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Spotlight Image: HarperCollins Publisher and Vice President Rosemary Brosnan with Heartdrum Author-Curator Cynthia Leitich Smith
On a Wing And A Tear, cover by Natasha Donovan (Heartdrum, Sept. 17, 2024) is described as “a modern folklore story about friendship, embracing the unexpected, and all the overlapping circles that connect us throughout creation.” I invited author Cynthia Leitich Smith and her editor, Rosemary Brosnan, to offer insight on the Heartdrum imprint, their author-editor relationship and tips for cultivating long-term, successful publishing relationships.
Cynthia, first things first, is the title an intentional double entendre? Does “tear” refer to a rip, or a teardrop, or both?
Excellent question! To me, the answer is both, though I defer to each reader on their own preference. The word refers both to the tear in a bat’s wing and to the Trail of Tears or removal of the southeastern tribal Nations from our ancestral lands. The story centers on a Bat with a torn wing, who, while it heals, seeks out the assistance of two contemporary Native kids from Chicago to travel to a traditional ballfield outside Macon, Georgia, near the Ocmulgee Mounds.
This book features Ray and Grampa Halfmoon, characters you created for Indian Shoes (HarperCollins, 2002/Heartdrum 2020, 2021) and who also appeared in Ancestor Approved (Heartdrum 2021). Do you consider this a sequel to Indian Shoes?
Ray and Grampa Halfmoon appear in what I call stories in conversation with one another. They exist in the same fictional world and are populated with recurring characters. In parallel with the MCU or Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s the Cyn Literary Universe.
Though 22 years have passed between the titles in our world, how much time has passed for Ray?
Would you believe three or four? I’m not exactly sure when his birthday is. I should look into that.
As an author, what are the advantages of characters appearing in multiple books? Are there any disadvantages?
It’s an effective way of encouraging readers to keep reading. They’re rewarded by reuniting with characters they already care about. It also allows for deeper, more nuanced storytelling, especially with regard to internal growth and change. It’s a literary choice likewise reflected in writing by fellow Native authors like Louise Erdrich and Eric Gansworth.
I’m not sure what the disadvantages might be except that it’s so reflective of values and a worldview rooted in extended Indigenous community and intergenerational relationships that sometimes it takes non-Native readers an extra beat to process.
On A Wing And A Tear also features Great-grandfather Bat. Is this the first time you’ve written an animal POV character?
Great-grandfather Bat, Gray Squirrel, and a handful of secondary minor characters co-exist along with human characters and a creature long shrouded in hair-raising mystery. It was grand fun writing animal characters, but also a responsibility to do so respectfully. The only other example from my writing would be the Neverbirds in Sisters Of The Neversea, but they only appear for one scene.
How is On a Wing And A Tear similar to your other work? How is it different?
On a Wing And A Tear is contemporary Native fiction, which is a hallmark of my work. It’s perhaps my most humorous and healing story, though it also touches on serious historical and heartfelt themes. It’s different in the nods to traditional storytelling, arguably placing the novel in the modern folklore category.
This book joins more than two dozen other Heartdrum titles, and is one of seven publishing this fall and winter. The imprint seems to be doing very well – lots of awards and “best of” lists. Has it exceeded your expectations?
Yes, and no. Native storytellers-both literary and visual-are the first of this continent and those practices are valued and celebrated by our communities. Once the publishing industry became more open to authentic narratives, I knew that the talent was there. I’m grateful to the creative artists for joining us on this adventure and to all of our young readers and supporters in education, libraries, bookselling, and beyond, including our partner organization We Need Diverse Books.
How has your life changed now that you’re an author/curator?
Much of the same energy that I put into teaching at the Vermont College MFA program now goes into Heartdrum. I miss VCFA, but there are so many wonderful writing teachers who can do that work, and it takes a Native person with hefty industry experience and cross-age-market-and-genre experience to serve as Heartdrum’s author-curator. So, I’d say that it’s much the same, though there are additional elements (like marketing) to consider.
In previous interviews, you’ve talked about how you approached Rosemary Brosnan about starting a Native-focused imprint at HarperCollins. She edited your first book, Jingle Dancer, back in 2000. How has your author-editor relationship evolved over time and what tips do you have for maintaining a successful long-term working relationship?
Trust and respect are foundational.
Rosemary is at the pinnacle of her profession when it comes to skills, but she’s also a lovely human being and I have tremendous faith in her heart and opinions. Working with her continues to be a phenomenal learning experience.
As for tips, prioritize transparency and clear communication. Be candid about your workflow and deadlines. Scheduling of individual titles is a bit more fluid, for example, than scheduling of series.
Recognize that, ultimately, you’re responsible for your writing. If a revision suggestion doesn’t resonate, pause and think through the core story issue it’s addressing. That’s what’s important. Is there another way to revise that will resolve the concern?
That said, when it comes to illustration or marketing or aspects of the process outside your personal responsibility, keep in mind that this is a team process. You want to be honest and forthcoming, but do so with kindness, humility, and gratitude. For example, I would certainly point out a factual error in, say, picture book sketches, but I would also emphasize that I understand that the children’s book illustrator has their own vision for the art and that I deeply appreciate their talent and efforts.
Rosemary and Cynthia, Heartdrum is published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books and includes a writing workshop to encourage manuscript and career development for Indigenous writers. How has that element shaped the Heartdrum list?
CLS: We had a vision for the list going in-contemporary stories, centered on young Native heroes, with a bounty of young-reader appeal. The idea for the intensive was broader, to provide creative and professional developmental opportunities for writers-some of whom might go on to work with us and some of whom might find their publishing home elsewhere.
In fact, we’ve hosted faculty from Native-owened, small presses and Cherokee editor Elise McMullen-Ciotti from Lee & Low. The truth is that we’re not the best fit for a lot of nonfiction or historical fiction writers, but we can offer education, information, and encouragement while pointing them in helpful directions and cheering them on.
That said, through the intensive, we have connected with a number of writers who’ve gone on to join our imprint community.
RB: I think it’s groundbreaking to conduct writing workshops the way we do, and I’m grateful to Cynthia and We Need Diverse Books for this. One of things workshops do is to introduce newer writers to an editor. I think a lot of people think editors are intimidating and unapproachable, so it’s helpful to meet in person! And I really enjoy the workshops-they are always a highlight of my professional year.
Do you think the success of Heartdrum’s list has encouraged other publishers to acquire more books written and illustrated by Native creators?
CLS: I hope so! Indigenous book creators certainly have stories to tell, and it’s impossible for us to publish all of them. We’re stretched pretty far as it is. I also think that the success of fellow authors like Angeline Boulley at Holt, Darcie Little Badger at Levine Querido, and Traci Sorell more broadly has had a positive impact on opening up minds and lists.
Traci not only works with multiple publishers (Kokila, Charlesbridge, and more), she also runs a retreat for Native writers through Highlights.
RB: Absolutely! I have noticed more and more deals being announced for Native-authored books at various publishers, large and small. I like to think that our success has helped other editors make a case for publishing Indigenous writers. And, as Cynthia said, we can’t publish everything. If I could add an eighth day to the week, that would help!
Rosemary, you also edit the Quill Tree imprint. How do the lists complement one another – and how do you manage to do so much? Has your team grown with the success of the imprints?
RB: Quill Tree Books and Heartdrum were launched around the same time: Quill Tree in September 2020 and Heartdrum in January 2021, both during the pandemic. Before launching the imprints, I ran basically the same team of editors at HarperCollins Children’s Books.
The Quill Tree imprint involves my entire team, and all the editors publish into that imprint. There are seven acquiring editors for Quill Tree, including me. I have had a team of eight people for a long time, so that has not changed. We publish for all age groups and in all genres, and we have always included marginalized voices.
Heartdrum books are all edited by me, with the exception of a few books that are edited by Senior Editor Alyssa Miele, who came on board recently. She has been with my group for twelve years, and I trust her completely. I definitely needed some help, as the list has grown larger than Cynthia and I expected. There is so much talent out there!
Rosemary, I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of changes in the publishing landscape over the years. What have been the stand-out changes in the world of children’s-YA publishing? What do you think of them and why?
RB: The field has been evolving ever since I started as an editorial assistant. I’ve gone through a number of “The YA novel is dead/the picture book is dead/middle grade is dead” phases. Of course, all these genres “come back.” We have new readers all the time, as they grow and cycle through the age groups. A few things that have changed publishing are: social media, the ability of authors to reach out to their readers, adults reading YA fiction. It’s easy for any reader to post a review online, and that didn’t used to be the case. That’s great in some aspects and not so great in others, as there is a human being at the other end of the review, who has spent a lot of time writing a book.
One very welcome change has been that there is more diversity in the folks who are working in publishing as well as in those who are published. That was definitely not the case for much of my career, and I spent a lot of time feeling frustrated about the lack of sales and support for BIPOC authors. Fortunately, things have changed. For instance, the sales, publicity, and marketing support we receive for Heartdrum is incredible! Everyone in-house is so happy and excited to be working on the books and to have a hand in their success.
Cynsational Notes
Cynthia Leitich Smith is an acclaimed, NYTimes bestselling author of more than 20 books, winner of the 2024 Southern Miss Medallion for Outstanding Contributions in Children’s Literature, 2024 Texas Literary Hall of Fame inductee, and the 2021 NSK Neustadt Laureate. Reading Rockets named her to its list of 100 Children’s Authors and Illustrators Everyone Should Know.
Her titles include Hearts Unbroken, winner of an American Indian Youth Literature Award; the anthology Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories For Kids, which was an ALA Notable Book and winner of the Reading of the West Book Award; an Indigenous Peter Pan retelling titled Sisters Of The Neversea, which received six starred reviews; and the YA ghost mystery Harvest House, which is one of five Bram Stoker Award® Nominees for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel. Her 2024 middle grade releases are Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem (Blue Stars #1), a Junior Library Guild selection, also by Kekla Magoon and Molly Murakami and a road-trip novel titled On A Wing And A Tear. Both books have received three starred reviews.
Cynthia is also the author-curator of Heartdrum, a Native-focused imprint of HarperCollins and was the inaugural Katherine Paterson Chair at the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program. Cynthia is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and lives in Texas.
Rosemary Brosnan is Vice President and Publisher of the Quill Tree Books and Heartdrum imprints at HarperCollins Children’s Books. Throughout her career, she has been committed to publishing diverse voices.
Authors and illustrators Brosnan has worked with under the Heartdrum imprint include Christine Day (Upper Skagit), Jen Ferguson (Métis), Byron Graves (Ojibwe), Dawn Quigley (Ojibwe), Andrea Rogers (Cherokee), Kim Rogers (Wichita), Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee and Author-Curator of Heartdrum), and Brian Young (Diné).
Other authors Brosnan has published include Elizabeth Acevedo, Kwame Alexander, Ernesto Cisneros, Dhonielle Clayton, Pat Cummings, Saadia Faruqi, Neil Gaiman, Nadia Hashimi, Walter Dean Myers, Jewell Parker Rhodes, Neal Shusterman, Lisa Stringfellow, and Rita Williams-Garcia.
Books she has worked on have won the National Book Award, Newbery Honor, Michael L. Printz Award, Coretta Scott King Award, and the American Indian Library Association Book Award, among others.
Gayleen Rabakukk holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and an undergraduate degree in Journalism from the University of Central Oklahoma. She has published numerous newspaper and magazine articles, and two regional interest books for adults. She is represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management.
She serves as board member for Lago Vista’s Friends of the Library and also leads a book club for young readers at the library. She’s active in Austin SCBWI and has taught creative writing workshops for the Austin Public Library Foundation. She loves inspiring curiosity in young readers through stories of hope and adventure. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.