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From left to right: Alvina Ling, Kristin Quisgard, Liz Unger, Stacy Barnett Mozer, Jenny Mehta, Sari Bodi, Tracy Prorosoff, and Joan Riordan

Last night seven writers traveled into Manhattan to literary agent Jennifer DeChiara's office to meet with Alvina Ling, Senior Editor at Little, Brown. Jennifer opened the evening by having the writers introduce themselves. Then Alvina discussed her list and the acquisition process at Little, Brown. Open to books from Picture Book to YA, Alvina said that she couldn't choose which type of book she likes to edit best. Her taste tends to be towards literary fiction. She likes multicultural issue books and books that make kids think. YA tends to have a commercial voice. Middle Grade is a growing market and she is always looking for more submissions in that area. Picture books are a tougher market. She looks for books that have a great character to launch or some special hook.

The rest of the evening was spent on the writers' manuscripts. Alvina shared a wonderful list from Little, Brown called "List of Attributes that Make A Good Children's Book (In Our Opinion)". Some common advice in the critiques was to start with a grabber beginning, in the case of picture books, to be careful of rhyme because it has to be done well, and to make sure that the child character has the chance to solve his or her own problems.

Thank you to Jennifer DeChiara for continuing to provide writers with these wonderful opportunities. Thank you to Alvina for taking the time to meet with us.