Writing for Children and Young Adults Career Panel
Written by Jude Singer
When I, a first year student in the New School MFA program, stepped into the Writing for Children and Young Adults career panel on September 30th, my morale was low. Since June, I had applied for 79 jobs, been offered two first-round interviews, received a stunning 18 rejections, and was still waiting to hear back from the rest. Moderated by Professor Andrea Davis Pinkney, the panel featured four alumni who had all managed to successfully scramble their way to prime positions in publishing: Sally Deen (‘24), a marketing contractor at MacMillan; Max Fisher (‘23) with his YA novel in verse The Unpoetic Life of August Grey debuting in summer 2026 via Scholastic; Meghan McCullough (‘19), an editor at Bloomsbury Children’s Books; and Cody Tigue (‘23), a school and library marketing assistant at Penguin Young Readers. These accomplished alumni told us about their work, shared how they got in the door, and gave advice for navigating the seemingly endless application cycle.
When Deen began planning for life after her MFA, she intended to get a full time job directly out of school. When that didn’t happen, she invested her time in internships that helped her navigate the complicated sector of the publishing industry. They also helped Deen determine which division of publishing most appealed to her ( tip from the panel: editorial can be oversaturated, so if you’re interested in a non-editorial division, lean into it!). Andrea Davis Pinkney followed up on this, providing a quick rule of thumb: get your body in the building! Even if you get an internship in a division you’re not super excited about, take it, and use that opportunity to explore, build connections, and make sure people know your name. Deen encouraged us to “just keep applying”, and warned us that for an application to actually be seen, we need to apply as soon as a position opens. McCullough shared that the industry “ask[s] the world of assistants”, and that her internships helped prepare her to meet intensive demands.
Tigue’s post-grad plans also didn’t go exactly as planned. His most impactful strategy through a harrowing job search process was to focus on building connections within the field—publishing is a “small world”, and his network helped him eventually land his current role at Penguin. McCullough elaborated on the importance of relationships, explaining that it takes a village to create even one novel. The contacts she built helped her establish connections with publicists and marketers, and she’s now better able to advocate for books she loves. She reminded us to infuse our connections with “more humanity than the LinkedIn of it all”—in other words, foster friendships that continue even when you don’t need a favor.
Fisher highlighted getting comfortable with rejection as one of the most significant skills he learned during at TNS. He got used to receiving criticism in workshop, so even when rejections stung, he was able to reframe rejection as not “a no, but a yes for the future”. When he entered the program, he had an agent and was on submission, but ended up writing multiple books, switching agents, and pivoting into a verse novel. He finished his novel in August 2024, and received an agent offer in October 2024. Fisher had never written in verse before, but urged us to not consider ourselves as one type of author and take the opportunity to try classes across all genres.
Typed in all caps in my notes document are a few quick tips from our panelists, things I didn’t know or was reluctant to do (I’ll spare you the all-caps).
- Struggling with your applications? Post on LinkedIn, twist ‘irrelevant’ experiences towards the publishing industry (Your only previous work is at a summer camp? BAM! You worked with kids and you’re prepared to work in children’s literature!),
- Always use Times New Roman.
- If you want to find an agent or an editor? Scour the acknowledgements in books you love and go to agent panels.
- If you want to transition into writing YA? Read a ton, and also talk to Professor Caron Levis.
For now, I still have 79 yet-to-be successful job applications, and a resounding zero job offers. However, directly after the panel, I opened the Simon & Schuster Summer 2026 Internship application and submitted it just after midnight. Thanks to the wisdom of Deen, Fisher, McCullough, and Tigue (not to mention Andrea Davis Pinkney!), I have far more tools for the climb, and I know I’m not alone on the mountain.