Running, reading, Beverly Cleary, no computers, book design, and collectibles: Editor Christy Ottaviano
Charlie Barshaw coordinates our regular Writer Spotlight feature and interviews writers of SCBWI-MI. In this piece, meet Editor Christy Ottaviano, esteemed faculty member of the 2014 Mackinac Island conference.
You’ve always been a runner, and you’re still running. How
have you changed your routine from 2014 until now?
Running has been an integral part of my life. I run about four days a week and have
recently upped my mileage to 20-25 miles per week. Running is when I do my best
thinking.
I also love to swim (usually twice a week) and I play lots of tennis,
paddle tennis, and pickle ball. I’m very
active. I especially love to run when travelling.
I recently visited San Juan, Puerto Rico and couldn’t get over how many runners were on the roads thanks to
a central running/bike path the city recently created.
I love that many US cities are rebuilding
their waterfronts and adding pedestrian pathways to accommodate runners,
walkers, and bikers. This is a wonderful initiative that benefits us all.
You’ve been a voracious reader your whole life. What was the
book you first loved? What’s the best part of reading?
I am the third of four children and inherited my older siblings’
books which were love-worn by the time they reached me. I grew up on a healthy
diet of Golden Books (by Mary Blair, Richard Scarry, and Eloise Wilken) as well
as the books that were part of the Parents Magazine Book Club as we were
subscribers in the 1960s and 70s.
That curated club introduced me to the work
of Margaret Bloy Graham, Arnold Lobel, Virginia Lee Burton, and JP Miller. I still own these books and return to them
often as I learned so much about storytelling, design, and illustration just by
reading them over and over. The first
book I was able to read by myself was a joke book called Animal Riddles
written by Bennet Cerf (one of the co-founders of Random House) and illustrated
by Roy McKie.
Growing up in a house of readers, there must have been books
everywhere. Where did you keep your TBR pile?
My books felt like close friends, and I treasured them
from a young age. My mother often
purchased the books I would check out of the library again and again.
Another great memory is participating in our
summer library readathon – I loved going to the library every week to take out
more books in the hope of reading 20 novels by the end of the summer (I always
succeeded!).
There was one very special
summer where my goal was to read all of Beverly Cleary. I packed my camp trunk with about 15 of her
books and returned two weeks later with all of them read.
Laurie Keller tells the story of how she, a young artist
from the Midwest, went knocking on the doors of NYC publishers. Some of them
even talked to her, and she left her artwork and her manuscript for The Scrambled States of America at your workplace. And the rest is history. She
said you two have the same sense of humor. What’s funny to you?
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Laurie and Christy's
daughter Elena |
Laurie is one of the smartest and funniest creators I
have ever worked with. Laurie is a genius at creating humor both through story
and artwork. Her brand of humor is both clever and silly, and above all, always
kid friendly. We both have a wacky side
and have always clicked on humor. On a regular basis, we send each other funny
photos, bits, and clips through our phones– it keeps us laughing and
inspired. She is a dear friend.
You’ve worked with some of the biggest names in children’s
literature. You could write a book with all the stories you could tell. No,
seriously, write that book. Care to share an interaction that made you smile?
Around fifteen years ago I published a powerful novel
by Marsha Hayles called Breathing Room, about a group of twelve-year-old
girls living in a sanatorium recovering from tuberculosis during WWII.
Recently a college student got in touch with
me about it – she said it was a formative book during her tween years and she
wanted to learn more about my role in bringing it to publication.
That was a few years ago and that college
student is now entering the publishing world as an editorial assistant. As much as I love nurturing writers, I also
love offering mentorship to aspiring editors as it brings the editor cycle full
circle and helps pay it forward.
I interviewed editor Arthur Levine, who has two handfuls of
picture book titles he wrote. Have you written a manuscript you’re shopping
around? Are you a closet writer?
I’m passionate about helping authors and artists create
the best books they can; I also enjoy pitching ideas to authors and artists when
I think an idea for a story might be in their wheelhouse.
In my free time what I love to do is make
art. I love printmaking – both gel-plate
printing and linocut printing. I find
the printmaking process incredibly creative.
Veteran book people who’ve been in the industry for decades,
have seen decades full of technological innovation. What was your first day at
Henry Holt like? Was there lots and lots of paper?
 |
| Henry Holt, 1992 |
I didn’t have a computer in 1992 when I started at Henry
Holt. Assistants worked on typewriters
with carbon!
But within a year that changed
and computers were introduced. By the end of the decade we were all on email
and sending attachments.
It’s amazing to
see how far tech has come in the last 30 years.
We can now make books digitally which proved to be very important during
the pandemic when we all had to work remotely and not rely on shipping.
You took graduate level art classes, and with your voracious
book habits, you certainly experienced lots of amazing children’s book art. How
involved are you in the design and feel of a book? Do you dabble in any art
yourself?
I am completely involved in the design and art direction
of all my books – it is one of the main reasons why I feel I was given my own
imprint.
I have a strong vision for what
I want the books on my list to look like and I work together with the author
and illustrator and the designer and art director in achieving that
vision.
I’m involved in every aspect
from editing the text and providing art direction notes on the sketches and
overall layout, to deciding on trim size, choosing the paper stock and specs –
I am fully immersed in the overall aesthetic of my list.
As much as you love (and depend on) reading, do you ever
worry that you’re Burgess Meredith in that Twilight Zone story that ends with
broken glasses? As a fellow glasses wearer, how do you protect your invaluable
sight?
I love the Twilight Zone and especially that
episode! I must have a dozen pairs of
readers in different colors to match my outfits, so taking care of my eyes (and
being fashionable while I’m doing that!) is important.
I find reading a traditional book rather than reading on screen
is easier on my eyes and also just more pleasurable.
In grad school you took a job in an antiques store, and
you’ve been hooked on collectibles ever since. What’s your collection look
like?
I have too many collections to enumerate (it’s a bit of
a space problem). During the pandemic I
posted about them on the Instagram account: Vintage Kitchen Cupboard -- for
anyone who is interested: https://www.instagram.com/vintage.kitchen.cupboard/. There is a big community of vintage lovers
out there!
What’s on the horizon for Christy Ottaviano Books? How about
you, personally?
 |
| Kristy and Jess |
I’ve now been with Little, Brown/Hachette Book Group for
four years (having moved over from Macmillan during the pandemic). Together
with Senior Editor Jessica Anderson, I love being part of such a stellar team
across all the departments; it’s an amazing group. We have many inspiring books on the horizon
that I’m eager for readers to discover.
Please check out both the imprint Instagram as well as Little, Brown’s Instagram to hear more about these wonderful books.
To close out the series on the Mackinac Island conference 2014, here are Christy's memories: (for other pieces on the 2014 conference, see HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.)
What do you
remember about the trip to Mackinac Island 2014, and/or the return trip home?
 |
| Laurie and Christy |
I was
excited to come to the conference as I had never been to the Upper Peninsula
and the Mackinac setting seemed idyllic.
I took two planes to get to Michigan from Connecticut and then met
Laurie Keller in Grand Rapids. We drove around
five hours to get to the ferry. We had a wonderful time catching up, stopping
for food, and talking about Laurie’s upcoming books. The drive was beautiful,
and it was a lovely road trip.
Had you been
to Mackinac Island before? What was your initial impression?
It was
my first (and still only) time at Mackinac Island. I thought it was such a special place and a
truly peaceful setting that had an old-world charm to it. As a child, my family vacationed in the
summers on Fire Island (off Long Island, NY) and Fire Island also did not
permit cars. As kids we rode our bikes
all over the island; I have so many fond memories of those days. Mackinac reminded me of that childhood
nostalgia.
 |
| Leslie Helakoski, Arthur Levine and Christy Ottaviano |
Any of the
presenters or presentations leave an indelible mark on you?I loved
hearing all the presenters -- such a terrific range of speakers, and I enjoyed
learning about their creative styles and processes. I especially enjoyed Candace Fleming’s
presentation as I publish a good deal of nonfiction and was interested in her elaborate
research process when taking on a challenging historical topic.
Did you get
a chance to sightsee? What did you seek out? What did you stumble upon?
I
specifically remember a three mile run around the island with creator Deb Pilutti. We are both runners and Deb was
familiar with the island, so she took us on a scenic run along the water. We had
a chance to chat about life and, of course, the book she was working on for me
at that time.
Any
interactions with faculty or fellow attendees that stood out?
I
remember having a chance to sit down with Arthur Levine one evening and comparing
notes on our lives in publishing at that point in time. We talked about the industry and the
companies we were working for then. It’s always therapeutic to talk with a
publishing colleague and conferences are a great place to do that.
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| Photo courtesy Anita Pazner |
What do you
remember about the ferries? The horse-drawn wagons? The bicycles?I
remember that it took me six separate modes of transportation to finally get to
Mackinac:
Car to airport (CT to NYC) to plane 1 (NYC to Detroit) to plane 2 (Detroit to Grand Rapids) to Car to UP (with Laurie Keller) to Ferry to Island to Carriage to Hotel.
Quite a
journey but very much worth it!
Please share any social media you care to.
HBG Website ⏐ Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/littlebrownyoungreaders/?hl=en
Christy Ottaviano Website:
http://christyottaviano.com/
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