Blog
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Children's Book Week 2015 #storylines: Roald Dahl
Here’s a morsel from Roald Dahl’s confectionary classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Puffin Books/Penguin Young Readers, 1964): See other quotes in the series, and share your favorites! Quote #1: …
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Scholastic to Sell Educational Technology Business to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for $575 Million
New York, NY – Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Educational Technology and Services (“EdTech”) business to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company …
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Nikki Garcia: How I Got into Publishing
Assistant Editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
To tell you how I got into publishing, I could start by mentioning that my mother always had a book in her hand, and taught me to do the same—or that I spent most of my time lost in books like One Fat Summer by Robert Lipsyte.
These experiences definitely shaped me to be the kind of person who would find myself in the world of publishing but, honestly, the idea of a publishing career didn’t even pop into my mind until the day I watched Margaret Tate and Andrew Paxton (played by Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds) banter on the silver screen in The Proposal.
I remember that being a particularly difficult time for me. I’d just spent the last year working at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary while taking pre-med classes at night. Although I was proud of the idea of becoming a doctor, I wasn’t eager to go to work and class every day, but I didn’t like the idea of quitting either. Then one weekend, as I watched Margaret and Andrew throw humorous insults at each other, I noticed Margaret’s hardcopy manuscripts sprinkled across her desk. I was fascinated by the part where Andrew was trying to convince her to buy a manuscript that he loved. I remember thinking, Is this a thing? Does this career actually exist?! That night, I looked up the industry guides that my school had available, and ta da, there it was—an industry guide on publishing. Seriously…never doubt the power of media.
Of course, deciding to be an editor was much easier than actually convincing someone to let me be one. Once I was finished with my classes, I hit the pavement and had an informational interview with anyone who’d meet with me. My first informational interview was with Michael Pietsch, the then publisher of Little, Brown and Company. He was kind enough to put me in touch with another editor, and a direct contact in human resources. Even with those new contacts, I knew I was going to have to intern and get some experience, so luckily I found a unique internship at The New Press.
I spent a month in each department: editorial, publicity/marketing, production, and finance. The internship at the New Press made me perfectly qualified for an in-house floater position that opened up at Hachette Book Group at just about the time my internship was ending. Like my internship, I would be available to work on various projects within any department in the company.
While working as a floater, I was lucky enough to receive Alvina Ling as my mentor in the Hachette Mentor Program. I spent the next six months picking her brain about the life of an editor, reading submissions, and drafting jacket copy and declines. Often Alvina would ask me if I still wanted to work in editorial, and every time my answer was the same. Yes!
Once the six months were over, she agreed to keep meeting with me, and this continued for another six months as well, until an editorial assistant position opened up working under her and another editor. I interviewed for the position, and luckily I got the job.
Five years ago I hadn’t even known publishing existed. Now I work for one of the best companies in the industry. Since my start as a floater, I’ve acquired my first book, Lola Levine is Not Mean (November 2015), along with other books in the series, all featuring a spunky biracial and bicultural second grader.
I know what it’s like to feel lost in deciding what you want to do with your life, and I feel very lucky to have found my way to this cool place surrounded by other book lovers. What I’ve learned is that it’s important to keep your eyes open. You never know where you might find the answer, because it might just be in the form of two funny actors in a romantic comedy.
Hey, it could happen.
Nikki Garcia is an assistant editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers where she works on books for all ages. During her time at LBYR, she has had the honor of working with picture book authors such as Peter Brown and Frank Viva, as well as novelists such as Wendy Mass, Matthew Quick, and Holly Black. Born and raised right here in New York City, Nikki graduated from St. John’s University, and thankfully didn’t have to travel very far to make her dreams come true.
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Children's Book Week #storylines: Holly Goldberg Sloan
Here’s a quote on the feel-good power of literature, from Holly Goldberg Sloan’s Counting by 7s (Dial Books/Penguin Young Readers Group, 2013): See other quotes in the series, and share …
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The Harry Potter Alliance Begins Worldwide Book Drive
The Harry Potter Alliance, an international non-profit that uses the power of stories to fight real world injustice, has kicked off a campaign to donate 60,000 books to communities in …
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Children's Book Week 2015 #storylines: Walter Dean Myers
Here’s a message of love and unity from Carmen, written by the late author and National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Walter Dean Myers (Egmont, 2011): See other quotes in …
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Children's Book Week 2015 #storylines: Andrea Beaty
Find the courage to try again with this line from Andrea Beaty’s Rosie Revere, Engineer (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2013): See other quotes in the series, and share your …
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Children's Book Week 2015 #storylines: Shaun Tan
Seize the day with these words from Shaun Tan’s The Lost Thing (Lothian/Hachette, 2002: See other quotes in the series, and share your favorites! Quote #1: Frances Hodgson Burnett, A …
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Banned Books Week Celebrates Young Adult Books in 2015
New York, NY — Young Adult books will be the focus of Banned Books Week in 2015, the event’s national planning committee announced today. Banned Books Week, the annual celebration of the …
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Kids Can Earn 5 Bookopolis Points When They Vote in the Children's Choice Book Awards!
Launched in 2008 by Every Child a Reader and the Children’s Book Council, the Children’s Choice Book Awards (CCBA) is the only national book awards program where the winning titles …
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United for Libraries to dedicate five Literary Landmarks™ for Children’s Book Week
The following five Literary Landmarks will be dedicated during Children’s Book Week: Carl Sandburg State Historic Site, Galesburg, Illinois: Carl Sandburg (1878-1967), the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and biographer, was born …
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2015 Eisner Award Nominations Announced
Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7) BirdCatDog by Lee Nordling & Meritxell Bosch A Cat Named Tim And Other Stories by John Martz Hello Kitty, Hello 40: …
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Children's Book Week 2015 #storylines: Ned Vizzini
Here’s a timeless quote from Ned Vizzini’s The Other Normals (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 2012): See other quotes in the series, and share your favorites! Quote #1: Frances Hodgson Burnett, A …
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The CBC Partners with the unPrison Project to Build Prison-Nursery Libraries for Incarcerated Mothers and Their Babies
BRAND-NEW LIBRARIES TO BE CREATED IN HONOR OF MOTHER’S DAY ON MAY 10, WHICH FALLS DURING CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK 2015 New York, NY — April 23, 2015 –In honor of …
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Jon Scieszka on Connecting with Reluctant Readers
In addition to grabbing readers with his unusual characters and signature humor, Scieszka edits anthologies for Guys Read, the online literacy program for boys which he founded. I’m always looking …
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Jacqueline Woodson On Why She Used Poetry to Share Her Childhood Stories
This book features a collection of poems that paints vignettes from Woodson’s childhood. For her, poetry was the best way to share these biographical stories. She explained that “memory doesn’t …
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Children's Book Week 2015 #storylines: Kate DiCamillo
Here’s a heartfelt line from National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Kate DiCamillo’s Flora & Ulysses (Candlewick Press, 2014): See other quotes in the series, and share your favorites! Quote …
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2015 Ezra Jack Keats Book Award Winners Honored
The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation in partnership with the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at The University of Southern Mississippi has announced the winners of the 29th annual Ezra Jack …
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#MathicalBooks Social Media Contest – Starts April 28!
What is Mathical: Books for Kids from Tots to Teens?Books can be a fantastic way to get kids of all ages excited and interested in math. Now, there’s a new …
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Children's Book Week 2015 #storylines: Gene Luen Yang
Overcome obstacles with this line from Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel The Shadow Hero (First Second/Macmillan, 2014): See other quotes in the series, and share your favorites! Quote #1: Frances …
