Like our workshop, these faculty interviews focus on youth novels. To read all years’ faculty interviews, see our Directory. For additional information about Samantha, see our home page.

SAMANTHA GENTRY

Editor

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

“Little, Brown Books for Young Readers’ mission is to inspire a lifelong love of reading,” Samantha says. “We value collaboration, creativity, diversity, quality, author partnership, transparency, and joy.” Here she shares illuminating notes on all of these aspects. Her insights and enthusiasm are the perfect recipe for a satisfying literary weekend. Welcome, Samantha and selected writers!

I. GENERAL TOPICS

Why did you become an editor, and what do you enjoy most about the work?

I actually fell into publishing in a roundabout way. In college, I was a journalism major and always thought I would write for a magazine like Cosmopolitan. I wrote for the Arts & Culture section of our school newspaper, reporting on stories about dance, film, theater, music, etc. I loved being a story teller, providing a space for these incredibly talented people to tell their stories and share their experiences.

It wasn’t until I took a class called “Writing and Reading Young Adult Literature” that I realized being an editor for children’s books could be a career path for me. I was still devouring young adult novels and was intrigued by the idea that I could play a small part in making those books come to life. So the summer before my senior year, I interned with Bloomsbury Children’s Books and knew immediately that becoming an editor was the job for me. After graduation, I was lucky enough to get a job as an editorial assistant at Crown Books for Young Readers at Random House Children’s Books, and the rest is history.

There are so many aspects that I enjoy about the editing process, but I think it comes back to what was so appealing to me as a journalist—providing a space for incredibly talented people to tell their stories and share their experiences. I love being able to work with an author from the ground up. I love brainstorming ideas for how to tweak a specific scene or give more dimension to a character. I love collaboration. But more importantly, I love seeing that eureka moment within an author when they find the answer to a plot hole that’s been giving them trouble, eventually allowing them to completely nail their revision! It’s incredibly gratifying to know that the tools, resources, and insight you were able to provide an author allowed them to make their good book great. And it gives you a sense of pride to know that now young readers everywhere will have the chance to read it, and hopefully it will change their lives in some way.

How many middle grade (MG) and young adult (YA) novels do you publish annually? How many are debut authors?

While I am still building my list at Little, Brown, my goal is to publish about six to eight novels per year; about 75 to 80 percent of them will be debuts.

Name one MG and one YA novel that you’ve edited. What aspects of each appealed to you from the query and/or manuscript’s first lines?

Milo Moss is Officially Un-Amazing by Lauren Allbright: Modern Family meets The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl in this heartfelt and hilarious story of a boy desperately trying to get a “win” worthy of a Guinness World Record—and ultimately discovering what “winning” really means along the way.

When I read the first few chapters of this middle grade novel and it featured a family dressed in cockroach costumes trying to break a Guinness World Record [spoiler alert: chaos ensues!], I knew I was hooked. Lauren so perfectly captured the middle grade voice in that scene and she so seamlessly packed a ton of heart into an otherwise humorous, and sometimes wacky, story. The novel touches on some tough topics and Lauren handled them with a gentle and accessible touch. I knew that readers everywhere had to meet Milo.

Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp: I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter meets Emergency Contact in this stunning and heartwarming story of first love, familial expectations, the power of food, and finding where you belong.

I knew immediately that I had something special in my hands when I first started reading the young adult novel, Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet. Not only was the writing beautiful, but I was completely captivated by the voice—not to mention I had to keep myself from running to a pastelería every time one of the main characters made a mouth-watering dessert. Laekan expertly crafted these complex characters who face many obstacles in order to discover who they are and where they fit within their community, but also within the world. There were moments of intensity that kept me at the edge of my seat, but then it was paired with scenes that left me feeling hopeful and optimistic. I knew this book would resonate with so many young readers, especially those in the Latinx community. It was a propulsive read packed with teenage angst and delicious food—a true recipe for success!

What’s the outlook on MG and YA novel trends—are there trends?

Trends are constantly popping up in the marketplace, and I find that lately they are tied to a timely topic or something happening in the media. But what’s tricky about trends is unless you are the trendsetter, or following shortly thereafter, the marketplace can quickly become saturated with these books. Would I love to set the next trend? Of course, I think many publishers would agree. But that’s a tall order and not always realistic. I would caution authors to not write toward a specific trend, mostly because what is popular now won’t be once your book is published. Write the story that you wish you had as a young child, or the book that you wish existed for your nieces and nephews to read. Personal experience and insight is invaluable, and often you will end up writing a better book because of it.

II. SUBMISSIONS

Queries, Craft and Critiques

a) Queries

Many publishing houses are closed to unsolicited submissions. Do you consider unsolicited queries; i.e., those without a referral (not a workshop attendee, etc.)? What are your usual response times—to queries and to requested manuscripts?

Unfortunately, it is our company policy that we cannot accepted unsolicited submissions. However, I do review work from  attendees from conferences I attend. In that case, my typical response time is three months (at least that’s my goal!). For agented submissions, I also try to respond within three months, but that often fluctuates depending on market demand. If there is a manuscript that has garnered a lot of interest and will be going to auction, I usually drop everything to read it.

What makes a query and/or pitch irresistible to you? 

I don’t usually receive query letters on the editorial side, but what is particularly important to me in terms of a pitch is a strong one-sentence selling line/positioning statement and creative copy for the book’s summary. Tell me enough about the plot to pull me in, but don’t give everything away. A good pitch is often how I prioritize which submission I read next on my TBR (To Be Read) list, so pitches are more important than you might think!

How many manuscript pages do you read before deciding to continue reading, or not?  

I usually give a manuscript about 50 pages before I decide if I should reject it. Sometimes I read more before deciding if I’m intrigued by the plot or a particular character and I want to see what happens. Other times, I can tell immediately if it’s not for me, especially if the voice doesn’t grab me from page one. I find that I often give a manuscript the benefit of the doubt (which I hope authors are happy to hear!), but I think this shows just how important it is for your first few chapters to be compelling and extremely tight.

« Interview Directory     Next page »