Children's Books with Annie Kelley From Random House Books

Summary

Podcast Summary: New Books Network

Episode: Children's Books with Annie Kelly from Random House Books
Host: New Books
Guest: Annie Kelly, Executive Editor, Random House Studio (Penguin Random House)
Date: October 29, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation between the host and Annie Kelly, Executive Editor at Random House Studio, about the craft and business of editing children’s picture books. The discussion centers on the story behind acquiring Emily Saw a Door—originally published in Israel—and expands into Annie's editorial philosophy, her career journey, what she looks for in picture books, and advice to authors. The episode provides a candid, humorous, and heartfelt look at the children’s publishing industry through Annie's discerning editorial lens.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Discovering and Acquiring Emily Saw a Door

• Annie received the manuscript as an exclusive submission from agent Liza Fleissig, who rarely represents works first published abroad.
  • Annie was immediately struck by the artwork and unique treatment of familiar themes like inclusion and acceptance.
  • She describes how the narrative’s approach—Emily knocking on doors, each with its own surprising reason for rejection—felt new and poignant.
• Memorable details:
  • The illustrations' novel use of composition and color, notably a three-quarters-of-the-page staircase and effective white space.
  • Empowerment is a core theme: Emily, after repeated rejections, creates her own door and then welcomes someone else in.
• Acquisition process:
  • Annie's response was quick and enthusiastic, with approval from publisher Lee Wade on the same day ([05:30-05:52]).
  • The host shares the exhilarating moment of learning the book was acquired, underscoring the emotional stakes for authors ([05:56-06:06]).

Editorial Philosophy & Career Path

• Annie’s background:
  • Grew up in the Middle East (Kuwait and Bahrain), later moving to Wales and then the US.
  • Was a voracious reader, especially of series like Babysitter’s Club, and managed Scholastic book orders for her school in Bahrain ([07:52-08:57]).
  • Attended Wellesley College (a women’s college), majoring in English. Realized she could combine aspirations in teaching and editing by going into children’s book publishing ([11:05-12:44]).
• Entry into publishing:
  • Attended the Radcliffe (now Columbia) Publishing Course.
  • Mentored by Brenda Bowen, who encouraged her to pursue children’s publishing exclusively.
  • First job came from seeing Olivia the Pig and contacting its editor, Anne, resulting in 20 years of collaboration ([12:44-13:06]).

What Makes a Winning Picture Book

• Annie selects projects based on a strong personal connection—a gut feeling.
  • “I know it when I see it. It’s a feeling, a connection I make” ([13:27]).
  • Drawn to literary, beautifully-written, and diverse titles over ultra-commercial or silly themes ([13:27-14:04]).
• Role as matchmaker:
  • Particularly enjoys pairing the right illustrator with the right story—a central part of her reputation.

Behind the Editorial Curtain

• Editorial process:
  • Focused mainly on picture books, and also middle grade/YA nonfiction.
  • Open to a wide variety of genres but honest about personal taste: less likely to champion commercial/silly stories like "the cow who wears pants" ([16:27-18:05]).
• Selecting illustrators:
  • Sometimes knows immediately who would be the perfect fit; other times, it takes research and open-mindedness ([21:19-21:52]).
• Book production:
  • Describes working alongside art director Rachel Cole, reviewing multiple rounds of dummy sketches, and handling the technical challenges of layout and color correction ([24:25-30:23]).
  • Emphasizes the puzzle-like nature and collaborative review process, involving authors and illustrators in feedback loops to avoid surprises ([31:01-31:41]).

Notable Works

• Showcases recent projects:
  • Noodles on a Bicycle by Keough McClear and Gracie Zhang (Caldecott honor, part of a trilogy).
  • Dog vs Strawberry—a humorous, dynamic picture book by a frequent collaborator.
  • Rediscovered the artist Hanoch Piven early in her career ([22:00-23:57]).

Relationships & Collaboration

• Annie believes in keeping authors involved throughout visual development, though generally not in direct contact with illustrators.
  • Intent is to ensure authors approve key steps, reducing the risk of disappointment after publication ([31:01-31:41]).

Advice for Authors

• Strong, distinctive voice is paramount:
  • “I look for a strong voice, that is number one” ([34:31]).
  • Generic texts are passed over; lyricism or humor can set a manuscript apart.
• Author support groups and critique partners are beneficial.
• Balance of text and illustration:
  • Writers should consider what art can convey; do not overwrite details the pictures can show ([35:20-36:03]).
• Art notes:
  • She doesn’t mind art notes but generally strips them when sending manuscripts to illustrators—unless a specific plot point needs explanation ([36:03-36:24]).
• On trends:
  • “Write your story. Write what you want to write. Don’t think about trends. That’s not your job as the writer” ([36:47-37:08]).
  • Great stories can transcend genre fatigue, e.g., dinosaur books.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On acquiring Emily Saw a Door:
  “I loved it immediately. Like, I opened it, I said, yes. I sent it to my publisher, she said, yes, and we bought the book.”
  — Annie Kelly ([05:31])
• On choosing projects:
  “I know it when I see it. Know it's a feeling. I have a connection I make.”
  — Annie Kelly ([13:27])
• On discovering strong voice:
  “I look for a strong voice, that is number one. So have a voice for sure in your book. I read a lot that feels generic... you have a voice in Emily.”
  — Annie Kelly ([34:31])
• On advice to writers:
  “Write what you write and do it really well, and that's all you can do, you know, and someone might pick it up.”
  — Annie Kelly ([37:08])
• On lasting attachment to books:
  “It is a weird thing when a book actually hits pub date for me because it's just been mine for so long, it feels kind of over, which is weird because it's just the start.”
  — Annie Kelly ([32:28])
• Host on the emotional journey:
  “One of the advice I give to authors like me... you have to have some shtick. It's not enough to write really well. People have to know you exist.”
  — Host ([06:10])
• On being an editor:
  “I've loved my job from day one.”
  — Annie Kelly ([13:07])

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• Annie’s path to editing & childhood reading: [07:52–12:44]
• How Emily Saw a Door was acquired: [03:05–05:52]
• Editorial process & finding illustrators: [13:27–14:04]; [21:19–22:32]; [24:25–25:03]
• Recent favorite books discussed: [22:00–23:45]
• Collaborative process with authors & illustrators: [24:25–32:01]
• Advice for authors: [34:31–37:20]
• Host’s current project and Annie’s heritage: [37:33–39:30]
• Reflections on book launch and author-editor relationship: [32:28–34:31]; [40:04–40:38]

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Additional Highlights

• Annie’s commitment to “putting the puzzle together” when crafting picture books.
• The host’s personal anecdotes on rejection, persistence, and discovering their agent through podcasting.
• Discussion on market considerations: striking a balance between literary love and commercial viability.
• Behind-the-scenes details on the adaptation process for foreign picture books, color correction, and page layout.

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Tone & Atmosphere

The conversation balances warmth, humility, and humor with practical industry wisdom. Both the host and Annie Kelly speak candidly about their work, experiences with success and rejection, and the collaborative joys and struggles of bringing children’s books to life. Their mutual respect and enthusiasm for storytelling is woven throughout the episode.

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This summary was created to offer a comprehensive and engaging overview of the episode for those who haven’t listened, highlighting all major themes, insights, and memorable moments.

Transcript

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[Annie Kelly]

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Welcome to the New Books Network.

[Interviewer / Host]

Hi, everybody. I'm here with the incredible Annie Kelly. Annie Kelly, sometimes known as Anne Kelly, is the executive editor of Random House Studio at Penguin Random House. And I think we'll start out with my full disclosure, which is that I know you because you are the editor of Emily, Saw Adore, which you bought for the whole world, except for Israel, where it was originally published, and which is launching in New York on February 24th in exactly four months. Never excited. So, Annie, it's great to have you. We'll talk a little bit about Emily, why you fell in love with her. And I'm interested to know all about you and your life and your career and how you go about selecting picture books and then usually finding the right. You're famous for finding the right illustrator for the right story. Not in this case, but in this case. So, first of all, thank you for having me.

[Annie Kelly]

I'm so happy to be here.

[Interviewer / Host]

You're in Baltimore.

[Annie Kelly]

I am in Baltimore. I'm based in Baltimore and I work remotely. Yes.

[Interviewer / Host]

Do you want to run me through what happened with Emily and. And how you like? This is a miracle in my life. Frankly, House Studio. Yeah. Executive editor. What happened?

[Annie Kelly]

So, you know, I have a great relationship with your agent, Liza Fliesig, and she often sends me exclusives, which is very kind of her. And so I got this exclusive in my inbox. Emily saw Adore. And the whole. You know, this was published in Israel. Dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. And I don't do many books that were published elsewhere. Maybe I've done two since I started at Random Hill Studio. And I clicked on the link and I was like. Immediately, it was something different from what I've seen. So first you have the art. You know, I don't know anything in that style that I've seen before. Certainly, you know, it just felt fresh to me. It felt fresh. And then I read the text, and it's about, you know, inclusion and acceptance and these kinds of things. And it was beautifully written, and it was telling a story in a way I'd never seen before with these themes. You know, you have a little girl knocking on doors, trying to be let in, and everyone says no, and you don't see who's on the other side of the door, which is very clever. And each one turns her away for, like, such interesting reasons. Like, one, you know, she knocks, and it's a bunch of animals, and it's lunchtime, and they're hungry, and so they're like, oh, you can come in. It's lunchtime, you know, and what.

[Interviewer / Host]

I was afraid that the story would be rejected because of that door. It's my favorite door.

[Annie Kelly]

It's the best. It's the best.

[Interviewer / Host]

What species are you?

[Annie Kelly]

Yeah, which species are you? Yeah, yeah. I am a girl called Emily, you know, and I don't. It's just wonderful. So each of them is. Each door is very surprising. You know, it's not like something you would have ever imagined would be happening. And the compositions of the pages are wonderful. There's a lot of white space, a lot of color. And, you know, there's this beautiful one where she's going up a staircase, and the staircase is three quarters of the page, you know, and it's just. The compositions are wonderful. And what I.

[Interviewer / Host]

Well, let's shout out to Areit Maggia.

[Annie Kelly]

Yes.

[Interviewer / Host]

Who is the genius who did the illustration?

[Annie Kelly]

Genius. And what I also loved about the book is at the end, you know, no one's let her in. She creates her own door. Her own damn door, as I used to say. And I love that, you know, and it's empowering. And then she lets someone in the whole book is just. It has familiar themes, but done in such a fresh way. And that's why I was really drawn to it.

[Interviewer / Host]

That's so very kind of you.

[Annie Kelly]

I love it. I loved it immediately. Like, I opened it, I said, yes. I sent it to my publisher, she said, yes, and we bought the book.

[Interviewer / Host]

Who's the publisher?

[Annie Kelly]

Lee Wade, publisher of Random House Studio, who's phenomenal.

[Interviewer / Host]

So. Because Liza told me that it was very quick. It was like.

[Annie Kelly]

It was very quick. It was same day, I think, same day.

[Interviewer / Host]

So you checked with Lee and that was it.

[Annie Kelly]

That's it. That's my whole acquisition process. I'm very lucky.

[Interviewer / Host]

I almost broke bones in my body when I found out. I must have.

[Annie Kelly]

Really?

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah. Liza phoned me. She said, are you standing up? I said, yes. She says, no, no, no. Sit down, sit down.

[Annie Kelly]

And so how did Liza find the book and find you?

[Interviewer / Host]

Liza found me because I found her because of these interviews. One of the advice I give to authors like me is I see that you're interviewing me a bit, which is okay, is you have to have some shtick. It's not enough to write really well. People have to know you exist. Because I love interviewing people. I started these interviews about four years ago. I've interviewed over 200 authors and illustrators and publishers and agents and agents turn out to be very nice people, and they're very busy, and they take one book out of a thousand or whatever, and. But when you meet them and interview them. So she said, yes, you know, I'll have a look at the Emily, which was published in Hebrew already. And so I sent her the PDF and she told me afterwards she didn't plan on liking it. She was just being nice to me. She's so nice, and she liked it. And then. And then all this happened. And I said to her, some stage, does that mean that you're my agent? Of course I'm your agent. What were you thinking? I sold your book. I'm your agent. So that's approximately how it happened.

[Annie Kelly]

Okay.

[Interviewer / Host]

So you interviewed and I've interviewed her. And that was the beginning of our beautiful relationship.

[Annie Kelly]

Wonderful. Yeah. I feel very lucky. It landed in my inbox. I fell in love with it immediately.

[Interviewer / Host]

And I feel a hundred times more lucky. So let's not talk about who feels lucky. Tell me about your life, your childhood. You mentioned some interesting thing about growing up in the Middle East. Where is it?

[Annie Kelly]

I did grow up in the Middle East. I was born in Boston and we moved to Kuwait when I was 18 months old. And I lived in Kuwait, probably eight years.

[Interviewer / Host]

Wow.

[Annie Kelly]

Then I moved to Bahrain. Sorry. No, I think out of hand, you know, unfortunately, it's the name. Talata Arava Hamsa Sita Timanya Tisa Ashra, kind of. So I did grow up in the Middle east, and then we moved. My mother's British. We moved to Wales, and then we moved back to the States when I was in middle school. But when I lived in Kuwait and Bahrain, well, particularly Bahrain, I was a huge reader. We had Scholastic delivered over there, and so I was in charge of organizing all the orders. So when they came in, I'd like make all the little piles and, you know, and have all my books. And so I was a big reader and Scholastic was a big outlet for me there. And that I think, started me off.

[Interviewer / Host]

So which picture books did you fall in love with as a. As a young girl?

[Annie Kelly]

I used to carry around a Xerox copy. I don't know why I didn't have the original of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

[Interviewer / Host]

Okay.

[Annie Kelly]

Which I loved. And what else did I read? But I was huge on series. Like, I devoured the Babysitter's Club, you know, like one after the other after the other. So lots of series came through. And I grew up at a time where there wasn't really like a YA category. You know, you just sort of went from Babysitter's Club to, To more adult stuff. Now there's that whole category. Yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

And so you went to a, you went to a girls college or something?

[Annie Kelly]

I went to Wellesley College. Yeah. Women's college, which I loved.

[Interviewer / Host]

What's a women's college? There's no guys in a woman's college?

[Annie Kelly]

No, no, no. Men.

[Interviewer / Host]

What? Religious or something?

[Annie Kelly]

Or just, just, you know, there's. There's a group of colleges in the US called the Seven Sisters, and that's one of them. And a lot of, you know, historically women's colleges have, have gone co ed over the years, but. But not Wellesley and not schools like Smith and Bryn Mawr. And there's still, still a few of them out there. Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

And. And the teachers are also women.

[Annie Kelly]

No, both.

[Interviewer / Host]

There's a story here I'm just, I'm writing.

[Annie Kelly]

No, it's not so unusual over here.

[Interviewer / Host]

From where I am. It's. It's unusual. Unless you're religious. You know, if you're religious.

[Annie Kelly]

So interesting.

[Interviewer / Host]

You go to a girls school.

[Annie Kelly]

Not religious. Not religious. I mean, it's where Hillary Clinton went to college. Madeline Albright.

[Interviewer / Host]

I wonder whether Emily would go to college there Emily, I would probably go to college. She might. She might.

[Annie Kelly]

She might.

[Interviewer / Host]

I'll have to ask her. One of the things about writing these stories, Addie, is that at some stage the hero or main character gets away from you. You know, over the past two years, Emily, for me has become very real character. And it's kind of incredible how this happens, but it does. And back to you now. So you went to a girls college and you studied the literature.

[Annie Kelly]

I studied English, Yep. I majored in English. Majored in English. And I thought, you know, coming into senior year, I thought, well, I either want to be an elementary school teacher or an editor. And some. Something dawned on me one day and I combined those ideas in my head and I was like, I could be a children's book editor. And so what I did was I went to it's now the Columbia Publishing course, but at the time it was Radcliffe, it was in Boston. And I took that course right after college. It was a six week course with recruiting at the end. So then I headed to New York for a week and did a week of interviews.

[Interviewer / Host]

Wow. Yeah. So what you just did with cold and got a job.

[Annie Kelly]

Well, so at the course, the children's publishing expert they brought in to speak was Brenda Bowen, who was at the time the head of Simon and Schuster Children's. She's wonderful and she's an agent now and I work with her. And so I was the person who led her around all day. And I remember the course had told me, they're like, don't put all your eggs in one basket. For children's, you know, you need to think about magazines, you need to think about adult. And Brenda was the one who told me, oh, you should absolutely put all your eggs in one basket. And so I went to the. They flashed on the screen, you know, Olivia the pig. They flashed Olivia in the tutu. And I said, that's where I want to be. That's what I want to do. And I call. And weirdly, the editor of that book was hiring an assistant and I called her on a payphone and set up an interview in New York. And then when I. So that's how it started. Is through dream at this course leading me to Anne.

[Interviewer / Host]

But are you a door doctor? Are you like a little Emily? Did you like it?

[Annie Kelly]

No, I'm really not. But I did it, you know, I can do it if I have to. And Ann and I worked together for. I mean, she's still one of my very close friends. I talked to her yesterday. We worked together for 20 years. And, Ann, the crazy thing was I got to work on some of those Olivia books. You know, like, my dream was realized.

[Interviewer / Host]

Incredible.

[Annie Kelly]

It was incredible. I've been so lucky. I've loved my job from day one.

[Interviewer / Host]

It sounds like an amazing job. So what do you do? I guess the $64,000 question, which I think is about how much it costs to make a book, is, how do you pick them?

[Annie Kelly]

I wish I had some great answer for that, but it's always just. I know it when I see it. Know it's a feeling. I have a connection I make. I do have certain types of books I like. I'm drawn to very literary books. I'm less commercial. I publish a lot of diverse titles. I publish. You know, I just. I'm drawn to beautiful writing, really. And. And one of my favorite parts of the job is once I sign up, if it's not an author illustrator project, I get to sign up the perfect illustrator to match the text, which is one of my very favorite things to do.

[Interviewer / Host]

That's what your favorite. That's what you're famous for.

[Annie Kelly]

I'm famous?

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, you're famous. Look what I just did. I'm so excited that I have ink all over my.

[Annie Kelly]

Oh, no. Look at that.

[Interviewer / Host]

You gave me an ink pen, though. Okay. You can't take me anywhere.

[Annie Kelly]

That's all right.

[Interviewer / Host]

There's an idea for a story here. Yeah, it's my show, but you're my guest. I may never get this ink off my hands, said smiley. Okay, so you get a text, and it can be anything. It can be fiction, nonfiction, semi nonfiction.

[Annie Kelly]

People don't send me. I don't edit middle grade or YA fiction. So I don't get submissions for fiction. I get a picture book. I edit picture books, and I edit middle grade and YA nonfiction. Those are the two things I love.

[Interviewer / Host]

No, but we'll concentrate on picture books. Now, my big.

[Annie Kelly]

Your interest. Yes.

[Interviewer / Host]

Look, nobody pays me to do these interviews, so I might as well have fun.

[Annie Kelly]

Yes. Okay. Ask me. Ask me.

[Interviewer / Host]

Okay, so picture books, you're obviously close to submissions, so you get all kinds of submissions from agents like Liza, who said, write you these pictures. They write you query letters the same way I used to write the agents. And by the way, Emily partly derives from my being rejected by so many agents. And I think I was rejected walking on doors hundreds of times. Hundreds of times. So I had to write a book about rejection for someone to open my door. We should also mention Ginger Harris, whose lies partner, who's also a great help at the with the fixing and the texting and the writing.

[Annie Kelly]

Oh, really? No, I didn't know that.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah. And also I'm going to shout out to Harold Underdown, who also has some UK roots, who is my own personal teacher. So. Yeah. So they also deserve a lot of credit today. So you get a text and it's a picture book text. Does it have to be a certain genre? Can there be anthropomorphic characters? Fiction, Nonfiction? Is there anything that you won't look at?

[Annie Kelly]

No, I will read whatever comes my way, but I'm drawn to certain stories more than others. For sure. If it's called, like, I don't know, the cow and, you know, wears pants, it's just not my type of thing so much, you know, like those very sort of more sillier commercial type books are not the ones I tend to publish. So it's very easy to know when I open it if it's going to be right for me or not. I just, I've also been doing it a long time. You know, you, you have a.

[Interviewer / Host]

How many? How many? So, so is this like, like you've been in this for, for a bunch of years and you've moved ahead and now you're executive editor? I don't know what that means. But you're a big shot at Random House and you still wake up in the morning and read the stories, right?

[Annie Kelly]

Yeah. I mean, I will say, you know, a lot of my day is, is other stuff. It's not reading stories and editing. It's a lot of other stuff.

[Interviewer / Host]

When you get to read stories, when you get to read stories, is this, is this fun for you? You say it's like opening a. Opening a chocolate wrapper.

[Annie Kelly]

You never know. You just never know what's going to land in your inbox that day. What's going to excite you. That's what I love about it. Every project's different. And a gem may come your way at any time. I feel like in publishing there are, you know, the highs are high. Right. And you got to take them when you can. That's how I feel about it.

[Interviewer / Host]

And so you see a text and you say, oh, my goodness, I love this. I love this. Not the cow.

[Annie Kelly]

Not the cow. And the pants.

[Interviewer / Host]

No, but maybe George, who's the guy who makes the pants, Right?

[Annie Kelly]

Maybe it's the story of George. Right?

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah. And you say, oh, wow. And you don't even. I can't believe it. Because they pay you a salary and you look at the story and you don't look at the commercial hooks. I can sell this, you know, to every.

[Annie Kelly]

You have to think about the audience. True. Yes. Like, is this a school and library book? Who is this going to appeal to? Do we think the indies will love this? All of these things go through your head.

[Interviewer / Host]

So you do. So it's not just the love of.

[Annie Kelly]

The story, just like I love it. Let's go.

[Interviewer / Host]

So there is this. Who can I sell it to? Somewhere in Europe. Somewhere in Europe.

[Annie Kelly]

For sure. For sure.

[Interviewer / Host]

Commercial brain. Who are we going to sell Emily to? Door manufacturers.

[Annie Kelly]

People who make stairs, Cherry companies.

[Interviewer / Host]

Traveling salesmen.

[Annie Kelly]

Yeah, Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

I was a traveling salesman. I didn't know that. This is like the first time I was thinking about this in our conversation. Like, she goes from door to door. I used to go from door to door selling Fuller Brush products. Oh, my goodness.

[Annie Kelly]

Door to door with Emily.

[Interviewer / Host]

I could. I won't, but I could.

[Annie Kelly]

Could.

[Interviewer / Host]

So where were we when we were so.

[Annie Kelly]

I love a book. I love a book. I share it with my publisher, with Lee. I make an offer. Sometimes you can't make an offer. Lots of people want it. It's going to be an auction. That's a different beast.

[Interviewer / Host]

So I could have made more money if Liza put it on auction. Perhaps. But I'm very happy. I'm so happy.

[Annie Kelly]

And I'm happy.

[Interviewer / Host]

So I bought a lot of new shirts stuff.

[Annie Kelly]

Did you?

[Interviewer / Host]

New headphones. Yeah.

[Annie Kelly]

I love it.

[Interviewer / Host]

I love it. Yeah. And then you get the. And then you own the text once.

[Annie Kelly]

I sign it up. Yes, I have the text.

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[Interviewer / Host]

And you know who's going to illustrate it while you're reading it?

[Annie Kelly]

Not always. No. Sometimes. Sometimes. Sometimes. It takes some digging. But I also, you know, I work with a lot of illustrators. Like, who I work with, I don't think. I don't even know. I couldn't tell you, but. But I have, like, you know, people I love working with and people. And I'd be like, oh, their style is completely right for this book. So maybe I'll try them. And then sometimes you try someone new. It's very exciting. You know, so many options. And, you know, the third person might not say yes. Second person might not say yes.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah. Do you have any books around that you're proud of that came out in the last. Other than Emily? I gotta get my hands on this one.

[Annie Kelly]

Noodles on a Bicycle.

[Interviewer / Host]

Wow. That's yours?

[Annie Kelly]

That's mine. And see this stack of new. This is. Wait, let me see if I can show you. I don't know if it's, of course, awesome. A real photo of a delivery man in Tokyo in the 1970s, and they used to stack soba noodle boxes as. Look how high that is. And deliver them all around the city. And that's what this book is. It's beautiful. It's written by the amazing Keough McClear, illustrated by Gracie Zhang. Won a Caldecott honor. So that is like, oh, I love this book.

[Interviewer / Host]

Show a spread. Read a bit. That's wonderful. And by the way, I will be happy to interview whatever authors and illustrators you deem worthy.

[Annie Kelly]

Can you see?

[Interviewer / Host]

Sure.

[Annie Kelly]

Gorgeous. Just gorgeous. They did a book before this one called the Big Bath House. And we're doing one more to finish the sort of little trilogy called Little Fireworks, which is out in 2027. So that's a case of, you know, I work with these people. You know, you. You want to build relationships. Right. And so we have three books in this little. This little trilogy here. So I really love that one. I do have one author illustrator I work with who's very funny. Very funny. This book, Dog vs Strawberry, is told in the voice of an announcer. You know, like, ready, set, go. The audience is gathered, and it's about a dog with the zoomies chasing around the living room like pillows flying, lamps flying, trying to catch the strawberry who doesn't move ever in the picture book. It's so funny. It's so, so funny. So I work with her a lot. I feel like we've done maybe. We've got to be close to 10 books together. Her new one is out now. It's called Bob the Vampire Snail. Very funny for Halloween.

[Interviewer / Host]

And incredibly. And this is really incredible, you discovered a friend of mine, Hanoch Piven.

[Annie Kelly]

Oh, right, right. Yes.

[Interviewer / Host]

Isn't that crazy?

[Annie Kelly]

That is crazy. That was a long time ago. I was. Yeah, I was young.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah. So that's. Shout out to Hanoch.

[Annie Kelly]

Hi, Hanok. Yes, I recognize his wife's book, too.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, he's. And he's been on the show, of course. Yeah. So let's say, let's continue. Other than. Other than reading books and loving certain ones and then buying them and finding the right illustrator, what else do you do?

[Annie Kelly]

What else do I need to do?

[Interviewer / Host]

Well, one.

[Annie Kelly]

A big part of my job is once the illustrators deliver sketches. Is working with our phenomenal art director, Rachel Cole. Typically on, you know, reviewing those dummies and making sure we have everything where we want it to be. Are we showing what we want to show? Do we want to move this type backwards? Forwards? Do we need to add an extra spread? Do we need to lose a spread? All of that puzzle work goes into a dummy over usually about four rounds. It's a process, and it's so much fun. It's like putting a little puzzle together. So that's a big part of my job.

[Interviewer / Host]

We lost this bread on the Emily.

[Annie Kelly]

We did because of. Page lengths are different here.

[Interviewer / Host]

That was no fun for me. That was no fun.

[Annie Kelly]

I know, I know. It was like Sophie's Choice. Wasn't.

[Interviewer / Host]

Wasn't.

[Annie Kelly]

It's fine. It's all good. It looks. It works.

[Interviewer / Host]

Show the book again. I'm not gonna see the book now for months. Emily saw a door.

[Annie Kelly]

Emily saw a door.

[Interviewer / Host]

The blue is gorgeous.

[Annie Kelly]

The blue is incredible. I saw that blue on the interior. I was like, that would be great for the jacket.

[Interviewer / Host]

Can you open it? How does it look in English?

[Annie Kelly]

Here's your lovely title page. Oh, this was an extra piece of art we had from the Hebrew edition.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Annie Kelly]

And we hadn't used it in the book, so I was like, let's put it on the title page.

[Interviewer / Host]

Okay.

[Annie Kelly]

Oh, and look under your dedications. We have a tiny heart we picked up. There's the blue we pulled from. Let me find a door for you. This one. This is the one I was talking about earlier where you have.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Annie Kelly]

Three quarter spread of the stairs.

[Interviewer / Host]

That's. Orit So I want to tell you something that you might not know because I think that illustrators are such a huge part of a picture book. 50 century. Yeah. Orita's incredible. And my favorite spread in the book is a silent spread where she's gone in, she's opened the door and she's creating her world.

[Annie Kelly]

Uh huh. Yep. Let me find.

[Interviewer / Host]

And, and I think that this is brilliant. And actually I had nothing to do with that spread. That's Orit's idea. And she created that double spread and for some peculiar reason, I'm most proud of that page.

[Annie Kelly]

It's, it's beautiful. It's a nice change of pace in the book. You know, we're always looking for, you know, pacing in the picture book and you know, do we have a good mix of full page, single spread spots? You know, how are the page turns with the type, all of these things. There's so many considerations.

[Interviewer / Host]

And I should mention Tom Schwimmer, who chose the text. I almost suffocated when I read his email and worked with me on the text and saw what was missing. You know, in the original story, Emily pulls a few crayons out of her curly hair and Tom said to me, well, I love the whole story, but this doesn't work. It's contrived. And I knew it was contrived, but I didn't have it fixed. And then you go into this state of purgatory for a writer when somebody wonderful wants to publish your book, but you, you need to fix a critical beat. And then it took me about three weeks to get the idea where she sees the chalk game and the hopscotch. Hopscotch, yeah. And it comes to her. So Jotam Schwimmer and Amira Firon, who is the publisher, and they will come to New York with me in February. Maybe we'll meet. Well, you know, it's an incredible story for us. So what I want to know is. So it comes. By the way, I just mentioned one more thing that I'm not sure. One of the disappointments. I had only one disappointment in your work. And that is for two days, Emily was left handed in the English designer.

[Annie Kelly]

I don't know what the designer did, but. But I'm glad she was, she was left handed for a brief minute there.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah. And I was so happy.

[Annie Kelly]

Okay, either way you're happy.

[Interviewer / Host]

Not because I'm left handed. I'm saying. You know what, Emily probably is left handed. She's left handed. No, she isn't left handed.

[Annie Kelly]

No, she's not well. It's because when we had to flip a final spread to make her left handed, to make it consistent, it didn't look as good.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Annie Kelly]

So we had to flip it back.

[Interviewer / Host]

I can live with that. But you know, I've been dying to write a book about left handedness, and it's very hard to write about something that's very close to you. The reason that Emily is a girl is because when I tried to write at the beginning from a boy's point of view, like the inner Mel, it didn't work. It was too close to who I am. The moment she became a girl, I could use my female self and whatever and. And connect with her in a way that wasn't too close to little me.

[Annie Kelly]

Is she named after anyone?

[Interviewer / Host]

I think that Emily is a very strong name for a girl. And there's a secret. If you look in the letters, you see Mel in her name. So it's Emily, but there's a little bit of Mel in there.

[Annie Kelly]

Oh, interesting. Okay.

[Interviewer / Host]

You didn't know all these things.

[Annie Kelly]

I didn't know these things.

[Interviewer / Host]

And it's a good thing that we're meeting. So you didn't say what else you do. So you have the artwork and you. And you bring the book.

[Annie Kelly]

We do that, yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

You bring the book to the point where it's printed and ready and then.

[Annie Kelly]

Oh, well, we have to go through color correction. That's a big process.

[Interviewer / Host]

It's a big process.

[Annie Kelly]

But you look at. Yeah. When you look at proofs, see how the color is, make any changes to the color. Sometimes the illustrator has to do it. Sometimes we do it on our end. But that goes through four rounds of color correcting. Let's say.

[Interviewer / Host]

Wow.

[Annie Kelly]

Because we get the art for not Emily, because it came in formed. But if an illustrator delivers art in, say, February, the book will publish the following year. We need a full year from final art to publication to do all of this.

[Interviewer / Host]

Does it ever happen that. I know this happens occasionally for. For authors that something about them is not happy with the way the book turned out? It's an occasional thing. Does it ever happen with you? Is it ever like you've hired this illustrator and the artwork didn't come out exactly what you're dreaming of?

[Annie Kelly]

I'm trying to think. I mean, it has happened that a book has been canceled early on. If it's not working out for whatever reason once it's printed, then that's bad. I know, but I think the key is too, to keep the author involved all the way through. Show Them sketches, like I'm very.

[Interviewer / Host]

You do?

[Annie Kelly]

Yeah. I like the author to know who we're hiring, to illustrate, to approve it. So we know that the author loves the illustrator. And then to see the sketches and give any feedback on the sketches, to see the final art, to see everything before it goes to the printer. So by the time you get the book, it's not a surprise.

[Interviewer / Host]

Oh, wow. Because there's a lot of publishers in the States that keep distance between the author and the illustrator during the book.

[Annie Kelly]

Yeah. I mean, they're not generally in contact with one another, but I do show the author the sketches once. I'm happy with them and the photograph, you know, it's good. It's good. You don't want surprises when you're sending something to the printer.

[Interviewer / Host]

And when the book. At what stage do you give the book up for adoption? You know, goes to marketing, publicity.

[Annie Kelly]

Oh, I never give it up.

[Interviewer / Host]

Really? It's always your baby.

[Annie Kelly]

It's always my baby.

[Interviewer / Host]

How many books have you edited?

[Annie Kelly]

I couldn't tell you, but I probably do 12 a year.

[Interviewer / Host]

And they always remain your babies and you follow them through the. Yeah.

[Annie Kelly]

It is a weird thing when a book actually hits pub date for me because it's just been mine for so long, it feels kind of over, which is weird because it's just the start. You know what I mean?

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah.

[Annie Kelly]

It is a strange feeling for me on pub day.

[Interviewer / Host]

Wow. So how do you feel about Emily? Because it was. You know, it's a book in Israel.

[Annie Kelly]

Right.

[Interviewer / Host]

It's done very well here, done very well there.

[Annie Kelly]

Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

PJ and Israel are giving away 50,000 copies in November.

[Annie Kelly]

Wow. I wonder if PJ will take it in English or is it because they took it?

[Interviewer / Host]

I don't know.

[Annie Kelly]

I'll look into this. I'll look into it, Mel.

[Interviewer / Host]

As the Jews say, it doesn't hurt to ask.

[Annie Kelly]

It doesn't hurt to ask. I'm going to ask, what do you lose? We lose.

[Interviewer / Host]

They'll say no, maybe we'll do another book. But it's done very well in Israel. But you still feel like you feel any differently that you didn't pick or eat or. It's also your baby. Like, for me, it's your baby too, but.

[Annie Kelly]

Oh, yeah, it is. It is my baby. And, you know, look, I have to admit, you know, your publisher in Israel did the work. Really. You know, we just sort of gave it an American audience spin. So I understand that it's. It's their book, but. But I feel very much like she's Mine to.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yes, she is yours, Annie. That's the beauty of Emily.

[Annie Kelly]

That's the beauty you can share.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, she's everybody's, really. So towards the end of our conversation, what I want to ask you is, what advice do you have? Like, you know, I was in purgatory for so many years. You know, we write and we write and I continue to write. And what. You have so much experience, so here's an opportunity to share some. What is the spice that sometimes is missing? What do we have to look for in our own writing? Where do we mess up?

[Annie Kelly]

Oh, I don't think. No messing up. I look for a strong voice that is number one. So have a voice for sure in your book. I read a lot. That feels generic, you know, like, you have. You for sure. You have a voice in Emily. I'm looking for voice, so that's one thing.

[Interviewer / Host]

Well, hold on a second. Hold on a second. If you asked me, what's the voice in Emily? I don't know what the voice is. I don't know what the voice is.

[Annie Kelly]

Yeah, I don't think you have to be able to define it. I just think it's there.

[Interviewer / Host]

Okay. You have to have an identifiable voice.

[Annie Kelly]

Yeah, I look for that. You know, I signed up a book recently where the voice, like, it crackles with energy on the page. You know, sometimes you're just so struck by the voice in a text.

[Interviewer / Host]

Okay.

[Annie Kelly]

And I do look for that.

[Interviewer / Host]

Not generic, not generic.

[Annie Kelly]

Not generic. And like, you know, sometimes it's lyrical, sometimes it's funny. You know, it just needs to stand out in some way, which is not necessarily helpful. But I do look, you know, voice strikes you first, I think. As for me as an editor reading a text, and I think it could be helpful to work with other people. Like, you know, a lot of my authors are in writing groups, and they can identify issues. You know, this. This point doesn't work. This page turn doesn't work. You know, I think that can be very helpful. I think you can look at, you know, what can the illustrations tell here that I don't need to tell? That's very important in a picture book to think about that.

[Interviewer / Host]

Do you like to have a lot of art notes or a few art notes?

[Annie Kelly]

I don't mind art notes, but I often don't send them when I send them to an illustrator for consideration because I want them to imagine their own.

[Interviewer / Host]

Wow.

[Annie Kelly]

I only leave them in if they explain a plot point in the story that you wouldn't otherwise get. But if it's like you know, this should be this. I take it out.

[Interviewer / Host]

Okay, you don't mind them, but you delete them.

[Annie Kelly]

Yes, I don't mind them for, you know, me reading it as an egg.

[Interviewer / Host]

I don't mind if you put pickles in my hamburger. But I'm not eating.

[Annie Kelly]

But I'm not eating them. Yeah, right.

[Interviewer / Host]

What other advice should we. For example, this is another quandary, if that's the word. Should we be writing to a market, a trend?

[Annie Kelly]

No. No, I don't think so. No. Write your story. Write what you want to write. And don't think about that. That's not your job as the writer. I don't think.

[Interviewer / Host]

I think that that's really important advice because we're always told, you know, this is the trend. You know, people aren't publishing dinosaur books. There's too many. Of course they're publishing dinosaur books.

[Annie Kelly]

If it's a great dinosaur book, they're going to publish a dinosaur book. You know, that's the thing. Write what you write and do it really well, and that's all you can do, you know, and someone might pick it up.

[Interviewer / Host]

So, Annie, this has been wonderful. There's probably something I haven't. I haven't asked you anything. If you want to. Maybe something you want to ask me.

[Annie Kelly]

Oh, what do I want to ask you?

[Interviewer / Host]

You've got me.

[Annie Kelly]

What are you working on?

[Interviewer / Host]

Oh, what am I working on now? Oh, my goodness. Like to say that the story I'm working on now. Right now? Yeah, if you want to.

[Annie Kelly]

You want to. You don't have to.

[Interviewer / Host]

No, no. Okay. I mean, I like when people answer my spontaneous questions. You put me on the spot. I'm writing now a story. I don't have the POV fixed yet, but I'm giving a course that starts next week on Songs that Change the World and an academic course at Tel Aviv University. And I started doing research, Songs that Changed the World. Of course, Bach. And then I go back to Martin Luther and Reformation and back to the Gregorians and that. And I went all the way back to the Book of Psalms in the Bible, which are songs that were once sung. We don't know the tune or how they were sung. And I went all the way back to the Torah, the five books of Moses. And then I realized that it's a song. The Torah, the Five books of Moses, was written thousands and thousands of years ago to be chanted, to be sunk. And know to this day, if you go into a synagogue, bar mitzvah, kids around the world are singing the Torah you know, religious people say we're reading the Torah, but we're really singing it. And so I'm writing a story called the Longest Song Around. Ooh. So that's how I'm doing now. Everybody's coming now.

[Annie Kelly]

Everybody knows now. Rose waiting.

[Interviewer / Host]

Oy. An oy vey moment.

[Annie Kelly]

Oy vey.

[Interviewer / Host]

With the name Annie Kelly. You're not the Jewish. I'm assuming. But I am not.

[Annie Kelly]

Well, I do have. My great grandmother was Jewish, so I have one.

[Interviewer / Host]

Really?

[Annie Kelly]

Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

What was her name?

[Annie Kelly]

Her name was Annie Bergman.

[Interviewer / Host]

Wow. That's incredible. So I answered your question. Any other embarrassing questions that you have?

[Annie Kelly]

No, no more embarrassing questions.

[Interviewer / Host]

Okay, listen, we're going to say goodbye to everybody and come back to just you and me to close up. It's been incredible talking to you. Oh, thank you.

[Annie Kelly]

Thank you. It's wonderful.

[Interviewer / Host]

Now, listen, you have changed my life and. Yeah, you have changed my life. You know, what are the chances of this shmo like me, who lives in Israel and had a nice book here to be loved by an executive editor? Penguin Random House.

[Annie Kelly]

Well, it's a phenomenal book, deserving of it, so I can't wait for everyone to fall in love with Emily.

[Interviewer / Host]

I hope so. I really hope so. And I'm going to come to the States to make sure that I've done my part.

[Annie Kelly]

Okay.

[Interviewer / Host]

So it's been awesome talking to Annie Kelly, the executive editor at Random House Studio, which is, of course, part of Penguin Random House. And thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and your humor and your love of children's books.

[Annie Kelly]

Oh, thank you for having me. I really enjoyed this.

[Interviewer / Host]

And we'll go out and come in on the same link. We'll say to everybody.

[Annie Kelly]

So I leave and come back.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah. Without everybody else. And just. I should mention. I should mention I forgot to mention that I'm the host of the Children's Literature Channel, the new books network, which is hosting this. And what else? Emily Sawdor launches in exactly four months.

[Annie Kelly]

February 24th.

[Interviewer / Host]

February 26th. And we'll be there.

[Annie Kelly]

Okay, great.

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