I’m thrilled to welcome Andrews McMeel Kids editor Hannah Kimber to the Mixed-Up Files. She is the proud cat mom of Gordo, Kiko, and Pickle. She is also my editor for HART & SOULS. I am so grateful she could tear herself away from work and her fur babies long enough to share her wisdom and publishing insights.
Let’s do this! (Meow)
Lisa: Hi, Hannah! Please tell us a bit about Andrews McMeel Kids.
Hannah: Andrews McMeel is known in the publishing world for its high quality webcomic collections, poetry, and of course a handful of middle grade bestsellers like Big Nate, Phoebe and Her Unicorn, and Trapped in a Video Game. In the last few years we’ve added some amazing titles to our kids’ roster, including Meems and Feefs, Pocket Peaches, Enola Holmes Graphic Novel Series and Cat Ninja. Our kids’ publishing program acts as an extension of our history in newspaper comic syndication: high quality graphic novels that inspire, delight, and make reading fun! In addition to graphic novels, we have illustrated middle grade prose (Matt Sprouts and the Curse of the Ten Broken Toes, Hart & Souls, and the Show Strides series), non-fiction, and younger reader graphic novel formats (Bean the Stretchy Dragon, Birtle and the Purple Turtles, and Kitten Ninja). At Andrews McMeel we hope to connect to the—not necessarily reluctant or hesitant, but—”distracted” reader.
Lisa: How did you get involved with children’s publishing?
Hannah: I started as an assistant to the Andrews McMeel CEO, Kirsty Melville. This was a really unique position because I got to see the business from the top down. Kirsty is a very hands-on publisher and the team is intimate, so I was able to participate in a variety of meetings and tasks related to publishing on both the editorial and the sales and marketing side. I initially thought I wanted to work in adult publishing, but then I met Erinn Pascal, our fantastic Senior Editor, and working with her convinced me that kidlit was the place to be—it’s meaningful, rewarding, and SO much fun! I love that working in children’s publishing reminds me not to take myself so seriously.
Lisa: What middle grade books inspired you as a child?
Hannah: I’m peak Millennial, so I have to, of course, say Harry Potter. I remember staying up late, the night before I started a new school. I couldn’t sleep but was immediately comforted by escaping into the world of Harry Potter! I was a big fan of fantasy, so I also loved reading The Chronicles of Narnia, His Dark Materials, and even Lord of the Rings when I was a bit too young to truly take it in, but was excited about the movies coming out (I reread it later in college).
I had a lot of other one-off books that also inspired me. I loved Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, Holes by Louis Sachar, and Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. I grew up in Kansas so I also had a particular affinity for the Laura Ingalls Wilder series! I loved anything that was an escape.
Lisa: What middle grade books are you working on now that you’re excited about?
Hannah: I’m doing a lot of graphic novels, which is really fun because my educational background is in art/art history. It’s so fun to not only be stretching my writing muscles all the time, but extending that to visual storytelling and the way that the text and the images work together. I just finished working on a great graphic novel called Life Really Socks about a pair of socks where one “twin” gets lost in a washing machine portal. It’s clever and silly—my favorite!
Lisa: What tips do you have for writers regarding writing and submitting?
Hannah: Don’t give up! But also, don’t linger. Let me explain: Try to remember that publishing and in general the book market is very cyclical. What may be rejected or not sought after for a period of time can also see a resurgence in many ways later down the road. That isn’t to say that we should be repeating things we’ve done in the past, but rather adding new and modern spins to them. If you have a project that continues to get rejected—don’t necessarily give up on it. It’s okay to keep it on the back burner for a while and revisit it later when it may be more viable on the market. And similarly, don’t linger on a project so long that you forget that you have other projects inside of you, too! Keep writing, keep creating, keep being curious and seeing what is out there.
Lisa: What advice would you give to a debut author? Both in terms of writing and working with an editor?
Hannah: In writing and in terms of working with an editor I would say be flexible and open to collaboration! Editors are kind of interesting people because we have to have both the creative side (type B) and the business side (type A). As a fellow creative, I know how vulnerable it can be to put your work out there, and I try to always respect that in the work I do with authors. The business side of me also wants the project to be the best that it can be based on the knowledge I’ve gathered working as an editor, and the knowledge my team brings to the table! I think it is the most fun for both author and editor when the creative process is a respectful collaboration. And I think that creating kidlit should be fun, honestly!
Lisa: What are some under-represented MG topics you’d like to see more of?
Hannah: I think we are lucky to be in a time where people are becoming more cognizant that there has been a lack of topics, themes, or voices on the market. At Andrews McMeel we are constantly striving to make sure that our books do not reflect one world view or theme, and we are also very careful to make sure that a variety of people with a variety of backgrounds work on each of our books to ensure that they are authentic, sensitive, and relatable. That being said, there are still plenty of topics out there that are not being covered by authors! For example, mythology is a very trendy theme but we still see a lot of Greek or Western-centric mythology. I also am loving the recent surge in middle-grade novels-in-verse. It seems like this format can tackle a lot of themes or topics that may be untouched because they are sensitive (i.e. grief, death, bullying, etc.) I think that whatever theme authors are writing about, as long as it is authentic and comes from a sincere place, then there is a place for it out there!
Lisa: What makes your eyes light up and your heart sing when scanning the submissions folder?
Hannah: A proposal that helps me answer the hard questions! Don’t be afraid to position your proposal and envision it on the market. Don’t be afraid to have comp titles or potential BISAC codes! I think some people can be worried about putting labels on their work too soon and having that be a turn off, but publishers are going to change BISACs/positioning ideas/etc. as they see best for the book. As an editor, what I love is when I can see that the author has thought through some of these questions and really knows their work inside and out. Obviously the real work begins when the deal is made, and many of those things can change. But what doesn’t change is my impression that the author is thinking through all of the decisions related to their book!
About Hannah:
Hannah Kimber has been with Andrews McMeel since 2019. In 2016, Hannah graduated with her MA in English Literature from Saint Louis University in Madrid, Spain. After three years of living and working in Madrid, Hannah moved back to her hometown of Kansas City and started working as a store manager at Barnes & Noble, a dream-come-true for anyone who understands a serious book-buying addiction. While pursuing a role in publishing, Hannah encountered Andrews McMeel—an independent publishing house right in her own backyard. After joining AMU as an assistant to President & Publisher Kirsty Melville, Hannah was able to get a top-down view of the publishing business.
As an editor, she mainly acquires children’s books in the upper middle grade age-range, with the occasional adult humor or comics collection. Hannah also works on licensed projects in both the children’s and adult categories. Middle grade and YA graphic novels and illustrated fiction are always welcome, but she also enjoys projects that play with format and design in interesting ways. Fantasy, adventure, and historical and contemporary fiction are her favorite themes. She appreciates stories told from a fresh perspective.
To learn more, please check out her Manuscript Wishlist .
