A Gut Feeling with Jennifer Rofé
- Matthew C. Winner
- 1 day ago
- 22 min read
Jennifer Rofé, senior agent with the Andrew Brown Literary Agency, joins Matthew to talk about growing together and following that gut feeling.
Listen along:
About Andrea Brown Literary Agency:
(from the agency website) The Andrea Brown Literary Agency is a mid-sized agency celebrating thousands of titles sold since our founding in August 1981. We are headquartered in Southern California but we have agents located across the country.
We work to bring to light the voices and perspectives of new writers and artists as well as to nurture and develop the careers of experienced creators. Our goal, whether seeking to secure a publishing contract for a first book or a fiftieth book, is to make sure that clients are not only published, but published well.
Our philosophy is to remain a "small" agency at heart. We invest a great deal of personal care and attention in each project and in each client, and we are hands-on in all aspects of our interactions. We work closely with clients and devise a strategy at every stage of the writing process that is tailored to the client and that will enable us to find the best publisher for each book. In doing so, we think about both short term and long term goals for our clients, always keeping the trajectory of a successful career in mind.
As a West Coast based agency, we follow a tradition of West Coast innovation in our passion for discovering new voices, in our efforts to make New York publishing more accessible and inclusive of voices from other parts of the country, and in our attempt to see publishing trends that result from this broader perspective. We combine this approach with access, standing, and visibility in the publishing community at large.
Our agents have backgrounds in publishing, editing, academia, business, teaching, writing, and marketing, and one of our strengths as an agency is that we work collaboratively and not competitively. Our clients have the benefit not only of their individual agent's expertise but of the combined experience and vision of the group. The agency is well known for its staunch advocacy for book creators, its exceptional care to clients, and its tight-knit team. The company got its start representing children's book authors but now, with 13 agents representing hundreds of creators, the agency's client list spans all categories and genres in both adult and children's literature.
With the personal client attention of a small agency and the business acumen and clout of a larger one, the Andrea Brown Literary Agency brings the best of both worlds to the table.
More:
Visit Jennifer Rofé online at https://www.andreabrownlit.com/Team/jennifer-rof%C3%A9
You can learn more about the Andrea Brown Literary Agency and their clients by visiting www.andreabrownlit.com.
Learn more about Boyds Mills and their upcoming programs by visiting www.boydsmills.org.
Transcript:
NOTE: Transcript created by Descript. I've attempted to clean up any typos, grammatical errors, and formatting errors where possible.
Jen: I think it depends on the client. There are some who come in pretty savvy already because they've been a part of something like SCBWI for a long time, or they have a lot of writer friends. Okay And so they've, they've watched, they've seen, they understand. And then there are some who are really just, really quite green in the industry as a whole, like in the space as a whole.
Matthew: That is the voice of Jennifer Rofé, senior agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
Welcome back to the Children’s Book Podcast, where we celebrate the books and creators who help young readers feel seen, supported, and understood. This episode is brought to you in partnership with Boyds Mills, positively impacting kids by amplifying the voices of storytellers who inspire children to become their best selves.
I’m your host, Matthew Winner—teacher, librarian, writer, and a fan of kids.
Jen has been a literary agent for the past two decades and she represents some of my absolute favorite people working in kidlit. On top of that, she is intentional and generous with her support of emerging writers and illustrators. I think that comes across over and over throughout this conversation
Here are a few of the things I learned in this conversation:
NUMBER ONE: Getting this one out of the way because I feel so absolutely sheepish about it! She represents someone very dear to me who has lots of ties to this podcast and may have even had a direct hand in connecting me with Jen for this conversation. Not sure how I missed that one, but I think it actually ended up making the connection that more sincere.
NUMBER TWO: A large part of Jen’s time is spent chasing money for her clients. Why is this not something that occurred to me about the work of literary agents?! Jen’s constantly following up with publishers to make sure that her clients are getting paid on time. This on top of so many other different jobs that she does simultaneously. That really gave me an appreciation for the work!
And NUMBER THREE: Jen’s approach to representation is one of growing together. She believes that’s a cornerstone of a healthy agent-client relationship and one that requires both parties to really commit to their work and responsibilities in the agreement. And that’s important, too, because you WILL change over the course of your career. We all will.
So, a little about the Andrea Brown Literary Agency from their website:
“The Andrea Brown Literary Agency is a mid-sized agency celebrating thousands of titles sold since our founding in August 1981. We are headquartered in Southern California but we have agents located across the country.
We work to bring to light the voices and perspectives of new writers and artists as well as to nurture and develop the careers of experienced creators. Our goal, whether seeking to secure a publishing contract for a first book or a fiftieth book, is to make sure that clients are not only published, but published well.
Our philosophy is to remain a "small" agency at heart. We invest a great deal of personal care and attention in each project and in each client, and we are hands-on in all aspects of our interactions. We work closely with clients and devise a strategy at every stage of the writing process that is tailored to the client and that will enable us to find the best publisher for each book. In doing so, we think about both short term and long term goals for our clients, always keeping the trajectory of a successful career in mind.”
Ready to explore and to grow together?
Please welcome Jennifer Rofé to the podcast.
Jen: Hi, my name is Jen Rofe, and I am a literary agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
Matthew: Welcome, friend. How are you?
Jen: Thanks so much. I'm doing great. How are you?
Matthew: I'm all right. How long have you been an agent, and also how long have you been with Andrea Brown?
Jen: The answer to both is 20 years.
Matthew: Oh, it's both? Cool.
Jen: Yeah. I started at ABLA, I love it there, and I've never left. I have no desire to leave.
Matthew: Oh, I can't wait to pick your brain more about all of this life then. But- Sure ... first let me ask you, in this very moment that I'm meeting you- Yeah ... Jen, what's giving you hope today?
Jen: Can I take a little time to tell you?
Matthew: Absolutely.
Jen: So [00:01:00] those of us who are working in the kid lit space, w- you know nobody's gonna be surprised to hear that 2025 is a really tough year.
For me it was my least favorite year of agenting since 2008, when the economy completely tanked. It was my worst sales year since 2018, when I was on maternity leave. I couldn't break out some debut middle grade authors who I was really excited about. Getting responses from editors felt impossible. I found myself battling over deal terms that had never been a battle before, and rejections from editors were oftentimes absurd.
I would get rejections like, "This is so funny. Kids will love it. I'm passing." In a nutshell, 2025 was a slog. But around December, I started to feel really excited about 2026, and it didn't make any sense to me. There were absolutely no signs pointing toward be excited, but this feeling just kept persisting.
And even though I didn't understand why I felt this way, I just decided to go with it. I was [00:02:00] like, "Fine, I'm just gonna go with it." And as it turns out, one of the most exciting developments of my career is currently in the works, which I can't talk about yet, and it came as an absolute surprise. That's not to say that other parts of this year so far haven't also been hard.
It's still a tough time in the industry, but that excited feeling that I was having in December, it still persists. And so what is giving me hope right now is hope. Hope is giving me hope.
Matthew: That's terrific to be able to hear- From your experience at least that last year was hard, but things- Yeah ... might be getting better.
Jen: Yeah. I think given- It was hard and I hope things are getting better. Yeah, but given the state of everything going on in the world, period- ... sometimes it can be hard to find hope, it can be hard to see things changing. It's why I started asking that question because it helps to ground us in the present.
Matthew: And it's really great to hear someone pull from the past and be [00:03:00] using it to inform how they're looking at the future. That's lovely.
Jen: Thank you.
Matthew: Yeah. I hope you continue seeing it. I- Thank you ... I was just talking to Sophie Blackall yesterday- ... and Sophie similarly, and I got into this conversation about how sometimes When we can focus our vision on looking for hope we can keep seeing it.
I love that. And the o- the opposite is the same, that if we look for despair, we see it. Yeah. So I'm glad that- Yeah ... I'm glad that you're feeling a wave of it. Jen, I'd love, I know that this is a weird question to ask 'cause I know that it's not, nothing's typical, but can you help me and every other writer and illustrator listening understand a little bit about what a typical day or week looks like for you as a literary agent?
Jen: Sure. So it varies, of course, right? It must. But I suppose a typical day is this is how my mornings start. I wake up around 6:30 and I grab my phone out of my nightstand drawer right away, and I check my email first thing. I know you're not supposed to do this when you first wake up, but I do it-
'cause I'm so [00:04:00] excited to get to work. And what's fun is because I'm on the West Coast, New York publishing has already started. And so right away I can see what's shaking, and it gets me excited to start the day. Oh, wow. So then I do all the morning chaos with my family, and then I probably get to my desk properly around 8:30.
And at that point I'm just dealing with emails. So I have clients cc me on every email with their editors or their art directors, and so oftentimes it's just reading through those emails, filing them away. Other emails might be sub right deals that are coming in and they need to be logged, or maybe there are rejections from editors that need to go to clients.
There are probably manuscripts from clients that I add to my pile. Maybe there's an offer and it's something to start negotiating and get excited about. There's probably royalty statements to review. There's definitely money chasing involved almost every day. Definitely. Really? I'm chasing money all the time.
Matthew: Oh,
Jen: okay. Oh, yeah. Maybe there's a cover to look at, or there might be some kind of book crisis, like an illustrator who's really [00:05:00] late on the arcs, or an author who doesn't like their cover. And at some point I do some reading. I'll email with clients about manuscripts. Maybe I write up a pitch letter. I work on a submission list for a project.
Maybe I send out a submission. I definitely have meetings in there somewhere. And then all throughout all of this, all throughout the day, I am having Slack conversations, text conversations, and phone conversations with my colleagues. So there's a lot of variety- Oh ... which keeps the job fun. But that sort of in a nutshell is what's happening.
I didn't mention contracts. There are contracts in there, too. And somewhere in all of that is the query box
Matthew: And through all this it's also just plate spinning. Not, not-
Jen: Plate spinning ...
Matthew: I don't wanna say putting out fires. That's not, that doesn't sound like the appropriate application of that here.
But just that you have to keep all of those plates going. We have to check the inbox and keep the deals moving and whatever. Do you, how do you figure out... You have a number of clients. Now how, do you know your number of clients currently?
Jen: I do, but I don't ever say.
Matthew: That, that's okay. I guess what I'm [00:06:00] trying to say from a productivity standpoint, I'm a librarian, so I'm constantly spinning plates as well, right?
... Students come to me on a regularly scheduled basis once a week. So I see them, I circulate books, I have to reshelve the books. I have a lot of administrative tasks that happen in the library as well. And trying to find what that rhythm is week to make sure I'm keeping on top of those things is important.
But more of what I guess I'm trying to ask you is how have you been able to determine I can take on another person or my plate is full right now? Does that make sense how I'm trying to ask that?
Jen: Absolutely, and it's a great question. And the way you determine it is, so I have a slate of clients.
And let me just explain too for anyone who's wondering. Oftentimes agents won't say how many clients they have because it can sound scary to other authors. They might say that's just too many. How are they gonna have attention for me?" Or- Oh, okay ... "That's hardly any. Why do they not have very many clients?"
So it can- We project onto you ... it can skew either way. Correct. Sure. So some agents won't say, so I don't say. But what often happens is that clients [00:07:00] end up contracted, and then they are off working for a long time.
Matthew: Yeah.
Jen: And so they're not busy, right? So they are off working maybe a year, maybe two years, depending on what s- what the contract looks like, what the project is.
Some clients just are inactive. They're not working anymore. Maybe they're just very slow. Maybe they're pulling back. W- unknown- Going through life ... whatever. L-
Matthew: unknown.
Jen: Exactly.
Matthew: Yeah.
Jen: An unknown. There comes a point where you can look ahead and say, I'm not
gonna have anything to sell.
I'm not gonna have anything. I need something new, something fresh." Okay. "I have the space now to take someone on." Sometimes you don't have the space, but you love the thing so much that you're gonna make the space for it anyway. But that's a little bit how you determine when you have clients under contracted, under contract and are contracted out for years in advance, okay, I have the space now to- Okay
to bring in more people.
Matthew: And I learned from speaking with so many different authors or whatever too that part of this is if you're an individual who doesn't have [00:08:00] anything published yet, That process might look different than someone who is maybe more established and has started working directly with an editor, is I guess what I'm trying to bring up, is the, now I'm publishing a lot of books through this one house.
And so we still use the agent to help with the legal things and with helping decide what projects we're moving forward and what have you. Again, I don't wanna, I don't wanna m- to monolith any one experience of any person. But I imagine that a new client m- might look different than someone that has a relationship with an editor or however you classify that relationship.
Jen: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Oh. There's more with a new client to... there's more involvement maybe with the text, maybe with, whatever the process is. But when a client is established with an editor, I now am sitting back. I, so I'm watching. Established with an
Matthew: editor is how you say
Jen: it?
Matthew: Got it. Yeah. I'm just, I watch. I sit back and watch. So that's part of the, I have clients CC on, CC me on all emails. That's, I'm tracking projects. Okay, I [00:09:00] see what's going on, I see what's happening. But I don't get involved unless I have to. If I- Yeah ... if I see, oh, there's some, I see an issue coming ahead- Oh, okay
Jen: Then I jump in. But otherwise, I just sit back and I let the relationship unfold.
Matthew: That's cool. It's cool for you to be in a position of having seen so many different things play out so many different ways that you p- potentially are able to say, "Oh, this looks like this is gonna get a little sticky.
Let me pop in-" Ah, totally "... and make sure we smooth things out."
Jen: Yep.
Matthew: I wanna ask you I now am realizing I can't help but put teaching onto this, 'cause that's what I do. That's the lens that I see everything through.
Jen: Great.
Matthew: Do you find, new clients, I know that everybody's different, and I'm saying this very complimentary, but do you find new clients to be at all like a new teacher might be?
That when we have new teachers in our building, now that I'm the old guy, now that I've been teaching for 20 years not that I'm not still discovering things, but sometimes a new client I wonder if they're like a new teacher, that they just are so excited and un- unknowing, that [00:10:00] sometimes they're able to perhaps view the industry in a different way or just a, "Oh, it's okay.
You just don't know how things work yet. It's gonna be great. You keep making good things." I just wonder what, for you a new client is like versus someone that maybe has been doing it a little longer.
Jen: Matthew, I lo- so I used to be a teacher. Before I was an agent, I was a teacher. Oh, really?
I... Yes. I taught middle school for five years. I taught sixth
Matthew: graders. Oh,
Jen: good for you. Yeah. So I'm thinking about new teachers. Though I didn't teach long enough, like I was probably the new teacher the whole time. You were
Matthew: a little bit the new teacher, yeah.
Jen: I was a little bit the new teacher the whole time.
So now I'm t- I'm try- I... You know what's actually coming to mind is just new agents being, like, the new teacher. Okay,
Matthew: okay.
Jen: And new clients being like the new group of eighth graders coming, or the new
group of sixth graders starting- Oh, I love
Matthew: that ...
Jen: starting middle school They're gonna learn, but they're new here but they're new, and that's okay, right? You don't know where the bathroom is yet. I'm gonna show you where the bathroom is . That's,
Matthew: that's what I'm saying. I love that. Okay
Jen: I think, I think it depends on the client. [00:11:00] There are some who come in pretty savvy already because they've been a part of something like SCBWI for a long time, or they have a lot of writer friends.
Okay And so they've, they've watched, they've seen, they understand. And then there are some who are really just, really quite green i- in the industry as a whole, like in the space as a whole. This is so sweet, but I have a client, Who I signed on as an illustrator, and then she recently created her own dummy where she wrote the text and did the art.
And she sent me an email asking if she needed to query me for her text. And I was like no. I am your agent. You send me all of the stuff." She really didn't know. I love that. She thought she had to go through this process again. I was like no." So yeah, sometimes there are others they just, they don't know, and they don't wanna mess up, and they're, very cautious or afraid or nervous about it.
But
Matthew: Jen, for you to be, and hopefully many agents are, have the same quality, but for you to be warm and welcoming enough that somebody could ask that without feeling like, "Oh, God. I'm not gonna ask that. She's gonna drop me from her list [00:12:00] because it's such a silly question" But instead to be like no.
You're learning. It's okay. No, I'm your person"
Jen: Yeah. Isn't that
Matthew: great? That's so lovely
Jen: of you to say. Yeah, I never would've thought of it that way. I don't
Matthew: think of it that way. It's like- we have new people in my building that are like, "Is there a limit on the number of photocopies I can make? Is there a this?
Do I have to ask for that? Do I need to ask to get new markers? Is it okay? Should I buy them out of my own pocket?" And it's okay. We've got- no. It's fine ... we don't have much, but we have that.
Jen: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Matthew: Okay. It's just a good quality. I feel, I feel that there's a lot going on in publishing beyond writing, beyond storytelling, because it's hard to learn how do you market yourself?
How do I work with an agent? How do I do any number of things? That's hard. It might even be some of the biggest learning curve stuff that you have to do because it- because there's a lot that happens to make a book sell or make a book come out. So being able to find community that feels [00:13:00] safe to ask and that feels welcoming to ask, and I think we have a lot of that community in the children's literature space, but also to be able to find the right agent that feels like the right fit for you, and for you to find the right individual that feels like a good fit for you is really important.
Can I ask you what signing a new client looks like? What does, what is your what do they call that? The dance that you do to figure out are we a good fit? Are we are your goals in line with the way I feel like I could serve you? Yeah I what, how about new clients?
What is your... Have you been able to... You've been doing this for 20 years. Yes, you have. I was saying, have you been able to clarify your process enough to go, "This is a person that I think could be a good fit for us"?
Jen: The reality is you don't really know until you're in it. Ah, okay. Because signing with an agent, it's like getting married without dating.
You're just like- Oh ... we're jumping in, and we're gonna see what happens, which is why it's so important that an agency contract, that you have an out, and that you have a reasonable out because you [00:14:00] can get into this relationship and realize that it's not successful. It doesn't work. It doesn't feel right, and you need to be able to get out of that relationship.
That's a good point. I didn't realize that. Okay.
Yeah. Oh, yeah. It matters. And there are some contracts that will lock creators in for 18 months or for some amount of time. You're locked in, and you can't leave.
Matthew: And then you can't leave.
Jen: You can't leave, and you're stuck. Oh ... or some will have a cooling-off period where you can can- you can terminate the relationship, but you can't go to a new agent for six months or something like this.
And- Oh ... our agency doesn't do that. Andrea set that precedent when she started her agency 45 years ago of no. If this doesn't work, it doesn't work. No one should be trapped in the relationship." So- Okay ... the reality is is you don't know until you're in it, and a lot of it is just, a lot of it is a gut feeling, and a lot of it is I ask, in the conversation, I will ask specific questions to get a sense for what someone's goals and ambitions are, and do I think that [00:15:00] they're a client who's going to take this work seriously?
They want this as their career or maybe their second career because they have to work another job, which most do. Most do. Okay. So it's looking for some of that. But the truth is like you're just not gonna know until you're in it.
Matthew: Do you... I'm gonna ask you I guess a semi-vulnerable question.
I'm sure the-
Jen: Yeah ...
Matthew: I know the answer already though. But do you, is it hard for you when you realize it's not the right fit? Is it hard for you- It de- ... when other people feel like it's not the right fit? Is it hard?
Jen: It, it depends on the reason.
Matthew: Okay.
Jen: It depends on the reason. There have been times that I've had to fire a client, and it was like, "Oh, no, this is necessary because-"
Matthew: Sure
Jen: this is like really not a good relationship.
Matthew: Oh.
Jen: It has been a while since someone dropped me and I felt really sad about it. I felt really gutted. I feel like, I feel like- Okay ... you start to see it coming, or you start- Okay ... to feel it coming. But I've been in this [00:16:00] long enough to like you recog- you know, you recognize I'm not giving you the best answer here because I ju- I'm not- You're okay
I just can't tap in- I can't tap into that emotion right now.
Matthew: And- I can't tap into it ... Jen, I have an anxious attachment style. I'm w- I'm aware of that. I'm aware that- Oh ... so much filters through-
Jen: Yeah ...
Matthew: m- my childhood. It makes me an exceptional teacher, I think. I can really be there for my students, and I recognize that strength.
But I also recognize that coin has another side, which is challenging for me.
Jen: Matt, that's not to say that... This is, for all of us at the agency, this is something we talk about a lot. This is one of those things that we all find ourselves in the position of "I know that I probably should drop this client, but I can't and I won't."
Okay. And because of that there's this emotional attachment. And sometimes because it's hard to have worked with someone for a long time where their career was really vibrant for a time, and sometimes naturally that stops for all sorts of reasons. And it's really hard, [00:17:00] that feeling of this was so successful and so vibrant, and now it's not anymore.
Matthew: Yeah.
Jen: That's sad. It's- It is ... it's not it's ugh, it doesn't feel, it doesn't feel great.
Matthew: Yeah. There's a spark that di- is just not there. And it's okay Yeah we change. We go through life. There's things that, there's things that happen. ... Are there any other learnings or ahas that you've experienced in this time in this role that, that you're willing to share that, how...
i'm really interested, Jen, in how you've grown, what you've learned in this time because you said you haven't had a lot of those sad, scary departures. I'm really putting on words. I'm so sorry. I'm really putting on words here. You're fine. You're fine ... but- it's been a beat. It's been
a minute- It's been a
Jen: beat
since that's happened. So- It has happened, of course ...
Matthew: of course, but so what are some things that you've been learning, or things that, that you've noticed or maybe learned from other colleagues that you have that [00:18:00] have helped navigate the space?
Jen: So I can tell you a couple ahas, if that's okay.
Matthew: I would love that.
Jen: So one is about how w- the right fit between a client and an agent. And a handful of years ago, maybe it took 18 years for me to figure this out. Wow. But I finally figured out what I think really matters in the agent-author relationship, okay?
There, there are the obvious things, right? Like mutual respect. You have to trust each other. There's also you have to grow together, actually. So there's some of these obvious things. But let's put those ones aside because the thing that I figured out is there's this adage that your literary agent should love everything you write, and the reality is they probably won't love everything you write, especially if you have a long partnership together.
It's in the same way that you haven't loved every book you've ever read. Of course. But what I think really matters, it's not if they love your work. It's do they understand what you're writing. Do they understand what you're [00:19:00] trying to accomplish with your storytelling? I don't have to love something to pitch it and to sell it or to successfully support you in the publishing process, but I have to understand what you're doing, and I have to be able to see you.
So that's one of the things. But the other big aha that I figured out this one I figured out quicker. I figured it out maybe 10 years ago. It was that your agent can't want your career more than you do. So your agent can rise to the challenge of your ambitions, but the client rarely rises to the challenge of the agent's ambitions for them.
Matthew: Yeah. You've gotta want it
Jen: You've gotta want it. Yeah. You have to want it more than I want it. More than you want it. I can't want it for you more And you want it. Yeah. Yeah. But I can't want it more.
Matthew: No. And you're able to, you're able to tell
Jen: Y- yeah, yes, because I used to, earlier on in my career, I used to want it more from specific clients- Okay
Who actually are n- they're [00:20:00] actually not clients anymore. They've stopped writing. And I used to... I could see how successful they could be. I could see-
Matthew: Oh ...
Jen: w- what they had, but they just didn't want it for themselves as badly as I wanted it for them. And then you're in an imbalanced relationship.
Wait a minute, this doesn't make any sense. Yeah. This is very balanced, like a bad imbalance.
Matthew: It just feels heartbreaking. But I
Jen: understand it's- It's heartbreaking, yeah ...
Matthew: the way that things happen. But it, that sounds hard. It sounds hard.
Jen: Yeah. But once but once you figure it out, and once you recognize it, and once you know the signs, now I can pull back.
Matthew: Okay.
Jen: I can say okay, I need to pull back," and they need to lead. And when they're ready to lead, then I will come and join them.
Matthew: Yeah. Jen, I have learned so much from you on this very brief time that we've been together.
Jen: I'm so glad.
Matthew: I wanna thank you for the way you showed up on this call.
I really appreciate also that before recording, we got to talk about some mutuals that we have [00:21:00] because, especially one, if I can just call her out. Yeah. Alison Green Myers is an individual that I know many people love, but I deeply love and respect her. And what a terrific surprise, I'll be a little vulnerable too, to not realize that, that you represent her.
Jen: I do ...
Matthew: i'm grateful to know you a little bit and to-
Jen: Thank you ...
Matthew: to understand the kind of person you are and know the kind of person that Alison is. That's beautiful. I wish you many more years with your clients, and also I wish for you and all of them, and everyone to come b- being able to know when it's time to separate, but also being able to trust that you're in their corner.
Jen: Oh, that's so nice, Matthew, thank you. Thanks for doing what you do.
Matthew: Oh it's a masterclass, but it's also a chance to lift other people up, and I spend my day with people that I lift up all the time. It's a really- But, you
Jen: know, you're such a- ...
Matthew: real pleasure ...
Jen: you're such a cham- you're such a [00:22:00] champion of the industry and of writers and of kids, and it's really special.
We need more champions.
Matthew: I I'm gonna end, m- I'm gonna say my last thing, and then I'm gonna ask you a last thing. But I will tell you-
Jen: Sure ...
Matthew: that Scott C wrote a book called The Hug Machine.
Jen: Yes.
Matthew: And in The Hug Machine, he said a line that I feel like defines my life, which is, he says "My hugs can make the small feel big-" Ah
and the big feel small." Oh. And I s- I strive for that. That's beautiful. I
Jen: do.
Matthew: Yeah. I strive for that. That's lovely. Jen, I will see a library full of children tomorrow morning. Is there a message I can bring to them from you?
Jen: Yes. Read any book your heart wants to read, and if somebody tells you what you're reading doesn't count, ignore them because it all counts.
Matthew: Thank you to Jennifer Rofé for joining me on the Children’s Book Podcast.
You can learn more about the Andrea Brown Literary Agency and their clients by visiting www.andreabrownlit.com.
Our podcast logo was created by Duke Stebbins (https://stebs.design/).
Our music is by Podington Bear.
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You can support the show and buy me a coffee at matthewcwinner.com or by clicking the link in the show notes.
And on that note…
Be well. And read on.
