• The ECC Questionnaire

Q&A with Christina Quintero, Executive Art Director of Licensing and Intellectual Property, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers | November 18, 2015

What was your first job in publishing? If it was not in license publishing, how did you get into the licensing end of the industry?
My first job in book publishing was as an intern at Penguin Young Readers Group. Toward the end of my internship there was an opening at another imprint for a junior designer at Grosset & Dunlap for their licensing program, for which I was fortunately hired.

How do you think design work is different in license publishing than in a “typical” novel or picture book?
With license design there are a lot more parameters that we have to work within. Designers have to get immersed in the brand DNA to get a feel for how much we can create versus using provided assets to create interesting designs while maintaining the brand’s guidelines. I often describe it as designing a puzzle—there is often a lot of information we’re trying to get across to the reader, but we have to make sure it still fits within the brand’s world. The other big difference is the pace and variety of books we work on. We’ll work on everything from young board books and novelty titles to illustrated chapter books to activity and doodle books to older YA novels and pop-up books. No two days are the same.

How do you and the publisher determine the types of books best fit to publish for each brand or license?
This is really a collaborative experience between the publisher, editorial, design, and the licensor. There are a lot of factors that go into the decision: which formats best fit the brand, what opportunities are in the market, what toys or entertainment are coming out that would be good to tie into in publishing, and what are the stories we can tell to expand the brand for the fans.

Do you keep up with of all the upcoming TV shows, movies, video games, etc. that might make it big?
We do try to keep up with new potential properties by attending various conferences, including Toy Fair, Comic Con, and Licensing Show. We also keep an eye on what the fans are talking about on various blogs and what they are getting excited about, as well as on general trends in the book and entertainment industries.

What are some of your predictions for the future of license publishing?
I think licensing is going to continue to get more creative with how we tell stories for these brands. Traditionally license publishing was just the retelling of episodes or stories that directly tied into a toy launch, but I think licensors are getting more comfortable with the idea of original storytelling to help expand the worlds for the fans, which is very exciting.

What are some of your hobbies? Favorite books that you’ve read as a kid and/or as an adult?
I love to travel, scuba dive, and enjoy great food and drinks. My favorite book as a kid was Roald Dahl’s Matilda. It was one of the first books I could read on my own, and I just remember loving the humor and seeing imperfect adult characters for the first time. As an adult, one of the most interesting books I’ve read recently is Cloud Atlas. I love how the story was structured and all the connections between the characters that weren’t really revealed until halfway through the story when it all starts to come together.