![](\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/642d9169cae8a6572f026ee8\/0ba6e200-5311-4121-9033-34b816679fdf\/unnamed.jpg?format=2500w\")
Welcome to our conversation with Katie Bircher, Associate Agent at Sara Crowe Literary. Katie may be a new agent, but she\u2019s spent years shaping the conversation around picture books. As an editor and reviewer for The Horn Book, she helped define what makes a standout story. She\u2019s also worked as a bookseller, freelance editor, and manuscript evaluator, bringing a wealth of experience to her role as an\u00a0agent.<\/p>\n
Now, as she builds her client list, Katie is shifting from evaluating picture books to championing them\u2014using her deep storytelling instincts to help authors and illustrators create books that resonate. In this interview, we explore her journey from critic to advocate, what makes a picture book stand out in today\u2019s crowded market, and the unique perspective she brings as an agent who has spent years deep in the world of kidlit.<\/p>\n
Learn more about Katie\u00a0here: RVC<\/span>: When you were a kid, what role did books play in your life? Were you a library kid, a bookstore kid, or something else entirely?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: I was a \u201cbooks all the time\u201d kid and would come back from either the library or the used bookstore with a huge stack. I would get in trouble for sneakily reading during class, at the table, or after lights out. I say \u201cget in trouble,\u201d but at one point my parents were hoping to open a children\u2019s bookstore, so I don\u2019t think they were all that mad about it. And clearly I come by my love of kids\u2019 books honestly!<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: Good for you! Now, you studied Children\u2019s Literature at Simmons University<\/a>. What drew you to that, and how did it shape the way you think about picture books?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: I was originally a marine biology major in undergrad, and lasted about a year before my terrible math skills convinced me to switch to English lit. I remember telling my high school English teacher that I changed majors and she just laughed; it was so obviously where I should have been to begin with. Then I found myself reading middle-\u200bgrade and YA<\/span>\u2014especially YA<\/span> fantasy\u2014when I should have been doing my coursework. Eventually I realized I could actually work<\/em> in children\u2019s and YA<\/span> books! I got excited, took a few additional classes in children\u2019s books and child development before I graduated, and applied to Simmons.<\/p>\n The late Susan Bloom<\/a>\u2019s Simmons course on picture books was hugely influential. In one assignment, we read Molly Bang\u2019s invaluable Picture This: How Picture Books Work<\/em><\/a> and created our own limited-\u200bpalette picture books based on the principles in it. (Spoiler: It\u2019s really hard!) In another, we analyzed, in-\u200bdepth, one spread each from one hundred picture books. Her course showed me both how magical the particular picture book alchemy of words and images can be and how deceptively difficult it is to achieve!<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: Sounds terrific!<\/em><\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: Bookstores are great proving ground for kidlit creatives\u2013no doubt about it. When reviewing picture books at The Horn Book, what was your process?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: Read the book many times, including out loud; look carefully at the illustrations; check for any information on the medium; consider whether the endpapers, case, gutters, etc. are used thoughtfully; take copious handwritten notes; type up and organize notes; try to make notes into a coherent review of about 150 words. Then it went on to fact-\u200bchecking and at least one round of revision. Sometimes revising involved talking through what I was trying<\/em> to say with the other editors. Occasionally I would nominate an extra-\u200bspecial book to receive a star, and then it would be read and discussed by the whole\u00a0group.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: Wow, thanks for explaining the process. Did you ever get to be part of the bigger award committees?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: I chaired the Boston Globe\u2013Horn Book Award committee in 2018. Much of that process was similar, but on steroids\u2014and with picture books only one of three categories! I commend and appreciate anyone who serves on book award committees, especially the ones with a ton of members or multi-\u200byear commitments.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: Were there ever books you personally loved but knew wouldn\u2019t work for The Horn Book\u2019s review standards? What makes a book a better fit for some venues than others?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: Yes\u2014it taught me to dig into and articulate why I love a particular book. Is it really exceptionally crafted, or is it just that the book hits a sweet spot where some combination of my favorite topics, tropes, formats, authors, etc., intersect? A funny and sweet picture book about, say, a huggably cute cat character with ADHD<\/span> getting distracted in ballet class (I just made that up) would be super appealing to me personally\u2014but it also has to work in all these other storytelling and structural aspects. There\u2019s also an element of whether a book is needed<\/em>. I might note but give more grace about a structural flaw if a book reaches an underserved audience or authentically showcases an infrequently represented experience, because ultimately the goal is to get kids good books they\u00a0need.<\/p>\n For most of the time I was at The Horn Book I worked on two different print publications: the Magazine<\/em>, which reviews very selectively, and the dearly departed Guide<\/em>, which had a much broader scope, so part of the process was determining whether a book made the cut to be featured in the mag. The 100-\u200byear-\u200bold Magazine<\/em> is so distinct in character from SLJ<\/span><\/em>, the Bulletin<\/em>, Kirkus<\/em>, or even the Guide<\/em>, which have their own strong voices. You have to keep in mind the unique mission and audience of the publication.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: What makes for a REALLY<\/span> great picture book review?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: I love when the review complements the tone of the book itself\u2014a funny review for a funny book, for example.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: What\u2019s one misconception people have about professional book reviews?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: People often find out you work in any kind of book-\u200brelated field and say, \u201cOh, it must be so great to read all day.\u201d While I was at The Horn Book, there was definitely not<\/em> time during the workday to read and write reviews! In addition to everything that goes into publishing a trade magazine and running a website, there\u2019s also a lot of admin and editorial work in selecting and organizing the books, assigning them to reviewers, fact-\u200bchecking and editing reviews, tracking their status\u2026<\/p>\n I think that\u2019s true of the book world generally. In every job I\u2019ve had in books\u2014whether bookselling, working at The Horn Book, editing, or agenting\u2014there\u2019s just too much else to do to get much reading done during office hours. For me a lot of it is done either on the couch with a cat next to me or in the bathtub.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: You\u2019ve worked as a freelance editor for Pippin Properties and Penguin Random House. What was the most rewarding part of that\u00a0work?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: Getting to work on a wide range of manuscripts all over the place in terms of their stages of publication, from proposal to proofreading.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: Picture book texts are deceptively simple. What\u2019s the most common issue you encountered when editing them?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: They have too many words\u2014and\/or they do too much \u201ctelling\u201d without leaving enough room for the illustrator. Many of my suggestions are to move parts of the text into art notes or take them out entirely.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: In your experience, what\u2019s the hardest thing for picture book authors to get\u00a0right?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: I\u2019ve seen a lot of \u201cpicture book\u201d manuscripts that I enjoyed, but didn\u2019t think were really picture books. Just because a story is short, intended for a certain age audience, or illustrated doesn\u2019t necessarily make it a picture book.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: Totally been there. At Bushel &<\/span> Peck, I sometimes have to alert an author that they\u2019re wrong about what they think the manuscript is. Some don\u2019t believe me when I say\u00a0it.<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>:\u00a0I feel the unique magic of picture books is that interplay where neither the text nor the art tells the complete story. I love when you can discover something new on each read. It\u2019s like dance (my other big passion besides books): the music and the movement are each compelling individually, but they come together to make this incredible third thing that\u2019s more than the sum of its\u00a0parts.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: You\u2019ve worked on manuscripts from submission all the way to publication. What\u2019s something about the picture book process that surprises most first-\u200btime authors?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: How long everything takes, especially with picture books! Picture book deals we\u2019re negotiating now are mostly for fall 2027 lists and onward.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: Yep. We\u2019re buying for 2028 now. I wish it weren\u2019t the case! Now, what made you decide that agenting was the right next step in your career?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: Sara starting her own agency in 2023 and asking me to join her! At that point I\u2019d been evaluating submissions and offering editorial suggestions on clients\u2019 projects for about six years as part of my freelance work but had never considered agenting. I didn\u2019t start taking on clients right away, but being invited to be the other half of Sara Crowe Literary is what made me feel like I could make that leap. It was both validating and somewhat daunting! But SCL<\/span> is a great fit for me with my editorial background because Sara is such a hands-\u200bon agent in terms of developing manuscripts and nurturing new authors as they grow in their\u00a0craft.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>:<\/strong> Now that you\u2019ve stepped into agenting, what\u2019s been the most exciting part so far? Anything that\u2019s surprised you?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: It\u2019s so exciting to connect with authors and artists at the beginning of what I believe will be a great career making lots of beautiful books. It\u2019s been surprising how many hats an agent has to\u00a0wear.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: What\u2019s the story behind your first picture book sale as an agent? How did that deal come together?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: I heard my now-\u200bclient Christal Presley<\/a> read a manuscript at a Writing Barn event, requested to see it and any other projects, and then offered representation\u2026and meanwhile, through the same program, editor Carter Hasegawa began mentoring Christal and fell in love with her brilliant PB<\/span> bio about the first women to train in camouflage techniques. We submitted it formally and he offered, so Christal and her book were signed at basically the same\u00a0time!<\/p>\n Hidden Women: How Louise Larned and Rose Stokes Became America\u2019s First Women Camouflage Artists<\/em>, illustrated by\u00a0Ashley Yazdani<\/a>, will be published by Candlewick in fall\u00a02027.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: Congrats! How did it feel when you got the offer? Did it match what you expected from your first deal, or were there surprises?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: It was very low-\u200bkey, and it took a long time for everything to be finalized after the initial flurry of activity. The \u201cchampagne pop\u201d moment\u2014even the moment that it felt like it was really happening\u2014didn\u2019t come until the announcement ran in Publishers Weekly<\/em>.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: Looking back, what\u2019s something you learned from that first sale that will stick with you in your career?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: This is probably clich\u00e9, but: to stop and savor the moment. Fingers crossed, I will be helping many<\/em> clients announce deals in Publishers Weekly<\/em>, and agenting can feel hectic, with a lot of moving parts. I suspect it\u2019s easy to get swept up in the next thing on the endless to-\u200bdo list, but I never want to lose the joy and awe of getting to help bring wonderful books for young readers into the world. It is often such a difficult industry, but it can be so fulfilling too.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: You\u2019ve worked alongside Sara Crowe for years. What have you learned from her about the business side of publishing?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: So <\/em>much of what I\u2019ve learned about agenting has come from shadowing Sara! I admire and aspire to show the kind of support, resiliency, and adaptability she offers clients through the inevitable rejections and challenges.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: What\u2019s a personal \u201cwishlist\u201d item that you\u2019re dying to see in submissions?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: I love nonfiction picture books on fascinating topics that manage to be both informationally accurate and lyrical. It\u2019s a tricky balance to strike. I\u2019d like to see one about Salt<\/a>, matriarch of the humpback whale population in the Gulf of Maine, who has been studied since the 1970s. I don\u2019t know how salable it might be, but recently I\u2019ve also been thinking I\u2019d love to see a biography of the extraordinary medieval abbess, composer, artist, visionary, and saint Hildegard of Bingen<\/a>! She\u2019s so\u00a0cool.<\/p>\n And if anybody does <\/em>have a funny and sweet picture book project about an adorable ADHD<\/span> cat daydreaming in ballet class\u2026well, you know where to find\u00a0me.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: One last question for this part of the interview\u2014what are you most excited about as you continue to build your\u00a0list?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: I can\u2019t wait to share these great books with my nephews and nieces!<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: Alrighty, Katie\u2014it\u2019s time for THE<\/span> SPEED<\/span> ROUND<\/span>! Short questions, snappy answers. Ready?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: Let\u2019s do\u00a0it!<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: Your go-\u200bto coffee shop\u00a0order?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: Vanilla almond milk\u00a0latte.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: Favorite literary cat (other than your own, of course)?<\/em><\/p>\n KB<\/span>: Mogget from Garth Nix\u2019s The Old Kingdom series<\/a>.<\/p>\n RVC<\/span>: What\u2019s a picture book you think deserves its own theme park\u00a0ride?<\/em><\/p>\n
Sara Crowe Literary Website<\/a>
Archive at The Horn\u00a0Book<\/a><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/141\/369968276_f425079263_b.jpg\")
KB<\/span>: I also worked at the (deservedly) famous children\u2019s bookstore Curious George in Cambridge\u2019s Harvard Square for about five years, beginning when I started the Simmons MA<\/span> program. Being surrounded by children\u2019s books and people who LOVE<\/span> them all day is, in itself, a fantastic education. Several of my co-\u200bworkers from that time have gone on to have careers as picture book creators.<\/p>\n![\"About](\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/642d9169cae8a6572f026ee8\/97c410e5-823a-4256-a161-37e95bc54339\/SaraCroweLiterary_Submark_black%402x.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"cat](\"https:\/\/static.vecteezy.com\/system\/resources\/previews\/016\/762\/596\/original\/cat-ballet-dancer-free-vector.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/712EEnRL-mL._SL1431_.jpg\")
<\/a>KB<\/span>: Strollercoaster<\/em><\/a> seems too easy, so\u2026the Best Frints<\/a> series by Antoinette Portis.<\/p>\n