An Interview with Publishing & Writing Alum Emily Hutton
This blog post features an interview with Emily Hutton, an alum of the Emerson College Writing and Publishing program. Emily is currently working as Director of Children’s Sales at Simon & Schuster. She talked with us about her experiences at Emerson, her career in children’s publishing, and how to make the most of Emerson Grad Programs.
What Led You to Emerson College?
Emily Hutton’s journey into children’s book publishing wasn’t straightforward. After earning a bachelor’s degree in English from Kenyon College, she felt somewhat burnt out from being in school and decided to take a gap year. During that year, she took a position teaching English overseas in Italy. She thought she would be there for one year but stayed for five years.
Hutton says it wasn’t clear which direction she wanted to go but she began investigating graduate schools and was visiting Boston. She hadn’t planned on visiting Emerson College, but when she did it helped make the path clearer for her. “I actually met with John Rodzvilla, an Assistant Professor for Emerson’s Writing Literature and Publishing department, and he just kind of sold me on the program because I wasn’t sure necessarily that straight-up journalism was where I wanted to go, but I knew I wanted to be in the world of writing in some capacity, and more and more the publishing world became of interest.”
Once she enrolled in Emerson’s Publishing and Writing program, Hutton thought she might want to be in the editorial end of publishing. However, when she took a class called Publishing Marketing and Sales, it changed her trajectory. While interning at Candlewick Press, her interest in the marketing and sales side of the industry was sparked. She also realized she loved children’s publishing. These experiences made her path clear and led her to her current role as Director for Children’s Sales for Simon & Schuster.
What do you like about working in the Children’s Publishing World?
Hutton loves collaborating with indie booksellers in her current role as Director of Children’s Sales. It not only fulfills her love of books, but she enjoys working in a collaborative environment and fostering the strong relationships she’s built with independent booksellers. While she still likes to write creatively, she finds fulfillment in incorporating writing into her job. For example, Hutton regularly writes a newsletter that she sends out to indie publishers, children’s authors, and other industry insiders.
She credits the mentors she worked with in her first job as an assistant to the Children’s Sales National Account team at Macmillan for giving her firsthand experience working in the publishing industry. She feels lucky to have amazing mentors who gave her first-hand experiences in the field, such as presenting at Scholastic book selection events and other national bookseller events.
While working at Macmillan, she saw a Children’s Field Sales Manager position at Simon & Schuster and decided to apply. This move changed her career path. She soon found herself rising the ranks in the world of children’s book sales at Simon & Schuster. “I truly think it was serendipitous because I was hired as a manager, and in a few years, I became an associate director, and in a few years after that I became full director,” Hutton says.
How are you and your company dealing with the book bans happening throughout the country?
Independent bookstores are safe havens for readers to be themselves and to open their minds. It’s vitally important to get books into the hands of children who can see themselves reflected in the stories. Hutton credits the indie book world with being willing to stand up for books and making books available to everyone.
She says that Simon & Schuster is planning to release a special edition of a picture book often put on banned books lists. And Tango Makes Three will release in the fall and help children learn about banned and challenged books.
She says, “For me that is the most powerful thing. Getting these books to kids that teach them to have empathy, to include and accept and, above all, to see themselves in these books, because if they don’t see themselves reflected in media it takes a toll on somebody’s sense of self-worth and self-esteem.”
What advice do you have for aspiring Publishing Professionals?
Hutton says, “Go into everything with an open mind and try everything.” She thinks it’s important to look for professors with experience in your areas of interest. Hutton also suggests that students enroll in a variety of course subjects. “What I liked about Emerson was that I felt like I dipped my feet into every basket before I ultimately wound up where I am. I took a column writing class that was awesome and I was able to take a nonfiction writing class.”
She feels students must take advantage of internship opportunities in the Boston area publishing scene. Internships can give a student industry knowledge and experience. Completing a variety of classes and internships will help you build connections within the industry you want to work in.
Students should be open to exploring different areas within publishing and not be afraid to deviate from their initial plans. Finally, she advises that you start wherever you can. “You never know where it’s going to lead.”
Is there a specific project you worked on, or a book you are proud of, that you still think about?
Some of Hutton’s favorite projects are those that let her connect directly with booksellers.
Hutton says she loves the twice-a-year event called “Indies Introduce.” At “Indies Introduce,” Simon & Schuster submits manuscripts from debut authors to a panel of ten booksellers. When an author gets selected, she witnesses the book’s grassroot support turn into bookseller support. Often, this support from booksellers follows the author for the rest of their career. Hutton has watched mid-list debut authors go on to be major marketing-focus authors with cult followings for their subsequent titles!
Finally, Hutton wanted to share an anecdote from working with an indie bookstore called The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, NC. The bookstore hosted a school event with one of the publisher’s biggest authors, Jason Reynolds. At the event, one of the students attending was transformed by meeting Jason. His parents were in jail, he was uninterested in schoolwork, and he had a very bleak outlook on his future.
But after attending Jason’s event and taking a picture with him, he was empowered to read all of Jason’s books. As the student continued reading, his outlook changed. Hutton worked with the hosting bookseller and editor to get Jason Reynolds to sign the photo they took together and send it to the young student. A couple of years later when Hutton ran into the bookseller, she shared a report from the student’s principal that said since that experience, the student had become a star pupil, joined the wrestling team, and was starting to apply to college!
What are some of your favorite children’s books?
“Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird, Illustrated by Helen Craig. These books were out of print, so I was so excited when we bought the license and brought them back into print! I also fangirled over Katharine Holabird when she came into the office.”
Hutton also loves Ocean Meets Sky by the Fan Brothers (picture book) and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. She says she was stoked when she started working at Simon & Schuster and realized they published it!
Emily Hutton’s success in the world of publishing after graduating from the Emerson Master’s program in Publishing and Writing is a testament not only to her talent and hard work but also to the importance of finding the right program and working with people who can help along the path to education and career success.
To connect with Emily, visit her LinkedIn page. To stay up to date with the world of children’s publishing sign up for the Simon & Schuster bi-weekly newsletter.
For more information about Emerson’s Publishing and Writing MA, visit the program website or schedule a call with an admissions counselor. To read more success stories from Emerson alumni, be sure to check out the Alumni page on our blog.
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