I co-hosted this month’s Special Edition of #okscbwichat on Tuesday evening with our guest, Associate Editor Karl Jones.
Karl Jones
Karl Jones is an Associate Editor with Grosset & Dunlap/ Penguin Young Readers. Karl works on a variety of licensed and original middle grade and activity books, as well as some early YA projects. He acquired and edits the Just Jake series from New York Times best-selling kid author, Jake Marcionette and edits a middle grade/YA transition series by established stage and screenwriter, Justin Sayre-the first book in this series, Husky published in September 2015.
He also develops, acquires and writes unique original activity books like Day of the Dead Activity Book and Build A Boyfriend, as well as hiring work-for-hire authors for several licensed book programs for entertainment and gaming properties including Star Trek, Powerpuff Girls, Uncle Grandpa, Regular Show and Shovel Knight.
He is particularly interested in realistic middle grade and YA fiction and format-bending storytelling projects. In his free time, he enjoys comedy and storytelling events, outdoor adventures, and live music. He is a native Oklahoman.
Follow Karl on Twitter here.
Karl will be one of our fantastic speakers presenting at our OK SCBWI Spring Conference on April 16th. To learn more about our conference and to register for this event, CLICK HERE.
During our Twitter chat, Karl discussed the secret to creating a character that defies category, how he reads manuscripts (and what stops him from reading on), and a surprising trend he hopes to see in YA. He defined what a licensed writer was and what it takes to be a successful licensed book writer. He also talked about what he missed about living in Oklahoma.
*If you missed the chat, you can view the Storify version of the entire conversation here.
**We return to our regular #okscbwichat schedule next month as we welcome one of our own to the chat. Oklahoma Illustrator Timothy Lange will discuss his artistic process with us in May. See you for the next chat on Tuesday May 24th!
To see a full list of our upcoming Twitter chats on #okscbwichat for 2016 CLICK HERE.
Be sure to check out the newly added FACEBOOK CHAT EVENT with an author and her agent we’ve added for June! It’s our first Facebook Chat event ever and you won’t want to miss it!
valerie r lawson 
I didn’t get to participate live, but I did read the follow-up. Thank you Valerie and your team for setting it all up. It’s a great way to “meet” the speakers before the conference. You have something to talk about when you do get a chance to meet them.
I found a blog where Karl Jones talks more about licensed books–
https://heatheralexanderblog.wordpress.com/?s=karl+jones
Gwendolyn
Tiny Stitches-The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas
Thanks, Gwen. And thanks for sharing. That is a great post for those interested in learning more about why they should consider writing for licensed books.