Titles she has acquired and edited include the New York Times bestseller The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine by Mark Twain, Philip Stead and Erin Stead; I Don’t Want to Be a Frog by Dev Petty and Mike Boldt; the Happy Hair series by Mechal Renee Roe, Bunny’s Book Club by Annie Silvestro and Tatjana Mai-Wyss; and Wordy Birdy by Tammi Sauer and Dave Mottram.
In addition to editing Children’s books, Frances also writes them. She is the author of the picture books Go, Girls, Go!; Too Much Slime!; and I Will Always Be Your Bunny; the Step Into Reading Titles I Love Pink!, I love My Tutu!, I Love My Grandma!, I love Cake! and I Love My Teacher!; and an abridgment of The Secret Garden (Little Golden Books).
You can follow Frances on Twitter @GoGirlsGoBooks, where she posts about children’s writing and editing.
Rachel Orr is celebrating her sixteenth year at Prospect Agency, where she represents both authors and illustrators in projects ranging from picture books through YA. She previously worked for eight rewarding years at HarperCollins Children’s Books and uses those editorial skills to help prepare her clients’ work for submission.
Her clients include Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and Leeza Hernandez (ROXIE LOVES ADVENTURE), Cathy Carr (365 DAYS TO ALASKA), Cori Doerrfeld (THE RABBIT LISTENED), Della Ross Ferreri (HUGGLE WUGGLE, BEDTIME SNUGGLE) and Robyn Wall (MY FIRST BOOK OF BEARDS and MY FIRST BOOK OF TATTOOS). Rachel lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, with her husband and two children, where she enjoys dancing, running and reading, or course.
Workshop title: "STURDY BOOKENDS: Crafting Memorable Beginnings and Endings"
A strong beginning will hook the right reader, and a solid ending will allow the book to linger long after the story is over. Together, we’ll look at a wide range of beginnings and endings from both picture books and novels—analyzing why they succeed, or why they fail. Writers will also have the opportunity to practice employing these techniques to their own manuscripts, thinking about where the story really begins (and ends), and playing around with strengthening flat beginnings and ending through exercises focusing on voice.
Talia Benamy,
editor at Philomel Books, joined Penguin Random House as an editorial assistant
in 2013. She edits everything from picture books through YA. Talia is the editor of the She Persisted
chapter book series, based on the bestselling picture books by Chelsea Clinton
and Alexandra Boiger, as well as the National Book Award longlister The Life
and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum, Cramm This Book: So You Know
WTF Is Going On in the World Today by Olivia Seltzer (founder of The Cramm),
My Love for You Is Always by Gillian Sze and Michelle Lee.
She has also worked on books by Sonia Sotomayor, Kamala Harris, Temple Grandin, Abigail “Astronaut Abby” Harrison and Jane Yolen. Talia looks for manuscripts that have the potential to fulfill Philomel’s mission to publish books by creators with platforms and inspiring, empowering messages for young readers.
Workshop title: "Creating Compelling Characters"
Q & A Panel: "The Inside Scoop: The Business Side of Children's Publishing"
Ask the editor questions on submissions, do they operate independently or does the publisher make the final decision, how do they feel about self-published projects, can you get your rights back from a publisher, what happens if that editor leaves in the middle of your acquisition, etc.