Posts Tagged Agent/Editor Spotlight

Editor / Agent Spotlight — Meet Courtney Stevenson, Editor, Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins

By Erin Dealey on August 29, 2025 / Editor / Agent Spotlight

Editor Courtney Stevenson in black and white polkadot dress

We are thrilled to welcome Courtney Stevenson to the Editor/Agent Spotlight on The Mixed-up Files of Middle Grade Authors today.

Courtney is an Editor with Quill Tree Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.

She has been with HarperCollins since 2016, when she joined as an assistant to Rosemay Brosnan and dove right in working with Rosmary’s incredible list of authors, such as National Book Award-winning Elizabeth Acevedo (The Poet X), Newberry honor author Gail Carson Levine (Ogre Enchanted), and American Indian Youth Literature Award-winning author Christine Day (I Can Make This Promise).

In building her own list, Courtney is focused mainly on MG and YA, including That’s What Friends Do by Cathleen Barnhart,

Dinner at the Brake Fast by Renee Beauregard Lute, and Money Out Loud by Berna Anat. She has “a particular interest in clever humor, family dynamics, historical stories and settings not seen enough”, as well as “the occasional pop nonfiction, and writing that pulls me along to the next page.” Check out her wish list and submission guidelines here.

Speaking of historical stories, Pura Belpré Medalist (Efrén Divided) Ernesto Cisneros’ Queso, Just in Time, will release with Quill Tree on March 10, 2026.

Welcome to the blog, Courtney. We’re excited to learn about your editorial journey. Congratulations on your work with Rosemary Brosnan and cheers to your own projects! How did you initially discover these authors?

CS: Thanks! It was such a dream to work with Rosemary on her amazing list of titles—she really is the GOAT, and has been an invaluable mentor for me. (Also, I wish I could go back in time and tell little Courtney that she’d one day be regularly emailing the author of Ella Enchanted!)

My own list has grown mostly through submissions from agents—they are the real discoverers, and I’m so, so glad to have ended up on sub lists for these projects. It’s the most magical feeling to read the first few pages of a submission and feel like I have fireworks going off in my brain, or a big cheer of I want this one!

“Chock-full of hooks…”

We notice you are drawn to a strong hook. Can you give us an example from one of your Quill Tree acquisitions?

CS: I do love a strong hook, a detail or premise that will make the reader sit up straight and pay attention. Best when paired with the feeling that they’ve found a friend for the next ~300 pages!

Dinner at the Brake Fast is chock-full of hooks: the setting of a family-run truck-stop diner (and all the good food descriptions), the promise of a ROAD TRIP HEIST to SEEK JUSTICE, and the mismatched group of characters that comes to support each other. It’s a fun adventure story with a heartwarming center, plus a perfect middle grade voice that snags you from the moment you meet Tacoma. Each of those details serves as a friend who invites you to come along for the ride.

Speaking of Hooks

As for your latest projects, we’re hoping you can share a little about the NEW mg novel from Pura Belpré author Ernesto Cisneros, Queso, Just in Time, coming March 2026.

CS: I’m so excited for folks to read this book! I’ve been a fan of Ernesto’s books since Efrén Divided, and I was thrilled to start working with him one-on-one when I started to build my own list. As a lover of both historical fiction and family stories, I was hooked on this novel from the very start.

Protagonist Queso wishes that he could see his father again after he passes—and ends up back in 1985 with twelve-year-old Pancho, the boy who will grow up to be his dad. Between navigating an analog world and helping Pancho build up his confidence, Queso is in for quite a time. This novel has Ernesto’s signature blend of humor and heart, and highlights themes that are just as topical in 2025 as in 1985.

From Agent to Editor

We understand that your kidlit career path started on the agency side. How did you come to switch to the editorial side?

CS: I had my heart set on being a children’s book editor from the time I first started thinking about a career path—but after I graduated college, I was ready to work any publishing job that would have me!

I feel so lucky to have landed at Pippin Properties as my first publishing job. Sitting at that assistant desk gave me a holistic view of the industry—everything from subrights, audio, contracts, and art—along with the opportunity to work closely with authors and creators, form relationships, and develop books from the earliest stages.

After a few years of learning on that side of the business, I still felt that editorial would be the best fit for me. The timing was perfect since Rosemary was looking for an assistant right when it was time for me to make a move. I gained so much experience in both of those early roles.

Are there any other upcoming titles/current projects you are excited about?

CS: So many books I wish I could share with readers right now!

Jess Hannigan’s next picture book, The Cow in the Dark at Night, makes me laugh each time I read it.

I’m currently in edits on The Girl in Green, a new horror YA novel by Laura Creedle slated for Fall 2026 that is the perfect amount of terrifying.

I’ve ended up with more illustrated nonfiction projects on my list than I had expected—with topics ranging from aliens and linguistics to spies and icons—and I can’t wait to see each one hit shelves. And of course, I’m very excited to be working on a new novel from superhero Ernesto Cisneros! 😊

What a gorgeous cover!

BONUS Editor Lightning Round:

Query/Pitch pet peeve __Word count over 100k_______
Please don’t send me ___High fantasy
Title on your TBR pile __Pasta Girls by Taylor Tracy___
PB you could probably recite by heart ___Many Moons by James Thurber (I actually have nearly recited this book to many unsuspecting friends!)____________
Favorite line from a mg or YA novel__Two that come to mind: The gut-punch from Code Name Verity of “Kiss me, Hardy!” (sob) and the unforgettable first line of Feed: “We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck.” One more for good measure: “Corpus bones! I utterly loathe my life” from Catherine, Called Birdy.

Thank you, Courtney, for joining us on The Mixed-up Files of Middle Grade Authors today!

While she is no longer on social media (She misses Book Twitter like we do!)

you can learn more about her at the wish list link above.

Editor Spotlight: Tara Weikum

By Michael M. Jones on May 30, 2025 / Articles, Editor / Agent Spotlight

Tara Weikum has worked in publishing for decades. Starting as editorial assistant with ALA Booklist Magazine in 1996, she then spent three years as an associate editor with Disney Publishing. In 2000, she moved to HarperCollins where she’s been ever since. Beginning as an editor, she became editorial director in 2009, and vice president, editorial director in 2013. In 2024, she was promoted to vice president, publisher of HarperCollins’ new Storytide imprint. From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors borrowed Tara for a quick chat to learn more about her career, influences, and Storytide in general.

headshot of Tara Weikum, vice president and publisher, HarperCollins' Storytide imprint

MUF: Thanks for agreeing to speak with us, Tara. Congratulations on launching this new endeavor. First off, what can you tell us about the Storytide imprint? What’s its focus or specialty?

TW: The Storytide imprint publishes powerful and distinctive stories with commercial, bestselling potential as well as literary merit, across all genres. Our focus is on middle-grade and teen fiction.

MUF: What has your career path been like so far? How did you get into publishing in general, and editing in specific? What was your educational background?

TW: Like many in publishing, I was an English major. I grew up in the Midwest and after college I attended the Rice University Publishing Program, which is no longer around. That immersive experience was what convinced me to take the leap and move to New York, after a year of working at the American Library Association in Chicago, to look for opportunities in publishing.

MUF: What sort of duties and responsibilities do you fulfill in your current position?

TW: Editors wear many different hats. I currently oversee the Storytide imprint and team of editors. We are focused on shaping the imprint identity with the books and authors we publish. I manage budgets, acquire new projects, edit manuscripts, write copy, review design and marketing materials—the list goes on!

MUF: Did you always know you wanted to work with this aspect of the field? Did you ever dream of being an author?

TW: I’ve always dreamed of working with books in some capacity. I never aspired to be a writer myself but I devoured everything I could get my hands on when I was growing up, and I was always the person that friends asked for advice about their English assignments and personal writing. I grew up on a farm in a rural area so bookstores and even libraries were hard to come by. My childhood reading appetites were fed with a wide-ranging variety of books I could scrounge up from friends and relatives by authors such as VC Andrews, Shel Silverstein, Frances Hodgson Burnett, and Danielle Steel; series like Harlequin Romance; and classics like the Trixie Belden and Bobbsey Twins books, supplemented by books that were assigned at school and birthday gifts. The adage of “reading widely” was true for me by necessity and I believe it helped inform my ability to love all kinds of books across genres.

MUF: What books have inspired you along the way, whether growing up or as an adult? What books do you wholeheartedly recommend at any given opportunity?

TW: Books by authors such as Jandy Nelson, Franny Billingsley, Jacqueline Woodson, Alison Bechdel, and Casey McQuiston are some favorites over the years. Kate Atkinson’s Life after Life and Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow are two adult novels that were wonderfully devastating. And of course from my own list of middle-grade I’ll hand any of Katherine Applegate’s incredible novels to any child or adult, as well as Thanhha Lai’s award-winning verse novel Inside Out & Back Again.

MUF: What do you look for in books and submissions? What catches your attention and calls to you?

TW: If a premise feels fresh and offers a unique twist on an idea, and the writing is engaging and compelling, I’m often open to considering manuscripts. Since I’m drawn to a variety of genres I like to consider a range of subjects.

MUF: Do you have a favorite age range or genre to work with?

TW: I’m drawn to contemporary realistic novels; romance; magical realism; and light fantasy across middle-grade and teen.

MUF: What sort of tips, tricks, and advice do you have for aspiring writers, editors, or even agents?

TW: Reading widely in the area in which you’d like to write or work is definitely the top piece of advice. As a writer, what will help you see how and where your future books might sit alongside current books, or how they can be set apart in an intriguing way. And as an editor or an agent it’s important to be knowledgeable about the market. And for aspiring writers in search of an agent, research who represents your favorite writers as a first step to finding a good fit for your own work. For future editors and agents, internships will provide incomparable insight into the ways in which all manner of publishing works, and can help guide you to find out where you’d like to work.

MUF: Do you have any interesting hobbies or interests? How do you unwind and relax?

TW: I work remotely and live in Hawaii, so everything water-related is a favorite of mine, from snorkeling to swimming to stand-up paddleboard. I also volunteer regularly at the local humane society and take shelter dogs on hikes and to the beach.

MUF: Do you have any upcoming Storytide releases you’d like to plug? Any juicy announcements?

TW: Lady’s Knight by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner is a raucously funny and romantic teen novel publishing in early June; The Haunting of Bellington Cottage by Laura Parnum is a gently spooky middle-grade novel coming in July; No Sam! And the Meow of Deception, Drew Daywalt’s sequel to the NYT bestseller They Call Me No Sam, is coming in September; and Thorn Season by debut author Kiera Azar is a sharp and sexy romantasy also publishing in September, in both hardcover and a gorgeously spec’d out deluxe limited edition.

Cover of Inside Out & Back Again Cover for No Sam and the Meow of Deception Cover for The Haunting of Bellington Cottage

EDITOR SPOTLIGHT: Meet Kristin Gilson, Editorial Director at Aladdin

By Erin Dealey on April 30, 2025 / Editor / Agent Spotlight, For Writers

Photo of ediorial Director Kristin Gilson

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.

How did you initially discover these authors?

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.”

Posts Tagged Agent/Editor Spotlight