Bloomsbury Children’s Books Senior Editor Mary Kate Castellani is coming to our meeting next week! Here’s what she has to say about those dratted editorial letters, her vicarious green thumb, and her snack habits. Be sure to come next Wednesday, April 20 at 7pm to hear our extraordinary panel of special guests, which also includes Joy Chu and Caroline Abbey.
1. Do you have favorite reading treats: sweet or savory? Caff or decaf?
I love coffee and I love sweets! But my go-to editing snack is
homemade popcorn… I make it with salt and chili powder. A big bowl can
get me through at least one chapter!
2. When it comes to your own reading (if there is such a thing), what non-kid lit genre would you reach for?
When not reading for work, I love narrative nonfiction and historical fiction. I immediately purchase any new book in the
Maisie Dobbs series and any new book by Erik Larson.
3. Baking, cooking, takeout, or gardening?
I
really enjoy both baking and cooking, and I have a growing cookbook
collection that makes me so happy. My husband and I also love to go to
our local diner at the end of a long, busy week.
I live in an apartment in the city, so my green thumb is seriously
lacking, but I love being in Central Park, where there are so many
beautiful trees and gardens!
4. What is the best approach a writer can take to editorial notes and not freak out? Any advice?
Every time I send an editorial letter—especially if it’s a long,
involved one—I think about how I would probably want to crawl into
a hole if I received my letter. I would say that taking
time to process things and giving yourself the room to feel the range of
emotions… from fear to frustration to excitement. Spend time thinking
and processing before you even turn your computer
on. Taking care of yourself emotionally as you go through the revision
process is important! Which, in my opinion, means having lots of
chocolate!
5. What are the three children’s books you most related to as a young reader? What one book do you wish was written back then?
I absolutely adored the Little House on the Prairie books—that’s the series that fed my voracious reading
in a way that turned me into a lifelong reader. Where the Red Fern Grows
was also very special to me because it was the first time I cried while
reading a book—I didn’t know that was possible at the time and it has
happened many,
many times since. I also remember Shabanu Daughter of the Wind so
vividly because it opened my eyes to a culture beyond my own, that I
didn’t even know existed! (This was before the internet!) I can’t think
of a book I wished for… I was very fortunate
in that my experiences were extremely well-represented, and so that has
informed my work as an editor, trying to be sure that we are publishing
stories of all varieties for kids today.