• The ECC Questionnaire

Q&A with Cassie McGinty, Senior Publicist, Disney-Hyperion | November 3, 2017

By Hannah Allaman (ECC Member, Disney-Hyperion)

What is your typical day as a senior publicist at Disney-Hyperion?

The day-to-day for publicity can run the gamut. From pitching media and blogs, to organizing author tours/conferences/festivals, publicity is fun because there is so much going on. When I get in in the morning I look at the to-do list for the day that I left myself the night before, then skim through my emails to see what needs to be added to that list. My favorite part of each day is getting to talk with my authors and see how we can work together to augment the plans for their books with their feedback.  

What was your first job in publishing? How did you end up where you are now?

My first job was actually here at Disney Publishing! I’d graduated from college, and reached out to an alumni for an informational interview. After that, he introduced me to one of this publishing friends, who introduced me to his friend… who then introduced me to someone at Disney. I worked here for about two years, then moved to Random House Children’s Books where I worked for a few years before moving back here to Disney.

You’re the publicist for new imprint Rick Riordan Presents—what are the challenges and rewards of this role? What is it like being part of a brand new imprint?

I am a huge Rick Riordan fan, and feel so lucky to get to work with him and the amazing team to launch a new imprint! The challenges have really been the rewards: having the opportunity to help build an imprint from the ground up with my colleagues has been such a fulfilling experience. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work to ensure that the mission and purpose of the imprint reaches each component of bringing a book to market, and it has been so much fun to get to be a part of this.

What’s the most exciting trend you’re noticing across the children’s book industry recently?

I love that there has been such a push for more representative books! Diverse authors and illustrators telling stories based on their backgrounds—to get to see this movement take shape and build momentum has been so heartening and inspiring. Kids need to see themselves and their cultures in the books that they read. This movement will help make lifelong readers.

Is there any advice you would give to a young professional in the industry?

If it takes less than five minutes, do whatever it may be the day that you get it, just before you the leave the office. This piece of advice has made a huge impact on me, and can make such a difference in workload. Getting those little things done helps prevent work from feeling overwhelming, and makes the many things on the to-do list feel so much more manageable.

What’s the best book you’ve recently read?

Such a loaded question! This is such a random book to mention, but I’d have to say The Artful Nuance by Rod L. Evans. It’s been a fun read to learn more about the little differences between words that are commonly misused… something that I am often guilty of myself.