Jennifer Besser, Publisher at G.P. Putnam's Sons (Penguin's Young Readers Group)

Jennifer Besser is the publisher at G.P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin’s Young Readers Group.

She and her team publish everything from picture books through young adult. When she was at Hyperion, she was the editor of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series (Stephanie Lurie now oversees that Olympian peak), and has also worked with Jonathan Stroud, Brian Selznick, Ann Martin, Laura Godwin, and John Rocco, among others.

She talked about her editorial process and vision, outlining what appeals to her when she’s reading submissions.

She also read from books she’s edited, including Rick Riordan’s much-beloved THE LIGHTNING THIEF. (It was the first book she acquired—“I thought it was special, terrific, wonderful, of course.” But she had no idea how huge it would become.)

She gave us a lot of great perspective on the craft and business of writing books for children.

There’s a lot of word of mouth in children's books--from kid to kid, from librarian to kid. "In the adult market, the book comes out and it hits or it doesn’t. In the kids’ book market, there are many more avenues," she said.

She gets submissions from agents. Editors spend time building relationships with agents, and this is a vital part of her process. “You want to see all the good stuff,” she said.

If an editor likes a submission, they bring it to an editorial meeting. Putnam has these once a week. At this meeting, they talk about why they think it’s special and what vision they have for it.

They do financial paperwork on sales projections, how much they’re going to pay the author. "It’s best guess at how it’s going to perform in the marketplace," she said.

They don't have an acquisitions board. The president of company wants publishers to design their own lists. “It’s great because it makes us that much more nimble," she said. "It's one less meeting.”

In picture books, she likes humor and things that are slightly irreverent. She also likes books with a lot of heart. "Anything that feels unexpected," she said.

Her advice to aspiring writers: "Read. Read. Read. Read everything. Read often. Read every genre, even stuff you don’t like. Know the marketplace. Know your competition. All of that informs your writing."

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

Shaun Tan Keynote: "Internal Migrations"

Shaun Tan

We, his audience, listening with a growing sense of wonder 

Shaun Tan grew up in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, and currently works as an artist, author and film-maker in Melbourne. Books such as The Rabbits, The Red Tree, Tales From Outer Suburbia and the acclaimed wordless novel The Arrival have been widely translated and enjoyed by readers of all ages. Shaun has also worked as a theatre designer, feature film concept artist, and wrote and directed the Academy Award winning animated short The Lost Thing. In 2011 he received the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in Sweden for his body of work. His most recent publication is The Bird King.

Shaun prefaces by saying that ultimately the truth of what he wants to say is in his actual work.

He shares flashes of insight...

the truths that I'm most interested in are the ones you can't speak about directly

we work in little bubbles, bumping into each other

he's interested in migration, crossing borders, transitions, the idea of a strange encounter, like in his amazing book, "The Arrival"

we forget our everyday world is really exotic, we see it so much we're sort of blind to it - the dark side of familiarity, where we stop appreciating the ordinary.

He reads us one of his stories, "Eric" (from "Tales From Outer Suburbia")

The room is captivated, and there's a huge AWWW... at the end.

Now he's discussing the themes of the story and how he followed the thread, saying

Again, some things can't be communicated directly.

He's talking (and showing slides) of other artists who captured seemingly unimportant things and found the beauty (and stories) in them, photos of his own studio that reveal much about his process, and images of close-to-his-home domestic scenes that inspire him.  (We're seeing paintings and drawings, and even his sketchbooks!)

He's speaking now of exploring otherness and showing sketches he's done from museums of things foreign to him, saying:

"Drawing is the process of figuring out why I like things."

The most delicious part of his talk are his captioned illustrations that crack us up, explaining a 'typical' day.  One drawing reads "stumble across my own consciousness in the kitchen - what time is it?"

It's whimsical, mystical and fascinating, just like Shaun!

There's so much more, and this moment still resonates from Shaun's keynote:

"I know a story is good when I can't entirely explain what it's about"

Want to hear more of Shaun's remarkable thoughts? You can check out our pre-conference interview, and his great website, and see some of his sketches yourself in his new "The Bird King and other sketches" but it was a delight to be able to hear him in person.

We're even getting a preview of his current work in progress...And we end with a standing ovation!

Art Browse: A Room Bursting with Talent

After the breakout sessions ended, dozens of artists among us put their portfolios on display outside the ballroom. The space was packed with artists and their admirers, who talked about techniques, favorite pieces, and more. What an incredible display of talent!

Julie Scheina: Senior Editor, Little Brown

Julie Scheina is a senior editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Little Brown publishes around 135 books a year.

What Hooks Me is such a broad topic, so Julie plans to talk about four common aspects of the books she loves: voice, character, world building, plot and pace.

Voice

Voice is the hardest to pin down.  Many vaguely say, "I know it when I see it." Julie likens it to knowing when an instrument is in tune. Great books can reach beyond genre through a great voice.
The one-on-one connection a reader has with the voice is key.

Examples of a picture book and novel with great voice:

Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake by Michael B. Kaplan 

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Characters

Introducing memorable characters, ones that will stick in your mind, is key to a great book.
A character's personality should not be flat, or one note. A character shouldn't be perfect. Great characters are unique and special in some way. They're not cliche.

A great character is one we like to talk and think about.

Examples of memorable characters:

 Isabelle in Fortune's Magic Farm.

Fortune's Magic Farm by Suzanne Selfors

Violet from Iron Hearted Violet.

Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill

World Building

The world tells us what the character's life is like. Some of these worlds become like another character in the story.

Some questions that should be asked about your world: Why are we here? Is it necessary? What makes it unique? How does the character's view interact with the world?

A few of Julie's favorite world building authors/books:

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce

The Golden Compass by Phillip Pulman

Plot and Pacing

So once you have all these things, then what? Plot shows how your characters are tested. The key is balancing conflict and development, and the pace needs to move along at a reasonable clip.

A great question to ask yourself about each page of your book: What happens here, and does it need to?

Bitter End by Jennifer Brown

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Nancy Siscoe, Senior Executive Editor with Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random House)

Nancy Siscoe is a senior executive editor with Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House. She publishes everything from picture books to young adult fiction--and she described what sounded like a dream publishing experience for writers.

"We really do think of ourselves as an author-driven imprint," she said. Knopf is looking for books that stand the test of time, not what’s cool now. “We’re all about the great writing.”

Her list includes such wonderful books as AN ANNOYING ABC by Barbara Bottner, illustrated by Michael Emberley, LAWN TO LAWN by Dan Yaccarino, CHOMP by Carl Hiassen, JUMP INTO THE SKY by Shelley Pearsall, THE BRIDES OF ROLLROCK ISLAND by Margo Lanagan, and THE MONTMARY JOURNALS by Michelle Cooper.

Knopf is a small imprint within the much larger Random House. They only publish about 60 books a year. Of these, Nancy edits 12 to 15 herself, lavishing each with attention. “We take time with each one,” she said.  

Her taste is varied. She loves mysteries, historical fiction, and books about how things work. No matter what the category, what really hooks her are characters and voice. With books she truly loves, the characters feel like part of her family. (She told us a story about a trip her family took to Venice, and her mother pointed out the favorite church of a character as though he were a real person.)

She's looking for storytelling approaches that feel fresh. 

With each category, she mentioned what she was looking for. With picture books, she loves stories that blend personal details with universal themes. Dan Yaccarino’s ALL THE WAY TO AMERICA is a good example of this.

She also looks for compelling characters and would love to find one who could be a recurring character. She looks for real kid concerns and kid emotions. How does this reflect a child’s world and a child’s point of view? She often sees books where an adult “wants to teach a kid manners. But these aren't for her: “I’m not into bibliotherapy.”

Nancy also talked about her middle grade and YA titles, making everyone in the room yearn to be on her exclusive and wonderful list.

Isabel Warren-Lynch: Executive Art Director at Random House

Isabel Warren-Lynch speaking at her "What Hooks Me" Session

Isabel Warren-Lynch has worked in children's books since 1980 starting as a designer at E.P. Dutton where she passed by the original Winnie-the-Pooh in the lobby every day. In 1985 she was introduced to mass market formats and became the Art Director at Grosset & Dunlap. In 1991 she returned to trade publishing at Random House as the Art Director for Crown Books for Young Readers. Her job has grown over the last 20 years and she now oversees a group of 11 designers work on over 300 books a year on the Random House imprints including Knopf, Delacorte, Wendy Lamb Books, Ember, Bluefire and Dragonfly. As Executive Art Director, she has worked with the best editors and some of the most exciting authors and illustrators in the business.

Isabel wants us to consider emotional connection through illustration.

When you're going through portfolio after portfolio, there has to be some emotional connection to pull you in.

She's showing us some images that grabbed her early on - among them Garth Williams (like the ones for Charlotte's Web) and E. H. Shepards' "Winnie The Pooh" and Maurice Sendack ("Higglety Pigglety Pop! or there must be more to life") - and unpacking how each composition lets us know what the story is about at heart.

How he could take two of the ugliest animals "...but the love you see there."

And now she's sharing what's new that she LOVES.  Among the examples are "I Was A Rat" by Philip Pullman, a MG illustrated by Kevin Hawks,

How something could be sweet and funny and sad all at the same time...

and Leo and Diane Dillon's ilustrations of "The People Could Fly" by Virginia Hamilton.

How the composition is like dance

She's discussing subtleties of expressions, foreshadowing, interactions between characters, body language and position, hair, clothes, movements, muscles, shapes, economy of line...


She worked on Barack Obama's Of Thee I Sing: A Letter To My Daughters, illustrated by Loren Long, and tells us the story behind that book and its remarkable illustrations.

An interior spread

Isabel discusses how to best present your work as an illustrator (she's sharing that last night at the portfolio review she collected many dozens of postcards!)  She's holding up examples of smart promotion and explaining why she liked them.  She's also talking about how book dummies reveal your understanding of pacing and layout, answering if you can you carry through a story and characters.

Some Advice:
Before you submit, visit the publishers' websites and look at their books - and ask yourself, could I see my illustration style sitting next to their books?  

There's an eager Q&A, and from that this comment that summed up Isabel's session nicely:

"It can be beautiful beautiful beautiful... but we're visual storytellers.  It has to tell a story."

Thanks, Isabel!

Yolanda Scott: Editorial Director, Charlesbridge

Yolanda Scott is editorial director at Charlesbridge. She has edited over one hundred and fifty titles. Charlesbridge is a smaller, independent, family-run publisher based in Boston. They publish about 50 titles a year. About 60% is nonfiction, 40% fiction. Charlesbridge keeps most of their books in print for a very long time.

What is it that makes Yolanda take notice of a book? She shares 9 specific hooks,  along with an example of each.

1. Unique, innovative premise.

After the Kill by Darrin Lunde

2. Compelling Characters

The Day-GloBrothers by Chris Barton

3.  Riveting Pot

Mosquito Bite by Alexandra Siy

4. Strong Voice

Pirate Bob by Kathryn Lasky

5. Interesting Structure

The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred by Samantha R. Vamos

6. Exceptional Art or Visual Potential

Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs by J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen

7. Filling a Hole on the Charlesbridge List

Alphabet Trucks by Samantha R. Vamos 

8. Skillful, Fluid Writing

Pigmares by Doug Cushman

9. Personal Interest of an Editor

Grin and Bear It by Leo Landry

Molly O'Neill, Editor at Katherine Tegen Books / HarperCollins

Editor Molly O'Neill works at Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins where she publishers picture books, middle grade, and Young Adult novels. Molly's breakout session came with a handout (my favorite!) about the types of manuscripts she's looking for, as well as some upcoming titles she's excited about.

 

Inside the Editor's Head

When reading a submission, Molly asks herself several questions when determining whether to acquire:

* Do I love it as a reader?

* Am I fascinated by it as an editor? As an editor, Molly has to commit to reading a book (or series) for years to come. Would she want to? 

* Who is the audience for this book?

* Can I publish this book successfully?

These questions lead to a discussion on timing, and Molly stated that she looks for high-quality writing with an interesting plot and compelling characters. They publish books, not just ideas. 

I think the best advice came when she talked about the key to writing: Authenticity, heart, respect for the experience and key moments of being a child, tween, teen.

It was also interesting to the hear the publishing stories of several of her authors, and see the different paths to publication. Inspiring workshop!

Rosemary Brosnan, Executive Editor at HarperCollins Children's Books (With Bonus Associate Editor Andrea Martin!)

Rosemary Brosnan (left) and Andrea Martin, answering questions during the session

Rosemary Brosnan is executive editor of HarperCollins Children's Books, where she publishes mostly fiction for middle-graders and teens.  She publishes Neil Gaiman, Lauren Oliver, Gail Carson Levine, Rita Williams-Garcia and many more - writers who have won LOTS of awards and are all over the New York Times bestseller lists.  Which makes sense as she explains to us that her sweet spot is between literary and commercial (which she explains as literary being well-written with well-rounded characters, and commercial being a story with wide appeal.)

But even though she continues to publish her established authors (working with one author for 26 years so far!) she explains that

"Editors are dying to find new authors - it's the lifeblood of the business."

She's telling us about a few of her debut authors and sharing about (and reading sections from) some of the books she's published - explaining to us and showing us what's she's acquired (mainly MG and YA) and why she acquired it.

Two of the debuts she shares are:

"The Vengekeep Prophecies" by Brian Farrey

and

"The Cabinet of Earths" by Anne Nesbet

Rosemary reminds us that publishing is really subjective, saying that she often sees on the Publishers Lunch list of weekly recent sales books that she herself declined.  If your manuscript is rejected, it doesn't mean it's not good, it just doesn't fit their list.

She shares some craft book recommendations and talks about the importance of discipline, telling us that Lauren Oliver wrote "Before I Fall" on her blackberry while riding the subway between jobs and school!

Andrea Martin worked in sales at the publisher for three years, then became an editorial assistant three years ago.  She's now an Associate Editor working with Rosemary, and is building her own list.

Andrea shares about how their editorial team works together, giving the example of "The Wig in the Window," a middle grade mystery by Kristin Kittscher.

Andrea defines voice as being like a person who has charisma, and you just want to spend more time with them.  She also shares about some of the books she's acquired and why.

Rosemary and Andrea answer questions from the attendees, covering the difference between the level of hands-on editing in children's lit versus adult lit, finding self-published authors, covers, the future of short stories, submitting a friend's illustrations with your manuscript (don't do it), writing in a native language if it's not English, first person narration, the challenge of being a mid-list author, and much more.

But the most touching moment of the session was when Rosemary called out one of the attendees - Courtney Stevens (the ARA from Mid-South!),who was standing against the wall listening - and spoke about acquiring HER debut novel, "Faking Normal," telling us how she loved it so much, bought it in a pre-empt, and is so excited about the book coming out and the author's career ahead.

A lovely moment of SCBWI success.

Courtney Stevens, moments after the session concluded, still glowing