Brenda Bowen.

Brenda Bowen, who left HarperCollins in February, is moving in a new direction, signing on as a literary agent at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, beginning July 6. Bowen will represent authors and illustrators of children’s books for all ages (preschool to teen) as well as, in her words, "graphic novelists, animators and maybe a surprise element or two." She says her client list will "start fairly small and dedicated, and then we’ll see."

"Brenda Bowen’s deep knowledge of the children’s industry and her expertise as a publisher will be a magnet for authors and artists," said Heide Lange, v-p of Greenburger, in a statement. "We are thrilled to have Brenda join us, and see this as a way to further our reach into children’s books." read more

Borders Group is counting on books for kids and kitchens to provide some growth in a tough economic environment. It also will rely on continued spending cuts and a new just-in-time book buying approach, CEO Ron Marshall said at an annual shareholders meeting last week. According to Marshall, Borders will turn much of its dying music and movies section space into bigger children's book areas, and also will beef up cooking and health selections. read more

New Line from Lerner

Lerner Publishing Group, which publishes children’s fiction and nonfiction for both the trade and for the school/library markets, will launch a new brand of nonfiction titles for K-2 readers designed to appeal to schools and libraries: Lightning Bolt Books. Lightning Bolt titles will feature a large trim size to facilitate group reading; easy-to-read sentences to support beginning readers; and crisp images with clear captions to reinforce and extend ideas presented in the main text. read more

Even before Dobrez got her ARC in the mail, more than a dozen kids had signed up on her Catching Fire waiting list. Last week "word spread" that she had the book, she says. "Right now I’ve got one galley and 3,000 people who want to read it." read more

Arnold Lobel, who died in 1987, had created the one-of-a-kind books as a Christmas gift for fellow author Crosby Bonsall, and her husband George. Written in the 1960s, they predate his Newbery and Caldecott Honor-winning I Can Read books about Frog and Toad by a decade—but have the same witty vibe. Once Adrianne saw the books, she had no doubt about what to do next: she took them to her father's longtime publisher, HarperCollins. read more

Harper Offers Teens Some Summer Chills

On the heels of last fall’s vampire-focused Pitch Black promotion and tour, HarperCollins is gathering a group of writers for a campaign that’s equally at home with the darker side of YA fiction. The Supernatural Summer promotion will bring together a cross-section of Harper’s authors in the genre: established YA writers Melissa Marr (Fragile Eternity) and Claudia Gray (Stargazer), debut author Aprilynne Pike (Wings), and two crossover writers with adult followings: Kelley Armstrong (The Awakening) and Kim Harrison (Once Dead, Twice Shy). read more


A Very Scarry Summer

In celebration of what would be Richard Scarry’s 90th birthday, Sterling Publishing will be honoring the life and work of the beloved author and illustrator—who wrote and illustrated more than 300 books, and sold more than 200 million copies worldwide—with a 90-day promotion. Through a newly launched publishing program in conjunction with Scarry’s estate, Sterling has already released eight of Scarry’s titles, with a Christmas book slotted for the fall, with at least seven additional Scarry books to come.