Exclusive SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-Conference Interview: Ben Schrank...

Visit Suzanne Young's Blog for the first in our series of exclusive SCBWI TEAM BLOG pre-conference interviews with SCBWI Winter Conference speakers and keynoters.

To kick us off, Suzanne interviewed Ben Schrank, president of super cool Penguin imprint Razorbill.

I'll direct you to more pre-conference interviews in the weeks to come--and you'll find a few in this space.

To register for the SCBWI conference, click here.
To read more from Ben Schrank, click here for my 2007 interview with him.

New CWIM Listing: Razorbill...

Penguin YA imprint Razorbill has not previously appeared in CWIM. Below is information on the imprint. (See my interview with President and Publisher Ben Shrank here.)

RAZORBILL
Penguin Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York NY 10014. Imprint estab. 2003. (212)414-3448. Fax: (212)414-3343. E-mail: razorbill@us.penguingroup.com. Web site: www.razorbillbooks.com. Specializes in fiction. Acquisitions: Laura Schechter, Editorial Assistant; Kristen Pettit, Lexa Hillyer, Jessica Rothenberg. Publishes 10 middle readers/year; 30 young adult titles/year. "This division of Penguin Young Readers is looking for the best and the most original of commercial contemporary fiction titles for middle grade and YA readers. A select quantity of nonfiction titles will also be considered."
Fiction Middle Readers: adventure, animal, contemporary, graphic novels, fantasy, humor, problem novels. Young adults/teens: adventure, animal, contemporary, fantasy, graphic novels, humor, multicultural, suspense. Average word length: middle readers--40,000; young adult--60,000. Recently published Spud, by John Van de Ruit (ages 12 and up, South Africa's fastest selling book); Thirteen Reason Why, by Jay Asher (ages 14 and up, a suspenseful psychological thriller); Those Girls, by Sara Lawrence (ages 13 and up, a peek at the privileged lives of fabulous private school seniors).
Nonfiction Middle readers: activity books, arts/crafts, biography, cooking, health, how-to. Young adults/teens: biography, concept, health, how-to.
How to Contact/Writers Submit outline/synopsis and 3 sample chapters. Responds to queries/mss in approx. 8 weeks. Publishes a book 1-2 years after acceptance. Will consider e-mail submissions and simultaneous submissions.
Terms Offers advance against royalties. Authors see galleys for review. Catalog available online at www.razorbillbooks.com.
Tips "New writers will have the best chance of acceptance and publication with original, contemporary material that boasts a distinctive voice and well-articulated world. Check out www.razorbillbook.com to get a better idea of what we're looking for."

Editor Interview: Ben Schrank...

Before joining Razorbill in 2006 as President and Publisher, Ben Schrank wrote novels, served as fiction editor at Seventeen, and edited bestselling YA series (Gossip Girl and The Clique). Now at the helm of Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group that specializes in young adult and middle grade books, Schrank oversees 30 plus titles a year, mostly contemporary commercial fiction

What attracts you to writing and editing material for a YA audience?

I love the arc that happens in a story for young readers-kids learn and change so fast and working on embodying that experience in novel form is what keeps me interested in the area.

Spud, A Wickedly Funny Novel by John van de Ruit that was a huge seller in South Africa will be released in the U.S. by Razorbill this month. How did the book end up at your imprint? Please tell my readers what you love about the title.

Susan Petersen Kennedy brought it back from Penguin South Africa and thought it would be right for us. We read it and loved it and while we waited to publish, it grew into a phenomenon in South Africa that shocked everyone involved. There are now bus tours of Michaelhouse, the boarding school that John van de Ruit went to and based the story on. I love the book because it's funny and true and it teaches us a lot about ourselves and shows us a way of life that a lot of us know nothing about.

Why do you think Spud (which is being called the "South African Catcher in the Rye"), will appeal to readers in the U.S.?

It's a universal story. As I noted above, it's hilarious and honest and I have to believe that U.S. readers will relate to Spud, will love the voice, and will embrace both its foreignness and its charm.

What makes a book-and an author-right for Razorbill?

We love a book that is conceptually strong and has a voice that supports the concept. The book demands attention from the reader. The author supports the book, builds a great website, understands what the publisher can and can't do, and remembers that we're all in it because we love books.

Your website says "you can count on our list to be short and razor sharp." Why a short list?

We're a small group and we want to give our books the care they deserve. We never want to sign off on a cover we don't love or let a book go into the bookstores that we don't think is perfect. A short list gives us better control and keeps us, well, sharp.

I see at least a couple of debut books featured on Razorbill's website (Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why and Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead). How can a new author break in at Razorbill? Do you consider only agented work?

A new author breaks in because their novel is great. There's no other reason. We've only bought agented work up to this time, but you never know...

Can you offer a few pieces of advice to aspiring YA authors?

The market is a shifting target that changes all the time. Don't write for it. Write to please yourself. If you are relentless and work hard, the reader will come to your work.