Posts Tagged #yalit

Will ‘Young Teen Lit’ Catch On?

You’re not alone if you feel like there’s a gap in the middle-grade market. There are plenty of books for the younger and middle end of middle-grade readers, but where middle grade ends and YA begins? There’s a big ol’ hole, says middle school librarians Christina Chatel and Marcia Kochel in a guest article for School Library Journal.

They write:

We do not believe that 12- to 15- year old readers just need a few more books aimed at their interests and developmental level. We submit that young teens need their own publishing category and we propose to call this category Young Teen Lit.

What does young teen lit look like graphic

When you’ve aged out of books aimed at 4th-6th grade but you’re not quite ready for YA, you need more! In another guest essay, Kochel says:

I’m a middle school librarian and I just got the latest issue of Booklist in the mail. I’m looking for books for my middle school readers. I search through all of the reviews for youth and find almost no titles for seventh and eighth graders–not in Middle Readers or Older Readers or Youth Nonfiction or Graphic Novels. Almost every book for Older Readers is recommended for grades 9-12, and every single book for Middle Readers has a lower age range of grade 3, 4, or 5. Surely publishers don’t think that middle schoolers have the same interests and intellectual capacity as 8-10 year olds? Are there really no books being published for middle school students? Can this be true?

Making more room for upper middle grade, young teen lit, or whatever else publishers, educators, librarians, writers, and the readers themselves call it is something we’d love to see here, too. If you’ve got books that are perfect for 7th, 8th, and 9th graders, share them below.

 

Meet Literary Agent Michaela Whatnall

Michaela Whatnall, Literary Agent

Michaela Whatnall, Literary Agent

I’m excited to introduce you to literary agent Michaela Whatnall. You’re going to love getting to know them!

Michaela Whatnall joined Dystel, Goderich & Bourret in 2019 in the agency’s West Coast office. They graduated from Emory University with a degree in English and linguistics, completed the Columbia Publishing Course, and in 2023, they were selected as a Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree. 

Michaela’s background in school and library marketing accounts for their strong interest in children’s literature, particularly contemporary middle grade and young adult fiction of all genres. In the adult fiction space, they are particularly seeking contemporary, speculative, and historical upmarket fiction, as well as character-driven, grounded fantasy. They are also open to select narrative nonfiction for both children and adults, graphic novels, and picture books.

I know you’re ready to learn more about Michaela, so let’s get started with the interview.

 

SK: Michaela, tell us a little about your agency.

 

MW: Dystel, Goderich & Bourret was founded in 1994 and is based in New York, though I work out of our West Coast office. We are a mid-size agency full of fantastic agents who represent books across practically every genre, with a focus on helping our clients build their careers long-term. I feel very lucky to work here!

 

SK: What was your path to becoming an agent?

 

MW: I always knew that I wanted to work with books, and from my very first internship in the publishing industry, I had an inkling that working as an agent would be the best fit for me. That said, I had a bit of a roundabout path to getting here—after a number of internships, my first job was in school and library marketing, which turned out to be a fantastic introduction to the industry and also solidified my passion for children’s books.

During my three years working on the marketing side, I continued to build up my experience in other areas, from writing reader reports for a literary agency to writing monthly reviews of forthcoming kid’s books for an industry publication. That meant that when the right opportunity opened up at DG&B, I felt very prepared to dive in.

 

SK: What are the best and worst parts of being an agent?

 

MW: There are so many good parts that it’s hard for me to choose! I think my very favorite part of my job is having editorial conversations with my clients—I truly love the process of reading their work, getting my thoughts and notes together, and then talking with them about potential routes for revision. There’s something special about the creative energy during those calls and the amazing moments of discovery that can happen that really sustains me.

The worst part of being an agent, at least for me, is probably the fact that in this role, you will never feel 100% “caught up” on your work. There is simply never an end to your reading pile—as quickly as you’re able to move through it, more gets added at the exact same time, so you can never experience that feeling of being totally up to date on work (which is a feeling I crave, as a devotee of time management and checklists!).

 

SK: What do you look for in a query?

 

MW: The number one thing I look for in a query is specificity. What makes this story different from others in its category? At the exact same time, I’m also looking to see that the writer understands how their book fits into the currently publishing landscape. My favorite queries come from writers who are well-read in their category, who understand where their book will fit on the shelves (this can be communicated through comp titles), as well as what unique angle/perspective their book brings that is providing something fresh and new.

 

SK: What are the top reasons you pass on a submission?

 

MW: There are many reasons I might pass on a submission—first and foremost, most of my passes are simply because a project is not the perfect fit for me, which is an incredibly subjective thing. It’s a reality of the industry that agents have to be selective, because there’s just not enough time in the day to take on as many clients as we wish we could. With this in mind, I encourage writers to keep querying widely—a book that’s not the right fit for me could be absolutely perfect for someone else (and vice versa!).

 

SK: Here at the Mixed-Up Files, we’re all about middle grade. What do you love most about middle-grade novels?

 

MW: I love that middle grade novels are instrumental in creating life-long readers. For so many of us, middle grade books are what made us first fall in love with reading, and I feel so lucky that I get to be a part of bringing new middle grade books into the world that will find brand new readers. I still remember my days of returning again and again to the bookstore and the library, and the extreme excitement of emerging with fresh stories that I couldn’t wait to devour (shoutout to the Pony Pals series, one of the first to truly hook me!). Middle grade writers are the ones creating that experience for kids.

 

SK: Which middle-grade book(s) influenced you most as a child?

 

MW: One of my very favorite books as a kid was Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech, and I still have so much affection for it. It has a really fun premise—it’s about a girl named Mary Lou who has been assigned by her teacher to keep a journal over the summer, and her journal gets very personal very quickly (it even opens with a note to her teacher imploring them not to read it!). The journal chronicles her life in a large and hectic family (something I strongly related to!), her thoughts as she reads The Odyssey for the first time (which inspired me to read The Odyssey as a kid), and all the wacky adventures she gets up to over the summer. There’s something so relatable and engaging about Mary Lou’s sarcastic sense of humor, and I reread that book many times.

 

SK: What are some of your favorite current middle-grade novels?

 

MW: A more recent middle grade novel that I loved was The Line Tender by Kate Allen (full disclosure, Kate is represented by my colleague Michael Bourret!). It deals incredibly thoughtfully with the topics of loss and grief, and follows a girl named Lucy, who is grappling with life after the death of her mother. The book perfectly balances both sorrow and hope, and it moved me deeply.

 

SK: What is your best guess on where the middle-grade market is headed?

 

MW: Ooh, this is a tough one. The market is having a tricky moment, but middle grade as a category is evergreen, and agents and editors are going to continue to champion these books. I’m not sure that I’m able to make a strong guess about where we’re headed, but I will say that now more than ever, something that helps a book find its footing is identifying a strong hook that sets it apart.

 

SK: Which genres/themes/subjects are you drawn to / not drawn to?

 

MW: In middle grade, the books I’m most drawn to are the ones that I might have worked on in my school and library marketing days. This means that I like books that could find a good home in classrooms and libraries because they grapple with interesting themes and can spark a discussion with kids after they’ve read it. This could mean a book dealing with a real-world issue that kids face, or it could mean a super fun fantasy or adventure book that manages to weave in themes relevant to kids’ lives. Across the board, I like specificity—subject matter that’s relatable to kids, but that I haven’t seen on the page before.

 

SK: Are there any current projects you’re excited about?

 

MW: A good example of the kind of books I look for and something that I’m very excited about is my client Jasminne Paulino’s recently announced book, The Extraordinary Orbit of Alex Ramirez, which is coming from Putnam next year. It’s about a boy who attends school in a self-contained classroom and yearns to attend mainstream science class, and it dives into his relationships with his family, friends, teachers, and bullies as he learns how to advocate for himself. Before reading Jasminne’s book, I had never read a story about a student in a self-contained classroom, so it immediately caught my attention. From there, the execution of the manuscript made me fall in love. Jasminne is a poet, and her free verse style, which smoothly incorporates Spanish to reflect Alex’s bilingual upbringing, really makes this story stand out.

 

SK: What advice do you have for authors who would like to send you a query?

 

MW: If you feel we might be a match, please do try me—I’m eagerly seeking more middle grade right now! I know that querying can be an intimidating, slow, and often stressful process, but something I like to tell writers is that on the other side of the screen, I am a reader eager for a good story, so I’m excited to receive and read your query. Looking through queries is one of my favorite parts of my job because I always have that feeling that the next story I’ll fall in love with could be just a click away!

 

SK: Okay, we’ve learned so much about you as an agent. What are your favorite things to do that have nothing to do with being an agent?

 

MW: I’m a big theater fan, so I love attending shows, especially musicals. I’m also lucky to have very creative friends, so I often find myself swept up in helping to make all kinds of projects, like short films and narrative podcasts. I adore story in all its forms, so one of my favorite things is exploring the storytelling possibilities of different mediums. In my downtime I love cuddling with my two cats and settling into a cozy armchair with a good book or podcast and a warm mug of tea.

 

SK: I know that so many Mixed-Up Filers are going to want to connect with you. Where can authors learn more about you? 

 

MW: 

Agency website: https://www.dystel.com 

MSWL: https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/michaela-whatnall/ 

Instagram (where I’m most active): https://www.instagram.com/michaelawhatnall/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mwhatnall

 

SK: Before we close, let’s have a little fun with favorites! What is your favorite…

 

Dessert? Key Lime Pie

Type of weather? A complete tie between a perfect sunny day and a cozy drizzly one

Genre of music? A chaotic mix of showtunes and alternative/indie folk

Season? Summer

Game? Stardew Valley

 

Thanks, Michaela, for a great discussion and a lot of fun facts. Mixed-Up Filers have definitely become your fans!

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards: Honoring the Legacy of Dr. King

Coretta Scott King Awards bronze seal

As we celebrate and honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it’s a great time to recognize the value of authors and illustrators who continue to carry his message into the world. This is the goal of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards. According to the American Library Association (ALA), these awards are presented annually to African American authors and illustrators whose books for children and young adults “demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.” 

About the Award

The Coretta Scott King Book Award was established in 1969 by Mabel McKissick and Glyndon Greer at the annual conference of the ALA. The first award was presented to Lillie Patterson for her middle-grade biography titled Martin Luther King, Jr.: Man of Peace (Garrard, 1969). During the 50+ years since its inception, the award has grown and evolved.  

In 1982, ALA’s  Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table joined with the Coretta Scott King Task Force to form the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee. Since that time, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards have been recognized as an official ALA award.

Currently, two separate awards are given, one to an author and one to an illustrator, and three books in each category are named as honor books. Additionally, the Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe New Talent Author Award honors new African American authors and illustrators, and the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an author in even-numbered years and an illustrator in odd-numbered years.

 

Past Winners of the Illustrator Award

In 2023, the illustrator award was given to Frank Morrison for Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual (Crown Books for Young Readers, 2022).

Standing in the Need of Prayer book cover

Other past winners of the illustrator award include Kadir Nelson in 2020 for The Undefeated (Versify, 2019), which was also awarded the 2020 Caldecott Medal; Christopher Myers in 2015 for Firebird (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2019), Misty Copeland’s tribute to young dancers with a dream; and photographer Charles R. Smith Jr. in 2010 for My People (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2009), in which sepia-tone photos beautifully enhance the text.  

 

Past Winners of the Author Award

In 2023, the  author award was given to Amina Luqman-Dawson for Freewater (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2022), a middle-grade historical fiction novel about the harrowing journey to freedom of two children who escape from the plantation where they are enslaved. Widely praised for its lyrical writing and gripping storyline, Freewater was also the winner of the 2023 Newbery Award.

Freewater book cover

 

Past winners of the author award include Jerry Craft in 2020 for his groundbreaking graphic novel New Kid (Quill Tree Books, 2019), which also received the 2020 Newbery Award and the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature; Congressman John Lewis and Andrew Aydin for March Book: Three (Top Shelf Productions, 2016), which was the winner of several prestigious awards, including the 2016 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature; and Jacqueline Woodson in 2015 for Brown Girl Dreaming (Penguin, 2014), an autobiographical novel-in-verse that received multiple honors, including the National Book Award.

 

Coretta Scott King Awards bronze seal

 

The Seal

Books that have received the Coretta Scott King Book Awards can be identified by the award’s iconic seal. Winners receive a bronze seal, and honorees receive a silver seal. Designed in 1974 by artist Lev Mills, the seal reflects both the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the ideals of the Coretta Scott King Awards. 

The circle represents continuity, the dove is symbolic of peace, rays of sunshine reach for peace and brotherhood, and the pyramid is representative of both strength and the Atlanta University, where the seal was designed. At the center, an African American child reads a book.

Mills also included five non-sectarian symbols as a sign of world unity. The Star of David, the Latin Cross, Om, Tao, and the Star and Crescent appear beneath the child.

 

Looking Ahead

The 2024 Coretta Scott King Book Awards will be announced soon, at ALA’s winter meeting. To be eligible for the awards, authors and illustrators must live in the United States or maintain dual residency or citizenship, and books must have been published in 2023. All applications had to be submitted by December 31, 2023. Stay tuned and watch for the announcement!

In the words of Coretta Scott King, “It doesn’t matter how strong your opinions are. If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are, indeed, part of the problem.” As we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., let us also celebrate the authors and illustrators who carry his legacy forward and provide young readers with books that have the power to bring about positive change.