Arthur A. Levine is the highly acclaimed editor known for his work on the iconic Harry Potter series. He is President and Editor in Chief of Levine Querido, an award-winning independent press devoted to finding and publishing diverse, underrepresented voices in literature for young people.
Arthur Levine has worked at G.P. Putnam’s Sons, as senior editor at Dial, and as editor-in-chief at Putnam’s and at Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers. In 1996 he joined Scholastic as publisher of his own imprint, Arthur A. Levine Books. His determination to bring a diverse selection of “The Best of the World’s Literature for Young People” to American readers was the guiding principle in all of AALB’s publishing. In addition to bringing the Harry Potter series to the U.S., he has edited many other influential books, including Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass, Jerry Spinelli’s Crash, and two Caldecott winners, Peggy Rathmann’s Officer Buckle and Gloria, and Emily McCully’s Mirette on the High Wire.
After a 23-year tenure as President and Publisher of AALB, he founded Levine Querido, which focuses on diverse, powerful, unique voices and visions from the multitude of cultures closer to home. In addition to overseeing the company, Arthur edits between eight and ten books annually.
Among the Levine Querido books that ArmadilloCon readers will know well are Darcie Little Badger’s Elatsoe, which won the 2021 Locus Award for Best First Novel in 2021, NPR’s Best Book of 2020, and is now on Time’s list of “Best 100 Fantasy Books of All Time.” LQ published A Snake Falls to Earth, Darcie’s second novel, which won the 2021 Andre Norton Award and the 2022 Ignyte Award for Best Young Adult Novel, was a Newbery Honor book, and was longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.
David Bowles, an author and translator familiar to ArmadilloCon attendees, has two books in the LQ catalog. He was the translator for The Sea-Ringed World: Sacred Stories of the Americas, which was recognized with the Batchelder Award Honor and was School Library Journal Best of the Year, Kirkus Best of the Year, and Booklist Editors’ Choice. He was also the translator for The Immortal Boy (El Inmortal), which got a starred review in School Library Journal.
David Bowles will be interviewing Arthur Levine on Sunday morning at ArmadilloCon. That should be a great conversation! Don’t miss it!
