Middle Grade Ninja Episode 114: Literary Agent Holly McGhee

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Holly McGhee and I talk about her childhood in the country and how she went from selling corn out of a pickup truck to founding Pippin Properties Inc, an agency that has profoundly shaped the face of modern children’s literature. We chat about her relationship with author Kate DiCamillo both as a client and as a friend, and how it led to the creation of Holly McGhee’s new picture book, WHAT THE WORLD COULD MAKE. We also discuss ghosts, discovering hints of the mystery of the universe, a bird’s eye view of a literary agency, writing for art rather than money, the importance of focusing on your next book, the qualities of a successful author, and so much more.

Click here to read Holly McGhee's original 7 Question interview.

For more information about the WHAT THE WORLD COULD MAKE on May 4, 2021 at 5pm EST, go to: https://www.schulerbooks.com/event/what-world-could-make-virtual-conversation-and-launch-event

Holly McGhee still carried MADELINE around in 3rd grade — until Mrs. Carrier, her school librarian, tricked her into reading longer books by giving her one with her name on it, HOLLY IN THE SNOW. After college, Holly headed straight into the book world of New York City, where she has enjoyed being a secretary, an advertising manager, a sales rep (for one month), and in the six years prior to opening the doors at Pippin, an executive editor at HarperCollins.

Now, as the President and Creative Director of Pippin she is dedicated to shepherding books that make a difference into the world. Someone once told her, “If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life,” and that has proven true for her.

From the bestselling creative team behind Come with Me and Listen, comes a story of hope, abundance, and the unfailing possibilities the world holds.

Bunny and Rabbit are kindred spirits who celebrate the gifts of the seasons together, both of their friendship and of the earth—from the smell of lilacs to the wonder of gingko leaves, from the taste of sea pickles to the silent beauty of the first snowflakes . . . What the World Could Make is a joyous reminder that if we pay attention, hope can always be found in our friendships, in nature, and in generosity toward each other.

“[And] Autumn unfolds with a carpet of ginkgo leaves heaped into a pile perfect for play. The two good pals joyfully exult in yet another bounty of the world in this gentle tale of sharing and seasonal splendor. The delicate pen-and-ink illustrations complement the spare text with delicate settings . . . the expressive cants of their ears deftly communicate emotions. . . Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Lemaitre and McGhee lift up gifts ‘the world could make’ . . . [Rabbit and Bunny] rejoice in the beauty of the seasons, enjoying each moment’s gifts.”

—Publishers Weekly

HollyMcGhee.com

PippinProperties.com

7 Questions For: Literary Agent Julie Just

Julie Just spent sixteen years at The New York Times, most of them at the Times Book Review as Deputy Editor and then Editor of Children’s and Young Adult coverage.

She is building a list that ranges from narrative nonfiction to young adult and middle-grade fiction, with a particular interest in voice and humor, adventure, mystery, fantasy, history and romance.

Since 1998, Pippin Properties, Inc. has been an integrated publishing and entertainment representation agency. Located in New York City, it is a diverse agency dedicated to maximizing the creative and commercial potential of all its properties. Pippin represents the works of these writers and artists to a wide range of publishing, animation, motion picture, television, and licensing companies. Because Pippin both develops and represents its projects, it is a unique, full-service company that prides itself on attention to detail. Small and discerning in choosing its clientele, Pippin is devoted to maintaining a standard of excellence in content unmatched in the industry.

For more information, check out my friends Natalie Aguirre and Casey McCormick's wonderful blog, Literary Rambles.

And now Julie Just faces the 7 Questions:

Question Seven: What are your top three favorite books?
  
That is fun to think about and pretty impossible to answer! The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Three Musketeers and The Golden Compass are way up there. Jane Eyre has to be in there somewhere too.


Question Six: What are your top three favorite movies and television shows?
 
I don’t have a lot of time to watch TV – but I’ve spent hours happily glued to the sofa with my kids watching Modern Family, Once Upon a Time, and Pretty Little Liars. And in turn they are now converts to Star Trek.

Movies: Wild Strawberries, The Princess Bride, and North by Northwest.  Or Casablanca, The 39 Steps, and Love and Death??

Question Five: What are the qualities of your ideal client?
  
Someone committed to getting their own voice on the page and writing great sentences, and caring a lot about that. Someone who knows their field cold. And who is a good partner. At my agency, many clients have been with their agent for 20 or 30 years, or more – I love that.

Question Four: What sort of project(s) would you most like to receive a query for?
 

I'd love a smart new middle grade mystery – that’s tops; a story that makes me laugh, MG or YA; and a thrilling Bronte-esque romance.


Question Three: What is your favorite thing about being an agent? What is your least favorite thing?
 
1. Finding something new and great, totally unexpected, in my in-box.   

2. Giving disappointing news to a client. I care a LOT, so I can only imagine how much harder it is for him or her, to get a bad review, or face resistance from editors to a new project.


Question Two: What one bit of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring writer? (feel free to include as many other bits of wisdom as you like)

Read widely and randomly. Follow your instincts. Share your work with fellow writers and readers you trust – but sometimes be prepared to ignore what they say.  When you’re ready to send out, write a short query and attach at least a chapter, or the first 10 pages – let your writing speak for itself. 


Question One: If you could have lunch with any writer, living or dead, who would it be? Why?

Samuel Johnson. What a talker!  Such a wide variety of things he loved to talk about, and he could talk to anyone. He would also really enjoy the lunch.

www.pippinproperties.com

7 Questions For: Literary Agent Elena Mechlin

Elena Mechlin joined Pippin Properties in June of 2009. Having begun her publishing career in subsidiary rights, moving on to children’s book marketing with a stint in audio, she realized that a position in agenting would enable her to continue to be involved in the many aspects of publishing about which she is so passionate from one place. She had always admired Pippin and those they represented from afar and is looking forward to pursuing her love of children’s literature and the industry from her new position.

Since 1998, Pippin Properties, Inc. has been an integrated publishing and entertainment representation agency. Located in New York City, it is a diverse agency dedicated to maximizing the creative and commercial potential of all its properties. Pippin represents the works of these writers and artists to a wide range of publishing, animation, motion picture, television, and licensing companies. Because Pippin both develops and represents its projects, it is a unique, full-service company that prides itself on attention to detail. Small and discerning in choosing its clientele, Pippin is devoted to maintaining a standard of excellence in content unmatched in the industry.

As always, for more information about Elena Mechlin and other literary agents, I highly recommend my friend Casey McCormick's wonderful blog, Literary Rambles.

And now Elena Mechlin faces the 7 Questions:


Question Seven: What are your top three favorite books?

How is anybody who works in publishing supposed to answer this?! If forced to pick three, though, I’d say:

Eloise

Jane Eyre

One Hundred Years of Solitude

                                 

Question Six: What are your top three favorite movies and television shows?

In the movies category, hands down The Princess Bride and Goonies. As far as TV goes, I have embarrassingly low standards. I’ve lost days to the ID Channel. However, I’ve gotten true joy, most recently, from Arrested Development, Breaking Bad, and Friday Night Lights.

And because it felt SO important to me when it aired, in a way that nothing really has since, though I’m sure I’d be horrified by it now, Dawson’s Creek.

Question Five: What are the qualities of your ideal client?

Somebody who is willing to take a chance and dig deeper than they ever thought they could. Someone who is willing to look at a fifth draft and not give up, but try one more time to nail it.

Somebody who is willing to try to write something they never could have imagined five years earlier.

Question Four: What sort of project(s) would you most like to receive a query for?

I’d love to see something that surprises me. So many of the queries that we see are for books that are a variation on a popular theme or riding the coattails of other books that have done enormously well. I’m always attracted to the stories that have come about because they’re worth telling, not because the author thinks they could write something that’s a lot like ______ (fill in the blank).

Question Three: What is your favorite thing about being an agent? What is your least favorite thing?

I love the process. When somebody comes in with an idea, working with them on that idea, then finding an editor who loves it and finalizing a book deal. It’s so incredibly exciting and satisfying. Especially if it’s a first time author. That is the funnest, by far.

My least favorite part is the rejection. I hate getting rejections on a submission and I hate even more sharing that news with a client. It never gets easier.

Question Two: What one bit of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring writer? (feel free to include as many other bits of wisdom as you like)

Work hard and take your writing seriously. Treat your writing as a job and give it the respect that it deserves. If you view it only as a hobby, everybody else will view your writing in that light, too.

And be patient. And rewrite. A lot.

Question One: If you could have lunch with any writer, living or dead, who would it be? Why?

Today, my answer to that question is Charles Dickens. The serialization of his books was mentioned in an article I was reading earlier today about how our consumption of television is changing and I was reminded of just how great his books are. Filled with completely over the top characters that you never question because they’re so well written. My answer will probably be different tomorrow. 

www.pippinproperties.com

Book of the Week: MITCHELL'S LICENSE by Hallie Durand

The book is the wonderful Mitchell’s License by Hallie Durand. I’d tell you Ms. Durand will be here on Thursday to face the 7 Questions, but she’s already been here! Hallie Durand is the pen name for literary agent Holly McGhee of Pippen Properties, who we interviewed back in January. This means you can read Hallie Durand/Holly McGhee facing the 7 Questions right now (or directly after this review). Technically, this counts as both our weekly writer interview and our weekly literary agent interview. But don’t you worry, Esteemed Reader. Though the blog will be quiet on Tuesday, I’ll have a fresh interview with a big time literary agent for you on Saturday as always, so make sure you find yourself here then.

The story of Mitchell’s License is thus: (spoiler ahead) our hero Mitchell is obsessed with cars, but hates going to bed. His father gives him a license that allows him to drive to bed and Mitchell’s car is his father. Mitchell drives his father around the house, stops for fuel at the cookie jar, but his father (most practical for an automobile) will not allow Mitchell any cookies before bed. Finally, his car takes control and drives Mitchell to the bedroom. His father promises Mitchell they can drive to bed again the next night. Mitchell goes to sleep and dreams about driving a real car to a real cookie gas station.

I love this book! Of course I do. Mitchell’s father is very white and his mother is darker skinned and Mitchell himself appears to be biracial, and they are presented as a happy, loving family. Mitchell’s License had me at hello and I’m going to keep it on my sacred shelf of Book of the Week books until Mrs. Ninja and I have little biracial ninjas I can read it to. More, the focus of this book is of a father’s love for his son and vice versa. That’s the sort of story I’m always happy to read and a perfect bed time tale for munchkins.

And that’s my review. As for craft points, I don’t really have any. I’ve never been brave enough to attempt to write a picture book because economy of language, as you’ve no doubt noticed by now, is not really my thing. But I do have some observations I’ll share with you.

The first is that page one tells us the story of the book entire in three sentences: Mitchell never ever EVER wanted to go to bed. Until his dad finally said he could drive there. Mitchell was three years, nine months, and five days old when he got his license.

Notice the first two sentences could easily have been combined to form one, but instead, Durrand has wisely broken them into two easier to digest bites of information for very young readers. This is a handy tip we middle grade writers might employ in our writing. But also notice that Durrand has told parents right off the bat of the story they are about to read. She has established Mitchell as a character and told of the book’s entire conflict before we turn to the next page. Right away, parents and children can decide if this is a book they want to read together or not, and they’ve been promised a worthy conflict should they choose to read on (I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to read on).

Was there ever a parent anywhere who did not have trouble getting their child to bed at bedtime? The great thing about Durrand’s conflict is that it will interest both parents and children. Children will want to read about a child their age that gets a driver’s license and parents will want to read about the techniques Mitchell’s father employs to get him to bed. There’s something for everyone and I’m certain that after reading this book more than one parent-child coupling will be trying out “driving” to bed.

My next observation, which I’ve already sort of made, is how sparse Durrand’s prose is. She reminds me of Hemmingway, but without all the booze and war and bull fighting and misogyny. Hemmingway famously wrote the lines: “He went to the mountain. It was there.” No frills, no fancy description, just right to it. And that is how Durrand has written Mitchell’s License: He also learned how to beep the horn. He liked the way it sounded… a lot!

My final observation is to note just how trusting of her illustrator Durrand is. This is a book that is in some ways completely dependent upon its pictures. I don’t know if Durrand had conversations with illustrator Tony Fucile as she wrote or if she wrote out long descriptions for him ahead of time. Fucile is also an author and illustrator and has animated for Disney, so he’s up to the challenge. Still, one of the reasons I’ve never considered writing a picture book is because I’m no artist and I’m not sure I can be as brave as Durrand in leaving so much of her story dependent on the work of a collaborator.

On a two page spread, Durrand has simply written the word “Ruh-roh.” The rest of the spread is an illustration of Mitchell on his father’s back “driving” him into a wall. If this picture isn’t funny (it is) or charming (it is), this part of the story does not work. In another scene Durrand writes only: The next night, even before his bedtime, Mitchell went to get his car. “You need some oil,” he said. And he poured in some oil. The car was sputtering a little, but Mitchell didn’t mind. “You’re OK,” he said as he closed the hood.

The only way this sequence works is if the illustrations show us Mitchell pouring juice into his unsuspecting father’s mouth and his father coughing (or sputtering) before Mitchell closes his mouth. Tony Fucile’s illustrations are wonderful and tell the story perfectly. The whole book works this way. In Mitchell’s mind, his father is a car, and so Durrand writes about the father character only as a car until the end of the book. She depends on the illustrator to show us what is really happening. He does and theirs is a fantastic collaboration, but you have to admire Durrand’s leap of faith.

And that’s it for another week, Esteemed Reader. Be sure to come back Saturday when we’ll have a big time literary agent here to face the 7 Questions. And come back next week when we’ll be discussing Susan Runholt’s newest Lucas + Kari mystery. I’d leave you with some of my favorite passages from Mitchell’s License, but if I did I would have almost reproduced the entire book here and I’m pretty sure that could get me in trouble. Instead, I’ll simply reiterate that Mitchell’s License is a wonderful book and highly recommended for the little driver in your life.

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: Book of the Week is simply the best book I happened to read in a given week. There are likely other books as good or better that I just didn’t happen to read that week. Also, all reviews here will be written to highlight a book’s positive qualities. It is my policy that if I don’t have something nice to say online, I won’t say anything at all (usually). I’ll leave you to discover the negative qualities of each week’s book on your own.

7 Questions For: Literary Agent Joan Slattery

Since 1998, Pippin Properties, Inc. has been an integrated publishing and entertainment representation agency. Located in New York City, it is a diverse agency dedicated to maximizing the creative and commercial potential of all its properties. Pippin represents the works of these writers and artists to a wide range of publishing, animation, motion picture, television, and licensing companies. Because Pippin both develops and represents its projects, it is a unique, full-service company that prides itself on attention to detail. Small and discerning in choosing its clientele, Pippin is devoted to maintaining a standard of excellence in content unmatched in the industry.

Joan Slattery joined Pippin Properties, Inc., as a literary agent in November 2010. Prior to that, she spent nearly twenty years editing fiction and picture books for Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random House). As an editor, she had the pleasure of working with Philip Pullman, Jerry Spinelli, Jane Smiley, Cynthia Voigt, Adele Griffin, Shelley Pearsall, Jen Bryant, Laura McNeal, and Tom McNeal, among many others. She also holds great admiration for librarians (and their sway over the children’s book industry) and received her own Masters in Library Science while working as an editor. Joan lives with her husband and twin five-year-olds in a suburb of New York City.

She's particularly interested in middle grade and young adult fiction, which harkens back to one of her most voracious and memorable years of reading: sixth grade.

As always, for information about Joan Slattery and other literary agents, check out my friend Casey McCormick's amazing blog, Literary Rambles.

And now Joan Slattery faces the 7 Questions:

Question Seven: What are your top three favorite books?

Well, normally my brain freezes at these sorts of questions (worrying about all that’s left out) but here goes: Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Essays of E.B. White, and When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. The author I remember most vividly from childhood is Katherine Paterson. I just cried and cried.

Question Six: What are your top three favorite movies and television shows?

Movies (all tied up with how and when I saw them): Gosford Park, You Can Count on Me, and Rushmore

TV: Six Feet Under, The Wire, Prime Suspect, and Modern Family (oops, that’s four). I’ve also been known to watch a reality show or two. For example, why can’t I seem to resist The Bachelor?

Question Five: What are the qualities of your ideal client?

Communicative, creative, a mix of ambitious and grounded. A sense of humor doesn’t hurt, and also some perspective that there are no true publishing “emergencies.”

Question Four: What sort of project(s) would you most like to receive a query for?

I’d love to see a “puzzle” novel (middle grade or YA), a story with a slowly unfolding secret. I like unreliable narrators, too, and that creeping realization that we can’t quite trust them.

Question Three: What is your favorite thing about being an agent? What is your least favorite thing?

Favorite thing: no two clients—or books—are alike, and to have a hand in the bookmaking (and then bookselling) process is really pretty exciting. I’m sure this is what keeps a lot of people in the publishing business for years and years. It’s sort of addictive to see what comes next.

Least favorite: the feeling that you just can’t read fast enough, that you’re sure to miss a gem or two in the crush of queries and submissions and recommendations. But, on the bright side, more will come.

Question Two: What one bit of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring writer? (feel free to include as many other bits of wisdom as you like)

Okay, two bits:

To borrow from E.B. White: “You ask, ‘Who cares?’ Everybody cares. You say, ‘It's been written before.’ Everything has been written before.” So: don’t talk yourself out of trying. And then don’t forget to keep trying—new queries, new agents, new editors. It just takes one match.

I guess this is obvious (but I forget sometimes myself): make time to read—outside of your own work, outside of your class or critique group, outside of your genre. Remind yourself of what the world’s best writers have been up to, of the bar they’ve set.

Question One: If you could have lunch with any writer, living or dead, who would it be? Why?

Julia Child. She’d do the cooking, and the talking, naturally. (I loved her friendly, rambling voice in My Life in France, and I have some questions!)

www.pippinproperties.com

7 Questions For: Literary Agent Holly McGhee

Pippin Properties, Inc. is an agency devoted primarily to picture books, middle-grade, and young adult novels, but we also represent adult projects on occasion. They are always on the lookout for writers and illustrators who take the challenge of creating books seriously and are willing to give the publishing world nothing less than their very best.

After a twelve-year career in book publishing, with positions ranging from assistant to advertising-and-promotion director to executive editor, Holly M. McGhee founded Pippin Properties, Inc., an agency devoted to the management and representation of the finest authors and artists at work today. Her fascination with making books began in 1991, when she was appointed Associate Publisher for Michael di Capua's imprint at HarperCollins.

She is also the author of Dessert First, Just Desserts, and the upcoming Mitchell's License and No Room for Dessert under the pen name Hallie Durand. 

Click here to read my review of Mitchell's License.

Holly McGhee has said, "My vision for Pippin is captured best by the cultivation of the bonsai tree—intense devotion to detail and beauty, with elegance and mystery taking precedence over size. And with fastidious care, the bonsai lives on through generation after generation. Someone I respect enormously once said to me, 'you can go large, or you can focus.' To this day Pippin remains focused on representing unparalleled work by the finest authors and artists writing and drawing today, be it picture books, middle-grade, young adult, or adult literature."

Holly McGhee's clients include: Kathi Appelt, Harry Bliss, Doreen Cronin, Kate Dicamillo, Tony Fucile, Jenny Han, Pascal Lemaitre, Alison McGhee, James McMullan, Kate McMullan, Jandy Nelson, Peter H. Reynolds, David Small, William Steig, among others.

As always, for more information about Holly McGhee and other literary agents, I highly recommend my friend Casey McCormick's wonderful blog, Literary Rambles.

And now Holly McGhee faces the 7 Questions:

Question Seven: What are your top three favorite books?

I can’t say my three absolute favorites, but here are three books that have been on my favorite list for a very long time: The Juniper Tree by Lore Segal and Maurice Sendak, Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (her only book!), and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig.

Question Six: What are your top three favorite movies and television shows?

I can’t answer for television because I hardly watch any (except baseball), but for movies, among my favorites are Harold and Maude (really stuck with me), Waiting for Guffman, and The Man Who Came to Dinner. More recently, I loved Secretariat (saw it with my husband and three kids—we all loved it).

Question Five: What are the qualities of your ideal client?

~Talent: It all starts with talent. From there, I look for:

~Trust: We’re the experts you’re the boss. But you’ve got to trust us and we have to be able to trust you.

~Heart: A must.

~Humility / Gratitude: I think it’s important to remain humble, for there are always writers greater and lesser than yourself. And I think it’s important to remain grateful, too, for being able to do what you do every day.

~Work Ethic: This goes hand in hand with our company philosophy: The world owes you nothing; you owe the world your best work; in other words, Don’t settle. We won’t, either. We’re ruthless when it comes to making the most extraordinary books possible.

~Humor: We like to laugh!!

Question Four: What sort of project(s) would you most like to receive a query for?

A story that breaks my heart and then glues it back together again, even if the glue job isn’t perfect, or a story that gives me those great big belly laughs that make me snort and make my eyes run.

Question Three: What is your favorite thing about being an agent? What is your least favorite thing?

My favorite thing is changing people’s lives by helping usher stories that mean something into the world. My least favorite is telling my authors to “shelve” it. But I do it anyway because they rely on me to be the gatekeeper, and to tell the truth about the work as I see it.

Question Two: What one bit of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring writer? (feel free to include as many other bits of wisdom as you like)

~Be discriminating but don’t be precious about your work.

~The only way out is through. (from Julia Gillian, by Alison McGhee)

~Don’t. Rush. Ever.

~Keep your head down and your hands busy.

~The truth is forever changing. (from The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo)

~There are a thousand people right in line behind you, ready and willing to take your place.

~Remember these things. Work with all your intelligence and love. Work freely and rollickingly as though they were talking to a friend who loves you. Mentally (at least three or four times a day) thumb your nose at all know-it-alls, jeerers, critics, doubters. (Brenda Ueland, from If You Want to Write )

Question One: If you could have lunch with any writer, living or dead, who would it be? Why?

I would have one more lunch with Fred Marcellino, who died way, way too early. He was a client of Pippin and we only had a few years together, and he was one of the most amazing artists and human beings I’ve ever met. What I would give to have him call me right now and say “Can I come over and get some advice?’

www.pippinproperties.com