In a live School Library Journal webcast, Lowry, a two-time Newbery-Medal winner and author of nearly 40 novels, recalled how her young readers were hungering for more closure. “From the letters I got, I realized kids didn’t like that open ending,” Lowry said during the November 7 event, Lois Lowry LIVE!, hosted by the Maurice J. Tobin K–8 School in Massachusetts. Horn Book editor in chief Roger Sutton moderated the talk and described The Giver as having “the most famous open ending in children’s book history.”

Lowry recalled, “I would write back and say, ‘You have to use your imagination,’ and they didn’t like that.”

Six years later, while writing Gathering Blue (Houghton Mifflin, 2000), it occurred to Lowry that she “could answer the questions students had been asking” about Jonas and Gabriel. She hadn’t intended Gathering Blue as a sequel to The Giver, though the books took place in the same dystopian world. Lowry left a hint in Gathering Blue to reassure readers of The Giver that the boys were all right.

After she completed Gathering Blue, Lowry couldn’t get one of the characters, Matt, out of her head. She decided to write another novel focusing on him.

That book, Messenger (Houghton Mifflin, 2004) also featured Jonas, with brief references to Gabriel. Readers continued writing to Lowry, expressing their concern for the baby. “I had a little form reply that said, ‘Go back and read page 17 of Messenger,’ but that was not enough for those readers,” Lowry said.

Lowry began writing Son (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012) with the intent of focusing on Gabriel. However, the character-driven author realized that she was also interested in Gabriel’s mother, Claire, an adolescent character given the job of “birth mother” in The Giver.

In addition to bringing together the fates of the characters in the previous three novels, Son was an opportunity for Lowry to reflect on her own experience of childbirth, motherhood and career. “I had four children one after another, and I liked having those babies, but I had other things to do, too,” she told the audience.

Lowry also said that she doesn’t try to write books with moral messages. “When you finish the book or the story, if you’ve learned something, then that comes from you. It doesn’t come from me.”

However, Lowry believes that “The Giver Quartet” conveys that political power “can be misused,” and that “we must be very careful about who we choose to be our leaders.”

Lowry’s talk was sponsored by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and School Library Journal and will be archived for on-demand viewing.

Sponsored by the online journal Publishing Perspectives, the May 31 gathering drew more than 200 agents, authors, and children’s and YA editors to talk about the latest trends in children’s publishing.

Roger Sutton, editor-in-chief of The Horn Book and a speaker on the panel “Trends vs. Tradition: The Present and Future of YA and Children’s Books,” opened the conference, saying he’s noticed two recent trends in the YA scene: a proliferation of series hitting the market and more “hook-heavy” commercial books geared toward teen girls. David Levithan, a YA author and Scholastic’s executive editorial director, says that “great books create the trend.”

Sutton says he sees no immediate threat to ebooks taking over demand for picture books in print. Levithan adds that when it comes to novels, it’s the story that ultimately sells the book, not the format.

Peter Brown & John Rocco

Moderator Jenny Brown, creator of the kidlit website Twenty by Jenny and frequent contributor to SLJ, asked panelists how libraries will manage in this age of ebooks.
Peter Brown & John Rocco

“I think they’ll have to work harder,” Sutton says, adding that he’s a bit worried. “We’re becoming more and more alone in our consumption.” Pamela Paul, the children’s book editor at the New York Times Book Review, says she finds shorter library hours and the closing of bookstores a challenge.

What makes a great book? In his opening address, Edward Nawotka, Publishing Perspective’s editor-in-chief, says “‘Great’ is a word that captures the sheer enthusiasm of falling in love with a book.” Scholastic’s President and CEO Richard Robinson says there are five ingredients that must go into a great book: simple, clear, and original ideas; a connection with readers; humor; a story that evokes an emotional response; and one that makes the world seem full of possibilities.

Top children’s book agents Ken Wright, Rosemary Stimola, and Erica Rand Silverman who sat on the panel, “Blockbusters, Bestsellers, and Everything in Between: Agenting Children’s Books,” voiced their grievances about negotiating contracts in an age where technology has disrupted the traditional publishing model and shared anecdotes about representing their clients. Stimola, who represents author Suzanne Collins, says, “You start with shepherding an author, which may evolve into shepherding a blockbuster.”

Kevin O’Connor, director of public relations for Barnes & Noble NOOK Kids; Jacob Lewis, co-founder and CEO of Figment; and Paula K. Allen, senior vice president of Nickelodeon Global Publishing spoke on the “Born Digital, Buy Digital: Sales, Publishing and Community Building for the New Generation” panel about how current and new generations will approach technology. Lewis says “how we perceive a technological world” is what separates digital natives from digital immigrants, adding that teens are a creative and voracious bunch when it comes to online content creation and consumption. Figment, an online community for teens to share their writing, has more than 100,000 users.

Dennis Abrams, Beth Kephart, Raina Telgemeier, Peter Brown, & John Rocco

Authors Peter Brown, Beth Kephart, John Rocco, and Raina Telgemeier offered advice and insight to the profession in “Author, Author!: Building a Career, Connecting with Kids, and Standing out from the Crowd.” Rocco says librarians are key to introducing readers to his books. “I’ll talk to a lot of librarians—they’re the ones that get books in kids’ hands.”

As for what makes a book great, Telgemeir says, it’s impossible to quantify. “For me, it’s an emotion.” Rocco echoed her sentiment, saying “I find that’s like asking what makes air great. We have to have them.”

SLJ was a media partner of the conference.