Manuscript submissions and acquisitions, censorship, and book-industry myth-busting were under discussion during an August 4 panel on “The Current State of the Children’s Publishing Industry.” The conversation was part of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ summer virtual conference. In an audience poll conducted during the panel, 34% of attendees identified as SCBWI first-timers, 46% were “pre-published” authors, and 79% were unagented. Approximately 1,400 guests tuned in to the virtual conference, from U.S. and international locations.

SCBWI executive director Sarah Baker introduced moderator Laurent Linn, art director at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and a member of the SCBWI advisory council. Linn greeted the panelists: associate editor Alexandra Aceves (Holiday House), associate editor Foyinsi Adegbonmire (Feiwel and Friends), editorial agent and former Algonquin Young Readers publisher Elise Howard (DeFiore and Company), senior executive editor Sara Sargent (Random House), and senior editor Deeba Zargarpur (S&S/Salaam Reads).

Linn led off by asking the panelists about submissions, and everyone gave tips for getting a foot in the door (above all else, follow submission guidelines to a T). Even representation is no guarantee of success: “When I was on the other side of the desk, I used to triage my submissions,” Howard said, recalling her years as an editor. “I had my A agents and my B agents and my C agents and my ‘schmagents.’ [Now] I try to do the work so that I will be everybody’s A-list agent when they get a book from me.”

Random House’s Sargent, who primarily acquires picture books, ordinarily won’t accept pitches, but makes exceptions for creators she meets personally or in small-group sessions, such as the workshops that SCBWI offers as conference add-ons.

At Simon & Schuster, Zargarpur has her hands full managing a list of around 45 titles at a time. But when she’s acquiring for Salaam Reads, she focuses on her mission to introduce Muslim authors and characters, and she’s especially open to reading middle grade and YA. “Because we don’t see so many books published by Muslim authors, we decided to eliminate the barrier of having an agent,” Zargarpur said. “The requirements are that you must identify as Muslim yourself and your main character also must identify as Muslim.”

At Holiday House, Aceves just signed a middle grade novel that arrived without fanfare. “An agent came in to help the author negotiate, but it was in the slush that it caught my eye,” she said. Finding an agent “can be a barrier to access,” Aceves said, “but the flip side is that we have to be ruthless to work through the high volume. A big part of the conversation at Holiday House is that an agent is an amazing tool” for boosting a creator and negotiating contracts.

Much of an agent’s job is “taking the time to talk to editors,” Sargent said, provoking affirmative nods from the panelists. “Not only are they reading deals, they are taking time to find out what we’re looking for. They are saving me time, they are saving you time, they are saving your career time” by pitching manuscripts that fit editors’ wish lists.

The Shadow of Censorship

Linn next asked how censorship threats had influenced the panelists’ publishing decisions. “Is it affecting the books you’re looking to acquire?” he asked. “Is it affecting the submissions you’re getting?”

Sargent answered definitively. “The idea that a book could be banned hasn’t factored into any decision I have made around an acquisition. The answer is zero. Not at all.” The war against the freedom to read “inspires a certain level of grief,” she said.

“I’m going to acquire whatever I connect with, whatever I love,” Zargarpur agreed, recalling her own independent childhood reading in school libraries, which she saw as “safe havens.” She believes publishers have “a responsibility to make books widely available for children.”

The crisis has meant that “we’re starting to get more [submissions] about book banning or characters dealing with book banning,” Adegbonmire told the audience. She said Feiwel and Friends acquisitions meetings proceed undeterred, although the team does discuss how to market controversial titles, and Macmillan is creating community resources to counter negative appraisals of books like nonbinary author George M. Johnson’s memoir, All Boys Aren’t Blue. “The banned lists tend to disproportionately affect marginalized authors or books about marginalized communities,” Adegbonmire said.

Aceves debunked the notion that a ban gives “a sales bump,” calling this “the exception. For every book that blows up all over social media and in the trade market for being banned, there are dozens if not more that take the hit from being excluded from the school and library market.” She worried that Texas, with its outsize influence over school libraries and curricula, would undermine publishing with House Bill 900, although “at least in this moment” editorial departments are refusing to budge.

Persistent Myths and Sage Advice

To close the panel, Linn asked panelists to address pervasive publishing myths and to share “one piece of advice a mentor has given that has stayed with you.”

Adegbonmire believes that social media fame is not essential (“it could be icing on the cake”), Zargarbur extended a branch to older writers (“it doesn’t matter what age you are”), and Sargent explained that an aspiring picture book author need not illustrate too (“we absolutely acquire plenty of manuscripts-only of picture books”). Howard told the audience that the first agent to offer their services might not be The One, saying, “If one reputable agent loves you, there’s a solid chance somebody else out there will also find you lovable. Find out what deals they’ve made, what relationships they have.”

Aceves addressed trends in young adult fiction. “There’s a common myth right now that you can’t write good YA in the third person,” she said. Although current lists may be “first-person-present dominated,” she is in the process of acquiring two third-person manuscripts. “Acquisitions are made so far ahead of what’s hitting shelves. What you perceive as trends, as a reader or book buyer, are actually trends of two years ago.”

After shredding myths, the panelists shared final takeaways. Aceves, who came to Holiday House via Junior Library Guild, remembered JLG executive director Susan Marston’s advice that “if the kid loves the book the rest will follow.” Howard echoed Aceves with a “right book, right reader” approach; Workman Publishing’s Peter Workman told her that success could be measured “by sales, by awards and reviews, and also by longevity.” Sargent recalled a director’s advice to “publish books that warm the cockles of your heart” because “we spend years with every book we choose to edit.”

Adegbonmire shared Feiwel and Friends associate publisher Liz Szabla’s encouragement “to be curious” and “trust my editorial instincts.” And Zargarpur appreciated advice from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers editorial director Kendra Levin, who “told me that it can always wait until tomorrow. This also applies to authors and illustrators. You’re afraid that someone else is going to put your book out before you do. But publishing is not going anywhere.”

For creators eager to meet in person, SCBWI’s winter conference will convene in New York City from Feb. 9–11, 2024.