Tag: Matt Forrest Esenwine

Editor Interview: Kathleen Merz (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers)

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Kathleen Merz - Editorial Director - Eerdmans Books for Young Readers ...Welcome to Kathleen Merz, Editorial Director at Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. We bumped into each other at the ALA conference a few months back in San Diego, and hearing her speak about her books and their creators told me all I needed to know–she had to join me for an OPB interview.

What do we need to know about her before we dive into the interview? Try this!

Kathleen joined Eerdmans in 2009 and has since worked on numerous award-​winning titles, including books that have been awarded the Batchelder, the Sibert Medal, and the Caldecott Honor. With a background in English and linguistics, she has a particular love for translated works and nonfiction picture books. She’s drawn to stories that celebrate diversity and thoughtfully address contemporary social issues in ways that feel organic, compelling, and honest. Outside the office, you can usually find Kathleen enjoying the outdoors in Michigan—whether she’s biking, kayaking, camping, or curled up in a hammock with a good book.

With that, let’s jump right into the interview!

RVC: Let’s circle back to the beginning. At what point did you realize you were going to have a career in books?

KM: I’ve been a literature nerd since high school. In college, I was an English major with a linguistics minor and a Latin double major. When you’re an English major, everyone always asks, “What are you going to do with that—teach?” I knew teaching wasn’t for me, but I was interested in publishing. Senior year, one of my professors passed my resume to someone at Eerdmans, where there was an opening in the children’s department. I hadn’t seriously considered a career in children’s literature before, although I’d taken a course on it, but I jumped on the opportunity. I’m so happy I did because I love it and can’t imagine being as happy in any other branch of publishing. Despite the uncertainties, thin margins, and all that, it’s been a great fit.

RVC: Your story is a bit unusual! Most people in the industry hop around different places, but you’ve been with Eerdmans for 15 years. What’s kept you there so long?

KM: I know, it’s rare to stay with one publisher for so long. I love that Eerdmans is based in Michigan, which is my home state, and I like working for a small indie press. The team is great, and the books we publish are unique—quirky international titles, beautifully illustrated works, and thoughtful stories. Being part of a small press means I get to have my hand in everything, which I love. I feel fortunate to have stumbled into this job.

RVC: What does it mean to be an Editorial Director, and what role do you play in submissions at Eerdmans?

KM: We’re a small team. It’s me, our Associate Editor, our Art Director, our Publisher, and the sales and marketing team we share with the rest of the company. In my role, I manage the editorial side of the program, and some parts of the program as a whole.

For submissions—we’re open to unsolicited submissions, and our guidelines can be found on our website. Our Associate Editor does the first read of most of those unsolicited submissions and filters them through. I work on every project we publish, though, whether I take the first read through it or not. (If submissions to us are simply addressed to “Acquisitions Editor,” they’ll find their way where they need to.)

RVC: How many books do you publish per year, and how many submissions do you receive?

KM: We publish around 18 to 20 books a year, with two seasons of about 8 to 10 books each. Over half of those come from international publishers, so we’re looking at just 2 or 3 U.S.-originated books per season. In terms of submissions, I’d estimate we receive about 3 to 6 submissions a day. Out of all those, only a small handful—maybe one every couple of years—makes it from the slush pile into publication.

RVC: What’s the process like for acquiring books from other countries? How does that happen?

KM: A lot of it happens through international book fairs, especially the Bologna Book Fair, which is a major event for children’s publishing. Our publisher attends, and she has about 50 meetings over four days with different agents and publishers. We also receive projects year-​round. We’re always on the lookout for publishers around the world who are doing interesting work. A lot of these books happen because of relationships—connections that we create with publishers, agents, or translators whose projects we admire and whose taste we trust.

RVC: You seem to have a soft spot for translated books. What’s the appeal?

KM: I love them because they open up a bigger world. One of the best things children’s books can do is crack open a wider world for young readers, introducing them to new perspectives, experiences, and ways of living. Translated books offer that in spades. And while these books showcase differences, they also highlight our shared humanity. In a world where there’s often fear of the “other,” international book can remind us of powerfully of what connects us all.

RVC: Can you share a book that illustrates this effectively?

KM: Absolutely! One book we’re publishing is The Cat Way, which is a translation from Swedish that tells the story of a character who goes for a walk each day with their cat. They’re always the one to lead—until one day the cat asks, “Why do you always get to lead?” The next day, the cat leads the way—down paths the human would never have chosen to take. But it turns out there are some beautiful surprises that come with letting go of control. It’s quirky and gorgeous, and I hope it will make readers stop to ponder what life might look like if they’re willing to see things from other perspectives.

RVC: Let’s talk about your editorial style. How do you approach working with authors, especially for translated projects?

KM: No matter the project, the editorial process moves from the big to the small. We start with macro edits—overall structure and flow—then move to more granular things like line edits and copy edits. For translated books, we’re usually working with books that have already been published—so those big-​picture edits have already been done. We usually can’t change much at that level, though there are exceptions. So for translations most of my work is on the level of line edits and copy edits. For U.S.-originated projects, I’m doing all the different levels of work.

For any book I’m working on, I see my role as a curious, engaged reader. I pay attention to how a text holds my attention, and I look for the places where I’m pulled out of a story because of issues—whether it’s inconsistencies or awkward phrasing or confusing language. I try never to tell an author exactly how to rewrite. At the end of the day, it’s their writing, not mine. But I can ask questions, and offer some potential ways forward—and hopefully in the end the text is stronger than either of us could have found our way to on our own.

RVC: What’s a book you’ve worked on recently that challenged you in unexpected ways?

KM: Every project has its own set of unique challenges. Maybe the challenge is getting a character’s voice just right, or making sure the pacing doesn’t lag, or figuring out how to translate onomatopoeia or wordplay that works differently in another language. The fact-​checking that nonfiction books require always adds an extra layer of complexity, and often sends me down editorial rabbit trails that I might not have anticipated. We spent more than a few hours checking and re-​checking several pages of scientific names for Kingdoms of Life. And I know way more about Ediacaran lifeforms than I would have if I hadn’t worked on How the Sea Came to Be!

RVC: What was the first picture book you ever worked on?

KM: The first book I remember working on—and then getting to hold in my hands when it arrived from the printer—was a collection of stories about saints, written and illustrated by Ruth Sanderson. We had previously published it and were reformatting it, so I only did some light edits, but I still remember that first time I got to feel the thrill of holding a book I helped make.

RVC: What was it like working on The Right Word, a Caldecott Honor book?

KM: It’s still one of my favorite projects. Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet are brilliant creators and wonderful to work with. Jen and Melissa had worked together on A River of Words before, so they had a strong rapport. The process was very collaborative, with lots of revisions. Peter Mark Roget had a life jam-​packed with fascinating details, so we had a lot of work trimming the story down to the core material. There was a lot of back-​and-​forth, shaping and honing the story and the art, and seeing it come together was just beautiful.

RVC: What do you think of the current state of children’s literature?

KM: I love that the industry has finally recognized the need to reflect the full range of people reading these books. The push for diversity and inclusivity has reshaped books being published—it’s been a long time coming and there’s still so much work to do (especially diversifying the industry itself), but it’s exciting and necessary work. It’s opened the door for a much more interesting range of stories to be told.

At the same time, the rise in book bans is incredibly frustrating. It’s another huge issue in the industry right now. I give credit to authors and publishers for standing their ground and continuing to publish important books despite the challenges, but there’s inevitably some quiet censorship that happens anyway. Educators and librarians are having to be much more cautious about the books they order, and that affects publishers across the board. And so many professionals risk losing their jobs if they dare to speak up. This is a major ongoing challenge that we all have to keep fighting against.

RVC: Since COVID, I’ve always tried to ask a health and wellness question, so here’s yours. What do you do to recharge when you’re not working with books?

KM: Anything that I could do outside. I love backpacking, camping, biking, and oh…I just had the trip of a lifetime!

RVC: Do tell!

KM: My dad grew up in California, and when he was in his early 20s, he backpacked to this one lake in the Sierras a couple times. For as long as I can remember, ever since I was a little kid, I remember him talking about Sky Blue Lake, and my sister and I have always wanted to go back there with him. Last month, we finally made it happen. We went backpacking up in the Sierras with my dad to this place that he’d gone to decades ago, and it was an incredible trip. Our world is staggeringly beautiful, and I love getting the chance to go out and see parts of that.

RVC: What’s one thing you wish literary agents understood better about your job?

KM: How guilty I feel not getting back to them more quickly! I wish that I were able to answer all the emails I get as soon as they land in my inbox, but…you know.…

Thankfully, most people are pretty gracious about that.

RVC: I quite agree. Most agents are terrific. Now, what’s the most common misconception people have about editors?

KM: Sometimes, especially with early-​career writers, I notice certain personalities can be very protective of their writing, even threatened by suggestions for change. I get it—it’s tough because this work is their baby, something they’ve spent months or years on. What I often want to gently whisper in their ear is that we’re all on the same side. As an editor, my goal is to help make the best book possible and ensure it finds success in the world. I’m human and fallible, and I have limited time, which brings certain restrictions, but at the end of the day, my aim is the same as theirs: to create the best book we can.

RVC: What’s the most important thing people should know about Eerdmans?

KM: We’re small, we’re independent, and having such a small list means we’re deeply invested in every book we publish. Bigger publishers have their A, B, and C lists, where only the top books might really get much focus. But since we only publish 8 to 10 books a season, they all have to be good, and they’re all very important to who we are. We tend to keep books in print for a long time. We’re committed to taking on projects that really stand out, and doing them justice by making the highest-​quality books we can.

RVC: Complete the following sentence: “Kathleen Merz is an editor who…”

KM:…is very passionate about the books I work on. I love the chance to continue learning and discovering stories I didn’t even know were out there.

RVC: It’s brag time! What are some forthcoming books you’re excited about?

KM: One book from our Spring 2025 list that I’m particularly excited about is A Universe of Rainbows, a poetry anthology by Matt Forrest Esenwine, illustrated by Jamey Christoph. It’s gorgeous and explores all the different ways rainbows appear around the planet—the rainbows in the sky you think of first, of course, but also rainbows in rivers and hot springs and mountains and plants and animals. It’s a wonderful cross-​section of our planet’s beauty, and along with the poems there are sidebars and back matter full of information for kids to dive into.

The rest of the Spring 2025 list is fantastic too. A few highlights: We’ve got a sly detective/​murder mystery picture book (Ramon Fellini the Dog Detective). We’ve got a story about refugees that uses the imagery of knitting—and plenty of yarn in the art—to describe what it’s like for a life to unravel and need to be knitted back together (Thread by Thread). And we’ve got a book about a dog who whose energetic personality keeps him from being adopted, until he finds the perfect fit working as a conservation dog (Trouble Dog).

RVC: Okay, it’s time for the speed round now. Fast questions and speedy answers, please. Are you ready?

KM. Sure!

RVC: If you could only have one app on your phone, what would it be?

KM: Maps–definitely.

RVC: What movie quote do you use on a regular basis?

KM: Probably Monty Python and the Holy Grail: “And there was much rejoicing.”

RVC: What makes your eyes roll every time you hear it?

KM: Business jargon—like when people say, “I don’t think we have the bandwidth for that.” I cringe even when I catch myself using it!

RVC: Five things you couldn’t do your job without?

KM: Tea, curiosity, a thesaurus, my floofy cat colleague, Misha, and a good walk to clear my head when I’ve been staring at a computer screen too long.

RVC: What’s a picture book from the past year that didn’t get its due?

KM: So many great possibilities. But I’ll mention John the Skeleton. It actually just came out this month, so maybe it will get its due—but I’m going to guess that even still many of your readers may not come across it. It’s a translation from Estonian about a retired classroom skeleton who goes to live with an elderly couple on their farm. We actually looked at this one a few years ago, and I’m so glad that it’s been published in English. It’s delightfully strange—and also funny and tender and profound.

RVC: If you had a dream picture book tea party with three other picture book people–authors, illustrators, or characters from picture books–who would it be?

KM: I’ll go with three creators I think are brilliant (as long as they don’t mind me spending the tea party pestering them with questions): Sydney Smith, Christian Robinson, and Candace Fleming. I’ll also say that I’ve had tea with Melissa Sweet, and it was an absolute delight—so she’s got a standing invite to any tea party I’d throw, too.

RVC: What’s the best compliment a kid ever gave about a book you worked on?

KM: Not a compliment from a kid, per se, but the reaction that comes to mind first is something that a school librarian told one of my colleagues at a conference. We recently published a book called A Star Shines Through. The author is Russian, and when Putin invaded Ukraine, she and her family fled, leaving their apartment behind and moving to Israel, and later to Montenegro. The book comes from that experience—it’s about a mother and daughter fleeing their home because of war and settling in a new, unfamiliar place. Everything feels foreign to them: the food, the language, the buildings. In their old home, they had a star-​shaped lamp in the window, and one day in the new place, the mom brings home the makings of a new star lamp. They create it together, finding a small way to make the new place feel like home.

What the librarian told my colleague was that he knew exactly the kid he wanted to share the book with: a refugee student of his who was struggling to make a home in an unfamiliar city, and had started coming to the library because it felt like a safe space. There’s no better compliment and no better reason we do what we do than hearing that someone has the perfect child in mind for a book. That’s why we do it.

RVC: Great answer. Thanks so much for your time, Kathleen!

Author Interview: Matt Forrest Esenwine, Paul Czajak, & Josh Funk

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Matt Forrest Esenwine recently had the opportunity to catch up with two friends he’s known for many years: authors Josh Funk and Paul Czajak. All three began their children’s lit careers around the same time and have watched and supported each other ever since.

The three of them recently caught up via video and spent an hour chatting about their careers, the craft of writing, and some of the pitfalls they’ve encountered along their publishing journey. Some of their choice comments are shared here; if you’d like to watch the entire video, just click THIS LINK!

Paul, on getting into the industry: “You get this idea, you have no idea what to do with it…but I did hook up with a critique group…and they were the ones who hooked me up with SCBWI [Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators]. So I went there not knowing anything, as to what to expect.”

“But I found the workshops were amazing, and it just really lit a fire under me to really get into this craft.”

 

Matt, on networking at conferences: “We’re all in this together – the editors, the agents, the authors, the illustrators. Everybody is working towards the goal of bringing great literature to kids. So once you realize that there’s not really a hierarchy – we’re all kid lit creators – once you realize that, the conferences can be much more enjoyable because you don’t feel any kind of intimidation.”

 

Josh, on his first manuscript’s success: “At the SCBWI conference that we met, I read a draft of a picture book called Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast and about 6–8 months later, after many critiques…I got an offer for that book. I also had a couple others that I had interest, one of them was…Dear Dragon, and another one I had interest from Scholastic, and all that together helped me get an agent.”

 

Paul, on his first manuscript: “Early on, especially with rhyming, you start in your own head, you’re forcing meter, you’re forcing rhyme, you’re forcing these rhythms and things like this – and it’s not until you get a little better at it that do you know that you’re doing that.”

 

Josh, on landing his long-​time agent: “I was fortunate that I had a bunch of things all come together at once. It was after that SCBWI conference that I sort of met the right people, and put my foot out there to try to volunteer for the next year’s SCBWI, and do a little more…I got critiques from Paul and your critique group and other people I’d met and I had three books kind of close to being acquired at the same time – all of them did – and all that together really helped me get an agent. Along with a personal reference from a friend of mine who I’d also met at that conference.”

 

Paul, on getting – and losing – his agent: “Everything I sold to Mighty Media [the “Monster & Me” series] I sold myself…it wasn’t until I moved to New Jersey…I got an agent. He sold two books…but his tastes kind of changed. He wanted nothing to do with rhyme anymore. He signed me knowing my Monster series was rhyme, then all of a sudden he’s just like, “Yeah, rhyme’s not really selling, so really don’t bother.” I couldn’t send him anything that was rhyming. It’s not like I wrote solely in rhyme, I mean, the only rhyming books that sold were “Monster and Me.” But I do still like to rhyme…if it works in rhyme, that’s just, in my head, that’s the way it’s supposed to be written. I can’t put it into prose. It doesn’t work.”

 

Josh & Matt, on the importance of using the right words – and spelling them correctly: There’s a line in [Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast] that was “Pancake rappels down a rope of linguini” and it’s interesting because Paul suggested the word “rappels”…in one of his critiques, and he spelled it not “rappelled” like I’m climbing down, but “repelled” like I pushed away. I didn’t notice it, I sent it off to publishers, it was acquired, THEY didn’t notice it – it didn’t get edited out until the copy editor got a hold of it!”

“But honestly, though, the copy editor wanted me to change the word. They were like, “a) you spelled it wrong, b) I think the word ‘rappelled’ is too advanced for a picture book.” And I tried to change it…you could say “climbed down,” but that’s too much mouth movement, and these are the kinds of things I think about when I’m writing…Pancake “slid” down? I don’t know.”

Matt: “It really couldn’t BE any other word. Speaking as someone who is all about poetry and word choice and that sort of thing…you’ve got the assonance [Matt’s note: I meant “consonance”, meaning the repetition of consonant sounds!] of the “R”’s and “L”s:  She’s “RappeLLing down a Rope of Linguine.” The R and the L just tie the whole line together….it has to be that word. I mean, I have “mizzenmast in Flashlight Night!” If I can put “mizzenmast,” you can certainly have “rappel”!

Josh: “The thing is, you’re seeing Lady Pancake climb down a rope of linguine.”

Matt: “It’s all about context.”

Josh: “Right…I asked my editor, “Can we say no?” This was my first book. “Can we say no to the copy editor?” My editor’s like, “Oh, yeah, of course you can!”

 

Paul, on his picture book Seaver the Weaver: “That’s a book about the orb spider, an orb spider who doesn’t want to do circular webs, he wants to do other geometric shapes…That one actually caught the eye of Jane [Yolen]. That’s like my own little claim to fame; it’s the one thing I pat myself on the back for! I got a direct message from Jane Yolen saying ‘this is a classic,’ so I thought that was better than anything.”

 

Matt, on the ups and downs of the industry: “Maybe three years ago…I was asked to write a book about a particular subject, I wrote the subject, they purchased the manuscript, they hired the illustrator, they got the whole thing done, .pdf is done, it’s ready to go to print…the parent company said, ‘Nah, I don’t think so.’ So it’s not a book until it’s a book.”

 

Josh, on keeping the “Lady Pancake” series fresh: “I like to change up the genre with each Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast book.”

“The first one is a race, they’re racing for the last drop of syrup; the second one is called The Case of the Stinky Stench, which is a mystery; the third one is Mission: Defrostable, it’s an action-​adventure spy thriller; the fourth one is called Short & Sweet where they shrink into tiny little kids and that one, it’s sort of like a sci-​fi comedy mixed with a magical body swap…and then the fifth one is The Great Caper Caper, that is when the Evil Count Caper, the food, steals the light bulb and they have to break into his Las Veggies Casino to steal it back, so it’s a Las Veggies heist. And Attack of the Scones [due out this fall] is an alien invasion…it’s amazing I got away with doing all these silly, absurd things.”

 

Matt, on not having a say in choosing illustrators: “I’ve never been unhappy with the illustrations an editor has chosen. Editors and publishers have far deeper pockets and a far bigger network from which to draw the talent than I ever could.”

“I would never be able to get a Fred Koehler (ill. for Flashlight Night) or Patricia Pessoa – and with my book I Am Today, I wrote the text about…a young child kind of thinking about what they want to do, they recognize there’s a problem…they should be able to make a difference now. But Patricia created the entire plot of the book! The whole plot of my book was completely hers. She just used my words as a structure to create an entire narrative I had nothing to do with.”

 

Paul, on his “sort of new” Monster and Me book: “There was one story that [Might Media Press] purchased but never got published, never saw the light of day, and that’s Monster Needs to Go to School. And so just recently they cut a deal with Abdo Books, which deals a lot with libraries, and [the series] is getting new covers and a newfound life – and Monster Needs to Go to School is actually going to hit the shelves because of this.”

“Even though it sold years ago, it’s finally hitting the shelves now…it was illustrated, everything was done – they just never made it a book!”

 

Josh, on the difficulty of the market: “Picture books are hard…whether you’re writing in rhyme or not, they’re hard, but rhyme does make it sometimes a little trickier.”

“There’s the business aspect, that is like it’s just not likely to translate into other languages. If it’s a good enough story then it will, but you know, rhyme doesn’t translate…and there are some editors that are like, “Yeah, I just don’t do rhyme.” It’s because it’s hard to do it right, and there’s a stigma associated with it, and even if you do do it right – which I believe the three of us know how to – it does make it tricky. And so if it’s hard for me to sell a book in rhyme or my agent to sell a book in rhyme…it can be challenging.”

 

Matt, on time management, writing, and day jobs: “I still haven’t figured it out. I do voiceover work and am a stay-​at-​home dad, and so I have to fit everything wherever I can fit it. I wish I could have a structure; I don’t, really. I might be running errands when I would normally be writing or…if the kids have a late after school thing, well, I’ve got an extra hour of writing. But the next day is going to be tied up doing something else, or I’ve got a voiceover job I wasn’t expecting so now that has to take precedence – I never know what my day is going to look like.”

Paul (a chemist, by trade): “When I first moved to Jersey, I played the part of the stay-​at-​home dad…my wife had a great paying job, and we figured well, I’ll stay home and write, that way we don’t have to pay for child care…And the writing was fantastic, I had all the free time in the world, I was writing everything, you know? And decided to start novels and all sorts of things….I love staying at home with the kids, I wouldn’t give that up.”

Josh (a software engineer/​coder): “I’m married to a teacher, so she works like 80 hours a week, on average…so I have a lot of free time outside of when my wife is working in the evenings or on the weekends, so some of that time I spend with the kids…it’s the people who are teachers and writing – those are the ones that I don’t understand how they do it! But yeah, I mean I think that I have a 40-​hour a week day job and my wife works twice as much.”

Josh, on the importance of timing: “There’s a book about tea party farts, and there’s a book about a giant poop party…it’s really about finding the right editor at the right time, as long as your story’s good enough.”

Educational Activities: I Am Today by Matt Forrest Esenwine

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I Am Today
Author: Matt Forrest Esenwine
Illustrator: Patricia Pessoa
1 March 2022
POW! Kids Books
36 pages

**While OPB generally chooses fairly new picture books to feature in our monthly Education Activities section, sometimes an older picture book grabs our attention. That’s what happened this week with Matt’s I Am Today, which was published a year ago.**

 

Book description from Goodreads: “A young girl realizes that she doesn’t have to wait until she’s grown-​up to stand up for what is right and make a big impact.

While playing on the beach in her coastal town, a young girl comes across a sea turtle ensnared by a wire. Her town is home to a factory that has provided jobs for many of her neighbors, including her mother, but it has also been dumping garbage from a pipe into the waters, threatening the creatures that live in them.

Children are used to being asked what they’ll do and be when they grow up, but the girl knows there is so much she can do today to help. Unable to forget the sight of the struggling turtle, with a fantastic act she inspires the townspeople to compel the factory to change its destructive ways.

Written in spare and evocative poetry, I Am Today is an empowering story for children who want to be the change the world needs.”

Educational Activities inspired by I Am Today:

  • Before Reading–From looking at the front cover: 
    • What do you think this book will be about?
    • Where and when is this story taking place?
    • How do you think this story is going to end?
    • Who do you think the main character is? What do you think they might be like?
    • What are you looking forward to learning or discovering in the book?
    • Have you read any other books by the same author or illustrator? If so, what did you like about them?
  • After Reading–Now that you’ve read the story: 
    • What does it mean for someone to be Today?
    • What does it mean for someone to be the Future?
    • In your mind, which of the child’s activities to save the turtle was most effective? 
      • What else might YOU have done to save turtles?
    • What did you think of the book’s ending?
    • What do you believe is the main message of the story?
    • Which picture did you like the most? Why?
    • Did you enjoy this book? Why/​why not?
  • Drawing–What’s interesting about I Am Today is that the turtle-​saving story occurs entirely in the pictures and not in the words. What’s another animal-​saving story that could happen in the background of these pages and this book-​length poem? Use colored pencils, crayons, or markers to create that story. Feel free to show that story in one piece of art or spread it out over many pages. Consider sharing your work with a friend or family member.
  • Crafting–The girl in this story clearly likes turtles, and so does OPB. After you’ve tried out the cool origami turtle activity in the back of the book, return here to test out these fun turtle crafts. As always, get an adult to help! 
  • Further Reading–I Am Today is about a child who makes an important change in the lives of others. Here are picture books about people who made similarly meaningful changes through awareness, kindness, and–perhaps most vital–taking action. Which of these have you already read? Which of the others would you want to read first? (Click on any book cover for more information on these titles!)

 

 

Author Interview: Matt Forrest Esenwine

On By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews

Welcome to Matt Forrest Esenwine, the first Author Interview of 2023! Wahoo!

Last year, I joined PB22 Peekaboo, a picture-​book promotion group of which Matt was a member (along with a few dozen other fine writers). It was impossible NOT to notice how hard Matt was working and how much it was paying off in terms of publishing and PR successes. At one point, I made a mental note to find out more about that, and today’s the day to make it happen!

Matt’s work has appeared in various poetry anthologies by Lee Bennett Hopkins, J. Patrick Lewis, and others, though he’s also published a range of his own picture books including the OPB-​approved I Am Today, which came out in March 2022. He’s got more on tap for 2023 and beyond, so we’ll learn about that right here, too.

Now, without more ado, let’s find out more about Matt’s secret to success!

RVC: First and most important question—how often do people misspell your name? As someone with an (apparently) easily misspellable name myself, I’m unduly aware of potential spelling disasters, and your double r (Forrest) and single s (Esenwine) seem fraught with linguistic peril.

MFE: Linguistic Peril is actually the name of the new thrash metal group I’m forming, so thanks for the plug.

RVC: Happy to help. Rock and roll, baby!

MFE: As for people misspelling my name, the answer is: googol. And no, I don’t mean to look the answer up online. I’m talking about the mathematical googol (which, ironically, you’ll likely end up looking up online). Ten to the 100th power–that’s how often my name gets mangled. Over the years, both my father and I have seen just about every permutation possible, from Essenwein (the original Bavarian spelling) to Eisenstein to Entwhistle. I wish I were joking, but I’m not.

In fact, the most ridiculous spelling came from the State of New Hampshire when my father, Forrest Esenwine, was a selectman in our town. Someone at the state must have seen his name written in cursive and mistook the “w” for a “ur” and mailed out an envelope addressed to Selectman Forrest Esenurine. Way to go, New Hampshire.

RVC: [Making mental checkmark against the previously-​believed-​to-​be-​awesome-​state-​of-​New-​Hampshire.] At least your name is more prone to spelling problems than speaking. Is that fair? Mine gets mangled both in spelling and how people pronounce it. 

MFE: Well, like I said, whether it’s spelling or pronunciation, people still get confused. I mean, it seems pretty straightforward to me; it’s pronounced exactly the way it looks. “ESS-​enn-​wine.” But people invariably put an “i” after the “e” and say Eisenwine. At least they don’t do the “i before e” thing, because that would just be weird. I’m sure someone will one day, though.

By the way, if you happen to email me, be sure to spell my middle name correctly. My address is matt(at) mattforrest(dot)com, but if you only use one “r” it will end up in the inbox of Matt Forest, councilman for Ashford Borough in England–and a couple of days later he’ll forward it to me. We’ve known each other for nearly 20 years all because people forget the second “r.”

RVC: That British councilman should write picture books too just to confuse things! Now, let’s get back to the regularly scheduled interview. Prior to becoming a children’s book writer, you worked in radio. How did you find your way into that field?

MFE: I walked through the studio door once the “on-​air” light was off, and the DJs couldn’t get rid of me. After graduating from high school, I went to Castleton State College [now Castleton University] in Vermont for a Mass Media Communications degree and got a job working part-​time in Concord, NH my first summer there. I always loved radio, having grown up listening to my father’s vinyl records of old-​time radio programs like Fibber McGee & Molly and Lux Radio Theatre. I was also quite the geek in school (oh, who are we kidding–I was a geek 24⁄7), and I’d write humorous skits and record them–voices, sound effects, and all–onto my dad’s Panasonic cassette recorder. I was also in the drama club, so I think talking to people and telling stories was something that just came naturally to me.

You know how nervous kids get when they have to speak in front of the class? Not this guy.

RVC: What was the most rewarding part of it?

MFE: Free T‑shirts and CDs by artists no one has heard of. Seriously, I had a bunch of ’em!

RVC: Free swag is the best.

MFE: But as much as I enjoyed talking on the air and interacting with listeners–as well as emceeing club events and concerts–I really loved writing and producing commercials and comedy bits. With multi-​track production, I could add as many voices, sound effects, and whatnot as I needed to make whatever I was producing sound exactly how I wanted it.

RVC: Why did you shift your creative focus into the writing for children?

MFE: Because as much as I loved radio, radio did not love me. It was back in 2012 when I did the math and realized that if you subtracted daycare and commuting gas from my paycheck, I was netting $150 a month. Here I was, the production director of an 8‑station radio group, an on-​air personality with a college degree, and a wall of awards my department had received–and I was making $36,000 a year. So, I decided to be a stay-​at-​home dad and work on my voiceover business, and at the same time investigate the possibility of a children’s writing career.

I’d been writing poetry since I was kid and had several adult-​oriented poems published in various anthologies, and over the years had collected several children’s poems I didn’t know what to do with–so I figured children’s lit might be a worthwhile pursuit. My poetry writing style always seemed like it skewed to a younger audience, anyway. Modern academia loves poems that are obtuse and confounding, and that just wasn’t me. Writing for upper-​elementary level feels like a perfect fit.

RVC: Which skills from your radio experiences translated best into this new career path?

MFE: Short-​form writing! All my life I’d been writing short, tight little stories–from the skits I was recording on my dad’s cassette recorder to my poems to literally thousands of radio commercials where word economy is paramount. Transitioning to children’s lit was not that much of a stretch! Granted, we’re talking about a different style, age group, and other aspects that don’t translate from radio, but I never have a problem getting my word count down–if anything, once I’m done a picture book rough draft I usually have to figure out how to add words.

RVC: What books proved especially influential to you as you embarked on the writing career?

MFE: All the books I got my hands on. Really, the best education is to read, read, read and see what’s out there and learn how others are doing it. By reading children’s books, I not only learned the market but I also learned what others were doing and how they were doing it. It’s that old expression, “if you want to get better at something, surround yourself with people who are better than you.” That’s what I did! I created a blog to showcase my writing, I tried to connect with as many authors and poets as I could, and just tried to immerse myself in the industry–the creative side as well as the business side.

RVC: Great advice.

MFE: For the record, I like the creative side better. They have cookies.

RVC: If by “cookies” you mean “vanilla meringue cookies,” then you’re absolutely correct! Deliciously so, in fact. Now, your first published piece of children’s lit wasn’t a book, but instead was…

MFE: A poem titled “Apple-​Stealing,” which was published on the now-​defunct Young Adult Review Network (YARN) website, which the amazingly talented Kip Wilson used to help oversee. YARN loved the poem so much, they nominated it for a Pushcart Prize, which still makes me proud.

The first paid poem for which I signed a contract was “First Tooth,” which appeared in Lee Bennett Hopkins’ Lullaby & Kisses Sweet (Abrams Appleseed), published in March 2015. However, my first published paid poem actually appeared one week earlier, in Carol-​Ann Hoyte’s anthology Dear Tomato: An International Crop of Food & Agriculture Poems.

RVC: Let’s talk about your own books. What’s the story behind your first published picture book?

MFE: It’s one of those I‑don’t‑know-where-this-idea-came-from-or-what-it-is-but‑I’m‑just-going-to-keep-writing-and-see-where-it-goes kind of thing. Driving home late at night from an SCBWI Meet-​Up in Westford, MA, the words, “flashlight opens up the night” popped into my head. I rolled them around and wondered what I could do with them, and by the time I got home I had a few lines I hastily wrote down before going to bed. The rest of the week, I worked on it, thinking it was a poem–since poetry was all I’d written at that point–but about halfway through, I realized I had a picture book manuscript on my hands.

If you’re interested, I published a blog post detailing the entire life of Flashlight Night–from conception to publication. To a non-​author that probably sounds dreadful, but for those in the business, I promise it’s a very eye-​opening look at how a picture book comes together.

RVC: Thanks for that link! FYI to readers–I’ve covered Flashlight Night before in OPB when I interviewed Fred. What was your favorite part of working with him?

MFE: I actually remember reading that interview a couple of years ago–I had no idea that was your blog! Great interview, Ryan.

RVC: Aw, shucks! It’s easy to do great interviews when you have a great guest. And Fred’s top shelf. I mean, c’mon! His website is www.ilikefred.com after all. Talk about fun!

MFE: As for Fred and I working together, my favorite part was watching his Facebook posts about it. Because that was the extent of our collaboration, other than the back-​and-​forth he and I would go through separately with our editor, Rebecca Davis. We didn’t really work together at all, which is fairly S.O.P. when it comes to picture books–but Rebecca would occasionally show me what he was doing and ask my opinion (although she obviously had the final say), and a couple of times I had to adjust my text to better represent what Fred was doing with his illustrations.

For example, the original final line was “All was still, within, without…” but with everything Fred had going on with pirates and tigers and bear, oh my, nothing was still at all! So I changed it to “Adventure lingers, stirs about…” and it all worked perfectly.

RVC: What’s the biggest lesson that book taught you?

MFE: Patience is a virtue. Actually, I already knew that, but there’s nothing like the publishing industry to bring that point home. Being my first book, I didn’t realize how long it would take! I wrote it in Aug. 2014, Rebecca contacted me in Jan. 2015 to ask about purchasing it, we signed the contract a few months later, and the book didn’t come out until Sept. 2017. Whew!

I also learned how beautiful a book can be when the author’s words and illustrator’s images blend seamlessly, how involved marketing a picture book can be, and what a Kirkus star feels like.

RVC: That was a well-​earned Kirkus star. Congrats on that. 

MFE: Thanks!

RVC: You’ve published a good bit of poetry, both through your own books as well as edited anthologies. What is the most important thing people should know or understand about writing poetry for children?

MFE: That you don’t need to be the next Shel Silverstein or Jack Prelutsky or Dr. Seuss. (And folks, Dr. Seuss was never a poet–stop calling him that!) Write in your own style, your own voice. Again, READ. There are myriad ways of writing children’s poetry. And lots of it doesn’t even rhyme. That’s ok! Read, write, repeat.

RVC: What’s the most common misconception about poetry for children?

MFE: That it needs to rhyme or be silly. I come across really, really, tremendously horrible poetry more often than my stomach would care to admit, and it’s because people who don’t understand the craft are trying too hard to be something they’re not–or someone they’re not. I’m proud of the fact that esteemed folks like the late poetry cheerleaders Lee Bennett Hopkins and Paul Janeczko both told me how pleasantly surprised they were when they first read some of my poems because they realized I knew the craft, I understood rhyme and meter and such, and wasn’t trying to be funny all the time. Not that there’s anything wrong with funny poetry, you just don’t need to force it, that’s all.

RVC: In all of your experience in writing poetry for children, what has surprised you the most?

MFE: How difficult it’s been to get a collection published! I’ve been part of numerous anthologies, I have two of my own anthologies coming out in the next couple of years, I’ve even collaborated on a poetry collection with a highly-​esteemed children’s poet–yet finding a publisher who wants an entire book of my work has been an elusive task, alas.

RVC: How is your process for writing a poem similar to/​different than writing a traditional picture book text? 

MFE: It’s actually not that different, to be honest–the primary difference being that a poem doesn’t necessarily need a narrative. A picture book, even lyrical ones like the kind I tend to write–need some sort of loose narrative or structure to get the reader from point A to point B. With I Am Today, it starts with a young person thinking about how they want to make a difference in the world and concludes with them being satisfied with their accomplishment. With Once Upon Another Time, we show what the world used to be like before humans made their mark, compare it with the world as it is now, then travel back to when time began and finally work our way up to the present again–which admittedly sounds confusing for a picture book, but Charles Ghigna and I are delicate with our words and transitions, and it works nicely. Conversely, with a poem, I can focus on a scene, and image, a feeling–and not worry about a narrative structure.

RVC: You had a sizable blog tour with I Am Today—congrats on that! What’s your secret to landing guest blog gigs?

MFE: Bribes. Money, cars, penthouse suites–you know, the usual.

I suppose you could also say that I’ve been in the business long enough that I’ve developed a network of wonderful friends and fellow authors/​bloggers who are happy to help spread the news about whatever new book I have coming out. But it’s mostly the money and cars.

RVC: [Making mental note to acquire a fleet of Mercedes S‑Class W140s to use as bribes to support my own writing efforts…] What’s the key to making a guest blog a big hit? 

MFE: Being a guest on a top-​rated blog like Only Picture Books is certainly one way, along with providing compelling content that’s useful or entertaining. And bribes.

RVC: Wait a second…is there a bag of cash or a Mercedes S‑Class W140 en route? WOWZA! While I’m waiting for my goodies to arrive, tell me–what are your favorite tips to creating meaningful PR for picture books? 

MFE: Well, I approach picture book marketing like I approach my social media–because the two are intertwined, of course. I’ll share news about my books, reviews, etc., but I also share personal thoughts and funny interactions I have with my kids. No one wants PR, PR, PR all day, every day–people follow you for more than that. I’m just a regular guy and I hope followers recognize that. If you’re looking for insight into publishing or think I have an interesting enough life that you’d like to learn more about me, that’s great! If you’re looking for selfies of me wearing the latest faux-​leather leggings that are soooo trending right now–look elsewhere, my friends.

RVC: Who/​what are some of you biggest influences when it comes to writing picture books?

MFE: The biggest influence is Dorothy Aldis, the late children’s poet who wrote The Secret Place and Other Poems, among other books. This was the first book of poems I ever read (my parents bought it for me when I was very young) and I had no idea how big an impact it would have on my love of poetry as well as my style of writing. Not that I write like her, but she had a very easygoing, simple way of saying very thoughtful, insightful things. I’ve also been influenced by friends in the industry who have been, whether they know it or not, mentors to me as I’ve journeyed through this new career: Jane Yolen, Charles Ghigna, Nikki Grimes, David Harrison, and others–and of course, the late Lee Bennett Hopkins and Paul Janeczko.

RVC: It’s brag time! What do you have on deck for 2023?

MFE: Well, my picture book, Everybody Counts! (The Little Fig, LLC) just came out on Jan. 1, so I’m excited to celebrate the new year with a new book! It’s very unusual, too, as it teaches the reader how to count to 10 in twelve different languages, from German and French to Arabic and Navajo–and also teaches an ethnic name and food item.

RVC: Congrats on that!

MFE: Later this year (we hope!), I’ll have another picture book, The Thing to Remember about Stargazing (Tilbury House). I say “hope” because it all depends on how soon the illustrator, award-​winning Italian artist Sonia Possentini, completes the artwork.

I also hope to have a board book out sometime over the summer and there might be news about a couple of anthologies to which I’ll be contributing!

RVC: Okay, Matt—it’s time for the SPEED ROUND. Are you ready to bring your zip-​zappy best? Quick questions and fast answers, please!

MFE: Oh my God, the pressure.

RVC: What’s the funniest word in the English language?

MFE: Tintinnabulation.

RVC: If animals could speak, which would be the most annoying?

MFE: Not sure, but it would likely be one of mine.

RVC: What out-​of-​date slang do you regularly use?

MFE: Yo!

RVC: What’s the question nobody every asks you but you wish they would?

MFE: “Do you work out?”

RVC: What’s the answer?

MFE: “Nope.”

RVC: Who sets the standard for writing children’s poetry?

MFE: Trick question–no matter whose name I give, one of my poet friends is going to be miffed I didn’t mention them! So, I’ll say Jane Yolen because, well, who’s gonna argue, right?

RVC: In your best Radio Voiceover Guy Voice, tell us your picture book (or children’s poetry) philosophy…in 5 words or fewer.

MFE:

RVC: Consider me impressed. Thanks so much, Matt!

MFE:   Thank YOU for the invitation, Ryan! It’s been fun!