October 25, 2008
Mills College
Lisser Theater
5000 MacArthur Blvd,
Oakland
Speaker Bios
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Elizabeth Partridge Elizabeth Partridge is the author of more than a dozen books. Her most recent young adult biography, John Lennon: All I Want Is the Truth (Viking 2005), was a Printz honor book.This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie (2002 Viking) won the Golden Kite for Nonfiction and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange (Viking 1999)won a Jane Addams Honor Book Award as well as a Golden Kite Honor. http://elizabethpartridge.blogspot.com/ |
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Gretchen Hirsch Gretchen Hirsch is an associate editor at HarperCollins Children's books, where she primarily edits YA fiction, with a few picture books and middle-grade novels on the side. Some current projects include the Pretty Little Liars series and several other titles in the HarperTeen imprint. Previously, Gretchen was an assistant editor at Harcourt Children' s Books. She came to publishing after working as a children' s department manager in a bookstore. |
| She is the editor of Jan Thomas' s What Will Fat Cat Sit On? and A Birthday for Cow!, as well as the forthcoming novel Jessica' s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side. Gretchen loves manuscripts with a bit of irony and irreverence, and is especially interested in offbeat picture books, sweet and classic middle-grade, unusual contemporary YA, very commercial YA for girls, and innovative nonfiction | |
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Jennifer Laughran Jennifer Laughran is new to agenting, but not to the world of children's books. She's been a children's bookseller for over a decade, and the buyer for one of the largest independent bookstores in California. She is also the founder of the extremely popular YA event series "Not Your Mother's Book Club." Jennifer joined the team at Andrea Brown Literary Agency in 2007. Jennifer is actively seeking great YA and Middle Grade Fiction. She tends to gravitate toward fresh, funny and character-driven novels, |
| action-adventure, mystery, and quirky romance. Forthcoming titles that she has sold include Beautiful Yetta (The Yiddish Chicken) by Daniel Pinkwater, to Feiwel & Friends/Holt; Flash Burnout, by L.K. Madigan, a contemporary and gritty YA, in a two-book deal to Houghton Mifflin; Marty Mcguire, Frog Princess by Kate Messner, a chapter book series, to Scholastic; and more. www.andreabrownlit.com | |
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Erin Murphy Erin Murphy Literary Agency, founded in 1999, represents authors and author-illustrators of works for children, middle graders, and young adults, focusing primarily on novels and picture books. Erin got her start in publishing at Northland Publishing/Rising Moon Books for Young Readers, where she was editor-in-chief; she still lives and works in Flagstaff, Arizona. See a list of her most recent sales and her clients' new releases at www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/ErinMurphy |
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Julie Romeis Julie Romeis recently joined Chronicle Books in San Francisco as Editor, where she will be working to develop a list of middle grade and young adult fiction as well as picture books, chapter books, and ancillary products. Julie began her career in publishing at Bloomsbury Children's Books as one of three women who launched the U.S. children's division in 2001. There she worked on books for all ages, editing titles such as Chicks and Salsa, Ophelia, and The Extraordinary Adventures of |
| Alfred Kropp, which has been published in several countries around the world and optioned for film. Julie is thrilled to be living on the west coast and working to grow the Chronicle list. She is especially committed to nurturing and developing new and undiscovered talent. | |
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Leigh Purtill Leigh Purtill's first novel, Love, Meg, was released in hardcover by Penguin/Razorbill in July 2007 and in trade paper in April 2008 along with her new book, All About Vee. Her writing has been called a pleasure to read while teen readers at Teens Read Too and Genrefluent have given her books five star ratings. www.leighpurtill.com. |
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C G Watson C G Watson is a writer, high school Spanish teacher, musician and songwriter from northern California. Quad is her first book. www.cgwatson.com |