How to Write and Publish Kids Books for Ages 0-12
Columbia University A’Lelia Bundles Community Scholars Lecture
How to Write and Publish Kids Books for Ages 0-12: For Writers, Illustrators, Moms, Dads, Educators, and Anyone Who Was Ever a Kid!
Free and open to the public. Reception to follow.
IN PERSON: The Forum Atrium, Columbia University, 605 West 125th St.
VIRTUAL: Webinar accessible with registration
Presented by the Columbia School of Professional Studies Community Programs and Office of Government and Community Affairs in collaboration with the Forum at Columbia
In this lecture, Bundles Scholar and literary agent Kevin O’Connor will address writing and publishing books for children up to 12-years-old. He will share his extensive experience about the market size. the publishing industry, audience needs, format limitations and pricing. O’Connor will also detail resources for writing and publishing books for children and young adults
Since his first job out of college at Sesame Workshop, O’Connor has always worked at the intersection of business and creative. He has hands-on experience in a variety of media: animation, live action TV, toys, apparel, live shows, music, and educational apps. He’s worked for Fisher-Price, VTech, Kidz Bop, Barnes & Noble, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. He’s inked deals with Chrysler, Nestle, Intel, McDonalds, and all the major publishers. As an agent, O’Connor takes on serious adult nonfiction (Brian McCullough’s How the Internet Happened, Claude Andrew Clegg’s The Black President). On the adult fiction side, he represents the acclaimed SF novelist Colin Winnette (Users). For middlegrade readers, he’s the agent behind the Russell Ginns’s Samantha Spinner series; Cas Hyman’s Mango Delight; and Steven B. Frank’s Armstrong and Charlie. He reps the picturebooks Papa, Daddy & Riley by Seamus Kirst; Honeysmoke by Monique Fields; and A Is for Audra by John Robert Allman, illustrated by Peter Emmerich. A new project by Ziggy Marley will be coming out in Fall 2025. His podcast Writing Gym: What Does a Literary Agent Do? explores what he does and how he does it. He is a Columbia College graduate and the founding director of The Center for Nonfiction, project born out of his time as a Bundles Scholar.
The Columbia University Bundles Community Scholars Program, administered by the Office of Government and Community Affairs and the School of Professional Studies, enables independent scholars to pursue their lifelong learning aspirations, whether it be completing an independent project or attaining skills in a particular area. The program helps to foster and deepen ties between the University and the many independent members of the cultural and intellectual community surrounding it. The program was named in honor of longtime University Trustee A’Lelia Bundles in 2020.
The Forum is a unique community gathering space that serves as the gateway to Columbia University’s developing Manhattanville campus. Open to the entire university as well as the local New York City community, The Forum is a multi-use venue that houses a state-of-the-art auditorium, meeting and event spaces, and communal work areas. This lecture is presented as part of the Conversations at The Forum series.
