Annie Stone is an editor at Alloy Entertainment, a book packaging company responsible for such blockbusters as Gossip Girl, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Vampire Diaries, and The 100. Among the authors Stone works with: Kass Morgan (author of The 100 book series), Adi Alsaid (author of Let’s Get Lost and Never Always Sometimes) and Sara Shepard (author of Pretty Little Liars and the upcoming The Amateurs). In her current role, she develops story concepts for adult, young adult, and middle grade audiences, across a wide range of genres. She also reviews submissions to the Collaborative program at Alloy Entertainment, a discovery engine for promising new authors and stories. PW spoked with Stone about the challenges of acquiring and editing YA, and how the potential for a global audience shapes her editorial decisions.

What are some of the most significant trends in YA literature these days? How do those trends differ globally, if at all?

One of the biggest trends we’re seeing right now is the success of YA fantasy in multiple styles – from Leigh Bardugo to Sarah Maas to Victoria Aveyard, fantasy series and authors have been on the rise. I think this is one of the easiest trends to transition into foreign markets, since the world details and characters tend to be fairly archetypal, with less emphasis on specificity of a culture or place. The literary-leaning contemporary trend also continues, but these books can be more hit-or-miss globally, given the different receptions for specific issues and settings in differing markets.

What are your strategies for editing a YA book that will be successful globally? Have decisions worked or not worked, and why?

To be honest, I don’t edit with an eye toward global success. Ultimately a book has to be the best version of itself in a very personal and emotional sense in order to strike a chord with readers, and trying to add in or adapt themes or characters so that they’ll work more globally isn’t going to produce those results. Of course, at Alloy, we’re developing ideas from scratch, so the wide appeal of a concept is absolutely something we consider before pursuing new stories and ideas.

Is there a formula for the kind of YA book that will be successful on a global scale?

A classic adventure story with a rootable hero should always have a chance, but other than that, I’ve at times been surprised by the things that work and don’t work overseas. It’s easier to pinpoint things that won’t often work – American military stories, for example, or race relations topics that are specific to the U.S.

What are your most significant channels of discovery? Do you find that they are changing as the world becomes more digital and more global?

Interestingly, despite the many online channels we now have for talent discovery (including our manuscript submissions program, The Collaborative), the most successful way we find new writers continues to be through conversations – with current writers about their writing friends who may be interested, and with agents about the writers they represent who may be interested in partnering with us.

For more information on the Global Kids Connect conference and to register, click here.