Don’t be afraid of the dark

Last week, our intern Emily (@notoed) was inspired to write a blog about adult themes in children’s literature after reviewing notes from our Parent Parlour. Emily studies Fine Art at Loughborough University and is hoping to pursue a career in publishing after her graduation this summer.

Adult themes in children’s literature are nothing new. From allegorical tales such as those of Dr. Seuss, to historical novels such as GOODNIGHT MR.TOM by Michelle Magorian and WITCH CHILD by Ceila Rees (both of which I read and loved as a child) children’s stories that explore issues of war, politics, poverty, even genocide have always found their way on to bookstore shelves. But is this difficult genre beginning to over-saturate the children’s market, and how dark is too dark?

During my week interning with Hot Key Books, one of the tasks I undertook was typing up notes from a parents conference held by Hot Key. The message from the parents was unanimous; they were concerned about appropriateness of the reading material that was readily available to their children. These concerns have even bred the term ‘sick lit’, attributed to books whose portrayal of harrowing themes such as torture and emotional abuse might be considered explicit or gratuitous.

For myself personally, as someone whose favourite books as a young teen were about apartheid (the wonderful NOUGHTS AND CROSSES series by Malorie Blackman), and who as a late teen cut their hipster lit teeth on Chuck Palahniuk (seriously NOT suitable for kids!), I feel that relaying social commentary in children’s lit is both appropriate and effective –if- and it’s a big if – those themes are delicately handled.

A young narrator can often allow an author to approach difficult topics with innocence and a lack of bias that only exists in the young and un-jaded. Maybe there’s a sense of idealism there; if we thought like children, wouldn’t the solutions to our worldly problems seem so much simpler?

Books with adult themes have a huge cross-over audience; Hot Key’s own Maggot Moon by Sally Gardener has both children and adult editions, and I vividly recall my Grandma lending me her copy of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon when I was 11 years old. I think that the ability to share the joy of books between families and across generations is something really quite special.

What I love most about children’s books that touch on adult themes is that they treat children like the intelligent and curious people that they are. Some of my favourite films are children’s movies that have the same kind of respect for their young audience; one being the beautiful adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are, directed by Spike Jonze. In fact, I even gave a presentation on this film as part of my degree in Fine Art earlier this year.

In my experience working with kids in the past, I’ve often found that they have a huge capacity to cope with and understand difficult subjects, though of course, as with all things, there needs to be a line. There’s a big difference between tackling a difficult topic in an age-appropriate manner, and writing horror into children’s novels in an attempt to push the envelope.

What do you think about adult themes in kid’s books? Do you have any favourites from when you were younger, or any which you’ve read recently? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Publishing: Theory vs. Practice

A few weeks ago, our intern Jaclyn Swope wrote a bit of a reflection on the difference between what she is learning in the classroom, and what she has seen in practice at Hot Key. Jaclyn (@jaxswo) is currently pursuing her MA in Publishing at Kingston University and trying not to spend all of her tuition money on books. She reads nearly as much young adult fiction now as she did as a teenager and is looking for any opportunities to gain additional experience in children’s publishing.

On my publishing course, we spend a lot of time talking about the future of publishing, and at the core of our studies, the functions of different roles within the industry. Interning at Hot Key was my chance to see this in action at a REAL LIVE PUBLISHING COMPANY, and it definitely changed my perspectve. I came into it with knowledge afforded me by my tutors and from our lectures and projects, but as with anything, there is major difference between doing something theoretical and actually applying it, especially when there is more to think about than just my grade.

A few of my textbooks…

Last term, in our Product Development module, we had to come up with our own product, physical or digital, and pitch it as if we were working in a publishing company: we had to have the numbers to support it, the how’s, the why’s, the who’s, etc. I learned terms like P&L and TCM and how to use Nielsen Book Scan in my sleep, and then I had to stand in front of my class and present my idea before handing in a formal, written proposal.

It was quite daunting.

There was so much to think about, not least of which was whether my idea was completely terrible or not. It was like how I am with my own writing: I can’t edit myself, but I can edit others. I can’t recognize the validity of my own ideas, but I was sure that when the time came, I’d be able to recognize the potential, or lack thereof, behind a manuscript written by someone else.

Hot Key gave me the opportunity to test my previously theoretical manuscript-reading abilities and to see what happens when an editor proposes publishing a new book. From my first day here, I was reading manuscripts that were being circulated around the office or that had been emailed to the company. Rather than judging my own ideas, I was presented with other people’s, allowing me to test my instincts and my ability to see future greatness in a submitted book. I didn’t have to be the creator—I had to be a reader, which is really my natural state, bookworm that I am. When I liked the manuscripts that were being pushed forward, I got a little thrill from knowing that I would have made the same decision. I’m also good at saying no when I don’t like something – it’s good to know I won’t be inclined to buy everything that comes my way.

I was struck by how collaborative the consideration process was—every department received certain manuscripts, rather than the decision relying on a convincing document filled with facts and figures. The numbers are always important and the business side needs to be considered, but things progressed more like a conversation instead of a presentation. Developing and presenting my own product in class was a useful exercise, but I enjoyed experiencing another side to pitching, with less reliance on formality and more room for enthusiasm.

Having the opportunity to sit in on Hot Key’s publishing meetings really highlighted to me the difference between studying publishing and actually working at a publishing company. In class, we discuss sales, social media, contracts, production, but these meetings really showed me how everything comes together across departments. My lecturers always stress that, even though most of us on the course are English lit graduates and resistant to maths, we need to be aware of how much numbers play a part in publishing—not just the numbers themselves, but how they fluctuate and compare. Interpreting sales, royalties, blog stats and plenty of other figures can define success, and numbers cropped up plenty in the meetings. The discussions were a merger of the creative and the quantitative, with thoughts on cover designs being shortly followed by e-book download numbers, and I am growing more and more used to seeing everything in publishing that way.

My MA course has taught me so much about the publishing industry, and now my experience at Hot Key has given me an up-close look at a publishing company, allowing me to see how general responsibilities and information covered in class can morph and adapt depending on the company, or even on the book. My enthusiasm for books and everything that goes into them continues to increase with everything I learn, so I think I’m definitely in the right business. Now if only I could get over the terror I feel when I think about my looming dissertation…

Big or small, we’re all fangirls/fanboys at heart

Our brilliant borrowed intern Nicole is leaving us today (sniffle), so we asked her to write one more blog about her experience with Hot Key and London.

My month in London is almost over and for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been doing my hardest not to look like a tourist anymore. I refuse to look at my tube map in public. Instead of waiting for the pedestrian traffic light to turn green (because I still have no idea from which side I will be crushed if I cross on a red light), now, like a lemming, I follow the hordes when they storm the streets as soon as they deem it safe and hope there are enough people to the left and right of me that they get hit first if they overlooked a vehicle.

I’ve even been brave enough to say “Yes, I do!” when asked if I would like some tea even though nobody ever specifies what kind of tea they’re actually going to get (I might have strategically placed some fruity infusion stuff at the office that probably doesn’t even count as real tea around these parts though before I said “yes” the first time).  And whenever I have no idea what people are actually saying to me…okay admittedly, I still stall and stare weirdly until my brain has caught up, which I’m pretty sure is neither very polite, nor does it make me look less like a tourist, but let’s move on.

Still, it took some time adjusting to the way things are, because a lot of things are just a little bit different here in England than they are in Germany. Not only do people drive on the wrong side of the street, even the little green guy in the pedestrian traffic lights is walking in the other direction. Rush hour is a whole different ballgame (I haven’t been this close to accidentally fondling someone on the train since I lived in New York, where…admittedly, that might not always have been as accidental as I said it was…) and I still don’t get why on earth one would have two separate faucets for hot and cold water (what if you want lukewarm??).

But don’t get me wrong, when it comes to Hot Key, “different” is a good thing! For one, the probability of getting lost at the office here: preeeeeetty slim. At Carlsen, it’s a common sight to see new employees roaming the halls trying to look confident while actually having no idea how to get from A to B (Especially since we really enjoy switching offices in regular intervals. And because our stairwells are evil and never lead where you expect them to lead.).

A few of the books I worked on projects for…

The phones ring a lot less here. Why? Because everybody’s so close by that you can actually go and talk to each other when you have a question. Having over 130 employees (and the aforementioned evil stairwells) at Carlsen, it’s often simply simpler to make a quick call than to venture to the other end of the building to realize the person you wanted to talk to isn’t even there (…or has moved to a different office).

When a manuscript comes in, everybody can read it and join the discussion about whether it fits the Hot Key lineup, no matter which department they’re from or what their position is. At Carlsen, we get several hundred unsolicited manuscripts a month, plus the ones our editors are actively pursuing. If everybody read everything AND had a say…let’s just say we’d probably never actually publish a book because we’d be too busy discussing them to ever get any actual work done.

Hard at work, researching Victorian policing for THE QUIETNESS iBook.

Moreover, where everyone working at Carlsen has often more than a dozen regular meetings on their calendar each month, here at Hot Key there is one big production meeting once a week, where everybody sits together and discusses everything from new cover ideas to sales figures for every current and upcoming title. Which, admittedly, is a lot easier with 20 titles than it is with 5,000, though (not to mention the fact that we’d probably have a hard time fitting 130 people around a table).

And that’s basically the crux of it all: With 130 employees working on 700 new titles a year (plus a backlist of several thousand in-stock titles), you have to work a lot differently than you do with 20 people working on 50 titles, whether you want to or not.

One last cup of tea and tiny cakes with the Hot Key Books and Red Lemon Press staff…

However, that doesn’t mean that we don’t have anything in common! The printer NEVER works. There are the same emails about dirty dishes in the kitchen. When our server or our internet fails, we’re all just running around like chickens with our heads cut off. And there’s a seemingly endless supplies of snacks in the kitchen. But much more importantly, we all come to the office every day because we’re enthusiastic about writing and because we want to publish the best stories and the best authors out there. We want to inspire, excite and entertain the little and the not so little ones. Basically, we are all a bunch of geeky fangirls and fanboys ourselves, championing the tales we love and getting them out there for others to enjoy. And ultimately, that is the only thing that really matters.

An Adventure at Hot Key Books

Tara Loder (@Tara_in_London) has supported her reading and traveling habits for a number of years by working as a researcher/writer/editor, and in 2011-12 took the MA in Publishing Studies at City University as the first step in pursuing her dream of working in children’s publishing. She’s now supporting her publishing dream by tutoring kids in the evenings and counts Hot Key Books as the fourth top publishing house she’s interned with.

Shortly after walking into Hot Key Books and armed with a cup of tea, I sat down to work on a manuscript that was partway through the editorial process. Pages and pages of words; the story itself and the story of the author and editor’s journey together written in the side notes, rewrites and edits. I was gripped by both.

The novel itself had me scarfing down my salmon and cream cheese bagel at lightning speed, just so I could get back to work, reading two copies of the same text side by side, marking up changes and checking for continuity. I couldn’t get enough of this subversive tale of pain, romance, defiance and revenge.

The second tale contained in the manuscript was no less riveting for me. In reading the notes, I had a ring-side seat to the delicate dance between author and editor as they work together to trim back verbose passages, plug plot holes, smooth the reading experience with correct punctuation and so much more. For me this dance is one of the most exciting and difficult aspects of being an editor, and I am very excited to have played a very, teeny-tiny role in this process.

The editing process from long ago…still looks very similar today!

By Day Two I was deeply entrenched in the manuscript when I was taken aside and asked what I would be most interested in working on during the week. I had an answer ready and raring to go: ‘I’d like to get involved in the digital side.’

And just like that, Sara O’Connor was telling me all about The Quietness. Now I had another new book and by that afternoon was tasked with some gruesome research into surgery in nineteenth-century London. The Trephine is enough to make me shudder.

Ouch!

The Quietness also led me into an interesting discussion about age-appropriate literature and where the young adult market meets the adult market. It was a recurring theme during the week, as new submissions were discussed.

On Day Three, I was finishing with the manuscript and research, and getting ready to move on to data entry in Biblio. Not all aspects of working in publishing are deathly exciting, but by the end of Day Four, I could happily add using Biblio to my CV. Plus, I’d also spent the day reading the names of industry leaders and getting an idea of the regions that Hot Key Books has been sold into. For me there is something thrilling about seeing the reach a novel can have.

I know it seems odd to get excited about the reach of a novel while entering data, but bear with me for a moment. Picture a girl on a barren shore of an island with an area of 111,390 sq km, which is part of a province that is one-and-three-quarters times the size of Great Britain, yet has a population of 514,536 people. Or to put it into a picture, here is the entire town of Too Good Arm (my childhood home is the double A-frame in the upper-left of the picture).

This little girl has two TV channels, limited internet access and knows how to carry a cod fish as big as she is; the trick is – and only read this if you’re not squeamish – to insert your fingers into the eyes of the fish which retract when pushed. Very little from the world makes it into the rugged beauty of her isolated hometown, but there is a library full of books that are gateways to other towns, to cities, to imaginary worlds… Those books turn life into a chose your own adventure, as each book reveals further options of what to do, where to go, something to aspire to and more. And this is why I’m interning with Hot Key Books and determined to work in publishing. I want to be part of feeding the imagination of little girls and boys, teenagers and adults. Age-appropriate material may differ widely, but a good story can inspire people of all ages.

Day Five rolled around quickly and promised a day of blogging, submission reading and a touch of Biblio. The fruits of my blogging labour are clear to see, and Biblio held no surprises, but submission reading had a real gem waiting for me. With just a few short lines I was intrigued, a couple of pages had me eagerly whizzing through the outline, and altogether the submission made my parting words: ‘I’d buy it.’

Class is in…at Hot Key Books

My name is Louise Griffin and I’m sixteen years old. I’m currently completing my GCSEs at school and, although I’m one of Hot Key’s younger interns, I would love to have a future career in publishing.

When I was told in a school assembly that I was to complete two weeks of work experience, I thought of publishing for two main reasons. Firstly, as a book lover, I knew I wanted to do something related to books. So, I considered three options: a book shop, a library or a publishing house. Publishing, I thought, seemed the most interesting (and impressive) of those options. The second reason was that, after I asked friends, various family members and teachers about the publishing sector, I realised that (although, of course, they did not want to admit it) they did not know much at all about publishing.

To complete my work experience at a publishing house would be to venture into the unknown, so I started emailing publishing houses immediately. I came to Hot Key Books with the hope of learning more about the publishing process and what the different types of jobs entail, but not really knowing what to expect or even if I’d like it or not.

Hard at work, reading another submission.

I realised quite early on that I do like it. I like it a lot. I’ve loved seeing how the publishing process works and how each person contributes to create something that they’re really proud of. I’ve loved seeing how the best creative ideas are formed through a conversation and how no one’s opinion is more or less important than anyone else’s. I’ve even loved sitting in on the meetings and seeing how everything pieces together in the end and I’ve especially loved the never-ending amounts of chocolate in the kitchen!

It was a lovely change to be able to come to Hot Key Books every day for two weeks rather than going to school, and there are things that I’ve learnt from my experience here that I would never have learnt at school, such as what happens in the meetings and the different types of tasks that have to be completed to get a book published. Being at Hot Key Books has been very different to being at school–I’ve had a lot more freedom and I’ve felt much more part of a team.

Naomi explains my next project.

During my work experience at Hot Key Books, I have learnt so much about the different types of people and the different tasks that are required to publish a book. After seeing just how much hard work goes into it, I will never look at a book the same way again.

Although I came to Hot Key Books not knowing what to expect, as my fortnight here comes to an end, I am almost certain that, in the future, I will pursue a career in publishing.

Spöknätter & Legender

My name is Sofia Ahlström, I am 21 years old and was born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden. When I was a child I had trouble sleeping at friend’s houses, or going on trips with my class – I always panicked when it was time for bed. I avoided sleepovers as a young teenager, but when I was 14 years old, my parents sent me and my friend to a place called Angsholmen. They sent me to camp, for 2 weeks – maybe you can imagine my nerves! The first night went quite smoothly and after two weeks I felt as if I had found another home. I came back every summer and when I was too old to be a participant, I applied to work as a leader. Today, Angsholmen is my second home (as it is to so many people). Right now, I am doing my internship at Hot key Books and I was asked to write about ghost stories from my childhood. I did not really have to think about what my subject would be, since I already knew: Angsholmen.

A long time ago in 1914, right outside of Stockholm, a horseshoe shaped island called Angsholmen was bought by the Swedish military. They used the island for protection, and built an enormous fortress at the curve of the horseshoe. When camp for young kids was introduced to this beautiful island the fortress was demolished, for the sake of safety. Today the fortress is standing there still, but closed, like a strange looking stone hill with hatches here and there.

As you may presume, there are stories. Many say that Angsholmen is haunted to this day. Strange things have happened during the years, and everyone who has been to Angsholmen knows the story about “Översten” (The Colonel).

“Översten”

Fänrik = Second Lieutenant
Löjtnant = First Lieutenant
Kapten = Captain
Major = Major
Överstelöjtnant = Lieutenant Colonel
Överste = Colonel
Överste av första graden, numera Brigadgeneral =
Older rank, today Brigadier General

When the military came to the island the soldiers were told stories by the previous landowner, ghost stories about the island’s history. People had randomly vanished through the years and were later found dead, with no eyes, and blood under their fingernails. The story said there was something disturbingly ugly haunting Angsholmen, something so horrifying that people who saw it scratched their eyes out. “Översten” did not want his soldiers to be distracted, so he forbade them to ever talk about this “silliness” ever again. They began blowing up ground to be able to build a fortress. Everything was going well, but there was one enormous stone with a weird green light around it that they were not able to blow up. So, they threw the stone into the lagoon. Only a few weeks passed when soldiers started to disappear. Every time someone vanished, there was a sharp, green light coming from deep down the lagoon…

The story itself is not very dynamic. But when this story is told at camp, on the actual island, in a dark room, the only source of light is the few candles in front of the teller. The teller puts out the candles, one after one, until the last line of the story when he blows out the last one. At that moment, someone always screams, making everybody scream.

We do not tell a lot of ghost stories at camp, but we do have a much scarier tradition. One night, when the kids are asleep, we dress up according to a scary theme, like characters from horror movies. We wake the kids up and they get to go on an exciting and scary adventure. It’s almost like a ghost house at Tivoli, but this is in the woods on a scary, haunted island. Of course, we do not want someone to be frightened for real! So there are plenty of rules for us leaders. The most important is to remember the word “Kanelbulle”. It means cinnamon bun (it is a neutral word and cannot be mistaken for anything else) and is the code word for “Do not scare me”. If anyone says this word, we don’t scare this person. This event is, for a lot of kids, the highlight of their camp experience. It is curious how we absolutely hate to be scared, but at the same time, love it.

One other night, without us leaders knowing, the kids do the same thing to us (of course they have the camp manager to help them and make sure everything is safe). Now, you might think that it would be difficult for 12 year olds to actually scare adults… well, think again. As I mentioned, this is in the woods, on a small island, with a lot of scary old houses. There are about 30 leaders, and 80 kids. Imagine, running around in the middle of the night with 80 “dead” children trying to make you scream. Trust me when I say they don’t have to try.

It makes me think about what it is that actually makes people frightened. In daytime the island is safe and fun, but as soon as it turns dark, it’s scary to walk alone among the trees on the pebbled road. It is the unknown that terrifies us. The dark creates shadows that make you doubt your eyes. The heavy silence that comes with night allows you to hear things you do not recognize. The cold wind is clean and light, and it makes you shiver as if it is hiding something. It is almost as if mother earth is telling you, through all your senses, that you should not be here.

We have a name for this scary night: Koh-i-noor. Koh-i-noor is a diamond, and it means “mountain of light”, which feels suitable when you think of the story of “Översten” and the green glowing stone. Actually, the Koh-i-noor stone exists and it is placed in the front at The Crown of Queen Elizabeth. That means that the stone is right here in London at the Tower of London, displayed with The Crown Jewels!

People often get frightened in lack of proof. Do we hear the sound of steps; we need to confirm it with our eyes to believe it. The eyes are our most reliable sense. Our nose, body and ears can fool us but we always believe what we see. That is why the darkness scares us.

At the same time, being out of control can be an exciting sensation – like riding a rollercoaster or free-falling. I believe it is the combination of liking and disliking something at the same time that makes us feel the thrill of excitement. It makes us feel alive. If we didn’t like it, then why would Halloween, horror movies and ghost stories exist?

I have come to one conclusion; human beings are complex.

Allaying my fears about digital publishing

Anna Cunnane has just begun the MA in Publishing Studies program at University College London. In her spare time she enjoys reading, the theatre and keeping up with the publishing industry on her blog. She can be found on twitter as @MollyBloom1989.

 Digital has recently become a buzzword in the publishing world, but for somebody taking their first steps into the industry, it is sometimes tricky to work out exactly what the implications of this much talked about transition are. It is often tempting to become concerned about the future and to give too much credence to those who would proclaim the printed book dead.

Like many who love reading, I am very much attached to the physical book and the way each one looks, feels and even smells. A book can be both stimulating and comforting and I only have to take a look at the battered titles on my own bookshelves at home to feel my chest swelling with pride at my hard won collection. I admit then that I have previously viewed digital editions with suspicion. Will the use of multimedia detract from the impact of the narrative I wondered? And will the importance placed on traditional storytelling decline as digital threatens to become the default publishing format?

My bookshelf at home

It turns out I needn’t have worried. In my week interning at Hot Key Books, I  wasn’t prepared to be so excited by their use of interactive digital editions to enhance their physical list, and to redefine what we think of as a book.

The mix of video, audio, text and images in the Maggot Moon Multi-Touch means that the story literally leaps of the page, or in this case out of the screen! Like the best interactive books, the additions to the text found in this edition do not disrupt the flow of the story; their content links thematically to the original narrative to ensure a seamless reading experience. The multi-touch edition stays true to the spirit of the book but also expands the reading experience beyond the scope of the printed word. This product proves that high quality children’s and young adult’s books with strong characters, compelling plots and beautiful design can shine in any format.

The warmth and the passion for great stories I have witnessed at Hot Key has made me even more excited about working in publishing. I look forward to keeping up with what they do next, and I am sure that what I have learned about digital publishing during my time at Hot Key will continue to inspire me in my reading.

That first day feeling

Harriet Brown is a second year English Studies student at the University of Nottingham. Her interest in young adult fiction grew from helping run a Brownie pack for several years. As well as books she is passionate about fashion, theatre and French cinema, which makes her sound much more cultured than she really is.

Every year in early September a funny mood comes over children in the UK. The long, lazy days of summer are over, and with great reluctance kids are dragging themselves towards the new school year. People are gripped by a strange mix of emotions. A little bit of excitement, a pinch of nerves and a dash of sadness, all stirred up with that desire to see what the New Year brings. The first day sizzles with infinite possibility – maybe this year you can get that A grade, get picked for the first netball team and talk to that boy sitting behind you in Maths (who definitely didn’t look so nice before summer). “Make a fresh start” say the teachers, just like they did last year.

But when school is done forever, and the teachers release you into the big, wide world, the first day feeling doesn’t leave for good. Internships and work experience bring with them an avalanche of first day nerves, almost as if you were starting at a brand new school all over again. You think back to how it felt walking through the shiny new gates, feeling as if the nerves might shatter you, and you might explode from excitement.  There’s the same little bit of pride that finally you are growing up and taking what feels like a really big step, and even a  parent telling you how proud they are.

Being an intern and arriving at an unfamiliar place to unfamiliar faces brings the first day feeling flooding back. Hundreds of questions flitting around your head: who will open the door? Will people be friendly? Am I wearing the right sort of outfit? Where can I get a cup of tea? How early is too early? But in the same way as starting a new school all the nerves vanish when you enter the building. There are jobs to be done and new people to talk to, not to mention getting used to the office routine. Over the course of the first day you get to grips with the atmosphere of the place, how it runs, and how you fit in. In the chaos of a new environment the days flash past much too quickly, and in a blink of an eye it’s nearing the end of the week, and like the final days of summer, you find yourself wishing that the week won’t end.

Getting “scarry-eyed” over complex characters

Rosie Crouch is a BA (Hons) Creative and Professional Writing student at the University of Nottingham. She finds herself writing mostly short stories, with a focus on the relationships between characters. She is also currently setting up a food blog. When she graduates in 2013, she hopes to begin a career in publishing.

Cats with thumbs – the cutest anomaly we’ve ever seen

I was two years old when I got the scar next to my right eye. One minute I was jumping on the top bunk of mine and my sister’s bed, the next, I was falling full-speed into the backrest of a wooden chair. At the hospital, my mum had to sit on my legs in order to keep me still for long enough for the doctor to treat the gaping hole in the side of my face. I have no memory of any of it, maybe because it was so traumatic that I’ve repressed it. Or maybe because… well, I was only two.

Either way, the story of its arrival is one I’ve told countless times, as though I remember it like yesterday. People sometimes seem embarrassed that they’ve asked, like they think I’ll be offended that they’ve noticed I have something that sets me apart from others. No way. I love my scar. Firstly, it proves I was a fearless two-year-old, and secondly, it looks like a crescent moon. Harry Potter, eat your heart out.

As Amy wrote earlier this week, our differences make us more interesting. In the same way, our interests, the things we love/hate/care about, are what make us fully rounded human beings. In the first year of my Creative and Professional Writing degree, one of the first things we were taught was to give each of our characters an anomaly – something about them that you would never expect in a million years. This is what plucks them up off the flat page and gives them life. It’s what makes them a pleasure to read. You might not want to read about just a normal eleven-year-old girl. But an eleven-year-old girl who can see into the future? Now that’s something else!

During my time here at Hot Key Books, I’ve done a lot of reading. It’s been heaven. Let me tell you, readers, there are plenty of delicious literary treats coming your way. Every story I’ve read here is jam-packed full of exciting plots, gripping conflicts and wonderfully intriguing characters. There truly is something for everybody, whatever your anomaly might be.

What do you think makes a story great? Are you a complex character lover, or do you prefer it when the plot does the talking? We want to hear what you think.

Magical Submissions

Shara Ashley (@scmAshley) is a 2012 graduate of City University London’s MA in Publishing Studies. After having gained experience at some of the best publishing houses in London, she is now excitedly pursuing a career in Children’s publishing.

The query letter is a fascinating species of writing. It lays bare the hopes, dreams and aspirations of would-be authors and asks the reader to go on a literary journey and take a risk if they like what they see. Full of promise and sincerity, the query letter never fails to remind me of the responsibility I hold as a reviewer and how the effort and imagination each author puts into her manuscript should be matched with an equal measure of my own concentration and dedication.

It was one year ago that I read my very first submission at a London literary agency. I opened the email, downloaded the attached manuscript and then had to ask myself if this ordinary Word doc could really be a book? With no professionally designed glossy jacket, no embossed foil title, no textured paper or cleverly placed sketch illustrations to enhance and distract me from the real content, it felt strangely foreign to being reading such a naked manuscript. How was I supposed to judge if its words and the story they formed were worthy of becoming not just any book, but a good book? I was soon advised that like falling in love, finding a good book amongst the slush pile of manuscript submissions is a matter of ‘you’ll know it when you see it’. Writers are often told by agents and publishers that strong voice, humour, compelling worlds and cunning plots are the keys to successful storytelling and while this is true, there are as many incarnations of each of these aspects of storytelling as there are books in a library. The question then becomes how do you know if the combination of literary components that sits before you are the seeds that will sprout a bestseller?

For me, falling in love with a submission begins with forgetting.

Just like any talented person who makes her craft look easy and puts the viewer at ease, I know I am reading something special when I forget to analyse sentence structure and pace, characterization and plot, clarity and fluidity a few pages into the process.  When a book does its job well the real magic of reading begins. Reality fades to an unimportant subplot as the new world you are devouring page by page grows more vibrant, more exciting, more compelling. And unlike a happy dream that you can never return to, the story that first swept you into its embrace is waiting to welcome you back.

The books that I return to time and again are those that captured my imagination as a child and continue to enchant me as I become part of an industry that helps bring reading to young people. When a book has the power to transport a young reader, expose them to new ideas and allow them to tribulate and triumph with their literary heroes then reading is a magical experience.  I loved my week at Hot Key Books, but perhaps what I enjoyed most was the opportunity to read some of the excellent submissions they receive. Each day I had the pleasure of sharing in writer’s hopes, dreams and aspirations and was lucky enough to come across some truly eloquent and original writing. I am so thankful to have contributed even in a small way to Hot Key Books’ mission of bringing quality and innovative storytelling to the Children’s market. The energy, imagination and enthusiasm at Hot Key Books is palpable and only confirms my belief that a little bit of magic goes into every Children’s book.