“I’m of the mind that I want to challenge myself more with every project that I tackle,” she says. When Chee isn’t traveling, she writes full-time (often in her pajamas).

“The Reader was nominated for the Kirkus Prize and has been on some Best of 2016 lists.” She now has a better understanding of the publishing world, too: “It’s been really cool to see all the gears turning-there are so many things happening to get books into the hands of readers. As far as she’s aware, “no one has found all of the hidden elements of the book yet.”Ĭhee declares the whole year “a stressful, overwhelming, lovely dream” she attended TLA in April, NCTE in November, and visited schools and bookstores across the country. “I had been collecting cool things to do in books for years and sent a huge Google document with ideas,” she says. Throughout the novel are many hidden puzzles and messages, some planned by Chee from the very beginning and included during initial drafts because they are “integral to the story,” such as a large section of blacked-out text early in the novel that comes into play later. Set in a world called Kelanna, where books, writing, and reading are unheard of, Sefia finds herself in possession of a book, which she is certain is the key to unlocking her mysterious past. The Reader follows 15-year-old Sefia, who is on a rescue mission after being separated from her aunt. Every time that she sends me an editorial letter, she’s right. “She really liked the narrator and wanted to focus on that aspect of the novel. “I knew from 15 minutes of talking to that she was the right person to edit The Reader,” Chee says. Chee accepted representation by Poelle, and two months later signed a deal with Stacey Barney at Putnam.

Chee was selected by YA author Renee Ahdieh, who “changed her life.” With Ahdieh’s guidance, Chee “did two revisions and cut out 10,000 words.” During the querying stage, the manuscript was requested by three agents, including Barbara Poelle of the Irene Goodman Agency, who also represents Ahdieh. After working on the manuscript of The Reader for about a year, Chee decided to enter Pitch Wars, a contest where published/agented authors and editors choose one writer each, read their entire manuscript, and offer suggestions to ready the manuscript for querying.

The reader chee