Editor/Writer Spotlight: Arthur Levine

Book-lover's passion, Emmanuel Querido, Erin Murphy's Dog, and real emotion: Editor and Author Arthur Levine

Photo courtesy Arthur A. Levine

Charlie Barshaw coordinates our regular Writer Spotlight feature and interviews writers of SCBWI-MI. In this piece, meet editor and author Arthur A. Levine, esteemed faculty member of the 2014 Mackinac Island conference.

You said, when you opened shop at Levine Querido that your mission was to be a disruptive force. Disruptive, how? And did your publishing company achieve that goal?

Disruptive? I’m not sure that was my intention. More like Restorative in the sense that I wanted to bring back a way of publishing books that gave primacy to the vision of the editor and that editor’s connection with great authors and artists.  

When I started in the industry it was commonplace for a book-lover’s passion (and editors are book lovers first and foremost) to guide an acquisition; then that editor, along with art directors and designers, would have an intense, joyful period of creative work, bringing a manuscript to fruition. THEN it would be presented to a team of sales and marketing people who could use their skills to reach the biggest market they could.  

Over my decades in publishing I saw that process flipped on its head, then put through a blender, with the company’s creative employees having among the least amount of control or power and decision-making diluted by committees. I’m happy to say that if nothing else, I have achieved my goal of restoring editorial priorities to our work flow.

LQ’s mission is to focus on authors and artists who come from communities that have been historically marginalized and under-represented. And I guess that too could be considered “disruptive” within the context of an industry dominated by corporations controlled by folks responsible only for making money, with little motivation to question what cultural, racial, social biases might be informing their ideas about what “sells”, etc.

Emanuel Querido was a Dutch publisher. In 1943, he and his wife were murdered by Nazis, but his company continued to publish works in his name. Was this legacy part of the reason you joined forces?

Yes, an important part. Querido found a way to publish German writers – Jews, Dissidents, activists – whose work was banned in Germany (sound familiar?). I wanted to honor that legacy, for sure.

But he was also a brilliant publisher, who created the first quality paperback line before Penguin got into the game. His books were known for the quality of their writing AND their production values, things I’m also proud of.  

And I had been a partner of Querido NL for years, translating many of their fine authors. So the collaboration was a natural fit (though we are still very much independent companies.)

You were almost graduated from university when you decided to cast your lot with children’s book publishing. You were a poet, but apparently realized that one doesn’t easily make a living writing poetry. With New York City as your playground and a keen appreciation for show tunes, did you ever consider the stage?

Ha! No, you’re extremely kind, but I never thought I was talented enough to make it that way, or that I had the emotional fortitude to survive the effort.

Heidi Sheffield and Arthur
Photo courtesy Heidi Sheffield

You have a melodious singing voice; many of the attendees from ten years ago still remember you belting out tunes from Broadway musicals. You joined the rag-tag group of children’s book creators of Erin Murphy’s Dog, the band, not the dog. You performed with Mike Jung, Conrad Wesselhoeft, Anne Nesbet, Deborah Underwood, Gia Gordon and Kristin Nitz, with Ruth on harmonica. I’m sure there’s a musical question in there somewhere. The question is: how big a part is music in your life?

I will say that being part of Erin Murphy’s Dog was one of the great joys of my adult life, and I’m so, so sad it’s over.  I still love to sing and will do so at the most casual of invitations. I have developed an auto-immune disease that has stopped me from playing guitar (the instrument of my adulthood) but I still hope that someday I’ll be well enough to start learning again.

While on a writer retreat, I listened in awe as you read a not-quite-final draft of WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING. There was not a dry eye in the room of hardened picture book pros when you finished reading. That story had a special significance for you. Please tell us about it.

It was a way for me to process the “long goodbye” I had with my dad who, because of dementia, gradually left behind his brilliant mind, his affability, his joie di vivre, and everything that made him who he was. 

In his last months he couldn’t converse with me, but if I sang a line from a show tune, his face would light up and he would sing the next line! It was his last hold on communication before even that lost strength.  So I did what authors do…and I wrote a book about it.

I had no idea you had written and published so many titles! But even legendary editors get rejected. You said some rejections were so ham-handed that you resolved to change the way you dealt out a “no.” What did you learn from the other side of the desk?

Well, I think over time as a writer and an editor I learned to understand the process of manuscript submissions in more depth and nuance. 

Think about it this way: A publisher’s job looks to the Present (books that are under contract, with deadlines set, that must be edited, crafted, art directed, etc) the Near Future (books about to be sold and marketed to the sales force, presented at conferences, etc) the Past (books that you’ve published, whose growth in the market you want to encourage) and the Future (books you seek in order to build the legacy and finances of your Publishing and make the world a better place.)   The only part of that concerning submissions is the “Future”. And it’s crucial! 

But the time for it is limited. So imagine how difficult it is to get the time to read, and to craft a rejection letter that says something meaningful and careful.  Nearly impossible. So I definitely don’t take it personally any more if someone just says, “Hey I was glad to read this but it's not a yes.”

The sensitivity read is now an essential publishing function. How do you use sensitivity readers at Levine/Querido?

View from the LQ office
courtesy Arthur Levine

Sensitivity readers (we now are more likely to call them “accuracy” readers) enable us to get a perspective that isn’t our own.  It’s actually more difficult to afford when you’re a small independent. But it hasn’t lost its importance.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is under fire, but that’s pretty much your company’s whole thing. You’re in liberal New York, but you have reach worldwide. Optimistic or pessimistic for the U.S. and the world as a whole?

Well, I’m not actually in New York, I’m in New Jersey. And the great thing about LQ is that “DEI” isn’t a do-goody, political statement to us. We believe in the literary power, beauty, and meaning we access by not limiting our output to what has historically been determined to be mainstream.

More than once you mention friendship as your goal in editing. How does that work in the cut throat business of publishing?

I think what you’re referring to is that I liken the necessary skills and sensitivity it takes to be a good friend, with the ones that make for being a good editor.  Real listening. Honesty. Tact. Having the other’s best interests at heart. 

I’m not sure I’d agree with an assessment of the publishing industry as “cut throat” in any case, in the sense that publishers focus on competing with each other. Truly the adversaries in this world are those who ban books and the social constructions that devalue books and reading.

How do you balance editing 8-10 books a year with all the varying schedules and challenges associated with running an indie publishing house?

It’s pretty tough, I won’t lie. But what saves me is the sense that so much more of what I spend time and effort on, as an Independent Publisher, is in the service of work I feel passionate about.

Questions from Ruth:

Arthur selfie
courtesy Arthur Levine

What do you recommend writers do to be heard and connect in these days of disjointed social media?

I’d say don’t try to be everywhere. Pick a forum that feels fun and comfortable; for instance, you, Ruth, are an artist and you like to communicate through imagery; maybe Instagram is your go-to, and you seek out others whose work you enjoy and who enjoy your work.  

Find community where the connection is genuine (as opposed to “HEY, I WROTE A BOOK, PAY ATTENTION TO ME) and grow from there.

Do you have a critique group? Who do you show your freshly-written work to?

I do not. Perhaps I should!

Ruth says you addressed illustrators national SCBWI conferences, advising them on what works and why. Do you have any advice specifically for illustrators in today’s competitive market?

First of all, I’d like to say that “today’s” is redundant. It’s always been competitive and it always will be.  

I can just say that what I look for in art is an ability to communicate real emotion that seems genuine however the style. Work on that. And please stop the Pixar imitation! LOL

From Ruth's sketchbook 2014
courtesy Ruth McNally Barshaw
http://www.ruthexpress.com