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Children’s books creators Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers will reunite to collaborate on a sequel to The Day The Crayons Quit.
Publisher Michael Green negotiated the deal with Steven Malk of Writers House and Paul Moreton of Bell, Lomax, Moreton Agency. Philomel Books, an imprint at Penguin Young Readers Group, will publish the new picture book in August 2015.
Green had this statement in the press release: “It’s gratifying to see the Crayons finally getting their due, yet many revealing tales remain untold. I have a feeling every child, crayon, and crayon activist will be inspired by this latest tale of artistic heroism.”
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Steven Malk, who opened the west coast branch of Writer's House in 1998, seems to be not only a great agent, but a person who truly has a passion for illustration. I'd trust his advise simply because SCBWI has him come to the national conferences, but if I needed more reason than that I could glance through the illustrators he reps on the Writers House website and I'd be sold. (Nikki McClure! Kadir Nelson! Adam Rex! Gilbert Ford! Carson Ellis! among many other great artists)
Malk took us through a slide show of his Do's and Don'ts (with beautifully hand-drawn titles) of Building an Illustration Career. The whole list is both realistic and positive at the same time, and truly helpful and well thought out. Here are a few highlights:
DO: your homework—about other illustrators on the market, and about those illustrator greats that came before you.
DON'T: look for a shortcut (it might be a trapdoor). Malk has no magic fairy dust to sprinkle on your career! It takes hard work, and it can take a long time.
DO: attend as many SCBWI conferences as possible. It really puts you at an advantage.
DON'T: give up!
Our newest SCBWI TEAM BLOG member Martha Brockenbrough has posted the first in a series of pre-conference interviews with Annual Summer Conference faculty kicking things off with delightful author Mac Barnett.
Mac will join agent Steven Malk for a conference workshop called FIVE LESSONS FROM CLASSIC PICTURE BOOKS THAT CAN HELP YOU LAUNCH YOUR CAREER.
Here is a snippet from Martha's interview with Mac. For more click here.
"Here's the first in a series of posts designed to make you want to go to the SCBWI conference in L.A., where you'll meet and mingle with lots of industry stars. One of my favorites is Mac Barnett—and not just because he knows how to rock a five o'clock shadow better than that guy from Wham..."
Click here to register for the Annual Summer Conference.
Looking Back on CWIM: The 2000 Edition
An Interview with S.E. Hinton...
This edition of CWIM saw the addition of Agents & Art Reps and section devoted to SCBWI Conferences. Among the publishing professionals interviewed: Caldecott Winner Jacqueline Briggs Martin; Allyn Johnston, then editor at Harcourt (who now has her own S&S imprint, Beach Lane Books); YA novelist Francesca Lia Block; SCBWI Executive Director Lin Oliver; Writers House agent Steven Malk; and more than half a dozen others including a feature with the iconic author of The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton who at the time was coming out with her first picture book.
Here's an excerpt from the Q&A by Anne Bowling:
You were 15 when you started writing The Outsiders, and wrote 4 full drafts for the next year and a half before you had the manuscript. Did you have a mentor at that time, or was someone guiding your revisions?
No. I love to write. Actually, The Outsiders was the third book I had written, it was just the first one I had tried to publish. The first two ended up in drawers somewhere--I used characters from them later in other books, but I certainly didn't go back and rework them. Everybody's got to practice.
When I was writing The Outsiders I would go to school and say "Well, I'm writing a book, and this has happened so far, and what should happen next?," 'cause I'd get stuck. Someone would say, "Oh, make the church burn down." And I'd say, "That sounds good, I'll make the church burn down." I was just doing it because I liked doing it.
Because there was very little being published at that time for young adults that included such violent content and emotional depth, were you concerned at all that the book was really pushing the envelope?
No, I wasn't. One reason I wrote it was I wanted to read it. I couldn't find anything that dealt realistically with teenage life. I've always been a good reader, but I wasn't ready for adult books, they didn't interest me, and I was through with all the horse books. If you wanted to read about your peer group, there was nothing to read except Mary Jane Goes to the Prom or
Workshop attendees and HALF of the Oregon contingent,
Steven urged the packed room to stop looking at their Amazon rankings.
Steven believes (and he says this is the Californian coming out in him) that the more you're out there putting good things into the world the more good things will come back to you.
In the children's book world, a great example of this is bookstore visits/author tours. It may not seem a success at the time and it is true they are lots of hard work, but the point of a tour or store visit isn't always immediate sales. Steven believes the power of a book tour is not quantifiable and hopes authors and illustrators will make the effort to be nice to everyone they meet on a tour. Because you never know, the dorky kid behind the counter may turn into tomorrow's power agent.
He asked everyone in the room to please read DEAR GENIUS if they haven't already.
Steven shared a few anecdotes -- Nikki McClure and Cynthia Rylant's book ALL IN A DAY was rejected by quite a few places and one complaint was that it looked like 'something they'd sell at Whole Foods,' and Steven wondered what on earth was wrong with having a book that appeals to people with as much disposable income as Whole Foods shoppers?
Steven mentioned that client
Chris Rylander, who was in the room, had sent Steven a novel for adults (a no no) BUT Chris had also included the funniest query letter Steven had ever read. Steven let Chris know that he had no idea why he sent the adult book, but if Chris ever wrote anything for kids as funny as that query letter he'd be interested.
Someone then asked what happens to your manuscript after it has been requested by Steven and Steven said it is sent to a machine/room a lot like this:
POSTED BY JAIME TEMAIRIK
Steven
Malk discovered
Frank Portman (a musician) at a Mr. T Experience show and thought his music would translate well into young adult literature.
Frank
Portman performs his song
Even Hitler Had a Girlfriend. (If you're not hear to experience it...find it on
iTunes!)
Malk invited several editors to see one of
Portman’s shows and
Marino went. As an editor building her own list, she saw the potential.
Over lunch,
Marino asked
Portman if there were any songs he could turn into a story.
Portman took that as an assignment and his first book came out of his song,
King Dork.
Portman performs his song
King Dork. (again...find it on
iTunes!)
Portman sat down and wrote thirty pages…all voice and attitude. From that, the book was sold to Random House.
Malk says those fist thirty pages were so amazing, with a voice that you’
ve never heard before: such a strong voice, such great humor.
Every word counts in a song, the same as with a picture book. And Frank has a mastery of language.
Important take-aways:
-you need to take from everywhere in your life for a story idea
-read a ton of YA, the classics and the new stuff
-your publisher wants to sell your books but they can’t do it without your help
-blogging is important, it’s a way to reach out to readers
-use all of your connections…networking is so, so important
-expect the book writing and revising process to be a collaboration
-find an editor who gets your project
Frank Portman's second book ANDROMEDIA KLEIN is out later this month.
Steve says postcards are still an effective promotional tool. Getting a good promo postcard is a refreshing change from all the digital images they see daily. Also, postcards can point editors and art directors to your website.
(Latest bobblehead: Popeye.)
POSTED BY ALICE POPE
Steve says being a talented illustrator is only half the battle. It's really important to show art directors and editors that you understand picture books.
Common mistake: Illustrators don't tailor their portfolios to the children's book market. Don't make art directors make the leap--show them evidence.
More advice: every illustrator should have a web presence that reflects them and their work. He spends at least two or three hours a week viewing illustrators' websites.
POSTED BY ALICE POPE
POSTED BY ALICE
Steve's slides have included these bobble head figures thus far: Mr. Peanut; a Garbage Pail Kid; Mr. T.; Smokie the Bear; Snap, Crackle & Pop; Tim Gunn; and Tony the Tiger
Agent Steven Malk is offering advice to illustrators on promoting their work: First--get educated.
Steve showed us picture of Lane Smtih's book collection and told us Marla Frazee has an exhaustive collection of back issues of the Horn Book.
Our Western Washington SCBWI conference is two weeks in the past now, and still some of the wonderful snippets of wisdom and tantalizing tips stick in my mind, and continue to to nourish me.
I'll not forget Nina Laden (ROMEOW AND DROOLIET) reminding us, "If you don't make mistakes, you may not make anything."
And Deb Lund (MONSTERS ON MACHINES) reading her unforgettable poem about that inner voice that harasses us as we write, and summing it up by telling us, "Sometimes we have to revise our own story, that story we tell ourselves."
Krista Marino, Senior Editor at Delacorte, reminded us to take cute out of our dictionary, when talking about children's books.
Nathan Bransford (Agent, Curtis Brown Ltd.) gave us his pet peeves for story beginnings: Don't start your book with
- the weather
- your character waking up
- looking in the mirror
- sarcastic characters (too flip and negative)
Steven Malk (Agent, Writer's House) says it's great to be
aware of trends, but don't
write to them.
He also advised us to be nice to everyone, not only because it's the right thing to do, but also because you never know when that editorial assistant may become the Senior Editor.
Kelly Sonnack (Agent, Andrea Brown Literary) told us to avoid
- forced pace-building (suddenly, quickly, at that moment)
- copious tears (only one tear per story)
- faces draining white or blushing
- exclamation points!
Justina Chen (NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL) encouraged us to "say yes to the emotional truths of your heart."
And Sundee Frazier (BRENDAN BUCKLEY'S UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING IN IT) told us she has to write, that she cannot deny that creative part of her being. "I could not deny the One who created me."
I've offered just a few nibbles of that wonderful feast that was spread before us at our unforgettable
Feed Your Genius conference. Now fully fueled, it's back to work. Happy writing, everyone!
Picture above: Some of my favorite people in the whole world--Molly Blaisdell, Janet Lee Carey, me, Katherine Grace Bond, Holly Cupala, all members of our Diviner Writing Group, all of us enjoying the Conference Feast
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"Oompa Loompa
Dippy-de-Doo
I've got a tasty
novel for you"
-Pamela Ross