What does 2014 hold for graphic novel publisher First Second? I tracked down senior editor Calista Brill and editorial director Mark Seigel to ask.

Travis: Greetings from the Mitten state! How did 2013 go for First Second? Any surprises?

Calista Brill: It was a terrific year, though that’s not really a surprise, given the lineup of books we had. I was pretty wowed by the response to Lucy Knisley’s RELISH (grades 10 and up), but again, when you go into a year cheerfully assuming all your books will will be huge hits, it’s hard to be too surprised when they then…are.

Mark Seigel: 2013 was a watershed year for us; some big sellers, but our proudest success was that the whole list carried the year. Some very new experiments, like RELISH, have helped reach a great many not-yet-comics-readers, and that is an important part of the First Second mission. Other books have broken new ground in new ways, like our #1 New York Times bestseller, BATTLING BOY (grades 5 and up). Its author, Paul Pope, has been a major star in the comics world, but with this, his ambitious, youngest project, he has been embraced by libraries and the mainstream book trade.

Is there a First Second book from 2013 that you felt caught on more than others?

MS: BOXERS & SAINTS (grades 7 and up) has been a magical project from day one. And the magic appears to be contagious: Gene Luen Yang is cementing his place in America’s literary landscape. His second National Book Award nomination, winning the L.A. Times Book Prize, and now a Boston Globe Horn Book Honor place BOXERS & SAINTS among the treasures of literature. Who would have predicted that a two-book boxed set about a Chinese war most of us had never heard of—would get five starred reviews and become a runaway bestseller?

Well, I’ve been waiting 12 months. Last year I asked if there was someone you hoped would make a graphic novel someday and Mark said, and I quote, “Yes! …She’s working on it right now, so mum’s the word.” Can you spill the beans yet?

MS: That must have been Jillian Tamaki. Or maybe it was Rainbow Rowell. Both of them are doing just that, at First Second! Jillian’s project is with her cousin Mariko Tamaki, and it’s out now—it’s beautiful and true and astonishing in every way, and has garnered SIX starred reviews (I didn’t know that was possible.) It’s called THIS ONE SUMMER (grades 7 and up | out now).

Let’s get into the books you have coming out in 2014. Anything for the K-2 (ages 5-7) crowd?

CB: Boy howdy. In the spring we had THE GLORKIAN WARRIOR DELIVERS A PIZZA (grades K-4 | out now), James Kochalka’s finest work to date. You’ve never met a more lovable—or less competent—space explorer than the Glorkian Warrior, I promise you.

MS: THE RETURN OF ZITA THE SPACE GIRL (grades 3-7 | out now) concludes a trilogy beloved everywhere… We get lots of photos of Zita cosplayers—and Ben Hatke is fast becoming a major children’s author. We’re also publishing his first picture book: JULIA’S HOUSE FOR LOST CREATURES (grades K-3 | out September 2), another wondrous thing for the younger set.

How about for upper elementary – grades 3-4 (ages 8-10)?

CB: In the winter we’ve got HIDDEN (grades 1-5 | out now), a story about the Holocaust from a very gentle, very authentic child’s point of view.

MS: Yes, HIDDEN is an amazing work that serves to first broach the conversation about the Holocaust.  With APHRODITE (grades 4-9 | out now), George O’Connor continues to build an indispensable, essential OLYMPIANS series—which a growing army of fans among elementary students, teachers, and Greek myth scholars, because the research is so bona fide thorough!

It’s a tremendous thing that’s unfolding with THE OLYMPIANS. In October, we’ll be releasing a box set of the first six, but ultimately, George O’Connor’s vision is for a set of twelve for each of the major gods.

And one more to mention absolutely: THE STRATFORD ZOO MIDNIGHT REVIEW PRESENTS: MACBETH (grades 2-5 | out September 30).

Ian Lendler and Zack Giallongo take us to the Stratford-on-Avon zoo, and to the performance staged by the animals. The essence of Macbeth’s plot is there to be discovered, but they manage to channel the spirit of the original Muppet Show and it’s just plain hilarious.

Any books for older kids? Grades 5 (age 10) and up?

CB: Let’s talk some more about Zita the Space Girl! Book three of this beloved trilogy is coming out in the Spring, and it’s Zita’s greatest adventure yet. We’re talking prison breaks. We’re talking space whales. We’re talking long-lost friends saving the day. I’m telling you, it’s aces.

And for the Battling Boy fans out there, we’ve got a new book set in the world of Battling Boy! The first of two volumes exploring the backstory of Aurora West (grades 5-12) comes out in the Fall.

What about the little ones (ages 0-4)?

CB: We’ve got three honest-to-gosh picture books coming up, too.

Aron Nels Steinke and Ariel Cohn have created a fantastic magical zoo adventure in THE ZOO BOX (grades K-2 | out September 2).