We are thrilled to welcome Kristin Gilson to the Editor/Agent Spotlight on The Mixed-up Files of Middle Grade Authors today.
Kristin Gilson is the Editorial Director of Aladdin, an imprint dedicated to quality commercial fiction and non-fiction for ages 12 and under.
Gilson began her long career in children’s publishing at Knopf and spent many years at HarperCollins and Penguin Random House before joining Aladdin. She is primarily looking for fiction and is drawn to stories with honesty and heart; books that make her laugh, cry, think, and feel; and quirky characters who are looking to find, figure out, or create their place in the world. She loves smart protagonists, sibling or found family stories, snarky humor, and books that speak to the growing young LGBTQ and GNC community.
A lifelong lover of books and reading, Kristin still has her very first library card!
Welcome to the blog, Kristin. We’re excited to learn about your editorial journey. Can you share any highlights or insights learned along the way from your early days at Knopf to your role at Aladdin?
“Never underestimate the power of the paperback.”
Before I came to Aladdin all of my editorial positions had been focused primarily on paperbacks, though they encompassed the full range of paperback publishing—straight reprint conversions, traditional acquisitions, original titles developed in-house and with packagers, and licensed/tie-in publishing.
Publishing Opportunities
Publishing a title in paperback can create opportunities to reach different and often much broader audience and build a long tail that can sustain a title or author for years to come. Even in the case of a straight reprint conversion from hardcover, a strategic paperback publication—one that may involve a new cover or added bonus materials—can change the trajectory of a book and land it on a bestseller list!
Are there any updates you would add to your Wish List?
Given the impact that various recent events have had on young readers, I would add shorter/easier reads that still have relatable content for middle-graders and emphasize my desire for humorous and lighthearted stories. We are also publishing very little non-fiction at this time.
Building on Success
Congratulations on the release of your latest projects, including two NYT Bestsellers: Megan E. Freeman’s Away, the companion book to Alone; and Edgar Award winner James Ponti’s City Spies: London Calling.
I wish I had a triumphant story about how I saw a spark in a slush manuscript or hand-picked them after a presentation at a writer’s conference. But the truth is that I inherited them both from my predecessor at Aladdin. And boy am I glad I did.
What made you want to acquire their manuscripts?
From a business perspective, it was the fact that their previous books had done well and I wanted to build on that success. From a creative perspective, it’s because the authors had created such wonderful characters and scenarios and I wanted to see what they could create next and share that with readers. The fact that both authors are absolutely wonderful to work with was a plus as well.
Revisions
Typically, are there many revisions from acquisitions to final draft?
Sometimes, sometimes not—there are so many different things that factor into it. An author who prefers a more collaborative approach might submit something in a rougher or looser form so they can use my feedback to guide them as they work on the next version; others might prefer to get input from peers and sensitivity readers and do a lot of revising and polishing before I even see it; and still others will reach out to me to discuss things during the writing process so that when the manuscript comes to me we’ve already resolved things that might have needed revising. The important thing to know is that it doesn’t really matter how many revisions it takes as long as the author, the editor, and most importantly the readers, are excited about how it turned out.
Companion Books
Speaking of Freeman’s Away, what are the challenges and joys in editing a companion book? Can you share what this process was like?
The biggest joy is being able to return to characters and a world that you are already familiar with and get to know them a bit better or a bit differently. Those same things can also be challenges, because you can’t change their characteristics to fit the new story, the new story has to fit with what has already been established.
In the case of Away—which runs parallel to Alone—fitting the timeline was a pretty major challenge. This led to a fair amount of discussion and margin comments to make sure things were unfolding in a way that made sense, and that characters were developing accordingly. Fortunately, the use of different narrative forms allowed the story to take some leaps in time that would not have been easy to accomplish in a straight prose novel.
“Freeman delivers an engaging tale in which young crusaders strive to overcome both parental passivity
and corrupt authorities to discover and expose a dastardly scheme. . . . Scary and satisfying.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Series Proposals or Stand-Alones?
Did Ponti’s City Spies series and Richard Paul Evans’ Michael Vey series begin as stand-alone novels or were they series proposals?
They were both series proposals, though the extent of both series has gone beyond what was initially acquired. (As an editor, my favorite kinds of series are those that allow you to build on them if the initial titles are successful, but at the same time are not reliant on additional books to complete a story or character arc. We don’t like to leave readers hanging.)
About that first library card…
We love that you still have your very first library card. What books or genres caught card-carrying young Kristin’s attention?
I’ve always been drawn to realistic fiction, stories with strong girl protagonists, and books that pack an emotional punch. I also loved (and still love) books about big families and secret clubs. To that point, some of my most cherished books from childhood are
- The Saturdays, by Elizabeth Enright,
- The Secret Language, by Ursula Nordstrom,
- Summer of the Swans, by Betsy Byars,
- Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth
- William McKinley and Me, Elizabeth, by E. L. Konigsberg,
- Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume, and
- The Cat Ate my Gymsuit, by Paula Danziger.
(Young Kristin would be absolutely floored by the fact that not-young Kristin has had the good fortune of meeting some of these favorite authors!)
Submissions
How and when can authors submit to you?
Their agents can submit to me via email at any time.
Are there any upcoming titles/current projects you are excited about?
I’m really looking forward to the publication of Hurricane Heist, the second book in James Ponti’s new series The Sherlock Society, this fall.
BONUS Editor Lightning Round:
- Query/Pitch pet peeve: _I wrote this story for my grandchildren.”
- Please don’t send me: _picture books______
- Title on your TBR pile: _The Bletchley Riddle_by Ruta Sepetys & Steve Sheinkin
- PB you could probably recite by heart: Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. (It’s a classic for a reason.)
- Favorite line from a mg or YA novel: From Gayle Forman’s novel, I Was Here: ”Some messes can wait.”
