Pippin: a conversation with Holly M. McGhee and Emily Van Beek

For this issue’s Industry Insider, the Hunger Mountain editors touched base with stellar literary agents Holly McGhee and Emily Van Beek of Pippin Properties to talk about their agency, their clients, and our theme, Confronting Controversy:

Hunger Mountain Editors: Tell us a little bit about your agency. How is Pippin unique?

EVB: Pippin Properties is a focused children’s literary agency. Holly McGhee founded the agency eleven years ago, I joined her six years ago from Hyperion Books for Children, and our assistant, Elena Mechlin, came on board from Random House in June of 2009.

One of the characteristics that makes Pippin truly special is the spirit of collaboration that infuses our every day. At Pippin we take team spirit seriously and we work together to represent our esteemed clients in a unified way. Our approach is somewhat unconventional. Our client list, for instance, is not divided among us, as is standard practice in most agencies; rather, when a client signs on with us, they are agreeing to be represented by “Pippin.” Although one of us may take the lead on any given submission, extensive collaboration and brainstorming is always going on behind the scenes. There are so many benefits to working this way, not the least of which is seamless representation. If one of us happens to be away at a conference or on vacation, the other is always present to pick up a conversation with a client without missing a beat. We are also very fortunate in that our preferences and strengths compliment rather than duplicate one another’s. While Holly’s idea of the perfect day might be to sit down with a manuscript that needs editing or to find a new way to look at an old clause, my idea of a great day is to read over the fine print of a contract or to negotiate a Spanish license.

In some cases we use a “divide and conquer” approach. This is mainly evident in the handling of our subsidiary rights. Holly is the driving force behind our dramatic rights (feature film, TV, animation, etc.), I spearhead the foreign and audio rights, and Elena focuses on permissions. This allows us to cover maximum ground as we each develop expertise in particular areas of the industry. But when it comes to devising a strategy for the building of a client’s domestic career, we three are all very much hands on and manage the challenge as a team. We thought it befitting that we answer your questions in this same spirit of collaboration.

Hunger Mountain Editors: In this issue, we are discussing “controversy” in many of its forms in children’s publishing, from controversial covers, to the blurring of the lines around what makes a children’s book a children’s book, to authors who have experienced objections to their books’ placement in libraries and in schools. Have any of your clients faced these challenges, and if so, how do you as an agent guide them through the process of handling these delicate matters?

HMM: William Steig once wrote to me: “I guess any appearance on the stage of life is considered promotion.” That seems to me a good way of looking at controversy . . . But to answer the question, although we haven’t had a title that’s been the centerpiece of a controversy, we have taken precautionary steps in one case. The instance that comes to mind regards David Small’s gripping graphic memoir, Stitches. Because of the wave of scandals around memoirs recently published, David’s editor, Bob Weil, asked him if there were anybody still living who might have experienced the same things David had experienced, but from a different point of view. David answered that he had a brother, Ted, but they had not spoken in forty years. Bob wanted to make sure “nobody was going to come forward after the book came out to dispute it.” To David’s surprise, and absolute relief, after reading Stitches Ted said, “Your book blew me away. It’s like a snapshot of my life.” And there was another gift for David too, unexpected—he and Ted have started talking again.

We also had to make a decision about how to submit Stitches. Should we submit this as a children’s book or as an adult book? It stars a little boy who eventually finds his voice through drawing, but the journey from beginning to end is harrowing, and includes the revelation that the cancer that nearly killed David as a fourteen year old was given to him by his radiologist father, who treated him with mega-doses of X-radiation to cure his sinus problems as an infant. Ultimately we decided that it might be smartest to publish the book as an adult title and to “curve down” rather than publish it as a YA and “curve up.” The winner of the auction was W.W. Norton, one of the most venerable publishers in New York, which has the added advantage of employing a powerful college sales force. Our hope is that Stitches will find its audience among adults, college students, and even high-school students.

Hunger Mountain Editors: Your agency has such esteemed clients as Kate DiCamillo, Sarah Weeks, Doreen Cronin and James and Kate McMullan. What do you look for when taking on a new client?

EVB: Because Pippin is such a focused, boutique agency we are exceptionally selective when it comes to taking on a new client. We have to be! We are small and we want to be sure that if we take on someone new we have plenty of resources, time, and attention to offer that new author or artist. We want to be sure we can serve a new client with the greatest of success.

At Pippin we receive approximately a couple hundred queries a week. We read each and every one of them and give each serious consideration, but we can only take on a tiny percent. Oftentimes we ask ourselves the following as a litmus test: “Can we live without this manuscript?” I believe it was Ursula Nordstrom who once said, “If you can resist it, do.” It’s tough but great advice.

We’re looking for authors and artists who are interested in building careers in children’s book publishing. We’re much more interested in representing a “client” than a single “project”. We’re looking for clients who have something unique to say in an original way. We’re looking for clients who identify with Pippin’s core philosophy: “The world owes you nothing. You owe the world your best work.”

Hunger Mountain Editors: Many of your authors are paired with illustrators that you also represent. Are the submissions your agency sends out paired before going to the publisher or is this something that is decided and suggested by the publisher? What do you consider in creating a pairing between your authors and your illustrators?

HMM: It’s funny you ask about the “pairings,” and as you noticed, there are many on our list! Although we don’t explicitly look for matches among our authors and artists, the creative atmosphere of Pippin is conducive to such collaboration. I guess the first “pairing” occurred when Pippin opened its doors, with Countdown to Kindergarten by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Harry Bliss. I was alone back then and I didn’t like the little stack of rejection letters I was accumulating for this text, especially because I found it absolutely hilarious. In addition, I wanted to show my older sister Alison what a good agent I was! The recipe for success for Countdown was to submit it as a package, and after Harry Bliss read the text (we had “whited out” Alison’s name to keep it on the up and up), he fell in love with it and created some adorable samples. Though my faith in the manuscript had never wavered, I did like having Harry’s samples in my “tool kit.” And then we sent the package to Paula Wiseman, who fell in love with it too, and that was the beginning of both Alison’s and Harry’s children’s book careers.

Oddly enough that’s the only instance I can think of where the book had been rejected prior to a pairing. All of the pairings (I’m afraid this is beginning to sound like birds mating!) since then have happened one of three ways:

~We feel we have a text that is ideal for one of our artists, and so we ask the author what they think of a particular artist’s work and if the answer is positive, we make a “package” and submit the project that way. Interestingly enough, we have never heard a complaint about this type of submission—at first we thought an editor might not be happy that we had already matched text and art. But we’ve had good fortune submitting this way. A few examples of published Pippin Pairings are: Someday by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds; Wiggle by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Scott Menchin; and Don’t Call Me Pruneface by Janet Reed Ahearn, pictures by Drazen Kozjan, to be published in Summer 2010.

~An artist has a story idea, often even an image as well, but he or she has not been able to “crack” the story. With permission we show the image to one of our writers, and if it strikes a chord, the writer tries pulling together a draft. A recent example of how this works is Always by Alison McGhee, illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre. Pascal came to us with an image of a dog protecting a castle and the words, “I am the guard of the castle.” We loved the world this picture represented and sent it to Alison. She wrote Always based on that image.

~And last, more often than you’d think, the publisher acquires a manuscript from us and then returns to sign up a Pippin illustrator of their choice—a “pairing” we didn’t arrange! Go figure. Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Harry Bliss, came to life via that route, as did the upcoming Rescue Bunnies by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Scott Menchin, as well as Alison McGhee’s Snowman, to be illustrated by Marc Rosenthal.

It’s wonderful when we represent both author and illustrator, not only because they are both Pippins, but because there’s no lag-time between placing a manuscript and choosing an illustrator; additionally, it makes the licensing of dramatic, foreign, and merchandising a one-step process. That said, we only make author / artist matches if we feel it is best for the book as a whole and never without author and artist approval and enthusiasm.

Hunger Mountain Editors: Last year Pippin Properties celebrated its 10th anniversary. How have you seen the children’s publishing industry change in the time since Pippin first opened its doors? Which of these changes are for the better or the worse? What changes do you foresee in the industry? Where would you like Pippin Properties to be in the next 10 years, by 2019?

HMM: In some ways, particularly in terms of technology, the changes we’ve seen have been enormous—the birth of the digital age is no less than extraordinary, especially these last few years. We are so excited by all the new formats and venues available for . . . READING! We want our books to reach the most readers possible, whether it be in hardcover, board book, e-book, audio, or through a myriad of digital products that are in development. It’s open season for technology wizards, and may the best apps win!

But in other ways, the changes haven’t been dramatic. Our evergreen philosophy has served us well through the years. We continue to place 99% of the submissions we make and our focus remains on ushering books into the world that will stand the test of time. We believe that the most original voices in literature and the most talented artists across all genres are somewhat “impervious to trend.” From where we sit, it seems as though the best work continues to be welcomed by publishers, with as much enthusiasm as ever.

Over the next decade, Pippin will grow right along with the new authors and artists we represent. We don’t intend to “go large,” but we do intend to “focus” on representing the highest caliber work we can find. If that means we need to increase our staff to provide the time and attention to detail our clients deserve, then that’s what we’ll do. It’s one of the luxuries of being small—we’re fluid, we’re flexible, and we’re agile.

The “grandfather” of our company, William Steig, whose own Zeke Pippin sits proudly on our letterhead, was known to those who loved him for his ability to embrace change. When the movie Shrek, based on his book of the same name, came out, he said, “It’s vulgar and disgusting and I love it.” He wasn’t precious about his work. He’d be more likely to say, “Bring it on!” And that’s how we feel too; we are not complacent, because if you’re standing still, you’re actually going backward. We are ready to embrace the changes this new world holds in store.

Hunger Mountain Editors: We’re fond of your agency’s philosophy of creating “evergreens:” books that will stand the test of time. How do you know when that manuscript or book dummy crosses your desk that it will become a classic? We’re thinking in particular of The Underneath by Kathi Appelt, with cover and illustrations by David Small. From the instant we picked up the novel, before all of its accolades, we had the sense that this book would be spoken of in the same breath as Charlotte’s Web one day, that it had that kind of staying power. How did you know? And any tips on how we authors can acquire this “evergreen” staying power scale ourselves?

EVB: Oh, how we wish there were a guaranteed “evergreen” formula! We’d bottle it and sell it! Unfortunately, we only have our own taste, gut, and instincts to go on when it comes to the projects we represent. We strive to uphold a quality of excellence and we’re always on the lookout for books that we feel will have a lasting impact. There is no science behind it, per se, rather strength of conviction!

I don’t think we’ll ever forget the first time we read the first draft of Kathi Appelt’s daring middle-grade novel The Underneath. The world around me got very quiet and I read slowly as though I knew what I was reading was very, very different and very, very special and I was only going to get to read it once for the first time. Kathi’s novel was unlike anything we’d ever read before. It was ambitious and brave and heart wrenching and unconventional. And it moved us. We felt we had a treasure on our hands, a gem to take care of. We’re overjoyed that Kathi’s one of a kind novel has enjoyed such a loving reception by readers and we only hope it will continue to enjoy a place alongside other greats in children’s literature.

In writing The Underneath, Kathi showed a lot of courage. She dared to tell the truth and she dared to write a novel (a format that had frightened her). We urge aspiring writers to summon the courage to go to places they’ve never been before and to write with honesty.

Hunger Mountain Editors: Can you share with our readers a project or two you have in the pipeline and are exuberantly excited about?

EVB: Absolutely! We are on pins and needles for March 2010 when Dial/Penguin will publish Jandy Nelson’s intoxicating and utterly un-put-downable debut young adult novel The Sky Is Everywhere. The Sky Is Everywhere is a rare and powerful book about a young girl coping with her sister’s death. This is a story of grief in many ways, but it is musical and funny and zany, too. Perhaps Printz Award Winner and NBA Finalist An Na said it best when she wrote: “WOW. I sobbed my eyes out and then laughed through the tears. I have not fallen in love with a story and its characters like this in a long time. Stunning, heartbreaking, hilarious. A story that shakes the Earth.”

We also eagerly await the release of Erin Bow’s Plain Kate, an atmospheric YA novel inspired by Russian fairytale (acquired at auction by Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic and originally found in the unsolicited pile!) and scheduled for Fall 2010 publication. Plain Kate’s world is one of white magicians, talking cats, and roaming gypsy clans; it’s a world where shadows can raise the dead, where people fear there is magic in a knife. It is also a novel about being brave when society says you don’t belong and it’s about the strange and enduring bonds of friendship and love, which in this novel are anything but expected.

And since everyone can use a good laugh now and again, we can’t wait for Feiwel & Friends to publish Kate McMullan and George Booth’s upcoming School. School is a riot. It’s a heavily illustrated chapter book starring an unforgettable cast, including principal Miss Ingashoe, her secretary, Ms. Cecilia Seeyalater, teachers Mr. Hugh da Mann and Mrs. Doremi Fassollatido (she teaches music), and students Abby Birthday, Sid Down, Viola Fuss, and Dewey Haveto. You get the picture!