FAQ

I’ve assembled a page of resources in response to this and related questions.

Here’s the most succinct answer (written 2019) and here’s a longer answer (from 2018).

No. I realize that some teachers assign students to contact experts on a subject. But, first, they have no right to volunteer other people’s time. Second, contacting an expert is not the same as doing research. All I have to say on Dr. Seuss is in my published work: chapter 1 of Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature (2017), The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats (2007), Dr. Seuss: American Icon (2004) and in my other essays and blog posts on the subject.

No. See answer to above question. And you might look at my published work, such as:

• J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Novels: A Reader’s Guide (2001)
• “You Say ‘Jelly,’ I Say ‘Jell-O’?: Harry Potter and the Transfiguration of Language” (from The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon, ed. Lana Whited, 2002). 261-84.
• “Is There a Text in This Advertising Campaign?: Literature, Marketing, and Harry Potter” (The Lion and the Unicorn 29.2, Apr. 2005)
• “Lost in Translation?: Harry Potter, from Page to Screen” (Harry Potter’s World: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, revised edition, ed. Elizabeth Heilman, 2009)

Note: I wrote the above before J.K. Rowling decided to use her considerable power to bully trans people. Her transphobic crusade is at best disappointing, and is at worst a massive moral failure on the level of deciding to enlist in the Death Eaters.

I last taught it in 2013, but my colleagues Karin Westman and Naomi Wood still offer versions of the class. Check the English Department’s courses page.

Sorry, but probably not. Blog posts are by invitation only.

Sure. Email is the best way to reach me. Send me an email, and tell me how I might best get in touch with you. I check email regularly during the day, unless I’m traveling or on a research trip – if I am, then I’ll still check, but less frequently. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Send me an email, and let me know the date, location, type of event, and proposed compensation. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

I’m glad to talk on:

• How and why to break up with your favorite racist children’s books
• Racism and nostalgia
• Radical children’s literature
• Dr. Seuss
• Crockett Johnson’s Harold and the Purple Crayon
• Crockett Johnson, Ruth Krauss

For other possible subjects, please take a look at the Speaking page or peruse upcoming talks and a list of older ones.

The best single thing you could do would be to check out children’s book editor Harold Underdown’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books. He has much more experience in the publishing industry than I do. Plus, he’s a fan of Harold and the Purple Crayon, so what’s not to like? Why not begin with “The Basics” page of Harold’s website? Please don’t send me materials. I’m not an agent.

I would again direct you to Harold Underdown’s excellent advice. (See above answer.)

Book proposals differ depending on whether they are for commercial publishers or academic publishers. Generally speaking, a proposal for a commercial publisher tends to be more detailed.

For advice on how to write an academic proposal, see “How to Publish Your Book; or, The Little Manuscript That Could.” For more general academic advice, you might peruse blog posts tagged “Academe.”