8 & Under: Faculty Critiques

Emily Daluga (she/her) is an editor at Chronicle Books, where she works on middle-grade novels, graphic novels, chapter books, and picture books. Whether it be contemporary fiction or genre fiction, she’s most drawn to stories that feature a diverse cast of characters, monsters of any kind, unexpected twists, or tug-at-your-heartstrings emotions. She’s also always excited to see stories that blend genres or have a fresh take on a classic trope. Some of her favorite books include The Apartment House on Poppy Hill, They Say Blue, Julián is a Mermaid, and Gustavo, the Shy Ghost. When she’s not working, she loves to hole up in cozy coffee shops to read or write, see musicals with her partner, take long walks through the city, and overanalyze bad horror movies. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. EMILY WILL BE CRITIQUING CB FICTION, PB FICTION, AND PB AND BB ILLUSTRATED DUMMIES.

Amy Nielsen spent nearly twenty amazing years as a children's and youth librarian. She's now a literary agent at The Purcell Agency and developmental editor at Wild Ink Publishing. She is also the author of the picture book Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder, It Takes a Village: How to Build a Support System for Your Exceptional Needs Family and the YA novel Worth It. When not reading or writing, Amy and her family can be found boating the waters of Tampa Bay with two canine co-captains in mermaid life vests. AMY WILL BE CRITIQUING BB, PB, AND CB FICTION AND NONFICTION PROSE; SHE IS NOT THE BEST FIT FOR STORIES IN VERSE.

Leah Pierre graduated from Rosemont College with a B.A. in English and History and soon after became an agent at Ladderbird Literary Agency. She then went on to receive her M.A. in Publishing from her alma mater. Leah likes to spend her time enjoying the company of fictional characters more than people. LEAH WILL BE CRITIQUING PB TEXT AND DUMMIES IN FICTION, NONFICTION; PROSE PREFERRED.

Lisa Rosinsky is a Senior Editor at Barefoot Books, where she has developed, edited, and art directed dozens of children’s books for ages 0-12. She also occasionally writes picture books and board books under her pen name, Skye Silver. In 2016, she won the Writer-in-Residence fellowship at the Boston Public Library, where she completed her debut novel, Inevitable and Only, named one of Barnes & Noble’s “Most Anticipated Indie Novels of 2017. LISA WILL BE CRITIQUING BB AND PB TEXT AND DUMMIES IN RHYME, VERSE, PROSE, FICTION AND NONFICTION; PLEASE NO ER OR CB.

After interning for The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency, she joined the agency in 2013. Within six months, she had sales under her belt and a list of talented clients. Victoria missed the behind-the-scenes business side, though. In 2018, she joined Storm Literary Agency as a co-owner where she devoted her time to building the agency from within. With over thirty years of business-ownership and publishing experience, Victoria became the owner of Storm Literary Agency in 2022. Her list features both debut and award-winning authors. She represents all age categories and all genres except Erotica Romance. Currently, she is closed to submissions (Victoria does accept submissions as a presenter at conferences). Some of Her favorite authors include Stephen King, Judy Blume, Shel Silverstein, Lois Lowry, Margaret Atwood, E. B. White, C. S. Lewis, and Suzanne Collins. Victoria is a member of the Association of Author’s Representatives, Inc. VICKY WILL BE CRITIQUING BB, PB, ER, AND CB TEXT AND DUMMIES IN PROSE, RHYME, VERSE, AND BOTH NONFICTION AN FICTION.