Category Archives: middle grade

October 19, 2011   DG&B   fiction, middle grade, opinion, setting, Stacey, writing, YA  
9

Let’s think about place

I saw this review in The Seattle Times for the new David Guterson novel. The book is set in Seattle, and it sounds from the description that it’s an important part of the book. It got me to thinking about settings and the inherent importance of where a novel takes place.

So much of the best fiction has a strong sense of place. Think The Help or Gone with the Wind. Could you imagine them set anywhere but the South? And what about Carl Hiassen’s books set in Florida, where he has lived all his life? Or Annie Proulx’s excellent The Shipping News, which is like taking a trip to Newfoundland.

Even on my own list, Amy Plum’s Die for Me takes place in Paris, as advertised on the cover with a gorgeous image of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. And the just-released middle grade fantasy Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact by A.J. Hartley is set in Atlanta. I recall when I sold the book that one of the conversations with his publisher was about how few books are set there, and how that fact was one of the things that set the book apart.

So, for those of you writing fiction, how do you decide where your novel will take place? And is it one of the first things you think about when you start writing? Or do you think of the setting before you even begin?

I think it’s as important as plot or character development to have the right atmosphere in which to tell your story. It’s the finer details of place that really bring a novel to life, and that makes for the best kind of fiction. What are your favorite books that feature a strong sense of place?

June 21, 2011   Stephanie   canon, children's books, favorites, middle grade, opinion, reading, Stephanie  
4

The lasting effect of literature

With each passing year comes a certain degree of increased life experience and maturity—we all gradually become a little less impressionable, a little more jaded.  I think that, in many ways, the same can be said for the reading experience.  When read by a grade school or high school student, the influence that a novel’s themes or imagery can have are understandably deeper and farther-reaching than when absorbed by an older, more well-read adult.  Unfortunate? Maybe. I can remember a few certain novels that I first read years ago that, upon rereading, felt somewhat less emotionally impactful than I remember.

Despite this, what I felt always remained, thankfully, was the same sense of enchantment that certain stories evoked, regardless of age.  Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet, Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia, and yes, even the Harry Potter books still manage to provide for me the same thrill that they did years ago. And this article from the Wall Street Journal poses the same concept from a slightly different viewpoint.

Do you agree/disagree? Are there certain books from your youth that still manage to draw you in and give you the same sense of admiration that they did as a child?

April 12, 2011   John   advice, children's books, conferences, John, middle grade, opinion, YA  
1

Retreat! Retreat!

Like Jim, I was away last weekend on book-related activities. I attended the SCBWI Eastern PA Poconos Retreat, doing manuscript critiques and a first-pages session, as well as sitting on an author/editor panel. Maybe it’s because I haven’t done a retreat in a few years, or maybe because this one was simply exceptional, but I came away as excited and rejuvenated about kids’ books as I’ve felt in quite a while.

First off, I was thrilled to see the traditional balance of projects among the writers, i.e., half picture books and half fiction. For so many years now, YA and middle-grade have dominated the kids’ books scene, and I’ve often felt a collective sense of despair among the picture book authors that there’s just no interest in their work. So it was very heartening to see that, despite no real signs of improvement in the market, authors are still coming up with stories for the youngest reader—and more importantly, are actively trying to get them published. No doubt, it’ll continue to be a struggle, especially as it’s generally not economically feasible for agents (like me) to rep text-only picture books until conditions improve. But I’m hopeful we’ll see more author/illustrators push things forward to a point where authors-only can get a shot, too—so keep it up, team!

I also noted more realistic fiction among my critiques than fantasy, which was a welcome shift. By far, the bulk of the queries I receive are fantasy-based or have paranormal elements, and while that’s all fine and good, I’d LOVE to see more fiction that deals with kids in contemporary, realistic settings. And it’s not that these stories can’t be creative or plot-driven—too often, I feel like authors equate fantasy with action, while realism is reserved for “issues.” There are tons of possibilities for high-concept storylines that don’t involve alternate worlds or werewolves, and I was very glad to see some of them this weekend.

Finally, it was great to feel just some good ol’ fashioned love for the book. We spend so much time wringing our hands over ebooks and the future of publishing (yours truly, guilty as charged), yet on the bus back to the city I realized that over the course of the weekend I only had one in-depth conversation about ebooks, and a good one at that. Moreover, as part of a silent auction, there was an impressive collection of picture books and novels from the 1940s and 1950s, including Adam of the Road with Robert Lawson’s illustrations and the original version of Ray Bradbury’s picture book Switch on the Night. Nothing like some beautiful oldies to reaffirm your faith in the printed word…

What’s your feeling about writers’ retreats? Do you find them inspiring? Helpful for your craft? Do they provide a sense of where the market’s headed? Or have you had bad experiences? I hope that’s not the case, but if so, what happened? I’d love to hear, as I’m trying to schedule some more retreats for 2011 and 2012—hey, maybe I’ll even see you at one of them!

March 22, 2011   John   audience, children's books, feedback, John, middle grade, opinion, YA  
29

Whatever Happened to Middle-Grade Fiction?

I had lunch with an editor yesterday, and toward the end we got to talking about the sorry state of middle-grade fiction. Both of us have been around the block long enough to remember when Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events launched, and at the time it seemed like we were entering a new golden age of middle-grade. Indeed, a number of notable MG authors and series appeared in the wake of Harry and the Baudelaires—Percy Jackson, Mysterious Benedict Society, Eragon, Cornelia Funke, Kat DiCamillo, to name a few.

But then, of course, Edward and Bella showed up, and almost overnight the party went from PG to PG-13 (if not R).

Now, children’s book authors have traditionally worked across genres and age-ranges, Judy Blume being the prime example. And it’s understandable that writers would gravitate toward YA when YA seems to be the biggest thing on the planet. But what confounds me is that how writers are focusing on YA to the exclusion of middle-grade, rather than complementing it as they did in the past—think about Judy writing Are You There God at the same time as Tiger Eyes. Hence, what passes for MG these days are either non-traditional formats like Wimpy Kid, or mass-market school stories that recall the days of Goosebumps and the Babysitters Club.

So to all you YA writers out there—how about some middle-grade? I see so many creative concepts and storylines in YA that would easily translate into middle-grade, especially in fantasy and sci-fi. The audience is there—really, I can’t think of any traditional series that commands the MG market right now—and from my informal survey of editors, it seems like they’re hungry for it, too.  All we need are the writers…

Or am I missing something here? Are there other reasons for the dearth of middle-grade? Have any of you tried MG and met resistance? I’d love to know!

March 04, 2011   Rachel   favorites, historical fiction, memory, middle grade, Rachel S.  
3

Old favorites.

In light of what Jim wrote about trends this week, I started thinking back to my favorite books growing up, trying to pick apart any trends that might have existed or influenced my reading habits. What I came up with regarding the middle grade and YA books I was reading at the time was a strong lean towards historical fiction and time travel. Thinking about it, a vast majority of the stand-alone books I read between ages 10 and 15 were historical fiction. Series are a category all on their own, and I can tell you now that I’m pretty sure I devoured every single Babysitter’s Club and Sweet Valley book I could get my hands on.

The books I turned back to time and time again, however, were always, as I remember putting it, about “girls my age living during World War II.” I got pretty specific on that one. I don’t know if it was simply because historical fiction was what appealed to me naturally or whether there was a surplus of like books at the time. Did a trend shape the way I chose and enjoyed books as a child, or did I just have such a specific taste that I found a way to pick out the books I loved? I’m certain there weren’t too many vampires or zombies populating the YA shelves at the time, but would I have been drawn to a book like this if there was?

I’m sure this is something I’ll never work out and won’t change the facts that the books with the covers taped on dozens of times and the paged curled from too much turning will always make me smile when I remember them. The most beaten up of them all, I think, is The Switching Well by Peni R. Griffin. I don’t think I’ve ever found anyone else who’s read about Amber and Ada—one from 1999 and the other from 1899 who switch places—but I assure you, I could recite the plot in intricate detail to anyone who asked. There was a trilogy about a displaced set of siblings from England in WWII by Kit Pearson called The Guests of War and another about a time traveling Irish girl named Rosie by Ann Carroll that I read time and time again.

I own nearly every book in the American Girl series (or at least those written before 1997) and had read The Endless Steppe at least twice before we were required to in school. Is it that today’s children and teenagers don’t want to read about the past or is it that they aren’t given the opportunity or push to? Whatever the impetus, I’m interested in seeing what type of literature—farther than what the next big supernatural being to hit the shelves will be—floods the market next.

July 07, 2010   DG&B   bestsellers, middle grade, opinion, reading, Stacey  
3

Rise of the Lightning Thief

by Stacey

Rick Riordan is likely a household name to anyone with young readers at home. His Percy Jackson series of middle grade fantasy novels have sold millions of copies around the world. This article goes into some detail about his publishing history. What’s interesting to me about this piece is that they talk about how just a few years ago he was clearly a mid-list author, with a series of adult detective novels that had sales that were modest at best. He moved into children’s publishing after some inventive storytelling shared with his son, who recommended Riordan turn the tale into a book. Then The Lightning Thief hit in 2005 and became an incredibly successful franchise. It’s a wonderfully inspiring and uplifting story to me because not only is this guy super talented, but he had a sales track to overcome before taking his career to this next level. Granted, it’s easier to move from adult to children’s to make this happen, but it’s still an incredibly positive success story (you know how much I love to share those). I think this article is stretching the boundaries of comparison by suggesting that the books are a publishing phenomenon, but not a cultural one. By any measure, these books are a whopping success, and even though the movie didn’t do as well as one might hope, there are more books to come and many more opportunities for new fans to come to the table. Speaking as a publishing professional, that seems like a pretty good place to be for the author, his publisher, and his agent too.

February 03, 2010   DG&B   children's books, lists, middle grade, reading, Stacey, YA  
2

Influential YA authors

by Stacey

Although I represent a wide range of adult authors and books, my research and posts lately have steered more toward the children’s markets because of my personal experiences, and also because a number of my adult authors are working on projects for the young adult and middle grade markets. I appreciate that this category has grown exponentially in recent years, and that there seems to be room for a real mix of creative elements. I came across this list on Omnivoracious, a blog run by Amazon book editors, and it breaks down the ten most influential YA authors of the last decade, the ones who it’s suggested most current authors are trying to emulate in some way. There are also a bunch of other authors listed at the end who might have made the list under different circumstances. If you are interested in this genre, either reading or writing, it’s a good introduction to what’s out there (although the list is in no way comprehensive), and what’s worked in the market over the last decade. It’s worth noting that even though this audience skews to a female readership, half the authors are men, and many of the books appeal to both sexes. I’ve liked a lot of these books, some of which have really broken new ground, and look forward to seeing what this growing market has in store for the next decade, when my own kids will be old enough to enjoy these books. Happy reading, and let us know if there are authors you feel would be a worthy addition to their list.

November 10, 2009   DG&B   about us, advice, Chasya, Chasya's Questions Corner, children's books, Jim, Lauren, Michael, middle grade, queries, Stacey, submissions, what we're looking for, YA  
2

Chasya’s Question Corner is live!

Thanks to everyone who sent in their questions! As I mentioned in my post last week, I’ll be choosing one or two of your questions a week and answering them here. There were a lot of really good ones and I hope to answer as many of these as I can, so if you don’t see yours here today it doesn’t mean that we won’t be responding to it later. What I mean to say is, stay tuned!

If you have a question, please send it to news@dystel.com. All questions will remain anonymous:


One of our readers asks:

“I have a novel (debut) that was read by 6 editors 5 years ago (2004).
They praised it but were also consistent in why they didn’t want it.
I have (after have children, etc. etc.) fully revised it, and in
effect it is a completely different narrative, but with the same
characters, setting, tone. The agent who shopped it left the agency
and we parted ways–we had no formal agreement (the deal was, if they
weren’t successful placing my novel we’d have no contract). My
question is, when querying agents now, do I mention the novel’s past
in the query, or wait until the agent has had a chance to read it and
connect to it? I am afraid of turning them off….concerned that they
won’t read the novel with the same eye if they are aware someone else
rejected it, even if it was five years ago and quite different.”

Answer:

A quandary, indeed. How much does one disclose when it’s tough enough getting any attention as a first-time author?

The answer is actually pretty simple: It’s very important that you are completely up front about the history of your project when approaching an agent. The surest way of “turning them off” is by not being honest about the manuscript. And you don’t want an agent to think that you are being dishonest.

If you’re waiting until an agent calls with interest in the project to inform them of the history behind it, they will want to know why this didn’t come up in your initial query. Even if you mean no harm and your intention is to let the work speak for itself, it comes off as underhanded. We’re not just assessing if we’re interested in or in love with a book–we’re reading it to figure out if we feel we can sell it. If it’s been seen before, that’s an important factor. In some cases, it may help to know that a project was strong enough to get an agent once before.

If you are, in fact, letting the work speak for itself, then disclosing this information shouldn’t really matter. We understand that fiction is very subjective, and we know that a manuscript that doesn’t necessarily speak to another person’s taste is not any reason to not give it due consideration. We also understand the business, and can tell you that if your manuscript has been to every fiction editor out there and hasn’t undergone any changes, they most definitely do not want to see it again. Editors are swamped–buried in reading and juggling more hats than ever before. If they’ve turned something down it’s usually for good reason, and they don’t have the luxury of giving something a second read. A prospective agent will have to make a judgment call about whether they think that the number of editors who have seen something (and the kinds of changes) make a difference in whether or not they think they can sell. However, if an agent truly does see your talent, even if they don’t think they can sell that book, they might recommend moving on to another project first, and if that succeeds, going back and trying to shop the original manuscript.

We must rely on our authors to be forthcoming about their work in order to serve them best. Being evasive or holding back really only leads to feelings of mistrust and can put an agent in an awkward position. It’s not a good way to start, so be sure to provide these details from the get-go.

Another reader asks:

“This is probably a no, but does anyone in your organization represent children’s book authors?”

Answer:

In fact, the answer is a yes. Michael Bourret represents young adult and middle grade, along with a very select group of author/illustrators. Jim McCarthy, Lauren Abramo and Stacey Glick all represent YA and middle grade, as well.

-Chasya

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