What do you think will be trends in publishing in the coming year?
In the children’s space, there seems to be a stronger effort among editors and agents to unearth the little known pieces of history, both American and international (Little Leadersby Vashti Harrison or a picture book I represent called Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artistby Julie Leung and Chris Sasaki). Overall, there will be a rise in nonfiction, especially as we’re currently living in a time that feels stranger than fiction. We’re already seeing this in the picture-book and middle-grade biography space, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it trend toward YA.
Further, just looking at the latest awards season, I’m hoping there’s an increase in the novels-in-verse space as well.
What book/genre/topic would you like to see cross your transom?
I like books with characters who are masters at a craft or sport or hobby, where they are so skilled at something that engaging in it or thinking about it requires almost its own language register. When a character is really good at something, their thought process and language about that thing can become a fascinating medium for us to understand the character at a deeper level. Think how chemistry is applied in Weike Wang’s Chemistry.
What topic do you never want to see again?
Rhyming picture book texts with clunky meter. Just because the last word of the sentence rhymes with the next, it does not mean the text is rhythmically sound. Think about your meter. Tap it out. Plus it’s hard to sell rhyming picture-book texts these days, so unless the rhyme scheme is tip-top, it’ll be hard to find a champion for it.
What would you like to change about the publishing industry?
I think YA novels shouldn’t shy away from sex. It’s unrealistic to say that teenagers aren’t having sex, which makes teens seek other avenues to understand it, which often portray it in a totally unrealistic light (the internet, Hollywood, etc.!).
Anything else you’d like to add?
Recent obsession: Picture Us in the Lightby Kelly Loy Gilbert. I get submissions about friends falling in love all the time, but this one takes the cake.
What specifically made this one stand out?
Just the teeny, tiny things that Danny notices about his best friend, Harry, and the way their bodies move around each other. Attraction is a subtle thing and this book feels nuanced at every level.
Wendi Gu is a literary agent at Janklow & Nesbit Associates. She represents picture books, middle grade, and YA in both fiction and nonfiction and even some select grown-up books. Wendi lives in Brooklyn and takes weird exercising classes to get out of her head.
