Approximately 850 aspiring and published authors and illustrators of books for children gathered at the New York Hilton in Manhattan last weekend for the annual winter conference of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, held from January 31 to February 2. Among the conference highlights: author Erin Entrada Kelly, who had just received her second Newbery Medal, gave the opening keynote; SCBWI executive director Sarah Baker interviewed Caldecott Honor author Peter Brown about his work and career path; Andrea Pinkney hosted the Equity & Inclusion social to an overflowing crowd; and Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall’s closing keynote was what SCBWI’s Tammy Brown called “an emotional and creative journey about her work and life.”
At each winter conference, SCBWI puts together a panel of editors and agents to discuss the state of the children’s market, in an always well-attended session. This year’s panelists were Wendi Gu, literary agent at HG Literary; Wendy Loggia, VP and publisher of Delacorte Press; Andrea Pinkney, VP trade publishing, Scholastic; and Francesco Sedita, president and publisher of Penguin Workshop. Author-illustrator TeMika Grooms, who is SCBWI’s illustration coordinator, served as moderator, and posed a variety of questions to the panelists, including thoughts on current trends, the mark of a good agent, how they manage their time, and who their mentors were.
When the panelists were asked to talk about trends they foresee for 2025, Gu brought up one of the most troubling issues in children’s books currently: censorship and book banning. “I recently attended a Zoom meeting with Authors Against Banned Books,” she said. “In the face of what I think will be a trying political time,” she said she was heartened to see the group fighting the good fight.
“For so long we’ve talked about a book for every reader,” Sedita said, but he’s predicting a shift to “a creator for every book. It’s important that your voice is authentic for that story,” he emphasized. “The question of” who is the right creator for this book has gained importance.”
Loggia said she is seeing a blurring of lines in format for books. “We’re exploding beyond category with innovative formats, and more creators are coming from other disciplines, like film, television, and theater,” she said. “The book as object has been a recent trend: deckled edges, foil stamping, special effects—glitzing up a book. People want collectible books.” Sedita interjected, “But write your story—we’ll worry about the sprayed edges and the marketing.” And Pinkney added, “Bring your twinkle, don’t be derivative. Don’t break the mold—smash it.”
What is the mark of a good agent, Grooms asked the panel. “Someone you would want to represent you in a room where you’re not present,” Loggia said. She likes working with agents who she considers true partners and collaborators. Sedita was blunter, saying to a lot of laughter, “Don’t be an asshole.” He added, “Consider your agent to be 100% your partner. And be receptive when they say, ‘It’s not ready.’ ”
Grooms brought up the importance of teamwork in publishing, saying, “It takes a big team to make one individual book happen.” Penguin Workshop puts out 350 books a year, Sedita said; “we have a lot of people on the team. It’s like a relay race.” Loggia gave an example of a debut novel on her list, The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold, who wrote the book as a senior in high school. “Publicity leaned in, and the book has so many layers of internal thumbprints.”
Awards are of course wonderful when they arrive, but attendees were advised not to focus on that. “At Random House,” Loggia said, “once you get three stars, a little light goes on” in terms of attention. “But that’s not your beacon,” Pinkney said. “Sure, they’re great to have, but awards should not be your driver.” More than accolades, Loggia sees authors more frequently focusing on ‘will my book hit the New York Times list?’ It’s a happy surprise when it happens,” she said, “but don’t put your eggs in that basket, you’ll only be disappointed.”
Addressing the question of what they would like authors to do for marketing, panelists told the audience to mostly leave that to their publisher. “Be active, have an Instagram, we’ll help you look at how you’re representing yourself on social media,” Sedita said. “But I just want you to write a good book and let us worry about marketing.” Loggia added, “Nothing makes me run faster than when I get a submission with a marketing plan attached.” Gu said that she finds it useful to get a list from authors of their local book community.” But regarding social media, “It’s hard to keep marketing yourself as a brand. And it’s so easy to make your life miserable.”
All of the speakers spoke glowingly about mentors in their lives, and how important they had been to them. Sedita paid tribute to Craig Walker, longtime paperback publisher at Scholastic, who died in 2007. “He was the sweetest, kindest, funniest person. He published my first book, and sat with me and went line by line,” Sedita recalled. Walker was a mentor to Loggia as well, and she also gave a shoutout to her predecessor and former boss, Beverly Horowitz, whom she called “an incredible editor and a brilliant colleague. Beverly left behind a great legacy when she retired and we’re trying to carry that on.” Loggia’s childhood librarians were also influential mentors. After the publication of her book, Taylor Swift: A Little Golden Book Biography, she got a message from her eighth-grade librarian, congratulating her and saying she always knew she’d become a writer.
Gu’s first boss was Brenda Bowen, now an agent at The Book Group. “When I was her assistant she once told me to leave the office, because Christie’s was showing an unprecedented collection of art, and she told me to go spend the day there. I’m so grateful to her for helping cultivate my love for art.” And Pinkney pointed to several mentors who had been influential for her, including agent Marie Brown; Susan L. Taylor at Essence, who “schooled me in the business of publishing”; Walter Dean Myers, whose books she edited at Scholastic; and Toni Morrison, from when Pinkney edited her picture books at Houghton Mifflin. “She was so kind to me,” Pinkney recalled. “We had so many conversations about writing.” And Pinkney said Morrison was always encouraging: “ ‘You can do it, you’ll be fine,’ ” she told me.
A virtual SCBWI winter conference will be held later this month, on February 22 and 23. And next year’s dates are Friday, January 16 to Sunday, January 18.
