Once again I shout, “Lucky me!”
I meet The Best People doing what I love and loving what I do,
here in our singular Children’s Book World.
But now you can, too.
Meet Ethan Long, a veritable Children’s Book Creative Virtuoso
whose debut middle grade novel The Death and Life of Benny
Brooks (Christy Ottaviano Books/Little Brown, October, 2023)
might luckily be yours simply by entering our Book Giveaway.
(See details at the end of this post.)
Fate first connected me to Ethan oh, so long ago, in 2001,
when Holiday House editor Mary Cash chose him to illustrate my
debut middle grade novel, The Confe$$ion$ and $ecret$ of
Howard J. Fingerhut. Ethan and I met in person at that year’s NY
SCBWI Conference, his smile every bit as impish as the one he’s
sprouting in the above photo. His Professionalism, Commitment,
Passion, Smarts and Joy bowled me over. He was all in when it
came to creating children’s books, grateful to be illustrating, but
eager and determined to someday figure out a way to tell his
story, his “crazy family’s story,” in words. He’s done just that,
adding illustrations, of course, in The Death and Life of Benny
Brooks (Sort of a memoir). I knew he someday would, which is
just what I’d told him.
Ethan has added all sorts of descriptive nouns in the intervening
years - author/illustrator, author, graphic novelist, cover artist,
game designer, animator, just to name a few, creating baby board
books, picture books, novelty books, chapter books, murals,
baseball cards, poetry books, joke books, book trailers,
digital book series, animated shorts, indeed his very own NFT
collection. His awards include the 2013 Theodor Seuss Geisel
Award for Up! Tall! And High! and a 2022 Kidscreen Award for
Scribbles and Ink, an Emmy Award Nominee. His latest noun in
apposition should be no surprise: AGENT! He and his wife
Heather recently joined the Tugeau 2 Art and Literary Agency to
represent fellow creatives. You can learn more about his artists
and the story-tellers he seeks here.
awaited meet-up at ALA this June in Chicago! Ethan’s puckish
smile was the same, his eyes twinkling behind round horn-rimmed
glasses just like mine. He was as grateful a human being as ever.
When he shared his Good News - how he’d finally figured out a way
to tell his “crazy family story,” as an illustrated middle grade novel,
how The Death and Life of Benny Brooks would release this
October, I could only thank him for affirming my “I told you so!”
The book’s front flap copy captures Benny perfectly. “Benny's life
is slowly unraveling. His parents are newly divorced, his mom
chooses to move away, and Benny and his brother and sister are
left with their chain-smoking dad, who has just been diagnosed
with lung cancer. Benny is lonely, anxious, and very angry. He
can't sleep at night and spends his days trying to survive fifth
grade.”
Numerous starred reviews praised Ethan’s illustrations –
“dynamic youthful-feeling pencil drawings by the protagonist” -
but as important, the “bighearted story brimming with hope.”
Janet Tashjian’s testimonial lauded Ethan’s novel as “the perfect
book for readers trying their best to come to terms with the
many curve balls life hurls. It also has the most important
quality a story can have – honesty. There’s not a false note in
it.”
I agree, 100%. Benny’s heart reaches out to the Reader and
never lets go from the very first image on page one: Benny
lying beneath the clouds, wondering what it would be
like to be dead. “The part of me that used to be happy and
funny and smiley is gone,” he shares.
After a tortuous school year in which his teacher Mr. Rogers guides
him to focus, not fight, “YOU,” Mr. Rogers tells Benny, “are going
places, Sir! Once you realize how much you have to give, which is a
lot, you’re going to soar.”
Read my interview with Ethan that follows. Click on the links to
read about his books.
I know you’ll agree: Ethan Long continues to
soar!
Thank you, Ethan, for being who you are and doing what you do -
for Young Readers, for our Children’s Book World and for gifting
one lucky TeachingAuthor reader of this post with an autographed
copy of The Death and Life of Benny Brooks.
Long live Creatives!
Esther Hershenhorn
p.s.
Thanks to Bridget at WeeWords for hosting today’s Poetry Friday.
…
You’ve had quite the Children’s Book Creator’s Journey, from illustrating my first middle grade novel in 2001 to writing yours, with a bounty of written and illustrated picture and early chapter books in between. You shared on your website you’ve experienced in the publishing industry both “struggles as well as successes.” What wisdom did you glean from both that kept you keepin’ on?
Thank you, Esther! Great question. And I love that we have
known each other for over 20 years! The struggles: They
teach you about yourself and your limits — what you will
put up with and what you won’t put up with. When I am
struggling or have struggled, sometimes it is so hard that I
want to give up, and sometimes do (temporarily), then
realize I HAVE to keep going because of the commitment
I made to myself as a creator and also the commitments I
have to my family. It is not fun, but knowing my family,
friends, and other artists have seen me struggle and succeed
lets them know they can do it, too. At least, that is my hope.
·
Channeling Richard Peck’s Dear Reader letter
for The Best Man (Dial, 2016), what does Benny’s story mean to you and
what do you hope it means to your Readers?
Benny’s story is about struggle and hope. The goal was just
to get the book out of my head and down on paper, but now
that it’s out, it makes sense to me that people are thanking
me for writing it and how it has inspired them to reach out
to estranged family members or deal with a lingering issue.
The book has inspired them to ACT. It has also inspired
other writers to go emotionally deeper into their stories.
That is satisfying.
·
Congratulations on your newest endeavor,
partnering with your wife, Heather – Heather and Ethan Long Art & Literary
Agents with the Tugeau Art & Literary Agency! You’ve already signed 13
creators you’ve deemed “amazing.” How would you describe the creatives you
seek? How can interested writers and illustrators contact you?
Oh my gosh, our time with Nicole Tugeau and Lillian
Mazeika at Tugeau 2 has been an amazing experience. Both
struggle and success have been intertwined since we started
in November of 2022. The creatives we seek have to be
technically skilled in what they do, have the content and
expression to make us go WHOA, but also have the
inclination to write stories. They need to be prepared for
that kind of hard work. We will have 17 artists by the end
of 2023 and although not everyone has gotten work yet or
sold a story to a publisher, everyone is working and
growing. It’s amazing to watch and be a part of.
·
I once heard an editor share that as writers
and illustrators, each of us has a story to tell, a Truth, of sorts, we wish to
leave behind. We tell that story again and again, in various formats and
genres, for a variety of Readers. What might be your story?
You are a pro at asking great questions, Esther! Hmmm. My story
is multi-faceted in that I came to this earth with a lot of gifts, but
also a lot of baggage that I had to sift through over the years to
let my gifts shine through. It has taught me to continually clean
myself out by talking through things and letting them go. That
process keeps me as in-the-moment as possible and allows my
creativity to flow effortlessly and without boundaries to others.
It gives me the mindset to work on many projects at a time and
not feel weighed down. Is it a perfect process? No. But I work
at it every day of my life.
·
Y You write on your website you “can’t wait to
see what comes next.” Either can I and now, I’m sure, the Readers of this
interview. Can you give us a clue or a hint? Might something new be in the
works (I hope)?
You know me by now…there is ALWAYS something in the
works. :) Two middle grade novels, some easy readers, two
“non-fictiony” picture books with a writing partner and friend,
some animation development, and of course, the artists at the
agency, which are always a work in progress, like the rest of us.
.
. . . . . . . .
OUR BOOK GIVEAWAY!
To enter the giveaway drawing for The Death and Life of Benny
Brooks, use the Rafflecopter widget below. (Note: if the widget
doesn’t appear, click on the link at the end of this post that says
“a Rafflecopter giveaway” to enter.)
You may enter via up to 4 options. The more options you
choose, the better your odds! If you choose option 3, you
MUST leave a comment on TODAY’S blog post or on our
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If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to:
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Note: if you submit your comments via email or Facebook,
YOU MUST STILL ENTER THE DRAWING VIA
RAFFLECOPTER BELOW. The giveaway ends
November 1, 2023 and is open to U.S. Residents only.
If you’ve never entered a Rafflecopter giveaways, here’s info
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explains thedifference between signing in with Facebook vs.
with an email address.
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
