Bologna Preview
BARRY GOLDBLATT
Founder
Barry Goldblatt Literary Agency
My sense of things in the international market is that
everything has gotten harder, especially YA, and there
are far fewer titles selling into translation these days.
There are obviously still big breakout titles, and
always will be, but success in the U.S. doesn’t guarantee any kind of success in international markets. I
think it’s particularly interesting that the reinvigoration of contemporary YA and middle grade has not, at
least for me, been echoed in markets around the world.
As for trends in my own submission box, the big
thing is diversity and [the] #OwnVoices [campaign]—
though I really hate referring to it as a trend, because
it’s more a collective awakening and opening of doors in publishing. I’ve been making
a concerted effort to reach out to marginalized writers, and I’m sure that is impacting
the number who are querying me. We’ve still got a really long way to go, but the
efforts of groups like We Need Diverse Books, and the high-profile successes of authors
like Nicola Yoon, Angie Thomas, Sabaa Tahir, and others feels like it’s not just opening
doors, but smashing down walls.
RACHEL HOROWITZ
Senior scout
Maria B. Campbell Associates
In Frankfurt there were a lot of reimagined fairy tales,
and stories set in space, but we’re seeing a bit less of
those for Bologna. Middle grade adventure series with
a magical element are still evergreen, but the bar is
really high. Licensed properties are very competitive,
especially books based on video games. More and
more foreign publishers are looking at American
graphic novels, specifically ones with strong narratives, and these are translating into film as well. I’ve
been reading a lot of self-published fan fiction, mostly
compulsively readable, guilty pleasure romances—
some quite sexy—for the 18-plus space, or what we
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Middle grade is certainly having its
moment across many territories,
mainly for series but also for the
unique, exquisite standalone, espe-
cially when there is an element of
fantasy or magic involved. —Melissa White,
Folio Literary Management
