Whitney Leopard

ABOUT

Senior Editor at RH Graphic, the graphic novel imprint of Random House Children’s Books. Whitney can be found throughout the year comic and book shows and visiting schools to talk about how to make graphic novels. RH Graphic launched in January 2020 and has already published well-received graphic novels such as Lucy Knisley’s Stepping Stones, Jose Pimienta’s Suncatcher, and Trung Le Nguyen’s The Magic Fish.

Before joining her family at PRH, Whitney was managing the KaBOOM! imprint at BOOM! Studios where she edited kids comics. She was known for her work on original graphic novels like Bolivar (an NPR Best Book of 2018) and Hex Vet: Witches in Training, comics series like Lumberjanes (a New York Times bestseller and Eisner Award-winner), and licensed comics like Peanuts, Adventure Time, Over the Garden Wall, and Steven Universe.

You can stay up to date with Whitney on her website here.

WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR: 

I am only looking for graphic novels that are targeted towards kids and YA readers. At RH Graphic, we only work on graphic novels and do not work on illustrated novels, hybrid books, or picture books. We also do not work on adult titles.

Our motto is ‘A graphic novel on every bookshelf.’ and this means this means that we are looking for graphic novels on any and every genre. From non-fiction to the most fantastical sci-fi, we are interested as long as it is for kids or YA.

Our age categories are:

CHAPTER BOOKS: Ages 4-7, this targets readers that have graduated from the picture book space but still focuses on smaller stories. Typically 80-120 pages. Examples would be books like: Narwhal & Jelly, Crabapple Trouble, and Donut feed the Squirrels. 

MIDDLE GRADE: Ages 8-12, this is the true middle grade category that can focus on any genre. Typically 200+ pages: Examples would be books like: Stepping Stones, Smile, Awkward, and 5 Worlds

YOUNG ADULT: Ages 13+, this would focus on teen and young adult stories that span any genre. Typically 250+ pages. Examples would be books like: Witchlight, Suncatcher, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, and Hey, Kiddo.

Submission Guidelines

I am currently not accepting unsolicited submissions at this time.

What do I look for in a submission:

• Title, page count, and genre
• A brief elevator pitch and plot description (3 paragraphs max)
• Your bio
• Full outline for the story
• 5-15 sample pages of the final comic
• Extras include character designs or any additional world building information. This should not be the priority of the pitch, but should be treated as extra development work to help us fall in love the story.

You can find out more about what we look for in a pitch here.