into our market, looking deeper into stories that have not been told. AFRICAN TOWN, a historical novel, told in verse through multiple voices, tells the story of the last African's brought to America. It comes out spring of 2022. Rosemary says, "It's told in voices that sing and ache. Even the ship has been given a voice that speaks of her human cargo and their fates."

  

These books "go beyond the moment and bring words and pictures together that stick in minds, just like they did in mine."