Golden Gate Day 24 Faculty Bios

LeUyen Pham (she/her) is a New York Times Bestselling and critically acclaimed author/illustrator of over 130 books for children. She is the recipient of many awards, including the 2020 Caldecott Honor for BEAR CAME ALONG, by Richard Morris, and is known with her frequent collaboration with Shannon Hale, including the graphic novel FRIENDS series, the young reader PRINCESS IN BLACK, and the ITTY-BITTY KITTY CORN series. Her own books include BIG SISTER, LITTLE SISTER, THE BEAR WHO WASN'T THERE, and OUTSIDE INSIDE, a picture book that remembers the events of Covid and our year in lockdown.

Jennifer March Soloway (she/her) is a senior agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She loves working with writers and illustrators, and nothing gives her greater joy than to help an author elevate their story. She enjoys all genres and kidlit categories, from laugh-out-loud picture books to young adult. A suspense junkie, she adores action-packed thrillers and mysteries. Throw in a dash of (bad) romance, and she’s hooked! But as much as she loves a good thriller, her favorite novels focus on family, relationships, sexuality, mental health, or addiction. Regardless of genre, she is most drawn to emotionally compelling voices and fresh perspectives. She has an MFA in Creative Writing and English from Mills College in Oakland and lives in San Francisco with her family and a bulldog. To learn more about Jennifer, follow her on Twitter (X?), @marchsoloway, and find her full wish list at www.andreabrownlit.com

Prior to joining Andrea Brown Literary Agency in 2023, Sally Kim (she/her) spent more than fifteen years in children’s book marketing and publicity at Macmillan, Penguin, and Chronicle Books. As an agent, Sally is looking to represent a wide range of children’s book authors, illustrators, and author-illustrators. She is drawn to picture book, chapter book, and middle grade stories with a distinct voice, unexpected wit, aggressive pacing, punchy and/or emotionally resonant endings. When it comes to illustration, she gravitates to traditional mediums and is always on the lookout for versatile artists with a unique take on color, texture, perspective, and thoughtful details. Sally is especially eager to see authentic explorations of underrepresented cultures, relationships, and identities.

Ian Lendler (he/him) is an Agent/Creative Director at McKinnon Literary. In addition, he is a multiple award-winning author of picture books, non-fiction (adult and middle-grade), and graphic novels. Over the course of his 25-year writing career, he has worked in every capacity from copy editor, magazine editor, freelance journalist, publishing assistant, as well as writing for commercials, TV, and film. His main love, however, is children's books.

Tracy Shaw (she/her) has been in publishing for over 20 years at Little, Brown and Company, currently an art director at Little Brown Books for Young Readers (LBYR). She studied Illustration at RISD which led her to book design, and has worked on everything from board books to adult nonfiction. For 8 years she led the art direction of James Patterson’s children's imprint, Jimmy Patterson Books, and is now back to doing what she loves best - picture books. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband who is Creative Director of First Second Books and their 2 kids. Needless to say their apartment overflows with books.

Connie Hsu (she/her) is the editorial director of Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group. Authors and artists from her list include Vera Brosgol, Ruth Chan, Shannon Hale, Rainey Hopson, Angela Joy, Kevin Noble Maillard, LeUyen Pham, Dan Santat, Steve Sheinkin, Tillie Walden, and Janelle Washington. Books she’s edited have included New York Times bestsellers, Caldecott Medal and Honor books, a Newbery Honor book, and a National Book Award winner. A recent highlight from her list is LUNAR NEW YEAR LOVE STORY. She was born in Taiwan, raised in Alabama, and now lives in Brooklyn.

Kristie Choi (she/her) joined Simon & Schuster in 2020 after previously sleuthing as a private investigator. She’s acquiring for a range of YA/MG novels, graphic novels (early reader, MG, and YA), to picture books and select nonfiction. Kristie is looking for stories that have an original and timeless feel that young readers of all backgrounds can get lost in and feel seen in. Regardless of format, she’s drawn to underrepresented voices (especially Native/Indigenous, BIPOC, queer, ND, and disabled); evocative, immersive prose; lyricism; smart and absurd, silly humor; complex characters; big ideas; twists and turns and an air of the unexpected; literary fantasy; and a standout voice. Kristie has been a lifelong detective of sorts and loves reading about everything from mystery/thrillers written with beautiful prose to coming-of-age tales of characters discovering the secrets of the universe. Her taste tends to run literary or “upmarket” for genre fiction, and she loves when writing doesn’t underestimate the intelligence of young readers. Find her on Twitter/IG @MinjiPatterson.

Ian Tseng (he/him) is an Editorial Assistant in Children’s at Chronicle Books, where he reports to Senior Editor Naomi Kirsten, and he is now beginning to acquire books for his own list as well. He loves to work on books that give life to their readers. For him, that means stories with a beating heart, with characters that he can call his best friends, in worlds that he can daydream about all day long. Along those lines, he's most drawn to fiction for all ages (although he can be tempted by truly fascinating nonfiction, too). And he remains committed to furthering our diversity movement in children’s literature.

Shulokhana Khan (she/her) is on the 0-8 team at Scholastic with a primary focus on picture books and board books. Open to books for all age ranges, she is particularly interested in books with strong voices that are funny, empowering, dark, or touching, with special interest in the variety of BIPOC experiences. She is trying to expand her roster of funny books in the picture book genre, and for upper-grade and YA, has a special interest in speculative fiction, queer fiction, zombies (that function as an allegory for our sociopolitical climate), pirates (heavily anti-colonial bent is very welcome!), lesser known fairytales eg. Donkey Skin, King Thrushbeard, and The Six Swans, and settings which are not primarily American or Euro-centric.

Eleonore Fisher (she/her) is an assistant editor acquiring for Roaring Brook Press. She is eager for submissions from creators of marginalized identities, and seeks strong storytelling across all age ranges and genres. She is hungry for manuscripts that express big ideas and feelings with beautiful language, humor, and vulnerability. Most of all, she wants stories that readers will carry with them long after reading. Eleonore is especially interested in speculative, gothic, and queer works. Books she has co-edited include JUNIPER'S CHRISTMAS by Eoin Colfer, THIRSTY by Jas Hammonds, and DEAD GIRLS DON'T DREAM by Nino Cipri.

Carter Hasegawa is a senior editor at Candlewick Press. He loves to work on picture books but is open to all formats. Some of his favorite, non-Candlewick books include: WATERCRESS, MY PAPI HAS A MOTORCYCLE, ONE BOY WATCHING, LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET, TAR BEACH, A CHAIR FOR MY MOTHER, TWO WHITE RABBITS, and many, MANY others. Originally from Seattle, he now lives in Boston with his wife and two young sons.

Wendi Gu is a children's book literary agent at HG Literary. She's lucky to represent voice-driven authors and dynamic visual artists who create early readers, picture books, middle grade, and young adult novels.