In April 2020, about five months after my submission, Barefoot Books made an offer! And because I had an agent by then, she was able to handle the negotiations for me. Within hours, Red Fox Literary requested more manuscripts, and I signed with Jennie Kendrick in January 2020. In November 2019, I queried a dream agency that was closed to submissions by using a special link provided to some attendees at the August 2019 SCBWI L.A. I received a like from a Barefoot Books editor during the October 2019 #DVpit and submitted my manuscript. #DVpit, a Twitter pitch party for marginalized and underrepresented creators, was instrumental in helping me showcase Whole Whale. Getting an agent and getting a book offer happened in parallel. What was your journey to becoming a published author? So when “whole whale” lodged in my noggin, I knew there was a story in there about the largest mammal in the history of our planet desperate to squeeze into someplace small. At the time, I had one picture book manuscript under my belt-a hilarious meta story about unicorns, (someone please buy it!) and my brain was on the lookout for new ideas.

Karen Yin: I woke up one morning with the words “whole whale” swimming through my head, and I was extremely taken with the wordplay. There’s counting and rhyme and wonderful illustrations.Ĭarol Gordon Ekster: Karen, can you tell us the story behind this story? It’s a simple story of animals making space for each other, with a larger theme of fitting in. But her debut picture book, Whole Whale, with Barefoot Books, illustrated by Nelleke Verhoeff, came out this May. Karen Yin is in my picture book marketing group for 2022.

Whole Whale by Karen Yin