On another note, your rejection reminds me of an NPR story I heard last year where “Jack Kerouac, George Orwell and Sylvia Plath are just a few of the authors whose books were turned down by the Alfred A. Knopf publishing house. Researchers going through the Knopf archives have come across their rejection letters, as well as a few others.”

As an interesting bit of synchronicity in my remark, I think Pullman was published by Knopf (Scholastic, 1997; USA, Knopf, 1997). So, for what it is worth, you are in good company, and let us know what you think of Pullman’s books.