Recently a publishing house came together to celebrate a picture book about New York’s new mayor, authors showed up to support a new release, a bookstore welcomed a thriller writer, a bookstore got a makeover, an author visited a crucial setting of her book, and an author gave a bilingual reading.
A Historic Win
Astra Publishing House staff gathered on November 5 at their office to celebrate the release of Zohran Walks New York (Calkins Creek) the day after Zohran Mamdani’s historic mayoral win in New York City. The picture book traces Mamdani’s Manhattan campaign walk which took place earlier this year. The book’s author-illustrator Millie von Platen (back row c.), who also serves as an associate editor at Astra Books for Young Readers, was the guest of honor.
Three’s a Crowd
Children’s authors (from l.) Caroline Kusin Pritchard, Joanna Ho, and Liz Kleinrock celebrated the release of Pritchard and Ho’s picture book The Day the Books Disappeared, illustrated by Dan Santat (Disney Hyperion), with an event on October 21 at the READ Book Nook in Arlington, Va. The event was co-hosted by R.E.A.D, a nonprofit bookstore in Ballston, Va., and nonprofit organization The Conscious Kid. Here, the authors create a Venn diagram of their latest releases.
A Thrilling ‘Trespasser’
Jennifer Lynn Alvarez held the launch event for her latest YA thriller, The Trespassers (Delacorte), on October 28 at Parnassus Books in Nashville. The Trespassers follows a fractured group of friends who reunite for a house party but must face a deadly interloper. At the event, Alvarez appeared in conversation with author Kristin O’Donnell Tubb and signed copies of her book for readers. Here, Alvarez greets a reader during her signing.
Peek Through a Window
For the launch of her new picture book, I Am Not Happy! (S&S), written by Caroline L. Perry, illustrator Sydney Hanson headed to Manhattan Beach, Calif., bookstore Pages to paint a quokka, the central character from the book, on the windows.
A Witch Among Us
Katie Kennedy stopped in Salem, Mass., on October 27 as part of her book tour for her illustrated middle grade nonfiction book Did You Hear What Happened in Salem? The book combines historical details with a true-crime format to highlight how hysteria, fear, misogyny, and injustice impacted women during the period. Here, Kennedy posing in the stocks at Liberty Street, near the Salem Witch Trails Memorial.
On October 14 author- illustrator Lulu Delacre led a bilingual workshop and book signing at the Parents as Teachers International Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, sharing her recently released Rafi and Rosi Menu!, the fifth title in the Rafi and Rosi series. At the event, Delacre discussed how her Puerto Rican heritage inspires her storytelling and classroom connections.
