Picture Book Summit Podcast

Welcome to our three-part series Where the Ideas Are! We'll finding, assessing, and developing ideas for marketable picture books stories. While we can't tell you exactly where to get your next great idea, Katie Davis can give you tips for harvesting the ideas that are cropping up all around you. Look for parts 2 and 3 in episode 031 with Laura Backes and episode 032 with Emma Walton Hamilton.

In today's episode, we'll hear from Samantha Berger, a twice Emmy-nominated writer and award-winning author of over 80 books for young readers, including Crankenstein, Monster's New Undies, Snail Mail, and Rock What You Got! Samantha wrote for Nickelodeon for 12 years and now she writes for Sesame Street. Now, she's revealing five things you need to know about being AND writing funny.

In this episode, Emma Walton Hamilton talks about the three things you should do before you start submitting, the key components of your query letter, including how to craft your hook and what to include in your bio, query etiquette, and submissions dos and don'ts.

Today's episode showcases literary agent Jennie Dunham, founder of Dunham Literary Inc. Her clients have appeared on the NYT Bestseller list and have won numerous awards including the Schneider Family Award, the Boston Globe Horn Book Honor, and NYT Best Illustrated Book. Jennie shares insight on what agents do, what they don't do, and how to prepare for working with an agent.

You vow again and again, "Today I will work on my book!" But something just keeps getting in the way. In this episode, Katie Davis shares insights and tips for avoiding procrastination and getting your "BIC" or Butt In Chair. Listen in for a few tricks that will give you the motivation needed to complete the next phase of your work.

Nonfiction picture books are one of the fastest-growing segments of the market today, but how do you make them accessible and fun, even for the youngest of audiences. In this episode, award-winning author Ruth Spiro explains how to introduce complex scientific topics in a way that makes them understandable and engaging for younger readers, and even babies. Listen in to sharpen your skills related...

In this episode, Picture Book Summit co-founder Emma Walton Hamilton provides some helpful insight on determining whether a manuscript is truly ready for submission. Listen in to avoid some common mistakes that could cause your hard work to be rejected by a publisher.

In this episode, Picture Book Co-Founder Laura Backes gives us insight into creating memorable picture book characters by discussing the cognitive development of kids in the picture book audience. You'll look at your main characters and how you develop them in a whole new way after this mind-opening episode.

In today's episode, Katie Davis shares how digging into research makes your writing sparkle — whether your book is nonfiction or fiction. Using picture books Renato and the Lion by Barbara DiLorenzo and Shark Nate-O by Becky Cattie and Tara Luebbe, Katie reveals how research brought surprises to each of these stories.

Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell helps us find the magic of picture books as he explores the bridge between text and image by breaking down successful books. Matthew even shares his struggle with finding the bridge in his early work. Join us for this magical ride.

In this episode, Laura Backes and Emma Walton Hamilton team up to give you tips on approaching the first big revision of your first draft. Listen as they dig deep into revision first steps by taking you on a tour of the first act of a fiction picture book and a nonfiction picture book to show what your manuscript needs at the beginning of the story to get started on a firm foundation.

Today's episode includes snippets from literary agent Brenda Bowen's appearance at Picture Book Summit. Brenda represents national and international bestselling authors and illustrators including Newbery and Caldecott award winners. She is also a children's author herself with over 40 books under her belt under the name Margaret MacNamara. In Brenda's presentation, she spoke with her author hat on...

In today's episode, we'll hear from Kate McMullan, bestselling author of over 100 books for kids, including the I STINK series. In her presentation, Kate talks about inspiration, where you can find it and how to capture it when it strikes.

Through humor and storytelling, veteran nonfiction author Stephen Swinburne takes us into the heart of narrative nonfiction storytelling with solid tips and tricks for writing STEM and STEAM manuscripts, including what editors are looking for in today's market.

How can you actually connect with your readers? Get your books into the hands of more kids? It's a challenge, especially when it seems like thousands of new books are published every day. In this episode, Katie Davis shares how she's used her platform and marketing strategies to sell almost one million copies of her traditionally published books and launch two books at #1 on Amazon. She'll reveal...

How do you tell a story about a specific cultural paradigm and make it universally accessible? Award-winning author Rukhsana Khan shows us how to do just that as she walks us through her Golden Kite award-winning book BIG RED LOLLIPOP. Don't miss the behind-the-scenes stories and intentions of this beloved picture book.

Mac Barnett shares how the layout and format of a picture book informs how the reader will engage with the story on different levels. Even the trim size of a book changes the way it's read.  Mac Barnett's Picture Book Manifesto: http://thepicturebook.co/

In Laura Backes' Picture Book Summit workshop Purpose Without Preaching, she gave some tips for infusing your manuscript with a message without preaching to the reader or sounding didactic. In this episode, we share some highlights from her talk.

Today's episode features LeUyen Pham, an author and/or illustrator of over 100 books for children including THE BOY WHO LOVED MATH, VAMPIRINA BALLERINA, A PIECE OF CAKE, and the Caldecott Honor Book BEAR CAME ALONG. In this excerpt from her Picture Book Summit presentation, she shares some of the behind-the-scenes creation of BEAR CAME ALONG as part of a broader conversation on why authors should...

Today we bring you beloved author-illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky. Paul received the Caldecott Medal for his illustrated retelling of RAPUNZEL, as well as Caldecott Honors for three of his books: HANSEL AND GRETEL, RUMPELSTILTSKIN, and SWAMP ANGEL. He also known for crowd-pleasing favorites such as THE WHEELS ON THE BUS and Z IS FOR MOOSE. In this portion of his presentation from Picture Book Summit,...

In this episode, we'll hear from Alvina Ling, vice president and editor-in-chief of Little Brown Books for Young Readers. In this excerpt of Alvina's Picture Book Summit presentation, she reveals very specific reasons why a manuscript might get acquired or rejected by Little Brown or by any publisher in general. Enjoy this peek behind the publishing curtain. Find out more about Picture Book Summit...

Today we are thrilled to bring you Adam Rex. Adam Rex wrote and/or illustrated all the books you like including the New York Times best selling Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich , the New York Times best selling School's First Day of School , and also a number of titles about which the New York Times has been strangely coy. In this snippet from Adam's Picture Book Summit presentation, he digs down dee...

In today's episode, we'll hear an excerpt of Emma Walton Hamilton's interview with the legendary Jane Yolen at Picture Book Summit. Jane is the award-winning author of over 365 books for children and young adults, including the Caldecott Medal-winning book OWL MOON and the bestselling series HOW DO DINOSAURS SAY GOODNIGHT? In this interview with Jane, she discusses how she manages to be so prolifi...

The delightful David Shannon joins us in this episode. David Shannon is a bestselling children's author-illustrator known for perennial classics such as DUCK ON A BIKE, A BAD CASE OF STRIPES, and NO, DAVID! In this segment from David's Picture Book Summit presentation "It's Done!", he talks about what happens when you're done with a manuscript, how do you know it's really done, and what are the re...

In today's episode, we'll hear from Carole Boston Weatherford the award-winning author of numerous books for children including JUNETEENTH JAMBOREE, FREEDOM IN CONGO SQUARE, and YOU CAN FLY! THE TUSKEGEE AIRMAN. In this segment, she talks about premise and point of view and how important they are in picture books. Find out more about this year's Picture Book Summit at picturebooksummit.com .