Q&A with Trixie Editor Jennifer Arena

1. Can you tell us about how you found the Trixie books after they had been out of print for so long?

I've known about the Trixie books since I was a kid. My older sister tried to get me to read them and I didn't want to at first. She loved books about poor orphans, while I liked ones about wealthy princesses. So when she showed me the series, my first question was "Is it about a poor kid?" And she said "Yes . . . but her best friend is a millionaire's daughter and lives in a mansion and has lots of horses!" Well, that was all it took for me. I read and collected the 34 of them that were available then. Even in high school and college I reread them every few years.

When I started working at Golden Books, I knew that it was the home of Trixie Belden and right away, one of my dreams was to bring the series back into print.

2. How did you go about getting the Trixie books back in print?

I started the process at Golden Books and did a lot of the research on bringing the books back there. Then, Golden Books was bought by Random House. Fortunately, the publisher here was excited about Trixie, too, and encouraged me to keep going with it. The sales and marketing departments were also huge supporters of the books, so it all happened pretty easily.

3. Why did you choose to design new covers for the books?

I originally wanted to use the covers from the early editions of the books--some of the art is so fabulous--but that presented problems. The quality of the first edition covers was inconsistent. Some were terrific and others were kind of weird. There's one where Trixie is carrying a scythe, and on The Black Jacket Mystery, it looks like the girls have found a dead body.

Also since the series was written over several decades, we didn't have covers for all 39 books in that early style. If the series became a success, we didn't want to switch styles midway.

We finally decided to go for a retro look with a contemporary artist, and we've been very happy with the result. I think the covers appeal to young readers today and give longtime fans something new to debate!

4. There were numerous editions of the books previously printed, which one did you use for the reissues and why?

We scanned in the text from the earliest editions of the books, which for the first three was the jacketed hardcover and for the next seven was the cellophane editions. However, while we were editing them, we realized there were some differences between the first editions and later ones. In The Gatehouse Mystery, for example, part of Chapter 17 was rewritten to include Trixie in a scene she hadn't been in before. I went back and forth before I decided to go with the second edition text in this case, figuring that such a significant rewrite probably came from Julie Campbell, not an editor.

5. What is the publishing schedule going forward? Do you plan to reissue all the Trixie books?

We are bringing back four books in 2005 and three books a year after that. Whether we republish all the books honestly depends on how well the series does. So far we've been thrilled with the reception of the books, so we've projected publishing them at least through 2008.

6. What is your favorite Trixie book?

Ack! I don't know; you ask that and about seven pop into my head. When I first read the series, my favorites were probably The Gatehouse Mystery and The Mystery of the Blinking Eye. Now, I have to say The Mystery off Glen Road. I know some people don't like it as much because the mystery element isn't as strong as in others, but for me it's the book that perfectly captures Trixie and Honey's friendship and the spirit of the Bob-Whites. And hands down, it's the funniest Trixie book.

7. Do you have a favorite character?

Trixie is my favorite, of course. She's the heart and soul of the books and is what makes them so special. But I have a real soft spot for Regan, too, and when I was about eleven I had a crush on Cap.