Inside the Acquisition Boardroom: The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding, by Editor Stacy Cantor Abrams

In The Reece Malcolm List, Devan keeps a secret list of any information she can gather about her reclusive mother, Reece Malcolm. At the start of the story, all she knows about her mom are five things:

1. She graduated from New York University.
2. She lives in or near Los Angeles.
3. Since her first novel was released, she’s been on the New York Times bestseller list every week.
4. She likes strong coffee and bourbon.
5. She’s my mother.

When I acquired Reece, as well as a second stand-alone novel from Amy called Ink Is Thicker than Water, all I knew about Amy were five things:

1. She has an amazingly unique voice, reminiscent of other successful contemporary YA authors such as Sarah Dessen, Stephanie Perkins, or Susane Colasanti in its emotionality, but also laugh-out-loud funny at times.
2. She lives in or near Los Angeles.
3. Though this will be her debut novel, she is incredibly knowledgeable about the world of publishing, and is savvy about how to market herself in an effective and appealing way.
4. She’s a writer, so I can safely assume she likes strong coffee, and most likely also bourbon (maybe even together).
5. She’s going to be a star.

(Clearly many others in the YA community agreed with me, as the book went on to be endorsed by the likes of Sara Zarr, Courtney Summers, The Fug Girls [Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan], Miranda Kenneally, and CK Kelly Martin.)

But I think beyond Amy herself and the quality of her writing, what made The Reece Malcolm List stand out for us was how it blended a somewhat quieter genre (contemporary coming-of-age with a smattering of romance—something not many publishers were taking a chance on at the time) with a higher-concept idea to broaden its audience and generate strong sales. In addition to learning about her mother, Devan’s story is about drama—that real-life actual drama of the performing arts. With movies like Pitch Perfect and shows like Glee maintaining appeal with the teen audience, we knew Devan’s love of performing combined with how it brings her a new group of friends and a first crush would be the perfect entry point for readers. Because adolescence is hard enough as it is—why not heighten it by putting your character in front of an audience, in a spotlight, in her pajamas?

Happy book birthday, Amy!

About Author

Entangled Teen

See author's posts