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BEA 2011: Discussing the Power of Kids' Books at Breakfast
It was a packed house for Tuesday morning’s Children’s Book & Author Breakfast, with a host of literary celebrity sightings for the huge crowd of appreciative booksellers, beginning with Katherine Paterson, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and two-time Newbery Medalist. Paterson set the tone for the more than 1,200 book people attending by talking about the power of books to influence the future course of young lives.
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BEA 2011: Speak Out Against Censorship, Industry Urged
Led by moderator Joan Bertin, executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship, three panelists provided an update during BEA on book banning in America, impressing upon their audience that assaults on the freedom of expression of writers and illustrators are as prevalent as they have ever been, if not more so.
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BEA Show Daily 2011: Kudos to Pannell Winners
Two bookstores received the WNBA Pannell Award, given annually since 1983 by the Women's National Book Association. The 2011 winner in the general bookstore category is Queen Anne Books in Seattle, and Fairytales Bookstore & More in Nashville clinched the award in the children's specialty store category.
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BEA 2011: Building a Children's Book Community
The title of Monday morning’s first session for the Day of Education’s children’s edition was "Mind Share into Market Share"--a theme that carried over into the rest of the day’s sessions, as booksellers first brainstormed how to more effectively use their expertise to increase sales in general, and then how to best reach teen readers who have come of age in the digital era.
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Movie Alert: 'Mr. Popper's Penguins'
It’s popping up to be a chilly summer with the June 17 release of Mr. Popper's Penguins, from 20th Century Fox and Davis Entertainment, a live-action adaptation of the Newbery Honor classic.
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$1 Million to a Literary Site Called Figment – And It's Not Imaginary
Sixth-grader Fiona Plunkett is the published author of seven books. Really. But the Malibu, Calif., resident happily notes that they are all online – on figment.com, a free share-your-writing Web site geared toward teens.
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PEN/Steven Kroll Award Announced
PEN American Center has announced the establishment of the PEN/Steven Kroll Award, to acknowledge the literary contributions of picture book writers. Kroll, longtime chair of PEN’s Children’s/Young Adult Book Authors Committee, died on March 8.
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Random House Debuts Two New Imprints
Random House Children's Books is reorganizing its paperback publishing program and launching two new paperback imprints, Ember and Bluefire. Both imprints will publish middle-grade and YA books, yet each has a different focus.
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Pyr to Enter Young Adult Market
Citing increasing crossover appeal of some of its adult science fiction titles by young adults, Prometheus Books’s Pyr imprint is starting a series of titles aimed specifically at that audience. Lou Anders, editorial director of Pyr, will oversee the YA program which will begin in November with the publication of Lightbringer, an urban fantasy/paranormal romance by K.D. McEntire.
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Lerner Publishing Group Launches Distribution Division
Lerner Publishing Group announced this morning that it is formalizing the distribution services it has been providing to small children’s book publishers since 2003 by launching Lerner Publisher Services.
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Scholastic Releases Statement on Coal Foundation Curriculum
Children's advocacy groups sharply reprimanded Scholastic last week for distributing to schools a poster on energy sources sponsored by the American Coal Foundation. An editorial in the New York Times criticized the poster for "giving a one-sided view of coal usage." Friday, Scholastic released a statement acknowledging "that the mere fact of sponsorship may call into question the authenticity of the information, and therefore conclude that we were not vigilant enough as to the effect of sponsorship in this instance." The statement also says Scholastic will not distribute the poster any more and plans to reevaluate its editorial procedures concerning sponsored content.
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Good News for Libraries, Bad News for Publishers in Proposed CPSIA Amendment
A proposed bill that would amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 is giving hope to many of the industries affected by the Act, including children's libraries and used booksellers.
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J. Patrick Lewis Named Children's Poet Laureate
The Poetry Foundation has announced that J. Patrick Lewis has been selected as its new Children's Poetry Laureate. Presented to Lewis in a ceremony on Wednesday at the foundation's Chicago headquarters, the award entails a two-year tenure and includes a $25,000 cash prize.
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Movie Alert: Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer
On June 10, Judy Moody goes from middle-grade bestseller to movie-star hopeful with the release of Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer, based on Megan McDonald’s long-running series of books about temperamental third-grader Judy and her younger brother, Stink. The film, produced by Smokewood Entertainment and distributed by Relativity Media, is an all-new adventure, in which Judy and Stink are forced to spend the summer with their Aunt Opal.
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American Girl at 25
A lot has changed at American Girl in the 25 years since Pleasant Rowland launched a mail-order children's book publishing/doll manufacturing company with 15 employees in downtown Madison, Wis., marketing its products as quality alternatives to Barbie dolls.
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Celebrating the Life of Margaret K. McElderry
Longtime friends and colleagues gathered at the New York Public Library last Friday afternoon to honor legendary editor and publisher Margaret K. McElderry, in a program called "Lessons from a Literary Legend."
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‘Star Wars’ Authors Attack the East Coast
The force will be with Star Wars fans on the eastern seaboard for the next two weeks, as DK Books launches a two-week Star Wars Attack of the Authors tour.
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From Alligators to Addiction: Children and Teen Fare at the L.A. Times Festival of Books
Sunday, May 1, the second day of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, held on the campus of the University of Southern California, was all about the children.
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Manic Night in Menlo Park: Magic Tree House Comes to the Library
"I didn't expect it to be so crowded," I hear one amazed mother say to another as more than 300 excited kids march into the Menlo Park (Calif.) Library. Waving to friends and holding on to each other's hands, they weave into the designated kids-only area, anxious to see two of their favorite characters come to life: Jack and Annie from the popular Magic Tree House series.
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