Welcome to the Dunham Literary Book Chat where we read and discuss books that we did NOT represent. One of the benefits of working in publishing is getting to read great books and share and discuss them. HER RADIANT CURSE by Elizabeth Lim is represented by Gina Maccoby of Gina Maccoby Literary Agency and was published by Knopf Books For Young Readers in 2023.
Why did we pick this book? JD: I knew I wanted our next Book Chat pick to be either young adult or middle grade, and I’d been keeping my eyes and ears open for good suggestions. My agent friend Gina Maccoby talked about this book, and I knew it was just what I wanted so I mentioned it to Anjanette. Selfishly, I also wanted the book to be an enjoyable read. I found several aspects of HER RADIANT CURSE enticing. The first factor is a strong female protagonist, and she has been physically changed by a curse which impacts how others see her and how she sees herself. I was also excited to read a story with Asian elements in the world, culture, and mythos. What clinched it for me was Gina Maccoby’s description that SIX CRIMSON CRANES “turns the evil stepmother trope on its head,” and this book is the backstory to set that up. The setting in the story is inspired by Asian folklore. What elements of the world did you find the most compelling? Were there any folklore elements you were already familiar with? AB: This story contained a bit of an amalgamation of folkloric elements from Asia and I loved that it gave the world a familiar but still unique feel. I wasn’t surprised to learn that Elizabeth Lim had lived in Tokyo for a time because several things (like the demon characters) stood out to me as feeling very Japanese. At the same time, the jungle setting is more reminiscent of Southeast Asia, and the Chinese elements are prominent. There were some aspects of the folklore and overall plot that I think I would have understood better (specifically the dragon pearl) if I’d read the other books Lim has set in this universe, but I was still left with the feeling that if I spent more time with these characters I could easily internalize even the mythical concepts that were less familiar to me. The author captured the kinds of world-building elements that make stories feel universal. As a prequel novel to a series you’re unfamiliar with, did you find the story easy-to-follow? Were there any points where you felt like you were “missing” something that might have been clear to readers of the main series? JD: HER RADIANT CURSE is the first novel by Elizabeth Lim that I’ve read, and I had no trouble immersing myself in this story. The story doesn’t depend on information in her other books, and if it had, I’d feel pulled out of the story each time I tried to figure out what was going on. Once or twice I wondered if I missed an inside joke or connection to the other books the way an accomplished writer does as a reward for fans who’ve read the previous books in the series, but I think it’s harder for an author to put these in a prequel than a sequel since any connections to the series would have to refer to the future rather than the past. Even when I read a whole series, I sometimes find these references clunky in a sequel unless they are subtle; when I’m reading I don’t mind already knowing information, but I don’t want to be disrupted by a wink, wink, nod, nod moment meant to stick a point. Although most people read a series in order, in my opinion it’s important for each book to be readable as a stand alone title. A novel is a whole story and needs to feel complete. It’s possible that the best choice on a rack in an airport is book #4 in a series of 10, and if that’s the case, then book #4 needs to be as good a starting point as any to hook a reader on the whole series. This is also true if a reader picks up a series again after a long time because the reader may not remember all of the details in the previous books. There are multiple action/fight sequences in the novel—did you have a favorite? Did you find the author succeeded in describing the action elements in her fights? AB: The fight/actions scenes were a major strength of this story! I was swept up in the action every time Channi went to battle. My favorite was maybe an early scene where she is forced to fight a demon that she really has no issue with and manages to turn the situation to their advantage. It was all very easy to visualize, and set expectations for the kind of person Channi was and could become. Would you say the story was more “character-driven” or “plot-driven?” JD: As is generally true of fantasy, plot is very important in this story. This is amplified by the fact that it’s a prequel; the point of the story is to lay the groundwork of events that led characters to the point in their lives where the next story starts. That said, the characters in this story are strong and realistic, and the plot wouldn’t matter without them. The story includes lots of twists and turns, and in each case something specific to the characters makes the event feel believable because it is consistent with the characters involved. The story features multiple betrayals—did you find these twists surprising and engaging? Or were they more predictable? AB: We went into this book with the understanding that it was at least on some level a villain origin story. I am often wary of those because I feel some suspense is lost when we know the long term outcome. However, I think the author paced the relationship development in such a way that we hoped against hope that everything would somehow turn out for the best. While some of the twists were predictable, the betrayals still stung. They also set the stage for what comes in the rest of the series, which I am now eager to read. Much of the story centers around relationships both new and established. Which relationships did you find the most compelling? JD: The primary bond between the protagonist, Channi, and her sister, Vanna, fuels the entire narrative, and oddly enough I felt that this relationship could have been developed more. Because the sisters have opposite circumstances and expectations set upon them, their lives differ significantly, but this is Channi’s story, so Vanna is always in mind but not frequently nearby. Each one wants the other to be part of her world without taking into thoughtful consideration who the other is, and ultimately that is part of what leads to an unfortunate event in the ending. The relationship between Channi and her best friend Ukar, who happens to be a snake, is endearing and memorable. They have spats and call each other out, but they also support each other with unconditional love. Along the way Channi also meets Hokzuh, a dragon who is an enemy, then an ally, a friend, and possible love. One driving factor of the story is trying to guess what Channi and Hokzuh’s relationship will become by the end of the story, especially since the seed of betrayal has been planted. The ending makes a big impact because of the careful development of this relationship. Did reading this book inspire you to pick up the rest of the series? AB: Yes! I want to know more about this world and these people. I’ll be diving in asap! JD: Yes! I enjoyed the book enough to want to know more about these characters and their lives. I have some guesses about what will happen, and I want to know if I’m right. But, it’s equally fun to be surprised when I’m wrong. This spring my first young adult novel How I Found the Strong turns 20 years old.
When my agent, Jennie Dunham, sold How I Found the Strong to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, she had to explain to me what exactly a young adult novel was: a story with a young protagonist who is at the center of the plot. Then, she immediately told me to forget what she had said. “Don’t think about categories because what the editors liked about the book was that you didn’t condescend to the reader,” she said. It was great advice. Just tell the story in the best way you know. Take the reader through the experience. How I Found the Strong is about Frank "Shanks" Russell, a ten-year old boy who watches his father and older brother join the Confederate Army in the spring of 1861. Shanks becomes the man of the house in Smith County, Mississippi. He helps his mother and their slave, Buck work their family farm until his father returns, disabled. In the summer of 1863, when local lynching parties threaten Buck, who can now read, Frank and his father help him escape North. I am not so sure if How I Found the Strong would get published today, in a time when even Republican leaders won’t acknowledge that the Civil War was, in fact, about slavery. There are also violent passages about the war, a reference to a lynching, “language,” and the fact that I’m a white middle-aged woman writing from the point of view of a white boy from Mississippi. Marketed to Middle School students aged 9-10 year old, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published How I Found the Strong in spring 2004. Penguin Random House acquired and published “Strong” as a mass market paperback with a new cover in spring 2006. All 144 pages fits into a back pocket. For $5.99, it’s cheap, too. It has sold over 25,000 copies. Teachers buy classroom sets. It still gets reviewed on Amazon and Goodreads. I still get requests to visit classrooms in person or by Zoom. I still get emails with questions from students. “Aren’t you scared when you write?” “Why would you write about the losers and not the winners?” Young readers send me pictures of scenes they’ve drawn from the book. They suggest other story lines. They want to know what happened to Shanks, Irene, Buck and Little Bit, as though these fictional people had gone on to live real lives. They really want to know what happens next. These students and their curiosity led me to write two sequels, When I Crossed No-Bob and Sources of Light, which are also still in print. It’s significant to have a 20 year-old book still in print and circulating in book stores, libraries, and classrooms. My husband calls “Strong” a little miracle. Young boys have especially taken to the book, which is gratifying because boys are typically on the low end of the reading scale. I wrote the book right around the time my son was learning to read. But over and over, I get that question about fear. Aren’t you scared to see the things that Shanks saw? And I can’t help but ask myself: why put these students through war? I have always been interested in how extraordinary historical events affect ordinary people. History, and certainly a good deal of southern history, can be upsetting. But, still, it’s crucial for young readers to know the specifics of history and why politicians and others get worked up about the past because it shapes the present. How I Found the Strong is based on papers I found in a shoebox in my grandmother’s closet. Her great uncle, Frank Russell talked out his life to someone before he died, and that someone typed it into a manuscript, called “The Life and Times of Frank Russell,” a rough sketch of Frank's life in Smith County, Mississippi before, during, and after the Civil War. The part about Frank Russell's life that interested me the most, was what he did not talk about. When all the "menfolk" went off to war, he was left behind with all the women and children. The real Frank did not talk about that time, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how that might make a young boy feel -- to be left behind during a war of such high stakes -- and that is how I came to shape Shanks. I also wrote all the Civil War stories and myths I grew up hearing. I was born in Newton, Mississippi, north of Soso, west of Chunky. When I was growing up, my grandfather talked about "the war" as though it had happened yesterday. He often took me to the Mount Zion Cemetery where there’s a marker honoring two boys in our family. Legend has it that when their father went off to war and they were supposed to stay behind, these two brothers aged fifteen and sixteen, joined the calvary and left home. "Yankees killed them at the Battle of Murphree's Borough in Tennessee," my grandfather used to tell me. I thought about those two boys so often, I felt they were my brothers and that they had died in my lifetime. I read letters from Civil War soldiers, speeches, and newspaper articles from the 1800’s. I made hard tack. I listened to Civil War-era music. I went to Civil War reenactments and spent time wading through the Strong River in Mississippi, the river Buck must cross to escape. I found out just how rough Smith County was, and how, after the war, even though they were supposed to lay down their arms, Confederate soldiers brought home their guns, and for the first time most every family was armed. They also had access to new illegal distilleries. These same Confederate soldiers organized the Ku Klux Klan during this time. So, all over the South, shell-shocked soldiers, many of them missing limbs, returned home angry, broke, often drunk, and armed. Hardly fodder for a children’s story, right? The year I was researching and writing about the Civil War, the United States declared war on Afghanistan, responding to the 9/11 attacks. I was teaching at the University of Evansville in Indiana and my students began enlisting. Most of them were 18. I couldn’t help but think of my character, Shanks. Reading, writing, and educating yourself are not for the faint of heart. Still, I have yet to meet a reader who was damaged by a book. As most every English teacher and librarian knows, books open up the known and sometimes not-so-known world to students. If anything, students don’t read enough, sometimes because they are so busy watching Tik Tok or playing computer games filled with noise, sex, and violence. How I Found the Strong has never been banned, but some parents questioned the violence and the language in the book. One Black mother in Owensboro, Kentucky protested the selection of How I Found the Strong as their One School, One Book selection at Burns Middle School days before I was scheduled to appear. The Literacy Committee, the school board, and the school’s principal had already approved the book in the summer of 2008. All 850 students in grades 6-8 had a copy. What was the problem? Not the violence, but the use of the n-word. I recall hesitating when I first typed the “n word” in How I Found the Strong, mainly because I was raised never to say or write the word. But the book is not about me, it’s about Shanks, and I needed him to hear that word so that he could respond and act. I also could not see writing a book about race and slavery in Mississippi without using the word. In my research, I read that by the 1800s, the n-word was pejorative. Burns Middle School presented a series of options for students, having guidance counselors available to assist students with their feelings. Students could read the book in the classroom with preferential seating. They could read the book in an alternative setting with adults present. They could read an approved alternate book. Or students could come together with their copies of How I Found the Strong, and together, black out the n-word with Sharpies. When I visited, the students were smart and engaged. At the end of my talk, one girl asked about how I researched the language of the times and I told her that I read diaries of soldiers and other primary sources. Later, I discovered that this girl’s mother was the mother who had protested the book. The debate was valuable for us all. In many ways, I feel I’ve grown up alongside Shanks. My job as a writer is to take the reader through the experience, to make the reader see, hear, feel, smell, taste and experience moments from the past. In How I Found the Strong, Shanks sees the awful violence and murder of a young Black boy which later gives him courage and strength to help others. Cause and effect is the basis of plot. “History is the witness of the times, the light of truth, the life of memory, the teacher of life, the messenger of antiquity,” Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote. And memory, like history, is not all good. So it is important that we be precise in our memory and that we not erase the bad parts. I don’t recall everything about writing the book, but I do remember writing Shank’s observation after the war ends, which still feels relevant today. “Our country fell apart, and for a time, so did we. But some of us are still left, and we are strong enough to put ourselves and our world back together.” Happy birthday, Shanks. Congratulations on the paperback release of LIFE B: OVERCOMING DOUBLE DEPRESSION, available now!
It’s been a year since LIFE B was published. What were your expectations ahead of its release, and how accurate have you found them to be? It took me much longer to write LIFE B than I’d thought it would, largely for two reasons: First, I hadn’t figured out the right structure for the memoir when I sold on proposal, and second, I had a lot to learn about writing a memoir! I was humbled by this entire process, and when I say humbled, I don’t mean I had huge expectations to begin with, rather that I had to humble myself before my own story, to acknowledge my flaws and errors, in order to finish the manuscript. So, as to how accurate my pre-release expectations were: Not very accurate at all! That has turned out to be a great gift. The vulnerability of sharing your story is a big risk, but it can also be a gift to others. How do you feel that sharing your story has had an impact on readers? I know that sharing my story has been a gift to myself and to some family members, while painful for other family members. I believe that the process of understanding my own narrative has been crucial to my healing. However, the reactions and compassion I’ve received from readers help me understand how crucial our own stories are for others. I’ve heard from people who were my nursery-school classmates on to high-school and college classmates, military-spouse friends, graduate-school friends, writer friends from unpublished to world famous–and I only include the last category so everyone will know that mental illness affects people at all levels. How do you feel society has progressed in de-stigmatizing our understanding of mental illness? What have we done right, and what still needs improvement? Many times over the years I’ve had people in my life say some version of “You have a perfect life! How can you be depressed?” One of the things I share is that depression (and other mental illnesses) doesn’t care whether you’re rich or poor, young or old, physically fit or not. Depression has different aspects: Genealogical, hereditary, and contextual (stressors). Everyone’s experience has a different mix of those things, and we have a long way to go until we take that in as a society. Do you think publishers would have published your memoir 20 years ago? 50 years ago? What has changed in society to make publishers open to the topic when they weren't before? How has psychology become more mainstream? Fifty years ago, no one would have touched this memoir; 20 years ago, someone might have, but I believe I would have been asked to make it more upbeat, maybe even with a women's-magazine "service-y" angle. What has changed in society is that so many more people have had to become open about discussing mental illness because it's affecting people of all ages, just as we've become so much more open to discussing other types of illness and diseases. I'm a strong feminist, and I firmly believe that all the "waves" feminism we've seen have made people realize that hiding challenges and/or pretending they don't exist cannot work. Part of that, of course, has to do with becoming more open about psychology and psychiatry, sciences that unnerve people because we can't "see" the mind. What would it look like for us as society to take the next step? Can you suggest specific improvements? The first specific improvement I would love to see in our society would be for children to learn more about their emotions and feelings (the two things are not congruent) at early ages, in many different ways. Books, television shows, games, curricula, you name it. Emotional intelligence is real and should be fostered like intellect. Second, we need better understanding of mental-health difficulties in the workplace. Someone who has a bad day is not in the same position as someone who has a panic attack. A person with bipolar syndrome might need specific dates and times off for therapeutic and medical appointments, yet also be one of the best employees on a team. We have to become more flexible about where and how and when and to whom people are allowed to disclose their status, and we also need to protect their privacy as they wish. As for health insurance, I wouldn't even know where to begin. So many people I know, at very different socioeconomic levels, struggle with finding proper care for the mental illnesses, with filling prescriptions for lifesaving medications, and with paying for life-changing in-patient programs. We have to find new ways to help. What aspects of mental illness that LIFE B discusses have you found readers are the least familiar with? The importance of knowing your family mental-health history. Authors like Robert Kolker (Hidden Valley Road) and Roxanna Asgarian (We Were Once a Family) have shown us families with mental-health challenges running through them; I tried, in my own way, to show that with my writing about my grandmothers in particular. I wish I had more information going further back, because from a few remarks and bits of information I have, I know that there were likely other family members, with other forms of mental illness, in the past, too. In addition to being an author, you also maintain an active and massive social media presence. How do you feel social media is tied to your identity as a writer? Anyone who follows or has met me online knows that WYSIWYG! One of the reasons I have a large following is because I keep it very real, but also very civilized. I know younger/newer influencers on various platforms care much less about decorum than I do. Times have changed. I don’t think my manners age me, though. They’re just part of who I’ve always been. I think of places like Twitter and Instagram as big cocktail parties, and at cocktail parties, we all want to feel a little bit fabulous for a little slice of time. Why not keep some of your life behind a veil? May is Mental Health Awareness month. In honor of that, do you have any mental health organizations or resources you’d like to spotlight? The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) works directly with policy makers to improve policies and awareness, as well as providing regional and local support to families and caregivers. Arlington, Virginia-based Crisis Link is part of the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and has been helping those in despair since 1969. The Wounded Warrior Project has a hashtag that says it all: #CombatStigma. We send our young people out to defend our country and sometimes forget that on return they aren’t okay. That must change. Congrats on the release of A TRICK OF SPADES from Owl's Nest Publishers, which is available for purchase now!
What did your creative process for this book look like? A little unusual, honestly. In college, one of my professors encouraged me to apply for a research grant; basically, my university paid me to write the first draft. I spent three months working on the book like it was my job, forty hours a week of writing, editing, and reading comp titles and historical nonfiction. It was an incredible and probably unrepeatable experience. Of course, it still took another four years of work before Spades found a home at Owl’s Nest Publishers. What does your working space look like? What do you need in order to be productive? I have a lovely desk which I almost never use for writing! Instead, I tend to work curled up on the couch. The main thing I need in order to be productive is solitude–I don’t write well in public spaces or with other people around. I like some background noise, usually my writing playlist, and I do my best work in the evening. Talk to us about music. What are your favorite songs for writing? How do you switch it up? Do you have a theme song for yourself as a writing professional? I love listening to instrumental music when I write. Lots of Joe Hisaishi, Hans Zimmer, and John Powell. There’s some classical on there, too–I love Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. I don’t know if I have a theme song for myself as a writer, but I do typically have a theme song for each of my books. For Trick of Spades, it’s “Do You Believe in Magic?” by The Lovin’ Spoonful. How did you initially get into writing? I started writing plays at the age of ten–they were blatant knockoffs of my favorite movies, books, and shows, of course. My friends and I would put them on for our families. What do you hope will draw readers to your work? If readers enjoy suspense, complex worldbuilding, and family dynamics, they might like Spades. Most of all, I hope readers are drawn to the characters. Colm and Clíana are so fun to write, and while there are plenty of magical hijinks, the heart of the story is that sibling relationship. Outside of writing, what do you like to do? (personal life outside of writing) Of course, like all writers, I love reading. I also love cooking, baking, experimenting with new cocktails, and pretty much anything that involves food. As you might guess from what I write about, I really enjoy studying history–and on any given weekend, you can find me shopping at estate sales and vintage boutiques. What are your favorite moments of both suspense, happiness, or other in your upcoming book? There’s a moment early on in the book, right as the plot begins to thicken, where the main character, Colm, has a conversation with one of the antagonists. It’s not exactly an action-packed scene, but it was incredibly fun to write in terms of the character dynamics. Colm has to be careful about what he reveals, while also persuading the antagonist to reveal something. It shows a lot about both characters. What are your favorite jokes and quotes in your upcoming book? I think I actually didn’t realize what was funny in Spades until I read it aloud to my nieces–for example, there’s a moment in which one of the characters, when cornered, throws a lamp at the villain. In my mind, she threw the lamp simply because it was in arm’s reach, but my nieces found it hilarious. How will you celebrate the book release? Probably with cocktails! My mum and I love inventing new ones, and every time I have a release, we mix up a drink inspired by the story. Could you tell us about authors who have inspired you? Oh, there have been so many! J.R.R. Tolkien and Ursula K. Le Guin, Rumer Godden and John Steinbeck, Jane Austen and George Eliot–pretty much any author I read and love inspires me. What advice do you have for aspiring authors? Just keep at it. And read a lot. Read a lot of different things. You can learn from any book you pick up, even if it isn’t in your genre, even if you don’t love it. Find other writers, and learn how to accept critique–I know it’s painful, but it’s the best way to improve. Welcome to a new Book Chat on the Dunham Literary Blog! Jennie and Anjanette use these posts to share our thoughts from the industry insider perspective on books we read. Our most recent read is FINDING YOUR WRITER'S VOICE: A GUIDE TO CREATIVE FICTION by Thaisa Frank and Dororthy Wall. Summary from the publisher:
Our Thoughts:According to Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall in FINDING YOUR WRITER’S VOICE: A Guide to Creative Fiction, voice “has to do with sound, quite apart from meaning.” And like a musician learning a new instrument, a writer must focus on hearing and identifying their unique voice, and then exploring what it can do.
Throughout the text, the authors encourage readers to try exercises that are designed to unlock the elements of their writing voice that contribute to accessible, engaging, and original prose in fiction. This is something that is difficult to quantify and takes years of practice, but is often cited by agents and editors as what makes or breaks a manuscript. The book is broken into four sections:
VOICE
Jennie: Yes. To me voice is the part of communicating that comes from the unconscious. It's hard for a writer to describe or even to identify their own voice. It becomes noticeable when compared to someone else's voice. People from an area sound similar, but each person is unique, so voice is a sort of fingerprint of communication. When someone's voice is affected, they're taking on qualities of someone else's voice. They're purposefully trying to sound like someone with a different identity.
Anjanette: We all have authors that we love and will read no matter what subject matter they are tackling. There's "something about their writing" that we gravitate to. While it's certainly true that we may be drawn to skill, we're also resonating with the author themselves - their "voice." That voice shines through whether they are writing fiction or non-fiction, and no matter which character's head they are in. They are throwing themselves like a ventriloquist, but it's still them. I think it's important that authors lean into that part of their writing voice that is organic and unique to them, and even though it may mature over time, I think readers will be able to recognize a consistent voice versus the voice of an author who it still trying on the voices of other writers. Jennie: It’s important for voice to be consistent in a single book. The exception to this is that voice can change over the course of the story if that is part of the artistry, but that’s an ambitious undertaking. Voice doesn’t have to be the same from book to book unless the books belong to a series. There are advantages to a consistent voice – having a distinct and recognizable voice across books helps build an author’s brand. STORY
Anjanette: I love that the authors of this book point out that stories came long before “craft.” We can analyze stories after the fact of writing them and identify elements like character and plot, but the writing comes first. And writing (a lot) is also the prerequisite task we have to commit to before we can manipulate individual elements of story like pacing. Think about storytellers in real life – an elder in a rocking chair or campfire story-sharer vs. an excited middle schooler or fired-up activist - some people have a natural pace. And sometimes pace can be paired with voice to create urgency or an atmosphere of contemplation. A character's "voice" can tell us about their personality and motives just like it tells us about the author in real life.
Jennie: I enjoy stories which balance character and plot. While meeting a new character on the page is interesting, the character is most engaging and memorable when facing challenges and conflicts. What a character says with a gut reaction at the height of conflict reveals voice just as internal thoughts in reflective moments reveal voice in another way. REVISION
Anjanette: Read out loud. We sometimes put on slightly different voices when we are, say, on the phone with the bank, or diffusing a tense situation. The book uses the example of a psychotherapist or parent of a teenager using the “What I hear you saying is…” line. Those voices can feel out of place in fiction and can leave readers feeling like the story is didactic or stilted. Reading aloud can help you spot them. If the places that just aren’t meshing are in the narration, can you modify them into into dialogue? Is it really a character trying to speak, and it feels like an imposter voice coming from you (the narrator)?
Jennie: There’s no single right answer to this question, and the number of revisions an author needs to make varies by project and author. An author may need to revise multiple times, but it’s important to strike a good balance so that the scenes aren’t overworked which can flatten voice. Perhaps a more important issue is who will read and provide feedback because it’s wise to wait until after receiving feedback from multiple sources before beginning to revise. Another question is how many rounds of readers giving feedback which lead to revisions are helpful. It’s wise to get a sensitivity reader regarding characters whose identity don’t match the author’s identity.
Jennie: Art is subjective. What is important or meaningful to one person might not resonate with someone else. When I disagree with an author about something in a manuscript, I evaluate the issue with regard to the artistic integrity of the whole story. Is my suggestion truly crucial to the success of the story, or is it just an opinion? Would 99% of acquiring editors agree with me? If the story holds its artistic integrity without my suggested change, then it’s just opinion which means an editor might agree with the author. Anjanette: Agents can be wrong! And much of high-level editing is subjective. But we read a LOT, so please take our thoughts into consideration when we share them. We want your book to find a home with a publisher so that it can go out into the world and everyone can get paid! We also want you to be happy with the final product, so don't hesitate to speak up and disagree after you've mulled it over! Again, we can be wrong! KEEPING VOICE ALIVE
Jennie: The first question to ask is: is one agent or editor having this reaction, or, is there a trend to the responses I’m getting from agents and editors? One response is an opinion, but several responses that say the same thing indicate a wider opinion in the market. Beyond that, it’s worth noting that voice shifts over time as an author adds life experiences and grows, and it would be surprising if this didn’t show up on the page. Take a step back and assess if the tone has shifted. If it has, the tone may not align with voice in the story well.
Anjanette: Because your voice is an extension of who you are as a person, it can pay to be a little bit vulnerable and let your readers see the real you in a public way. Social media, interviews, essays, and public speaking engagements can foster a connection with your audience that actually enhances their reading experience. They are smart enough to synthesize what they've learned about you and what they are reading from you on the page in a way that won't distract them but will give them deeper context for what you are saying between the lines. This is where an author's VOICE and BRAND intersect, and embracing the connection can be very fulfilling for an author. The third installment of Tod Goldberg's Gangsterland series was released about six months ago on 9/12/23 and has been accumulating some exciting praise and recognition, including: Amazon, A Best Book of the Month Sept. 2023 The Washington Post, A Most Anticipated Title Deadly Pleasures Magazine, A Best Book of the Year CrimeReads, A Notable Book of 2023 Book and Film Globe Favorite Books of 2023 Today we want to share some of the best reviews here on the blog and encourage you to click over to Counterpoint's website where you'll find even more press coverage and information on how to buy the series. This is a unique contribution to crime fiction that you won't want to miss! On to the reviews: BooklistThe third installment in the Gangsterland trilogy (Gangsterland, 2014; Gangster Nation, 2017) opens with a lengthy flashback to 1973, during Dark Billy Cupertine’s final hours alive. Sal, Cupertine’s son and the trilogy’s central character, was a Chicago hitman forced to assume a new identity as a rabbi and relocate to Las Vegas. Set in 2002, the trilogy’s final book finds Sal with a lot of problems. His identity is cracking. His enemies are getting closer. His family is hidden away in a witness protection program but nevertheless in danger. And Peaches Pocatillo, a Native American kingpin who has taken control of the Chicago mob, is hot on Sal’s trail, determined to get revenge for a past slight. No spoilers here, but the opening flashback proves vitally important to the plot and to Sal. Perhaps the most well-written of the trilogy’s installments, Gangster’s Don’t Die has a great story, exciting characters, and a few nifty surprises. Publishers Weekly - Starred Review!Goldberg concludes his Gangsterland trilogy in style, following up 2017’s Gangster Nation with a mesmerizing comic noir that’s fully accessible to series newcomers. After killing several FBI agents in 1998 Chicago, mobster Sal Cupertine hid in the back of a meat truck and reemerged in Las Vegas, where he assumed the identity of Rabbi David Cohen. In time, Sal grew into the role, providing genuine succor to his congregation and finding some satisfaction in doing so. But by 2002, the walls are closing in on him. Hospitalized after being assaulted—an attack that’s undone the plastic surgery he’s used to conceal his true identity—Sal is targeted by Matthew Drew, a former FBI agent who’s been framed for murders in Portland, Ore., and Peaches Pocotillo, a Native American gang lord who’s looking to take over Sal’s operations. Drawing his foes out to the desert, Sal prepares for a final showdown that will either end his life or free him for good. Goldberg keeps readers guessing whether Sal will again outsmart his foes and injects humor throughout (“The problem with being on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, Matthew Drew realized, was the lack of dining options”) to keep the proceedings from growing too grim. This is a stellar end to one of the most inventive crime series in recent memory. Agent: Jennie Dunham, Dunham Literary. Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times"Goldberg is charming and sharp, with a quip for every occasion . . . Although each book stands on its own, taken together, the Gangsterland novels read like a single sweeping story with a large cast and numerous storylines, which Goldberg compares to the slow-developing character arc over the course of several seasons of shows like Game of Thrones and The Wire. This gave Goldberg a great deal of latitude to tell the story in an emotionally satisfying way . . . Goldberg’s success in this anti-heroic mode is rare in the world of crime fiction. Where many writers emphasize the violence in their stories, Goldberg pays equal attention to its psychic aftermath."
The full article in the LA Times: The real spiritual journey behind Tod Goldberg’s fake-rabbi desert antihero We know there are many things that you just have to “learn as you go” as an author, and it’s especially difficult to think strategically when you are encountering every step of the process for the first time. It can feel like the publishing industry swirls with inscrutable mystery, but it really does get easier with experience. Seasoned authors and agents continue to learn new things every day too, and that’s part of the fun! We want you to begin 2024 feeling prepared and motivated, so we took time in January to impart some simple truths about publishing via our social media accounts. We’ve given advice that is practical, but potentially impactful, and in today’s blog post we’re including the complete collection of tips from January 2024 for your convenience. We hope you find them helpful! 1. Slow and steady wins the race.When that “final” draft is complete, it can be tempting to rush off and send it everywhere all at once, but building your career as an author is a long game. It’s good to pace yourself. Making small, measurable goals and then proceeding with intentionality and some prudence will give you the space you need to learn from your mistakes and pivot when necessary. Find that beta reader, curate your list of agents, build your social media platform and writing community. And don’t forget that a career is usually built on more than one book, so keep writing! This year, remember that the publishing industry isn’t going anywhere! Take your time, plan ahead, and produce your best work! 2. We all have the same, very limited, 24 hour days.You’ve probably heard it before – agents are swamped. We wish it was an exaggeration, but agents (and editors) are truly faced with an overwhelming number of submissions. The volume of manuscripts crossing our desks in a given week or year is exponentially more than we could accept even if it were possible to fit more work hours into the day. We get 24 hours and really do better overall when some of those are dedicated to eating, sleeping, and spending time with loved ones. Take encouragement from this! The waiting is normal, and most importantly, a “rejection” from one agent is not necessarily a reflection of your manuscript’s potential. It is a reflection of the difficult decisions we have to make about what we can afford to take on to our already-full list of responsibilities. 3. Platform matters. More and more often agents are hearing no-thank-yous from editors along the lines of, “The manuscript has potential, but I’m afraid that the author’s platform is not where it would need to be to help us with marketing.” It’s just the unfortunate reality that there are not enough people or hours in the day for publishers to give every book a robust marketing plan, and they are making their decisions in part based on whether or not the author has demonstrated the ability to do some of that legwork themselves. What does “platform” mean today? It can still vary by audience. Where are you likely to meet your readers? Speaking events? Professional organizations? In the pages of trade journals? Or social media? An author website and social media accounts are the most common starting place for connecting with your audience. 4. Response times are slower than ever.As we mentioned in an earlier post, agents (and editors) have seen a massive increase in the volume of submission over the years. Many of us receive no compensation for reading those submissions, but they are an essential part of finding quality projects to work on. Even so, we must prioritize our current clients and projects, and sometimes it just takes a very long time to clear space to consider new one. A long wait does not mean “no,” and it’s a good discipline to try not to read into the reason it’s taking so long to hear back from someone. Sometimes the delay is something as simple as one of us getting a cold that sets our schedule back. You want agents and editors to have the brain-space for your voice, so while waiting is hard it is ultimately worthwhile. And remember that when your book goes on submission with an agent, the waiting will resume – response times from editors are slower than ever. Practice patience now. 5. You need a hook.What makes readers want to read your book? Unless you are already famous, there will need to be something about your manuscript that is unique or unusual enough to grab the attention of readers in a very saturated market. If you can’t identify the thing or things that will grab readers and keep them, then it’s time to examine whether your manuscript is really as complete and creative as it could be. Without a hook you will likely receive feedback that it “feels too familiar” or “won’t stand out” among the competition. But don’t stress so much about inventing something never-before-seen as identifying what is special about what you’ve already created. Even though there is a chance you need to revise, it’s equally possible that you haven’t honed in on the hook in your description/pitch but that it’s there waiting to be found. Each story is unique because each writer is – which perspective, plot element, character detail, or topic is going to make readers stop and give your book a second glance? 6. It pays to plan your queries wisely.Querying can be time consuming, and you may be tempted to streamline by creating an impersonal query letter and sending it out widely. But you need to know that it’s more likely that you’ll find success faster if you research and target specific agents than if you send pitched out blindly and cross your fingers. Your manuscript will not be a good fit for many agents out there. Some do not represent your genre or age group at all. Some have very specific directions on their wishlists or websites about what they want to see (or not see) in a query. Take the time to create a submission plan that includes agents you genuinely feel to be a good fit for you, and then query in batches. You may receive feedback from agents in one round of submissions that affects your future submission practices for the better. It can take time to find an agent who is interested and available, but throwing spaghetti at the wall is little more than a waste of everyone’s time. 7. Unique, well-written books are still getting published and flying off shelves. We’d like to end this series on a hopeful note to remind you why you became interested in this author career path in the first place – good books are still being made! Publishing is alive and well, and there is room for more growth. Like every industry, it changes and adapts, but reading is still a beloved pastime that we think will endure. Create the very best manuscript and submission plan that you can, and stay the course. Your perseverance may reap huge rewards that giving up is sure to cheat you from.
This year we decided to choose a special book for each other to celebrate the holidays. As we’ve gotten to know each other’s literary tastes, it has been fun to make recommendations, and we thought you all might enjoy a little behind-the-scenes look at what we chose for each other and how each was received. Anjanette’s choice for Jennie: PIRANESI by Susanna ClarkWhat Jennie thought about Piranesi The book arrived with a note from Anjanette saying that she felt it would be good to “go in blind” without reading the premise first. Which I never do. So, I did it! I kept trying to find my way with both the character and the story which mirrors how the protagonist feels throughout most of the story. It reminded me of the tv series Archive 81, which I enjoyed, and Jorge Luis Borges, who is one of my all time favorite authors. Often I’m frustrated in stories if I have to spend too much time figuring out where the protagonist is and why, but I realized this was an integral part of the story. The book starts in the fifth month and ends at the end of the eleventh month which to me signals a May-December story in which Piranesi is the youth being guided by the Other. The book ending before getting exactly to December was a signal that the guidance had been interrupted because the Other is not who he initially seems to be for Piranesi. And the albatross, ever present with the calendar, is a symbol of fortune changing and travel. It seemed odd to me that the incantations are made in Celtic, but the world the incantations lead to has the physical geography of the Greco-Roman world. The labyrinth of Greek myth is meant to contain a monster, and so I spent time wondering who was the monster in this story. The reversal was satisfying. I did not expect 16 to have that profession, and I’m surprised and pleased with the patience 16 shows Piranesi. I’m glad that Piranesi builds trust at the end with 16. The story, of course, is partly a metaphor for how we are prisoners in the labyrinth of the mind. It could be a metaphor for mental illness or for how the psyche can be so influenced by outside forces that someone can’t even recognize themselves. It is also the story of how people manipulate others and the worlds they build to carry out misdeeds. But, ultimately, internal forces will encourage a person towards normalcy and there is great hope for recovery. It’s also a story that reminds us that there are still worlds to discover and explore, and we may find them by traveling unexpected paths. Why Anjanette chose Piranesi for Jennie While Jennie’s favorite reads overlap with mine somewhat, I gravitate more toward the fantastical and she toward the literary. It’s nice that there’s plenty of fiction that blurs the lines these days, but it made it difficult to decide on something! I wanted to send Jennie a story that was unusual and thought-provoking, but still a breezy read. Piranesi is fairly short, and I found it almost impossible to put down when I read it because it has elements of mystery that unfold continuously – there aren’t many natural stopping points because the author has paced each revelation so well. I feel that Piranesi is a book that makes the reader ruminate on philosophical and anthropological questions while also offering engaging imagery and the tension of a protagonist we understand to be naïve to the dangers we are seeing as the reader. Jennie’s choice for Anjanette: THE SIXTEEN PLEASURES by Robert Hellenga What Anjanette thought of Sixteen Pleasures It was easy to see why Jennie might send me a bookish book full of nuns and poetry and art. I am, after all, Catholic and a self-confessed lover of fine art and antiquities. It was a little less clear to me how I would enjoy a book centered on the discovery of an old book of erotica that needs to be covertly smuggled from a convent and sold. But one of the things I enjoy about reading books that are recommended to me by others is the opportunity to pick things up that I wouldn’t choose on my own. I would steer clear of this book if I saw it on the shelves, but it was absolutely a worthwhile read. To begin with, the writing is beautiful. Each chapter – especially in the first and third act of the story – feels like a poignant personal essay, but still cohesively moves the plot forward. There were also many references to classic literature and art that I loved (I wouldn’t have expected a book like this to fit in ways to shout out both Lord of the Rings and Emma!), and much more poetry than just the erotic sonnets that the cover copy mentions. In fact, the (historically genuine) erotic manuscript that provides the hook for this bestseller is the least interesting character in these pages, and the spiritual lives of the protagonists was what held my interest. Including a plotline centered on erotica served to signal that there would be nothing too taboo for this author to discuss, and since religion is often just as taboo as sex, I appreciated the attempt at an honest treatment of the various ways sacred relationships and covenants fulfill – or don’t – our human needs and desires. Why Jennie chose Sixteen Pleasures for Anjanette I admit that I read this book a long time ago, but I remember this as a stunning debut for Robert Hellenga. I wanted to share this book with Anjanette because it combines books as treasures, a convent, a foreign setting, and the protagonist’s need to figure out her alliances so she can make a difficult decision and act on it. When I read it, I wanted to jump on a plane to help with the restoration! I thought she’d like the foreign setting in Italy because she majored in a foreign language and likes to travel. Anjanette has strong faith, and I thought that the lives of the nuns would be both relatable with their faith but also captivating because a convent is an insular, almost secretive society which she would join as a reader. The central object is a book about sex, but to the nuns it’s both mysterious and terrifying. And, the story is not about divulging what is in the book so much as it’s about what to do with the book after it’s found. The protagonist is a well-intentioned volunteer trying to restore damaged books so they can be preserved in the libraries, but this one needs to be purged from the library in order to restore the convent. In other words, the story is about returning the convent to purity by removing an inappropriate object. Closing thoughts on choosing books for friendsFrom Jennie: When I choose a book for a friend, I like to pick a book that juxtaposes two or more of my friends’ interests for a premise that will make them want to start reading right away. I think about the protagonist a little bit, but I think about the main conflict in the story more. It’s hard to guess if a friend will like the voice, but I do think about the writing when I’m choosing a book. While I hope they like it, sometimes liking parts and disliking others leads to a better conversation. Then again, it’s always great to get an excited “I loved it!” response as well. It’s great to connect afterwards and hear what parts we both enjoyed as well as what didn’t work or what loose ends we found that we’re still thinking about. A really good book becomes part of our shared history as friends, something we experienced together by talking about it afterwards. From Anjanette: I’m always tempted to send friends a book in their preferred genre that I know they will be excited about receiving, even if I haven’t read it myself. I love to give gifts that show people I’m paying attention and want to make them happy. I’ve found, however, that it’s even more impactful to find a book at the intersection of my interests and theirs, especially if I read and loved it. The gift then becomes multi-faceted – I am not just sending them $20 worth of story that they could have purchased themselves, I’m sending them the gift of shared experience and conversation. Sometimes the conversation will reveal that they didn’t love it as much as I did, but that’s valuable too because it highlights our differences and gives us more to talk about. Now that I’ve spent over three decades working as a literary agent, I’ve taken a few moments to reflect on my time in the business. As with life, the days have been busy and long, but I don’t know where the years went.
Thinking back to the beginning, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after graduating from college. I wanted to work in a creative field, but I didn’t want to be pressured to produce creatively all the time. I was interested in ideas, stories, and perspectives, but I didn’t know how to make a living from those interests. A part time bookstore job and then an unpaid internship at small publisher led to my first full time job as an assistant at a literary agency. In retrospect, what I really wanted was to surround myself with books and the people who create them. When I started as a literary agent, the shelves in the offices where I worked were lined with boxes of manuscripts. Yes, there were shelves of books too, but the boxes took up a lot of shelf space because we used them to submit printed manuscripts. We ordered sturdy boxes separately from other office supplies, and agents used different colors (red, orange, gray) to make their boxes distinguishable from other agencies. I would go to a copy shop to ask them to make 6 copies of a manuscript when I had to prepare a multiple submission. In those days, editors responded by returning manuscripts to agents, and I could tell how many pages an editor read from coffee stains and how many pages were rumpled and how many were pristine. Ostensibly, editors returned them to us so we could submit them to other editors, but frequently the boxes and manuscripts were too worn to submit to another editor. I used to carry manuscripts home to read, and they were heavy. I joked that I made my living in part by lugging around tree parts. Computers were widely in use when I started, but email wasn’t. I spent a good part of the day on the phone talking with editors to pitch manuscripts and follow up on submissions. This was great because I was interacting with people all day and talking about books. Relationships developed and were reinforced with each call. Because of relationships like this, I was able to get opportunities for clients that they may have otherwise missed. Once I even sold a book to an editor who rejected it because I called to talk about the reason for the rejection after I received her response. Email changed the industry because paper manuscripts and boxes were no longer necessary. Editors and agents switched to e-reader devices and no longer needed large backpacks for commuting to and from work with manuscripts. Because email was fast to send, people expected answers right away, and of course, thoughtful, detailed answers weren’t always as fast to generate. At first some publishers and agencies felt that email would make assistants unnecessary, but that was proven wrong quickly although not all employers, who’d been excited about reducing staff and salaries, were ready to acknowledge that assistants still fulfilled essential roles in the process. Once email became standard for the general public, agencies started receiving queries by email as well as regular mail. In short order, the number of submission expanded exponentially. It was easy to send submissions to multiple agencies without going to the post office or paying for postage. Access to the internet made the biggest difference across the board in the publishing industry. Information was suddenly easy to access that had previously only been available by joining groups such as the AALA or looking in Publishers Marketplace, the official tome for authoritative information in the field of publishing. Before the internet, writers either took classes and counted on their teachers’ connections to get representation or looked in guides such as Jeff Herman’s Guide to Literary Agents. With the internet, books could be ordered without leaving the house, and professionals in publishing and readers who didn’t work in publishing could find out information about books, authors, publishers, and agents. With the popularity of blogs and social media, even the standards for reviewing and promoting books changed drastically. While the mechanics of how I receive submissions from writers and submit projects to editors has changed, so much hasn’t changed. The heart of the business is finding new voices that resonate strongly in readers. Readers still love to be entertained, and stories are at the center of almost every type of entertainment. Platforms, applications, and media are just new spins on the everlasting enjoyment of stories. The world is hungry for new perspectives and a fresh understanding of both new and familiar topics, and there are so many stories yet to be told. I look forward to the next 30 years of guiding new writers into the book industry. Jennie Dunham Tomfoolery! Randolph Caldecott and the Rambunctious Coming-of-Age of Children's Books , written by Michelle Markel and illustration by Barbara McClintock released on November 14th! We are so excited for the world to read this special book and enjoy our client Barbara's beautiful illustrations! And we're not the only ones impressed by Tomfoolery! Keep reading below to see what others have said. Click on the graphic associated with each to visit the reviewer's website. School Library Journal (starred review!) Gr 1-3–In a history that gallops along like John Gilpin’s horse, Markel traces the career of a lad mad for drawing, who switched careers midstream from banking to art and after some low points (“Sometimes, on his letters, he draws himself as a sad, frumpled cartoon”) went on to replace the “pretty poses and cluttered scenery” of the Victorian era’s picture books with images still notable for their unrestrained energy and humor. McClintock evokes that energy by incorporating samples of Caldecott’s art (and, for contrast, examples from stodgier tomes) into her finely drawn views of livestock scurrying underfoot or streaming from sketchbook pages. She also dresses up a busy multiethnic crowd of city and country folk first in period dress, then in modern attire to link past audiences to present ones. In end notes the author fills in some biographical details, with nods to Caldecott’s publisher and contemporaries Kate Greenaway and Walter Crane. Readers open to more than just a taste of his distinctive works and sketches of his life and times will find Leonard Marcus’s Randolph Caldecott: The Man Who Could Not Stop Drawing well worth the plunge—but this brief tribute gets to the heart of what makes his work so enduringly appealing. VERDICT If Marcus still rules the roost, here’s a high-stepping alternative for younger readers. Reviewed by John Edward Peters , Jul 01, 2023 Publishers Weekly (starred review!)Randolph Caldecott (1846–1886) was one of the first artists to illustrate children’s books with an eye toward merriment rather than morality, so it’s not surprising that this action-oriented biography by Markel (Out of This World) offers “a hero so chipper he can barely hold still on the paper.” Working in watercolor and pen and ink, McClintock (Vroom!) first shows Caldecott as a bearded young man pulling back an outsize book page to reveal a throng of his drawings come to life. As a boy, Caldecott sketches the animals he loves in motion; as a young man, he confounds his father’s efforts to make him a banker, draws during work hours, and works to improve his skill. Soon, he’s an artist with an offer to illustrate books for children, and “he likes what kids like—action!” Here, reproductions of Caldecott’s own real-life images enter the book as he enjoys his first publishing success. The historical moment of this innovation is captured with verve and verb-forward flourishes in this lively portrait of a person whose illustration style still inspires contemporary picture book creators, some of whose portraits are slipped into a final scene. Characters are presented with various skin tones. Ages 5–8. Kirkus Reviews (starred review!)The career of one of our most famous picture-book artists comes rip-roaringly to life! Why on earth should kids care about the life of Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886)? Because he brought fun to the picture-book page! From the start, readers are promised “frisky animals, sprightly characters, and a hero so chipper he can barely hold still on the paper.” This book is nothing like the children’s books of old, which were uninspired, static, and often downright dull. As a child, Caldecott was delighted with animals, sketching them and their movements. He grew up to become a banker and made a living illustrating magazines and newspapers. Given the chance to illustrate a book for children, he filled the pages with what he’d learned. Infused with the sheer energy and joy of the subject matter, McClintock’s art pops and bubbles on the page. She deftly interweaves reproductions of Caldecott’s own illustrations with her own into a seamless whole, one picture often in play with the next. This is no stodgy biography—Markel’s enthusiasm is well matched by McClintock’s own (and adults may enjoy identifying the nine illustrators, eight of them, so far, Caldecott Medal winners, gracing one of the book’s pages). Markel has crafted a fine companion to her previous bio of John Newbery, Balderdash! (2017), illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. A cacophony of verve and frolic, this is biographical storytelling at its absolute best. (annotations, endnotes, bibliographies) (Picture-book biography. 5-8 The Horn Book (starred Review!)British illustrator Randolph Caldecott (1846–1886) transformed illustrated books for children (“stiff, full of pretty poses and cluttered scenery”) into picture books (ones that featured stories that “tumble[d] forth like life”). Markel briefly covers Caldecott’s boyhood, emphasizing his love of drawing and of the outdoors, the latter despite a weak heart. She speaks directly to readers, telling them to move fast (“Quick!”) or they’ll miss the boy McClintock depicts as racing across the page. As an adult, Caldecott works in a bank but keeps drawing and begins illustrating travel books and, eventually, books for children. Markel emphasizes the artist’s ability to capture action on the page and fills this lively text with bustling active verbs (lunging, strutting, pounce), set off in larger letters and a different font color. Likewise, McClintock’s exquisite, energetic illustrations depict Caldecott at the drawing board, creatures bursting forth from his paper. Several instances in the book reproduce the artist’s drawings, and one stunning wordless spread showcases the illustration from The Diverting History of John Gilpin that adorns the Caldecott Medal. (The book’s abundant back matter includes notes on where Caldecott’s art appears in the book.) Children and/or animals appear on nearly every spread of this exuberant tribute to the illustrator who revolutionized children’s books. JULIE DANIELSON Booklist (starred review!)Who was Randolph Caldecott, and why is there an award named for him? Librarians hear that question every year around awards season. From his childhood in the English countryside, where he preferred drawing animals in motion to studying sums, through his young adulthood, when he worked in a bank but developed his skills as an artist, Caldecott’s life and artwork are effectively linked. McClintock incorporates reproductions of Caldecott’s art into her own visual narrative and includes a key in the back matter to help readers identify which elements are his. Markel’s lively, well-documented text functions alongside McClintock’s innovative black-ink-and-watercolor compositions and design work by Jennifer Tolo Pierce to give the impression of a book within a book, where real people interact with Caldecott’s creations and the time line is both past and present. Details about what makes a great picture book are seamlessly integrated, which could be applied to current Caldecott winners as McClintock also includes portraits of several Caldecott-winning artists. This follow-up to the author’s earlier Balderdash! John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children’s Books (2017) is another excellent resource, one that explains not only who Randolph Caldecott was but also why his approach to illustrating books for children has had a lasting impact. — Lucinda Whitehurst Congratulations, everyone!Such well-deserved praise! And we'll leave you with one more for good measure, from The Wall Street Journal:
"An even more rambunctious tale describes how the picture book as we know it today began with a 19th-century Englishman named Randolph Caldecott. “Tomfoolery!”, to be published later this year, is written by Michelle Markel and illustrated by Barbara McClintock, both of whom bring brio and high good humor to Caldecott’s influential personal story. The book begins by presenting children’s illustration as it was in the staid pre-Caldecott era: “stiff, full of pretty poses and cluttered scenery.” The young Randolph when we meet him has no idea that he will become an illustrator; he simply loves to draw. “It is too much fun. It cannot be helped,” we read. “It can happen anytime he has something to draw on—even his schoolbooks.” From an early age, Caldecott infuses his pictures with movement and, as the years pass, begins placing them in newspapers and magazines. This spirited and joyful account is strong on the excitement of Caldecott’s passion and style but vague on his career particulars; 5- to 8-year-olds (or more likely their parents) may want to check the back matter to find out where Caldecott lived, what books he illustrated and who helped him come to the world’s attention. A tableau near the end of “Tomfoolery!” includes contemporary illustrators who are carrying on the zestful tradition that Caldecott began. Dan Santat and Sophie Blackall are in their midst, as well as the late Jerry Pinkney (1939-2021), master of wobbly-lined watercolors for books such as “The Lion & the Mouse” and “The Little Red Hen.” |
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