In response to Amanda Craig's article...

When I read Amanda Craig's article on the bullying she experienced at expensive-but-progressive boarding school Bedales in the 70s, it triggered memories in my mind I didn't want to remember. Over the last few days, I watched with alarming familiarity as current and old Bedalians defended their school, some turning into bullies themselves as they left obscene and threatening remarks on Ms. Craig's public Facebook site.

Bullying doesn't exist at Bedales, current students claim.

It's an exaggerated story - it wasn't like that at all, her contemporaries say.

Well, from my own experience, there's some truth to everything people have said - whether it be Amanda Craig, the current students or the old Bedalians who are defending their Alma Mater. For when it comes to bullying, the truth often lies in the eyes of the beholder.

I went to a somewhat idyllic primary school with small class sizes, where everyone just seemed to get along. Yes, we were all young, but that doesn't change the fact that bullying can happen at any given age. In my class, there were boys who were sporty, and boys who were more nerdy. There were girls who were tomboys, and girls who were girly. I belonged to the latter group, though was surprisingly invited to birthday parties of girls in the former group. There was teasing going on, but the kids seemed to know when they were overstepping the mark. I was happy there - to the point that I complained being at home whenever I was sick. These days, I know that my happiness was all due to the work of our class teacher. She had the ability to bring everyone together, to discipline us kids with words when we needed to, as well as being a source of solace in times when we needed support. You know a teacher was good when even decades later, you think of her with fondness. She was one of those.

But everyone has to move on, and by the time I reached high school by way of middle school, I already had mixed feelings about school itself. I went to a completely different middle school compared to my friends at primary school. Mostly, due to my parents' emphasis on practicality. Why send your child to a school miles away, when the nearest one will do?

If you're a parent, think again.

My parents didn't send me to the middle school my then best friend went to. That one could probably be described as academic-posh. Latin was the first foreign language they taught. Neither did they send me to the middle school most of my primary school friends went... one that even had it's own swimming pool. The middle school I ended up in was more akin to an inner city school, despite being in the middle of suburbia. It was a grey block, and its sight alone was enough to make you depressed. Bullying was ripe. Still, I knew I only had to go there for a couple of years before moving on to high school. That was what kept me going.

In a complete turn from their middle school choice, my parents sent me to a high school that was seen by some as catering for the elite of the area. It was OK at first, but due to my experience at middle school, I wasn't the most outgoing person. Neither was I all that interested in boys at that age. This made me unpopular and a likely candidate for being bullied. I made friends with a girl who I thought was bullied even more than me - to the point that I once stepped in to defend her. Again, probably not the best move to make, but one I thought was morally apt. The bullying mostly remained at an emotional level. You know, the kind of non-physical meanness you often see in teenage movies. But after three years of attending that school, I had enough. I told my parents I wanted to switch school, but they didn't understand.

Don't get me wrong. My parents were good parents in that they provided me with a lot, but they had a complete lack of knowledge of what was going on inside me, and how much I dreaded going to school by that time. My dad was way too confident to even know what bullying was like, and my mom was ever so popular in high school. It took a whole tantrum to make them change their mind, and even then, my dad wanted the opinion of the girl who had become my friend. The one I had previously defended from the bullies in class.

And guess what.

She didn't know of any bullying at all.

I was dumbfounded by her remark. I started to wonder whether I had imagined it all. Was it just teenage angst? The people I was closest to - my best friend and my parents - seemed to tell me so. After much pleading, my parents eventually let me switch school, and I ended up attending one with a progressive reputation. Some teachers were dedicated, but the kids obviously took advantage of the situation, and yes, there was still bullying there. But by that time, I had learned to be invisible. And when after GCSEs, most of the school bullies had dropped out, I rejoiced. I still feel a trace of triumph as I write this now.

Luckily, my parents allowed me to go on various school exchanges to Australia and the U.S. For all parents out there - nothing can teach your child more confidence than being in a foreign country on their own, and staying with a different family... particularly the U.S. When I came back to my school, I was more happy with myself. After having seen more of the world, I realized what a small portion of it my school truly was, and that really, my stay was only temporary. I stopped caring about the cliques, or what people thought of me 24/7. I became more of an observer, and with that came my salvation. Because if you take yourself out of the equation, you suddenly see the world with different eyes.

In short, it was like watching Discovery Channel.

Instead of being threatened by what went on around me, I found it rather entertaining to watch. Instead of being hurt by the bitchiness of others, I took it in my stride, inwardly rolling my eyes. I wish I had always been like that, but it took me years to get to that stage. In a way, my experience of feeling alone... feeling vulnerable... makes it easier for me to understand others in that situation. However, had I always been more tough, I probably wouldn't be able to comprehend how it feels like to be bullied. The girl at my school whom I (needlessly) defended probably didn't think much about the bullying. She simply brushed it off. She was made of much tougher stuff than me.

I understand how Amanda Craig must have felt at Bedales, but I also understand how others may have formed a completely different view of what happened. Their experience was different from Amanda's. They may not have been bullied by that gang who went after her. Or maybe, just like the girl I knew, they were more tough.

But it doesn't make Amanda Craig's experience any less true.

A Tongue-in-Cheek Post

This is what happens, when you seriously fail at creating a deep and meaningful confrontation scene during a writing course (assignment: mother telling her son that his father is not his biological father). No "he said/she said" tags allowed. I just wasn't in the mood...

OK. Just a word of warning. This is TONGUE IN CHEEK. DO NOT TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY! The author accepts no responsibility for the psychological well-being of your child, should you take this serious.

THE SURE-FIRE WAY TO SAFE SEX - A GUIDE

Are you the owner of a pubescent child? Would you want to ensure that he or she practices safe sex? When you want to talk to your child about safe sex, do so under disguise. Don't mention the word BIOLOGY. Instead, use terms they actually know about. Horror stories, fantasy - those are the things that inhabit a teenager's mind. See the following case study for an example on how to ensure the teenager you own will obey the rules of safe sex.

“Jimmy, we have to talk.”

“Not now, Mom!”

“No, it has to be now. Sit down.”

“Mom! Ally is waiting outside in the car -”

“Which is why we have to talk.”

“If this is all about safe sex or something -”

“Jim! Sit down!”

“OK. What’s up?”

“I wanted to tell you about your father.”

“What about him?”

“Well, Jim, darling... your dad isn’t your biological father.”

“---”

“He’s merely your stepfather.”

“---”

“Jim? Say something. Are you alright?”

“Sure. I expected you to say that at some point.”

“You did?”

“Well, Dad often says that I’m nothing like him. He pulls this face of disgust each time he says it! So I figured whoever my real dad was, he didn’t like him much.”

“---”

“We done?”

“Not yet. Don’t you want to see a picture of your real father?”

“If that means we can get this done and over with -”

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

“Your father.”

“Wrong picture, Mom.”

“No, it’s not.”

“You gave me a picture of a... COW!”

“That’s not a cow, Jim!”

“Then what? A bull?”

“Jim. That’s your father.”

“You’re kidding, right? How could a bull be my father?”

“He’s not a bull. He’s a minotaur!”

“A what?”

“A minotaur. They are very powerful beings in Greek myth.”

“Yeah, Mom. M-Y-T-H. Mythological creatures do not exist in real life.”

“They do, Jim. He was a very sweet man, your father.”
 
“BUT HE WAS A FREAKIN’ BULL! WERE YOU ABSOLUTELY BLIND?”

“I had a few glasses to drink - sure. He looked much better the night before I woke up in his arms.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding, right? I mean... couldn’t he at least be Darth Vader or something? Do I even get special powers?”

“Well, you’ll be strong.”

“---”

“And you’ll grow more hair than other men.”

“---”

“See it this way. At least, you’ll never have a problem with baldness. Just be careful with girls, Jim. They say that the minotaur gene always jumps a generation.”


In our experience, you should talk about SERIOUSLY UGLY CREATURES. Whatever you do, DO NOT MENTION VAMPIRES. Due to the dark propaganda available in our godforsaken world, our children have been brainwashed to think of vampires as sex objects. Of course, this seems to have the opposite effect to what we all want to achieve in our society.

SCBWI - London Professional Series: EGMONT UK

I attended SCBWI’s first 2011 ‘London Professional Series’ event yesterday, where two commissioning editors for EGMONT UK were in the room, facing a packed audience as the event was sold out. Of course, the talk started with a brief introduction.

ALI DOUGAL, Commissioning Editor for Fiction, studied English for her first degree, prior to undertaking a postgraduate degree in publishing at Oxford Brookes University. She seemed to have always known that she wanted to be in publishing one day, and started her career with Penguin. Over time, she realized that it was children’s fiction that she really wanted to be in, and successfully made the transition into this particular area of the market, inevitably ending up at Egmont UK, the biggest children's book publisher in the UK. Does she write herself? No. It is an ambition, though she believes she may be better in editing than writing.

Unlike his colleague, PETE MARLEY, Commissioning Editor for Picture Books, wanted to be a psychologist at first, having studied the subject in Nottingham. It was there that he realized psychology wasn’t his thing, and publishing was where he ended up in. He worked for ‘Top That!’ - a small publisher, eventually moving on to Egmont UK. Does he write? He wrote for their Winnie the Pooh range before, as well as ‘Pitstop’ - a satirical take on glossy mags.

EGMONT was founded 130 years ago in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has since grown into a global company with offices in London, New York and Sydney. All the offices are known to work closely together. Apart from being the biggest children’s book publisher in the UK, they are also the No. 1 character publisher in the UK (more about this later).

The company is passionate about getting children to read, finding new authors and illustrators, as well as supporting the existing authors on their list. Egmont has also been a frontrunner in ethical publishing, making sure that the paper they use come from ethical sources.

There are three divisions within Egmont UK:

• Magazines (e.g.: TOXIC magazine)
• Licensed Characters (e.g.: Bob the Builder)
• Egmont Press (Fiction Books; age range: 0-YA/Crossover; few adult books)

Pete Marley mentioned that their list has grown considerably in recent years, and now also includes baby & toddler sections as well as gift books, which they believe will help them move away from the over-reliance on Waterstones, since independent small bookstores are on the decline.

On the fiction side, Ali Dougal said that the market continues to be dominated by PARANORMAL fiction, though ‘Twilight’ has finally seen a dip in demand. Those that are hot right now are about Angels and Werewolves. Books that have made it into film are big sellers for publishers, such as the Percy Jackson series. For Egmont, the biggest revenue continues to come from their backlist which includes Enid Blyton books (now being repackaged). Due to Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film ‘Warhorse’, the corresponding book has become Egmont’s very own ‘Twilight’. Other successful books are the ‘GONE’ series, as well as ‘Mr. Gum’ and ‘Lemony Snicket’. Egmont has obviously also followed the Paranormal trend, as seen through ‘The Dark Divine’ books (by Bree Despain). They also have an Angel trilogy coming out.

According to both the editors, there is room at Egmont for anything. In fact, although the market has gone down recently, Egmont Fiction grew.

DIGITAL PUBLISHING is growing as there are an increasing number of platforms out there. From 2008 to 2009, digital publishing has doubled, and this trend is set to continue. In 2009, Egmont created interactive eBooks for the Nintendo DS console. From this year on, all their new books will be simultaneously available as a physical book and in eBook format.

Since eReaders have monochrome displays, they weren’t really applicable to picture books. However, this changed with the arrival of the iPad. 'Sir Charlie Stinky Socks' became the first Picture Book App Egmont has produced. A question remains as to how you would be able to market it in the Apple App Store where it is drowned by all the other apps. They are also expensive to make, and when asked whether the financial investment is viable, the answer is: not yet. But at least, Egmont is exploring the possibilities for the future.

What came next was the golden question all writers would like to get answered: WHAT ARE EDITORS LOOKING FOR?

Pete Marley said that in picture books, there are no strict rules, but the stories should be memorable, and ideally, there would be iconic characters that appeal to children. The text should also be concise - which is the hardest thing for authors to do. They should be a maximum of 800 words in length, with a lyrical script. Of course, in longer fiction, there should be more elaborate descriptions compared to picture books, where the author has to trust the illustration to do the rest.

When Pete Marley looks at submissions, he views them from the eyes of a child. Is it easy to understand? Is it accessible enough? There should be a story arc, and a strong ending. He loves to see a type symmetry in the story, e.g. when the beginning and the end happen in the same place (it would be like the story has come round full circle). The text does not have to rhyme - in fact, it is more difficult to sell it internationally if it rhymes.

Ali Dougal looks at all genres, whether it be science fiction or romance. She looks at all books aimed at kids aged 5+ all the way to YA/Crossover books. She pointed out that VOICE is important. MASS MARKET APPEAL would be great. She is also looking for books that are GENUINELY FUNNY. Basically, she has to love the book so much, that she can champion it in-house. If a book is promising, but not to her taste, she will pass it on to a colleague who may fall in love with it. There has to be a strong sense that the author can continue to grow. Naturally, it would be great if the book has CLEAR COMMERCIAL APPEAL. The BONUS would be if the book has international appeal and can be sold into 5-6 countries. This would mean that the author can earn out their advance, and Egmont could regain its investment. The icing on the cake would be if a film option or the screen rights could be sold.

Pete Marley informed us that submissions to him generally come from agents or via email from the occasional person who has found his email address somewhere. Novelty books generally arrive via post. With illustrators, he often asks them to come in with their scrapbooks. He likes to see them, because sometimes, there may be a character in there that has slipped away because they were thought not to be good enough. Once, for example, an illustration of a toddler in a ladybird costume in one such scrapbook captured his attention.

Egmont UK does take UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS. Please send these to: childrensreader@euk.egmont.com

Submissions to the above email address would usually go to a junior reader, and if that reader is excited, they will pass it on to an editor. It has to be said that this process is much slower than submissions that come via agents who not only will pass it on to the editor directly, but probably know which editor to pass it on to (like everyone else, the taste of editors differ from one to another).

You don’t need to submit your CV with your submission. Only relevant details matter, e.g. writing competitions, courses, etc. With unsolicited longer fiction, the submission guidelines are as follows: Three chapters and an outline. Or, if available, the whole manuscript.

Ideally, it would be great to be able to say: this novel is xxx meets xxx. Some of the memorable submissions that are to be published this year are:

• Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick: it is fast-paced, and a book Ali couldn’t stop talking about. It’s ‘Ferris Bueller’ meets ‘Kill Bill’. It tapped into a trend - the YA action thriller. There was something new about it, and there was film interest (screen rights now sold in auction to Paramount).
• The Shadowing: a series for 10+ kids that is really well thought through and spreads across 5 books. There is a gap in the market for kids’ horror books - with the one outstanding top author being Darren Shan.
• Dear Dylan: a coming of age story written in email format. The voice felt so real, it took Ali Dougal back to being 16. It also had a good PR story. The author, Siobhan Curham, self-published the novel after turning a two-book deal with a publisher down before, and went on to win the Young Minds Book Award. She also runs workshops with young people, so Egmont knew she would be good at public events.

Authors have to remember that although Egmont is an editorially-led publishing house, the editors still have to attend an acquisitions meeting where he or she will have to convince the sales, marketing and finance teams to buy the book. These departments would think about whether the book could become a bestseller or be a prize winner. An important thing to market your book well is a good hook. You need to find a one-line bullet point to describe your book (e.g. the ‘xxx meets xxx’ scenario).

Once the book goes through, they will start asking questions. When is the best time to publish? Who are the competitors? Peg against them or not? Prize-winning potential? Package/Branding? Advertising - bill boards or word of mouth?

The process is similar in picture books, though it will have a longer lead time. About 12-18 months prior to publishing, they usually take them to book fairs first.

What else could be said about being noticed... oh yeah... DON’T RELY ON GIMMICKS. They will eat the chocolate you send them, but it will have no impact on your submission.

Book Review: FORBIDDEN by Tabitha Suzuma

Lochan is a painfully shy, but gorgeous 17-year-old boy. He also happens to be intelligent, and have a seemingly bright future ahead of him, which could propel him out of the council estate he grew up in. Maya is a sweet 16-year-old, pretty and also wiser than the average girl with a background similar to Lochan.

They could be like any other protagonist of a YA novel, you might say. They meet, encounter a few obstacles along the way, and end up together at some point - preferably at a high school prom somewhere - simply because they are perfect for one another. But what if I told you they may be more similar than you want them to be, for Lochan and Maya have more in common than their background. They share the same DNA. Yes, they are siblings.

That's right. With FORBIDDEN, Tabitha Suzuma has touched exactly what the book's title would suggest. That taboo subject of incest. And whilst we may all say "Ew!" at that, and pull a face of disgust, the author has accomplished something I cannot fully grasp yet. She lets you care about Lochan and Maya in a way that makes you start wishing that theirs was a case of mistaken identity at birth, that they are not siblings at all... and they could be together, and may I even say - without sounding corny - live "happily ever after". The author really lets you get into their heads, and you know that what is between them is, plain and simply, love. It's just that it's not the love siblings should feel for one another.

Whilst reading this book, I was seriously torn between what I knew to be wrong and what I felt was right for the two characters in question. It was an emotional roller coaster ride where you know where it's heading, and something in you wants to scream NO, and yet something else tells you... WHY? And that's the power this book has. It takes something that you know to be truly wrong, and scarily, makes you understand it - to the point where you almost think it's right.

Of course, a book like this can only have a heart-breaking ending. You must be prepared to grab a tissue or two, but I wasn't quite prepared for the ending of this particular book. Because without spoiling it entirely, its ending is devastating. I found myself wondering about Lochan and Maya, as if they did exist somewhere in London at one point in time. That's how much I started to feel for them. I thought about the environment they grew up in - having a drunkard as a mother who frequently abandons them at will, making her two elder children carry the responsibility of running the household with three younger siblings in tow. This pretty much sets the scene for what is to come, and I found myself openly hating the mother, because secretly, I believe that if she had been a better mother, these two characters I cared for would have been completely fine... probably not falling for each other like the ultimate star-crossed lovers.

I bow my head to Tabitha Suzuma. This book was nothing, but a masterpiece.

FORBIDDEN will be out in the U.S. in June 2011.

A Teenager... Again!

When I read Nick Cross' blog about being stuck in Teenage Town despite being a full-blown adult, I had to smile. I have spent the last few days in the house I grew up in. You know, with Christmas and all that, my husband and I spent nearly two weeks in my childhood home in Germany, back with my parents and my younger brother. Being amongst my childhood stuff toys and playing video games with my brother (Dance Central on Xbox 360 + Kinect, if you care about such things), I could swear I turned into a teen again! The clock probably started rewinding in England already, when it snowed several inches a week or two before Christmas. I looked out of the door, and saw this white carpet that lay before me. I was still in what I would call my 'lounge wear' - old tracksuit bottoms & old sweater - and slowly made my way out into the fresh snow. I suddenly had the urge to feel the white powder beneath my sneakers with my bare feet. I looked toward my left and then, my right. No one there. So I did it! If you want to know how it felt like... it really was like stepping on ice-cold powder. Like you've put a bottle of baby powder into the freezer over night, spread it onto the floor, and stepped onto it. That's how it was. I told my husband what I did, and he started wondering about my mental age. Around that time, I was also mistaken by a lady (who was probably not more than ten years older than me) for a girl who goes to school with her son. Yes, school!!! Then, the bus driver suddenly started offering me a 'student ticket'...

But obviously, the years of being a teen would be nothing without those outbursts all teenagers are prone to have. Mostly, including those people also known as PARENTS. The last few days of being a teenager once more certainly gave me a taste of that - in the form of a full-blown argument with my dad. This involved accidentally smashing a glass pane when I slammed a door... something that never happened when I was a teen, but which my brother told me happened to him, too, a few years ago, after an argument with none other than our dad. So this will be the second time the glass pane needs to be replaced!!! Seriously, I am not really a glass smashing person, but as my brother (and my mother!) will testify, our dad has the innate ability to annoy even the most placid monk in Tibet.

Being a teenager is often about raw emotions - when even the tiniest thing that happens in life seems to matter. Maybe because a lot of what happens to teenagers is new and fresh - unlike for adults who may have gone through the same thing a dozen times in their lives. A classmate at school may say something unpleasant that makes you cry; or a boy you like may know nothing of your existence; or you may not be as pretty, intelligent and witty as you would like to be, and hate yourself for being the person you are instead... the list could go on and on. Sometimes, I get asked why teenage books are so dramatic - why the girl may constantly pine for that one boy. Well, just imagine yourself back at high school. There are a limited amount of boys there - and for a teen, high school often equates to 'the world'. Now, imagine that the one and only boy you end up liking does not like you. And again, remember - school is 'the world'. No one else is there that you like. Bummer.

Adults do tend to tell you about life after school. Especially when you are in need of major consolation. But you've never experienced that life yourself, so it would be difficult to associate with what they say at all. They can tell you about how the 'Miss Popular' of their year pretty much peaked at high school. As a teen, that may be difficult to imagine. They will tell you there are more boys out there in the world. Well, what if they all turn out not to like you, like the boy in your school? They will tell you that being bookish is not all that bad. Ha! Tell that to the poor boys of The Big Bang Theory.

But there are good things about being a teenager, too. Your future (defined as adulthood) is still unknown to you. Anything can happen - just like at the beginning of a novel, when the plot is still unclear. When you do fall in love, you do so with all your heart. Like in George Michael's cheesy Christmas ballad, you really give your heart away... because your heart is as yet untouched by all the hurt that may come along the way.

This is the reason I love writing for teenagers. The purity of emotions that graces the pages of YA novels attract me like no other. And high stakes really do exist in everyday life within a teenage mind, simply because (unlike in our grown-up world) everything... even the tiniest detail... matters.

Book Review: CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare

I have read Cassandra Clare's "The Mortal Instruments" series at a fear-inducing speed earlier this year. The author understands how to create addictive characters, though I'm still uncertain as to how she manages to do this. It could be because she can portray the characters with words so skillfully that you feel they truly exist or at the very least could jump off the page any moment. It could be that she's enormously talented at creating male leads that will prove attractive to many of her book's readers - whether they are a teen or not. It could be because of the forbidden love that is depicted on the books' pages, and you really want it to be resolved (and not the Luke and Leia way).

When the first book of her "The Infernal Devices" series came out, I was a little hesitant. I so loved the world of her former series (set in present-day New York), I wasn't quite prepared to jump into her new one (Victorian London). It was partly because I spend Mondays to Fridays in (present-day!) London already, and The "Mortal Instruments" offered the escapism I was looking for. But needless to say, a few months after its official release, I finally bought "Clockwork Angel", and I can truly say I do not regret it at all.

Reading the book, you know it is Cassandra Clare's work, but should you have read her last series, you would notice something else. Her writing style is slightly different, as if it was being matched to the elegance of the period it tries to portray. Spending most of my days in the city where the story is set, I can see how her characters may have brought mayhem to the London of the past. And the past is truly where they belong. "Clockwork Angel" combines YA Paranormal with historical fiction whereby the former takes centerstage whilst we're being provided with 'just enough' of the latter to feel the authenticity of the setting without the need of having to dust off our history books just yet.

The story revolves around Tessa Gray, a girl from New York who lands on the shores of Southampton, England, expecting to be picked up by her brother who had moved to London before her. But this journey to another country turns out to be much more than that. It becomes a journey to a magical world where good must fight the evil. Tessa Gray turns out to not be as plain as her surname would suggest - unknowingly, it seems as if she had always been part of the world she's now entering. Here, she meets the Dark Sisters who torture her, but show her the abilities she has. She meets dashing, but complex Will Herondale and his parabatai Jem Carstairs. She gets introduced to the world of the Shadowhunters, but yet, does not know what she herself is, and where her place in this strange world is supposed to be.

"Clockwork Angel" is full of action, love (or the yearning thereof), betrayal and puzzles that will leave you begging for the release of the sequel... which is still some time away. *Imagine sigh of frustration*

Cassandra Clare seems to only get better with time, and I can't wait to see more of her work in future.


Cassandra Clare - Upcoming Novels:

CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS - Release date April 2011

CLOCKWORK PRINCE - Release date August 2011

Tweeting with Egmont

An hour around either side of midnight - between the 18th and 19th of December (British time), Egmont publisher Elizabeth Law (@EgmontGal) and Egmont editor Alison Weiss (@EgmontUSA) were on Twitter to answer questions covering the Young Adult market (hashtag #askYAed). The reason it was so late was that, well, they are in the US, and it was scheduled for 18.00-20.00 PM EST. What I was doing up so late? Don't ask!

For those who have missed it, below is a recap. Bear in mind, this is Egmont USA, so the info may be more aligned for that particular part of the world. Still, the US is a very, very large segment of the English-speaking book world, so should never be ignored.

Informational aspects come first, funny parts come later. The items in brackets are my own comments.

On the standard of manuscripts submitted:

It is definitely the case that agents should work with the authors to get their MS into the best shape it can be before submission. It's a lot more competitive out there these days.

Role of Agents:

They only take agented submissions at Egmont USA. The volume would be too much otherwise. 

State of the market - Middle-Grade versus YA:

MG has suffered due to library funding cuts. YA is the best-written they have ever seen these days - it's the golden age for YA Lit.

On Revision:

Elizabeth Law says that the amount of revision is something that affects whether she will buy something. Can the book be great? If something had brilliant ideas/themes/writing but was a huge mess, she may ask for one revision before an offer of a contract.

On Books and eBooks:
They shall co-exist.  YA eBook sales are increasing.  From January 2011, all Egmont YA novels will concurrently be available in eBook format.

On the trend for Magical Realism:

They have seen a handful of submissions, but no more submissions that would hint at this trend. Elizabeth Law mentioned, it was the second time this week she was asked this, so this may well be a new trend.

On Epic and High Fantasy:

Elizabeth Law mentioned that there will always be room for this in YA, it has never gone away in 70 years.

On Book Series:

They generally prefer novels that feel complete, whether or not there are more books in the series. 

On Crossover Books:

Adults will read YA novels, but it is generally easier to publish Adult fiction and get young adults to read them, too, than the other way around.  So many adults dismiss YA without knowing about it.

On Taboo Subjects:

Incest is still taboo, though Tabitha Suzuma's "Forbidden" (note: love this book!) treats the subject brilliantly.

On Book Length:

There is a lot of Book Bloat out there at the moment. Authors should use as many words as necessary and no more. Word count shouldn't be too important though the thicker the book, the more daunting. 

On YA Historical Fiction:

Alison Weiss noted she loves historical fiction, but it's a tough market. Elizabeth Law mentioned her best friend has a historical YA under submission, and agreed with Alison as they aren't popular these days. It needs something more compelling to make it work, i.e. totally engrossing romance/scandal, etc. Plus: young adults who like this genre can read adult books. Though - what is "historical" these days. Is the time of the Vietnam war historical? What about the 90s? (Yes, a MS set in the 90s was submitted as historical fiction - God, I feel OLD!)

On Survival/Adventure Books For Boys:

They want them. Period. (Get writing, guys!)

On Trilogies and Dark Endings:

(Guess who asked this?)  Dark endings shouldn't be a problem. Mockingjay has a daaaaaaark ending.  Are the readers going to be satisfied with the ending? That's what you have to ask. Preferring a hopeful ending though.

With series/trilogies, preferably no cliffhangers. (I agree that cliffhangers can leave readers unsatisfied.  Off-topic: I mean, with no new James Bond out, I feel Quantum of Solace asked too many questions at the end...)

On Paranormal and Dystopia:

Still very hot. Demons.

On Myth-Based Fantasies:

Absolutely, particularly if you bring something new to the table. Also seeing ancient-culture based fantasies.

On Mysteries:

Mysteries are HARD to write, and thus hard to find. It takes a lot to be able to construct one that is fresh and compelling.

On Horror:

Would love to read more mid-grade/YA horror.

Define Paranormal versus Fantasy:

(Needed to ask this as I've been getting more and more confused!)  Paranormal: werewolves, vampires, angels, demons etc. Fantasy--not those creatures. 

On Editors Pitching to Sales/Marketing:

Generally, editors at Egmont still make the decision. It would be nice though to be able to pitch in the "If you liked xxx, then you'll like xxx" way.

On book deal being more likely due to interest from Hollywood:

Interest alone doesn't mean that a film will be made. There are films out there for which there are no books. However, having a film deal helps a rep sell your book on sales calls.

On Boys Reading Fiction:

They are reading books, though often move on to Adult fiction straightaway.

On Manuscripts that blew them away:

One of the books Elizabeth has mentioned is Allen Zadoff's "Food, Girls and Other Things".  She laughed and felt both sad in the first 10 pages. (That's a fantastic feat!)

On Author Websites:

User-friendliness. Make it easy to buy your book.

About cursing/f-bomb:

There needs to be a reason for cursing.

About Amish YA Literature:

I was told at the writing course I took in November that Amish YA Lit was a new trend in the US, so I asked whether this was true. (I was very curious!)

Overwhelming response: No. It is big in Christian Lit, according to @KristaAshe: "You can hardly go thru the Inspirational sec without seeing bonnets galore". @DreamingReviews said that they have YA protagonists (aged 18-20), but the books are meant to be for adults, really. This ended up leading to a small banter about Rumspringa which in essence would make a good YA premise as @misskubelik stated, and Elizabeth Law said so, too, all jokes aside.

If that one question would lead to Egmont suddenly receiving lots of Amish YA manuscripts in the coming weeks... :-)

Reading through all the tweets, they may well end up with an Amish YA novel with numerous f-bombs, that includes sex, vampires and may or may not have a transgender subplot...

There was more, of course.  The tweeting did go on for a little over two hours.  But I hope I captured most of it.  For now, good night (or good morning?) - need to go off to bed!!!

But before I do that - thanks again to Elizabeth and Alison at Egmont for sacrificing some of your weekend for us.  It was a great Christmas present.