Then a few weeks ago, while visiting the library again, I got to meet her in person. She still looks very much like her picture from her blog profile where she's sitting in a big chair with a favorite book as a child. We got to talking about things and near the end of our conversation, she mentioned the chair. Or maybe I asked what it was like to work in Susan Patron's old position, I can't exactly remember, but Eva now sits in Susan's old chair as a result of filling the position Susan left when she retired after winning the Newbery medal. As I drove home, I kept thinking about what it would be like to sit in a chair that was once sat in by Susan Patron.
I emailed my fabulous editor, Molly O'Neill, about this, and she wrote back to say that someone (naming no names) (she actually did not say who so I'm not leaving it out on purpose) at HarperCollins now sits at Ursula Nordstroms' old desk. There's got to be some kind of luck or magic that comes from that, some transfer of knowledge or at least a burst of confidence in knowing that you are working where someone great once did.
So I asked Eva if she'd let me interview her, and if she would also take a photo of that famous chair. And she agreed! Here's what we talked about.
Kathryn Fitzmaurice: Thank you very much for letting me interview you, Eva. Please tell us how long you have been Senior Librarian of the Children’s Services department at the Los Angeles Public Library.
Eva Mitnick: I’ve been in this position – my dream job! – for just about exactly two years. Before I transferred to Children’s Services, I was the Manager of the Robertson Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library. Before that, I had been a Children’s Librarian in various branches since 1989.
Kathryn Fitzmaurice: What does a typical day look like for you?
Eva Mitnick: There is no such thing as a typical day! One big difference between my current position and any other position I’ve held at LAPL is that I don’t work directly with the public – and therefore my day is not characterized by reference desk shifts and story times. Instead, I get to put my multitasking skills to work by coordinating system-wide children’s programs (like the Summer Reading Club and Grandparents and Books), working with and training children’s librarians, creating book lists, evaluating books, and much more. For more on what we do in Children’s Services, please see
this article I wrote for the Friends of Children and Literature (FOCAL) newsletter – page 5!
Kathryn Fitzmaurice: Where is your favorite place to go in the library?
Eva Mitnick: My absolute favorite place in Central Library, besides the 2nd floor domed atrium outside the children's literature department, is the 3rd floor glassed-in "bridge" at the back of the literature and fiction department, where you can sit in a chair and look back over the entire new wing of the library, with its 7 levels, endless escalators, and amazing art.
Kathryn Fitzmaurice: I understand you have a very special chair that you sit in when you are at your desk. Will you please tell us about that?
Eva Mitnick: This chair I’m sitting on – and this desk I’m sitting at – once belonged to Susan Patron, author of Newbery-winning The Higher Power of Lucky! Susan worked in this very office for many years as Collection Development Manager, and when she retired after winning the Newbery, I was eventually able to interview for the vacant position. Wow! See, I wasn’t exaggerating when I said this was my dream job. Because we have less staff and have streamlined and shifted our duties, my position isn’t exactly the same as the one Susan had. Nevertheless, working in her office and sitting on her chair adds a definite sparkle to my work day!
Kathryn Fitzmaurice: What is your favorite genre to read?
Eva Mitnick: Fantasy, fantasy, fantasy – for any age! I’ll read almost any well-written fiction, actually, from mysteries to historical novels, and for any age. I’m particularly partial to middle-grade novels, as I think I’m stuck somewhere between ages 10 and 12, but I also read plenty of YA and adult novels. Nonfiction – not so much (unless it’s a vegetarian cookbook).
Kathryn Fitzmaurice: I realize this is probably a difficult question for you to answer, with all the wonderful books around you, but do you have a favorite book?
Eva Mitnick: Argh! I’ve always loved the very odd A Mouse and His Child by Russell Hoban. And for adults, I can’t get enough of Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann.
Kathryn Fitzmaurice: If you could live inside any book for one day, which one would it be and why?
Eva Mitnick: Did you ever watch Gumby when you were little? I used to envy how he could smoosh himself into a book and become part of it. Strangely, when I was a child I didn’t fantasize entering a book (because I could do that anytime I read one) but rather the world of the Peanuts comic strip. I thought I could be happy there… But these days, I think I’d like to be one of the grown-ups in Hard Pan, CA – the setting for Susan Patron’s Lucky books. Those folks are so eccentric and interesting, and they know how to leave a person alone when necessary. It would be paradise for someone with hermit tendencies – like me.
Kathryn Fitzmaurice: Have you ever considered writing a book? If so, what kind of book would it be?
Eva Mitnick: I have a few unpublished (not for lack of trying!) manuscripts at home – a couple middle-grade novels and a YA novel, written back when I was working half-time. They’re all contemporary fiction, with no magic at all. I love fantasy so much that I’m scared to try my hand at it. But the SCBWI conference last August was very inspiring indeed…
Kathryn Fitzmaurice: Is there a book that hasn’t been written that you think should be written? If so, what is it?
Eva Mitnick: Can’t think of one offhand. When I think of it, perhaps I’ll try to write it!
