Agent/Editor/Art Director Day

Andrew Karre is a senior executive editor at Dutton Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Random House. In more than twenty years editing books for young readers, he's had the pleasure of working with many bestselling and award winning authors, including Shannon Gibney, Candice Iloh, A.S. King, Malinda Lo, Joy McCullough, Kao Kalia Yang, and Ibi Zoboi. He lives and works in St. Paul, MN.

Anum Shafqat joined Simon & Schuster in 2021 and is an assistant editor to Sarah McCabe at McElderry Books and Julia McCarthy at Atheneum Books for Young Readers. A fan of lovely queer stories, slasher plots, and everything in-between, she is on the lookout for rich worlds with earnest tropes. While on the hunt for powerful fantasy, horror, and contemporary romance in the young adult space, she is also seeking whimsical and electric upper middle grade (think spy worlds, heists, and first crushes). And finally, sweet character-driven picture books that celebrate underrepresented identities are right up her alley. She also has an interest in graphic novels, with a soft spot for stubborn, loveable protagonists and stories of grand adventure. When she’s not reading, you’ll find her in an obscure Wikipedia rabbit hole, calling her mom about some Pakistani drama, or making a fairly respectable cup of chai.

Kaitlyn Sanchez is a mom, wife, agent with Bradford Literary Agency, and middle school math teacher. She's also the proud co-creator and co-host of the Spring Fling Kidlit Contest and Kidlit Zombie Week as well as creator and co-host of the Kidlit Fall Writing Frenzy Contest. In her free time, she loves to play soccer, binge-watch TV shows, and, of course, read. Especially when she's all cozied up with her husband and daughter reading together. Website: https://kaitlynleannsanchez.com/ Twitter: @KaitlynLeann17 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KaitlynLeann17 Please follow my clients on social media: https://kaitlynleannsanchez.com/literary-clients/

From poetry to novels to picture books, Heather Cashman's desire to improve her own craft led her to become a professional editor for Cornerstones Literary Consultancy, help authors by working as Managing Director of Pitch Wars, #PitMad, and Pitch Madness, as well as being a Pitch Wars mentor, an intern for three years at The Bent Agency, and a year at Entangled Publishing. She's now Senior Literary Agent, Agent Mentor, and Foreign Rights Manager at Storm Literary Agency. You can also find her co-hosting the Way-Word Writers podcast (way-wordwriters.com) every week, where the mission is to help established writers conquer their own unique path to publishing through podcasts, retreats, workshops, a newsletter, and more. Find out more about her at heathercashman.com.

Erin was born and raised in New Jersey but now lives in Minneapolis, MN. She studied Creative Writing at Hamilton College where she also played DIII volleyball and club ultimate frisbee. After graduation, she joined Gallt and Zacker Literary agency (then Nancy Gallt Literary Agency) as an intern and is now an associate agent. Erin is open to all kid lit age groups, from picture books through YA, and is particularly drawn to work that shows the author’s world- and character-building ability. She also wants to see authentic, thoughtful representations of all people so that every kid can find a book that speaks to them.

Irene Vázquez is an Associate Editor at Levine Querido, where they acquired and edited the USA Today bestseller THE FREE PEOPLE'S VILALGE. Irene graduated from Yale with a BA in Ethnicity, Race, and Migration and English. Irene read the Percy Jackson series out of order in elementary school by accident and has been passionate about children’s books ever since. Outside of LQ, Irene is a poet and journalist who likes drinking coffee, watching Queen Sugar and reminding folks that the South has something to say.

Sera Rivers is a Literary Agent at Speilburg Literary, an AALA member, and a writer. She holds an MFA in writing for children from Simmons University. Prior to agenting, Sera worked as an editor in educational publishing for seven years. Sera lives in Western Massachusetts with her partner and their puppy Jett. When she’s not reading or writing, she can be found running all over New England training for her next race. Check out her website at SeraRivers.com for her MSWL, events, and updates. She tweets at @writeloudly.

Leyla Erkan (she/her) is an Assistant Editor at Christy Ottaviano Books, where she works on a diverse range of titles spanning age categories, formats, and genres. Previously, she was a graphic designer for NYU Press and The Bronx Is Reading; interned at Nike in their Global Internal Communications department; and played Division I tennis as an undergraduate at Florida State University. Leyla is excited by dynamic fiction that hooks her through voice and unforgettable characters, with a particular focus on romantasy; horror with unreliable teen characters; urban sci-fi with a video gaming twist; and contemporary coming-of-age stories, especially centering platonic friendship or queer characters.

Bridgette Kam is a literary agent at Westwood Creative Artists, where she is proud to represent writers of literary and book club fiction, narrative non-fiction, and children’s picture books, as well as illustrators.

Karly is an agent at Fuse Literary building KidLit and Adult universes with stories that matter. Karly is aggressively building her client list to boost and give visibility to marginalized voices, experiences, history, culture, folklore, and mythology. She believes that people, especially children, should be able to see themselves reflected and celebrated within the pages of a book, from contemporary to fantastical adventures. Karly loves stories with grand adventures, imperfect characters, but most importantly, a strong voice that hooks a reader within the first page. If you can make her cry or laugh out loud, bonus points!

Lauren Rille is an Art Director at Simon & Schuster, where she works with the Beach Lane, Atheneum, and McElderry imprints. Before joining S&S, Lauren was a designer at Sterling and Harcourt Children’s Books. Some books she’s designed include the most recent edition of Are You There God, it’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume, cover illustration by Debbie Ohi; the Caldecott Honor winning In Every Life by Marla Frazee; The Antlered Ship by Dashka Slater, illustrated by the Fan Brothers; Scraps by Lois Ehlert; Best In Snow by April Pulley Sayre; and the New York Times best-selling Bear Series by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman. Lauren's debut picture book, I Feel Teal, illustrated by Aimee Sicuro, published in 2018 by Beach Lane Books. Lauren loves the collaborative process of working with editors and illustrators, and she’s always on the lookout for new talent.

Carter Hasegawa is a senior editor at Candlewick Press. He loves to work on picture books but is open to all genres and 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.

Brett Duquette is the Editorial Director for Little Bee Books/Yellow Jacket. His list strives to provide children the opportunity to see themselves thriving in the world while also educating and empowering them to help shape its future. He currently acquires picture book and board books in a wide array of genres. Brett is perhaps most proud of his collaboration with GLAAD to help represent LGBTQ+ families in children’s literature. Brett believes that books have the power to affect meaningful change and is looking to help creators bring like-minded projects to publication. He believes in moral publishing and is always looking for titles that uplift and inspire, as well as those that call out injustice. Brett lives in a cozy Brooklyn apartment with his partner and child. Pronouns – any/all