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Children’s Institute 2018: Children’s Books Remain Strong

Published on June 26, 2018 | In Blog, Independent, Hybrid and Self-Publishing, News | 0 Comment

By Judith Rosen, Jun 21, 2018, for Publishers Weekly Children's Books Remain Strong

“We’re opening this institute in a time of strength and growth for indie bookselling,” noted American Booksellers Association CEO Oren Teicher at the start of yesterday’s first full day of programming for Children’s Institute 6, which is currently being held in New Orleans. “For the eighth year in a row there has been growth in ABA member stores. There are now 2,470 ABA member locations, representing 1,835 companies. To put that in perspective, that is a 6% increase in the number of member locations and almost a 4 1/2% increase in member companies.”

Upbeat news concerning indie bookstores and children’s books continued in a session later in the day on bookselling trends with Allison Risbridger of NPD Books, who said that children’s books, along with adult nonfiction, have been growth drivers of the book industry in recent years. Viewing the industry as a whole, Risbridger said that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of unit sales for juvenile and YA rose 3% from 2014–2017, while adult nonfiction unit sales were up 5%. Children’s, which she referred to as “publishing’s darling,” has continued strong this year with units increasing 2.9% for the first five months of 2018.

Some of the biggest gains in children’s were in holiday and religious backlist titles. Sales for the week before Valentine’s Day were up 71% year over year, while Easter sales also rose over 2017. Those sales, Risbridger noted, were driven by backlist. Other strong juvenile and YA categories include education/reference books, which has jumped 10% so far this year. Comics and graphic novels continue to see strong growth with 32% CAGR from 2014–2017. Risbridger attributed those sales in part to authors like Raina Telgemeier and more recently Dav Pilkey and his Dog Man series. In terms of content, girl power, diversity, STEM/STEAM, wellness, and classics and nostalgia remain popular with young readers.

When it comes to format, board books continue to experience double digit sales growth with a 13% CAGR for 2010–2017 and up 12% so far in 2018. The majority of those sales are for backlist titles, Risbridger said, singling out books like Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert, which came out as a board book in 2012. By contrast paperbacks were up 2% in 2017, while hardcovers were flat.

Risbridger pointed to branded titles, which were up 29% in 2017, as another indicator of the strength of children’s backlist. Two of the top-selling brands were written over 50 years ago: Dr. Seuss, which was number 1, and the Berenstain Bears, which ranked 8. In 2016 frontlist unit sales were up 5% while backlist rose 18%. Indies play a crucial role in frontlist discovery, said Risbridger.

Retail trends that NPD is watching, said Risbridger, include unboxing, blind packs, and subscriptions; nostalgia; nesting; and experiences over goods. One concern that has affected much of retail, but not the book world as much, is the number of consumer dollars tied up with monthly subscriptions for Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, Stitch Fix, and meal kits. “People are spending more and more money online,” Risbridger said, adding that others are looking at how indie booksellers have countered that through “retailtainment,” or offering experiences in their stores.

Risbridger's statistics underlined what many booksellers have observed firsthand. Carol Moyer, children ‘s department manager at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, N.C., said, “I was glad to see children’s still strong. It confirmed what we keep seeing—the board book and the graphic novel are still strong.” Her other takeaway concerned the need to nurture frontlist.

The day also included a number of educational sessions, which were expanded this year to include more operational and inspirational ones. The morning keynote with Mallika Chopra, author of Just Breathe (Running Press, Aug.) on meditation for children, fit squarely within the latter. “Whatever you do, do it with a sense of love, gratitude, and purpose,” said Chopra, “and you will be living with intent.” To help booksellers prepare for a day filled with presentations on taking social media to the next level and on planning and executing large-scale events, Chopra led the audience in a three-minute meditation.

No meditation needed for one of the highlights of this year’s conference and its predecessors: an author reception on Wednesday evening, with 67 children’s book authors and illustrators in attendance.

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“Kids need to grow up with graphic novels and publishers need to provide a complete reading experience,” said Gina Gagliano

Published on May 8, 2018 | In Blog, News | 0 Comment

Gina Gagliano to Head New RHCB Graphic Novel Imprint, by Calvin Reid, for Publishers Weekly, May 08, 2018

Random House Children’s Books announced plans to launch Random House Graphic, a dedicated graphic novel imprint under the direction of Gina Gagliano, who will join the new imprint as its publishing director. Random House Graphic will release its first books in fall 2019. We spoke with Gagliano about her plans for the new imprint.

Gagliano will report to Judith Haut, senior v-p, associate publisher of Random House Children’s Books. Haut said, “It is a truly exciting and important time of growth for comics and graphic novels within the kids' market, and we see a distinct opportunity to reach even more readers. We are thrilled to have Gina, with her creativity, expertise and passion for the medium, at the helm of our new venture.”

Gagliano is a longtime member of the staff of First Second Books, which is the graphic novel imprint of Macmillan Publishing. She is well known throughout the comics publishing community, and has designed programming for many comics festivals. Gagliano was most recently associate director, marketing and publicity at First Second and was among the imprint's original employees, joining the house in 2005 at its launch.

Random House Graphic will specialize in titles for children and young adults with a list focused on both commercial and literary graphic works. The new imprint will assemble its own dedicated staff to produce and market the imprint’s titles.

The new Random House Graphic publishing program will look to extend a growing list of graphic works already being published by Random House Children’s Books, including such popular works as Babymouse by Jennifer L. Holm and Matt Holm, Rickety Stitch and the Gelantinous Goo by Ben Costa and James Parks, and 5 Worlds by Mark Siegel and Alexis Siegel, with art by Xanthe Bouma, Matt Rockefeller, and Boya Sun.

Haut told PW, “The time was right for us to launch a graphic imprint. We’ve had success in the category and it’s time for us to have people who are here thinking about how to publish graphic novels every day.”

Asked about the relationship between Random House Graphic and the RHCB graphic novel backlist, Haut said, “There’s still a lot to figure out about the backlist. But no changes are planned right away. Backlist graphic novels will remain with their current editors. We have a number of editors at RHCB who are passionate about graphic novels and we want them to continue. We want to encourage collaboration and Gina is looking forward to working with all the editors at RHCB.”

Random House also publishes kids' and YA licenses such as the DC Superhero Girls line of graphic novels and chapter books. Haut said those titles are handled separately by the Random House licensing division, “and those titles and arrangements will continue.”

In a phone conversation with PW, Gagliano called it “too early” to specify the ultimate size of the list or the size of the staff she will assemble. But she emphasized that the imprint will hire "editors, designers, and publicists," and will focus on “all genres and all age categories. Kids need to grow up with graphic novels and publishers need to provide a complete reading experience. We need to add to the breadth of the comics medium in order to transform the U.S graphic novel market.”

Gagliano will attend TCAF, the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, a highly regarded indie comics festival to be held this weekend, May 12-13. She said the new imprint will begin “ramping up our show presence at book, indie, small press and pop culture conventions and festivals. These shows let you reach readers, so you’ll see us on all fronts at these shows.”

Gagliano is also known for designing programming for comics festivals and library events, not to mention working behind the scenes on numerous comics initiatives. She said she will continue with “all the stuff I’ve been working on,” including Graphic Novel TK, a new podcast (with cohost Alison Wilgus) that educates the public about the publishing process for graphic novels and books in general. She also organizes events for New York City’s Women in Comics collective in addition to her work on the graphic novel programming committee of the Brooklyn Book Festival and as a co-organizer of graphic novel panels for BookExpo.

She said she’s “super excited” about the RHCB graphic novel backlist (including working with her now-former boss, First Second editorial director Mark Siegel, who is a noted cartoonist and RHCB graphic novel author). And Gagliano will also acquire books for the new imprint.

“We’re excited to be acquiring new authors and developing talent in the category," she said. "There’s an explosion of books and new authors around the U.S. There are so many new artists who deserve to be published. We’re happy to be able to bring this diverse group of creators to Random House Graphic.”

Update: new comments from interviews with Haut and Gagliano have been added to this story.

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S&S Partners with Guggenheim on Interactive Children’s Programming

Published on April 21, 2018 | In Blog, News, Resources | 0 Comment

By Emma Kantor Apr 19, 2018 for Publishers Weekly

Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City are teaming up to host a new event series that gives young readers and their families the chance to learn about the bookmaking process from a number of contemporary picture book illustrators. As part of the Children’s Book Illustrator Series, featured artists will read from their latest work and deliver a presentation providing insight into their creative process. Afterwards, attendees will have the opportunity to get creative in the Guggenheim’s art workshop, in the Sackler Center for Arts Education.

Children’s musician and S&S author Laurie Berkner at the Guggenheim’s Peter B. Lewis Theater.

The series kicks off on April 22 with a reading and workshop led by Caldecott Honor artist Bryan Collier, illustrator of Between the Lines by Sandra Neil Wallace, which tells the story of NFL-star-turned-artist Ernie Barnes. The 2018 lineup for the Children’s Book Illustrator Series also includes award-winning illustrator, author, and animator Evan Turk, who will discuss his new picture book, Heartbeat, following the life journey of a baby whale; Tomie dePaola, beloved creator of the Strega Nona series, whose book Quiet features a lesson in mindfulness; and artist Leah Tinari, who will present her nonfiction picture book Limitless, a collection of portraits celebrating the achievements of 24 American women.

Participants in Laurie Berkner’s Pillowland event created their own shadow boxes inspired by the picture book.

Lauren Hoffman, v-p and director of marketing and publicity at Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, told PW about the origin of the series. The initial spark came in November 2017, she said, when children’s musician Laurie Berkner was invited to give a performance in honor of her lullaby-based picture book, Pillowland, at the Guggenheim’s Peter B. Lewis Theater. Hoffman said, “[After the show] attendees were invited to construct colorful shadow boxes based on illustrator Camille Garoche’s cut-paper technique, in the Guggenheim’s smaller workshop rooms. Watching the children connect with the book in such a creative, hands-on way was remarkable. We wanted to be able to share that amazing experience with families in N.Y.C. year-round, and invite other talented author-illustrators to participate.”

On developing the roster of artists for the 2018 series, she said, “After the Berkner event, we met with the Guggenheim’s School, Youth, & Family Program to discuss additional opportunities. We reviewed a number of upcoming picture books, and together we selected [the lineup]. Some titles complement existing installations or upcoming exhibits, and the team was very interested in the illustrators’ process and art.”

Noting that this is the first series of its kind for S&S Children’s, Hoffman said, “This partnership is a refreshing update to the standard storytime event model, in that attendees learn about award-winning illustrators’ art processes, and then create their own book-inspired projects—all while inside the historic landmark museum. A young attendee of an illustrator event may very well be tomorrow’s next Caldecott-winning artist!” As far as the potential for extending the program, Hoffman said, “Both S&S Children’s and the Guggenheim are open to continuing the series beyond 2018.”

Talking Pictures

Many of the participating illustrators said they especially look forward to sharing their work with young readers in the museum setting. Evan Turk, whose event will take place at the Guggenheim on May 20, said, “Children’s books are often some of the first experiences that children have with art, and for some kids, it might be (although hopefully not) the last time they really engage with a piece of art, especially as kids ‘age out’ of picture books younger and younger. I love the idea that such a prominent museum as the Guggenheim is helping to expand kids’ visual literacy through such a perfect medium: the picture book.”

In addition to reading Heartbeat during his event, Turk said, “I’ll be talking with kids and their families about what kinds of thinking and decision-making go into illustrating a book, and how the symbols, colors, compositions, and style can all help tell a story if we pay close attention. I’ll be bringing in some of the original pastels and collages from the book, as well as sketches and thumbnail drawings to help explain my process.” Participants will then be invited to create their own artwork. Turk added, “I think that the series is the perfect way to speak with kids about the idea of learning to ‘read’ artwork. I love that [the presentation] is combined with the art-making process as well, so it’s really the full experience.”

Tomie dePaola will appear at the Guggenheim’s Peter B. Lewis Theater on October 21. The author-illustrator described his upcoming event as “an interview-style discussion about Quiet, and my career.” He is particularly excited about the program’s interactive format, “When I work in my studio in New Hampshire, I’m alone. So, I’m always pleased when there’s an opportunity to talk with children and families.” Referring to his latest project, he said, “This new book, Quiet, will give me a chance to encourage [readers] to daydream and doodle—two things that have gotten lost in our busy device-driven society.”

Leah Tinari, whose event will be held on December 16, explained that the museum itself resonates with her latest work. “My book Limitless is a celebration of remarkable women, and I have always thought of Peggy Guggenheim as a remarkable woman. I’m grateful to her and her family for giving New York City the gift of this museum and art collection. I am thrilled to be able to share my work with families so intimately.”

Tinari reflected on the impact of her childhood trip to the museum: “I remember visiting the museum with my family as a girl,” she said. “I was so impressed by the museum’s design. I mean, what’s not to love as a young kiddo: a giant ramp as far as the eye could see, that starts on the ground floor and continues round and round all the way to the ceiling. I was totally psyched by the ramp, though I also remember feeling as though I was floating through the museum up and around, being able to take in all the artwork uninterrupted. My first trip to the Guggenheim really did feel magical.”

Tickets for each of the four programs include museum admission, workshop materials, and one copy of the featured book, to be signed by the author. The events are geared toward children ages four and up. For more information on the series, click here.

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Copyright: New York Rights Fair and BookExpo announce a joint marketing agreement

Published on April 12, 2018 | In Blog, Independent, Hybrid and Self-Publishing, News | 0 Comment

Just a few days after the 55th Bologna Children's Book Fair - a particularly successful edition, confirming its leading role among international children's publishing events - BolognaFiere is once more in the limelight with a new important partnership in the United States.

The new NEW YORK RIGHTS FAIR (NYRF), created by BolognaFiere in partnership with Publishers Weekly and The Combined Book Exhibit, signed an agreement with BOOKEXPO, the American book fair organized by Reed Exhibition, allowing the two events to work together to better serve the publishing industry.

As of 2018, NYRF will thus become the "Official Rights Fair" of BOOKEXPO, i.e. the professional section for trading of copyright.

This joint marketing agreement will allow BookExpo and NYRF to work together and offer the entire publishing industry the perfect gateway to the US publishing market, including increased access to resurgent US bookstores, and more opportunities for rights professionals to embrace the explosion in new media and rights opportunities.

The new relationship will help to bring together all aspects of the publishing industry, providing the strongest foundation for those looking to pursue publishing rights in the US and internationally.

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40. Bologna 2018: Middle Grade Fiction and Diverse Titles Remain Hot

Published on April 1, 2018 | In Blog, How To Begin Writing For Children, News | 0 Comment

photo: Dealmakers and scouts gather to talk trends at the rights center at the Bologna Children's Book Fair.

article by Rachel Deahl, with reporting by Diane Roback, Mar 28, 2018 for Publishers Weekly

While there may not have been a single book that agents and scouts were buzzing about in the rights center at this year’s Bologna Book Fair, insiders were not at a loss when it came to identifying trends in the marketplace. Among the more notable takeaways were the fact that middle grade fiction remains hot, and the political upheaval in the United States—from movements like #MeToo to #BlackLivesMatter—is reverberating around the globe, and driving interest in titles, both fiction and nonfiction, that speak to this tumultuous moment.

Rachel Hecht, who runs an eponymous children’s scouting firm, said she’d been noticing an uptick in nonfiction titles addressing things like “feminism and activism.” Acknowledging that the hunger for these books is likely being driven by current events, Hecht said publishers are also reacting to the bestseller lists and what’s working in the market. Citing breakout successes like Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls and Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give, Hecht said publishers around the globe are looking for books that address and grapple with diversity in myriad ways.

A film scout who specializes in children’s literature said that, on the screen side, there were a number of titles circulating (or just sold) drawing comparison to Netflix’s breakout series, Stranger Things. One such buzzed-about project is Rena Barron's middle grade fantasy series Maya and the Rising Dark, which had just sold to Emilia Rhodes at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in a three-book preempt for world English rights.

Barron is represented by Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media, and made headlines last year when her manuscript, The Last Witch Doctor, became one of the most sought after titles to come up through the PitchWars contest (which offers authors an opportunity to showcase an un-published project).

Maya and the Rising Dark, New Leaf said, is a West African inspired tale. The middle grade series (which is unrelated to The Last Witchdoctor), is, per the scout, like Stranger Things "if the kids had magical powers." It follows the titular heroine who, along with her friends, is on a quest to save her father. When Maya discovers that her missing parent is "the keeper of the gateway between our world and The Dark," she and her friends must "unlock their powers" and venture into the Dark to "face mythological creatures set on starting a war."

A representative from New Leaf explained that The Last Witchdoctor has evolved into a YA fantasy series and sold in a separate deal, which has not yet been announced. Details about the sale of The Last Witchdoctor will be released during the forthcoming London Book Fair, with the first title in that series set to become Barron's debut. New Leaf noted that TLWD also features "West African inspired mythology and magic."

The surge in content featuring Stranger Things-esque elements was something agent Fiona Kenshole at the Canada-based Transatlantic Literary Agency was also noticing. “SF is having its moment,” she said. Kenshole felt the appeal of such content was thanks to the Netflix series, in which a quartet of friends fight demonic creatures that exist in another dimension which can be accessed through various portals in their Midwestern town. (The alternate dimension in Stranger Things is, as in Barron's MG series, called "The Dark.") photo: Fiona Kenshole (r.) of Transatlantic Agency, meeting with Marzena Currie, a scout with Eccles Fisher Associates.

U.K. scout John McLay noted that YA titles seemed to largely be traveling “one way, [from] the U.S. to the U.K.” Middle grade is, he felt, quite strong in his native U.K. “[The Americans] do YA the best, and I think we do middle grade quite well.”

One recent trend, largely created by the international success of One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus, is the emerging popularity of the YA thriller. Agent Rosemary Stimola, who reps McManus and sold One of Us Is Lying into 37 languages, was showing the author's second book, Two Can Keep a Secret, which Delacorte will publish in January 2019, to foreign publishers for the first time here. "Option publishers have the first look, of course," she said, noting that by Wednesday morning she had "already sold seven." She said the book has shown publishers around the world that "there is an established market for the YA thriller."

For the Bent Agency’s Molly Ker Hawn, the first priority of the day was the international interest she was fielding in a YA novel called All of This Is True, which just so happens to cite One of Us Is Lyingas its main comp title. (Bloomsbury will be publishing the book in the U.K. on May 15; in the U.S. it will be released by Harper, on May 30.) The novel, by Lygia Day Peñaflor, is told through interview transcripts and diary entries, and follows four teenage friends whose attempt to befriend their favorite author winds up yielding dire results. Hawn, who had just closed a new deal for the book with a Czech publisher, said she felt All of This Is True was speaking to an interesting and recent cultural moment, in which young readers have unprecedented access to beloved writers.

Aside from All of This Is True, Hawn said that she was also seeing an intense interest in middle grade titles. And, echoing some of her colleagues, she noted that co-agents she works with in the U.K. have been “spending a lot of money” on the books in the category.

For Jennifer Weltz at the Jean V. Naggar Agency, the fair season has brought an unexpected but welcome interest in backlist titles. With some of that interest being driven by film adaptations, Weltz said she was also seeing a rise in demand for classic children’s books.

Weltz, who oversees the estates of such children’s book authors as Alvin Tresselt and Roger Duvoisin, said that, in the past, Europe had not been a market for backlist picture books. No longer. “What’s being called the ‘vintage book market’ is growing,” she said, noting that European publishers are recognizing the fact that young parents, who grew up with certain classic picture books, are now interested in reading those same titles to their children.

On other fronts, Weltz noted that a wider embrace of diverse titles was opening doors for other kinds of backlist books. Emily Danforth’s 2012 novel The Miseducation of Cameron Post, which is the basis of a film that premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, is an example. A coming-of-age tale about a young Montana girl discovering her homosexuality, the novel was not something Weltz was able to sell to a wide swath of international publishers when it was first released.

Now it's a different story. Although Weltz admitted that interest in Miseducation is being driven in large part by its film adaptation, the book is also benefiting from a cultural shift around the continent. With younger editors in various European countries hungry for diverse titles, LGBT-themed content can travel across more borders, Weltz explained, making a book that was virtually unsaleable in large parts of Europe just a few years ago, a hot commodity today.

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Down the Rabbit Hole: Kansas City Explor-a-Storium Finds a Permanent Home

Published on March 7, 2018 | In Blog, News, Resources | 0 Comment

By Claire Kirch, Mar 06, 2018, for Publishers Weekly

The Rabbit hOle, the proposed “explor-a-storium” in Kansas City envisioned by artists and former booksellers Deb Pettid and Pete Cowdin, is becoming a reality with the recent purchase of a 165,000-square-foot warehouse that will become the project’s permanent home. The building, in an industrial area north of downtown that is undergoing new development, cost $2.2 million.

The Missouri Development Finance Board recently approved the Rabbit hOle nonprofit organization’s application for $2 million in state tax credits which, on top of the $2.4 million accumulated through grants and fundraising, enabled Rabbit hOle to purchase the building.

The Rabbit hOle is scheduled to open in its permanent home in 2019; initially, it will contain 60,000 square feet of programming and exhibition space.

Two years ago, Pettid and Cowdin closed The Reading Reptile, the Kansas City bookstore they had owned for 28 years, launched a nonprofit arts organization, and focused their efforts on building a museum modeled on San Francisco’s Exploratorium and St. Louis’s City Museum that would allow visitors to immerse themselves in classic children’s literature via interactive three-dimensional galleries, installations, and exhibits created by professional artists.

Artists Charlie Mylie and Nicholette Haigler's rendering of the front entrance of the Rabbit hOle.

The mission of the Rabbit hOle is to “create new readers on an unprecedented scale” in a world where “only around 50% of parents read aloud to their kids on a regular basis.” Readers “of all ages and all abilities” are invited, the mission statement declares, “to engage with the book and long-form narrative in playful, artistic new ways,” with the promise that experiencing stories in such a tactile way will “change lives and change the way we think about literacy.” The name pays homage to Lewis Carroll’s beloved Alice in Wonderland.

The Rabbit hOle will also house a printing press and bindery, a bookstore, a resource library, and a theater. Programming will include performances, maker workshops, writing and story labs, professional development for educators, and a full slate of national author events and residencies. There will also be regularly scheduled presentations and workshops led by touring authors and illustrators to complement the full-scale 3-D installations, which will change every three or four months.

“In addition to its investment value, location, and overall accessibility,” Pettid stated in a release, “the property is a perfect fit for the project in terms of initial space-needs and anticipated growth patterns. [The area] is rapidly becoming a natural extension of downtown Kansas City and a cutting-edge destination. As a national destination and the first major cultural institution for children north of the river, the Rabbit hOle will not only benefit from, but help to advance current growth and development in the area.”

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Kelly, Cordell, LaCour Win Newbery, Caldecott, Printz

Published on February 12, 2018 | In Blog, News, Recommended Books | 0 Comment

By Diane Roback Feb 12, 2018 for Publishers Weekly

Erin Entrada Kelly has won the 2018 John Newbery Medal for her novel Hello, Universe (Greenwillow), edited by Virginia Duncan. Matthew Cordell has won the 2018 Randolph Caldecott Medal for Wolf in the Snow (Feiwel and Friends), edited by Liz Szabla. And Nina LaCour has won the 2018 Michael L. Printz Award for We Are Okay (Dutton), edited by Julie Strauss-Gabel. The awards were announced this morning at the American Library Association’s midwinter conference in Denver.

Three Newbery Honor Books were named: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (Atheneum/Dlouhy); Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson (Bloomsbury); and Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James (Bolden/Denene Millner).

There were four Caldecott Honor Books: Big Cat, little cat by Elisha Cooper (Roaring Brook); Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut; A Different Pond by Bao Phi,‎ illustrated by Thi Bui (Capstone); and Grand Canyon by Jason Chin (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter).

Four Printz Honors were awarded: Long Way Down; Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (Little, Brown); The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray); and Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman (Holt/Godwin).

The Hate U Give won three other prizes, including the William C. Morris Award, for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens, and the Odyssey Award, for excellence in audiobook production. Jason Reynolds won both a Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor for his novel Long Way Down.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, which honors an author or illustrator whose books have made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children, went to author Jacqueline Woodson, the current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

Eloise Greenfield won the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. The 2018 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime contribution in writing for young adults was given to Angela Johnson, and Debbie Reese was chosen to deliver the 2019 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture.

The Robert F. Sibert Award for the most distinguished informational book for children went to Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961 by Larry Dane Brimner (Calkins Creek). There were four Sibert Honors: Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and June Jo Lee, illustrated by Man One (Readers to Eaters); Grand Canyon by Jason Chin (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter); Not So Different: What You Really Want to Ask About Having a Disability by Shane Burcaw, illustrated by Matt Carr (Roaring Brook); and Sea Otter Heroes: The Predators That Saved an Ecosystem by Patricia Newman (Millbrook).

The Mildred L. Batchelder Award for best work of translation went to The Murderer’s Ape by Jakob Wegelius, translated from Swedish by Peter Graves (Delacorte). There were three Batchelder Honor Books: Malala: Activist for Girls’ Education by Raphaële Frier, illustrated by Aurélia Fronty, translated from French by Julie Cormier (Charlesbridge); When a Wolf Is Hungry by Christine Naumann-Villemin, illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo, translated from French by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (Eerdmans); and You Can’t Be Too Careful! by Roger Mello, translated from Portuguese by Daniel Hahn (Elsewhere Editions).

The William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens was given to The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray). Four other books were finalists for the award: Dear Martin by Nic Stone (Crown); Devils Within by S.F. Henson (Sky Pony); Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali (Salaam Reads); and Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman (Simon Pulse).

The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for most distinguished beginning reader books went to Charlie & Mouse by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Emily Hughes (Chronicle). There were five Geisel Honor Books: I See a Cat by Paul Meisel (Holiday House); King & Kayla and the Case of the Missing Dog Treats by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Nancy Meyers (Peachtree); My Kite Is Stuck! And Other Stories by Salina Yoon (Bloomsbury); Noodleheads See the Future by Tedd Arnold, Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss, illustrated by Tedd Arnold (Holiday House); and Snail & Worm Again by Tina Kügler (HMH).

The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults went to Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman (Holt/Godwin). Four books were finalists for the award: #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women, edited by Mary Beth Leatherdale and Lisa Charleyboy (Annick); Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos (Holt); The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater (FSG); and The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked, and Found by Martin W. Sandler (Candlewick).

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson (Bloomsbury) won the Coretta Scott King Author award and the Illustrator award went to Ekua Holmes for Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, written by Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderly and Marjory Wentworth (Candlewick).

Three King Author Honor Books were selected: Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James (Bolden/Denene Millner); Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy); and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray).

Two King Illustrator Honor Books were chosen: Crown: An Ode to a Fresh Cut, illustrated by Gordon C. James, written by Derrick Barnes (Bolden/Denene Millner); and Before She Was Harriet: The Story of Harriet Tubman, illustrated by James E. Ransome, written by Lesa Cline-Ransome (Holiday House).

The Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award went to The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore (Knopf). Mama Africa! How Miriam Makeba Spread Hope with Her Song, illustrated by Charly Palmer, written by Kathryn Erskine (FSG), won the Steptoe Illustrator Award.

Ruth Behar won the Pura Belpré Author Award for Lucky Broken Girl (Penguin/Nancy Paulsen) and Juana Martinez-Neal won the Pura Belpré Illustrator Award for La Princesa and the Pea, written by Susan Middleton Elya (Putnam).

Two Belpré Author Honor books were named: The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya (Viking); and The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez (Viking).

There were two Belpré Illustrator Honor books: All Around Us, illustrated by Adriana M. Garcia, written by Xelena González (Cinco Puntos); and Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos, illustrated by John Parra, written by Monica Brown (NorthSouth).

The Stonewall Book Award, given to children’s and YA books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience, went to Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert (Little, Brown). There were two Stonewall Honor Books: As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman (Iron Circus Comics); and The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen).

The Schneider Family Book Awards, for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience, went to Silent Days, Silent Dreams by Allen Say (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine) for best young children’s book; Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess by Shari Green (Pajama Press) for best middle grade book; and You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner (Knopf) for best teen book.

The Odyssey Award for excellence in audiobook production went to The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, narrated by Bahni Turpin (HarperAudio). There were five Odyssey Honors: The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman, narrated by Michael Sheen (Listening Library); A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig, narrated by Stephen Fry (Listening Library); Long Way Down, written and narrated by Jason Reynolds (Simon & Schuster Audio); Trombone Shorty by Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, narrated by Dion Graham (Live Oak Media); and The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell, narrated by David Tennant (Hachette Audio).

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Rick Riordan Presents

Published on January 31, 2018 | In Blog, News | 0 Comment

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Jacqueline Woodson Is Named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

Published on January 8, 2018 | In Blog, News | 0 Comment

A new ambassador is named every two years and makes appearances throughout the United States to promote reading. An inauguration ceremony is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Jan. 9, at the Library of Congress.

By ALEXANDRA ALTER JAN. 4, 2018, for The New York Times Continue reading the story

Like many novelists, Jacqueline Woodson relishes solitude and is a bit of an introvert. So she was somewhat daunted when she was asked to take on a role that has “ambassador” in the title.

On Thursday, Ms. Woodson was named as the new National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a position that was created in 2008 by the Library of Congress, the Children’s Book Council and the literacy charity Every Child a Reader.

“I love being alone and writing and creating stories, and the idea of this extroverted position was a bit scary,” Ms. Woodson said. “It’s a little intimidating to take on the mantle.”

As ambassador, Ms. Woodson, a best-selling children’s book author, will be traveling around the country, speaking to kids in schools, libraries, juvenile detention centers and other underserved areas. She also plans to spend time in rural parts of Southern states, where authors seldom visit schools, she said.

Ms. Woodson isn’t entirely unaccustomed to the spotlight. She’s published more than two dozen children’s books. She won the National Book Award in 2014 for her memoir in verse, “Brown Girl Dreaming,” and has received four Newbery Honors, two Coretta Scott King Awards and the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement for her contributions to young adult literature. In 2015, she was named the Young People’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation.

Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress, said she knew Ms. Woodson would be a natural fit because she had seen her interact with young readers at Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, where Ms. Hayden was chief executive.

“She respected young adults and cared about what they said,” Ms. Hayden said in a statement to The Times.

Ms. Woodson, who is publishing a new middle grade novel and a picture book this year, said she was persuaded to take on the position after talking to Gene Luen Yang, a graphic novelist who was the ambassador for Young People’s Literature from 2016 to 2017. “He had to talk me into saying yes,” Ms. Woodson said.

Before Mr. Yang, the position was held by Jon Scieszka, Katherine Paterson, Walter Dean Myers and Kate DiCamillo.

Ms. Woodson said that as she travels the country and speaks to children and teenagers in coming months, she plans to emphasize how books can drive change and instill hope in young readers.

“For young people who are very stressed about the future, who have this sense of disempowerment, who don’t know what’s coming next, my big quest is for them to remain hopeful,” she said. “When you come to literature, it does allow you an escape from the world if that’s what you need, but it also changes you. You’re different than when you started that book.”

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Augmented Reality moving into Children’s Books and Toys in 2018

Published on December 31, 2017 | In Blog, Independent, Hybrid and Self-Publishing, News | 0 Comment

Technologically enhanced books and toys are the same good old physical items, but in gear with Augmented Reality (AR), they are able to meet the expectations of the new era consumers. An AR-enhanced book or toy is multifaceted: a child can read it or play with it, and also get unlimited AR functions, thanks to mobile app capabilities. The same book or toy can get variable features when the app is updated or get new features if used with other books and toys.

Publishers and Toy Makers: May the magic of AR be with you. Ana Belova, co-founder of Devar, on LinkedIn, Childrens Books Group (30,274 members) December 26, 2017

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Children's Books encourages networking between individuals, publishers, companies, distributors, and other entities dealing with children's books.

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” - Arthur C. Clarke, “Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry Into the Limits of the Possible”

Children’s imagination is limitless, and they really believe in magic. Now we live in times when magic is not just a fantasy, but a real form of technology, that can be added to any product, and it’s called Augmented Reality (AR). AR is the most effective technology of today which has great possibilities to develop child’s imagination, because, as Einstein said, “imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world”. AR stimulates children to investigate the world around and make little discoveries every day.

The publishing industry has reacted actively to the new technology. The children’s book publishing has shown the most positive reaction to AR: the leading publishing houses and publishing departments of the entertainment companies have tried to jump into AR. It was a success to those who made good quality products. There are also companies who have experimented with AR, but were not satisfied by the resulting product, mostly due to the fact that they did it with their own hands and a poor experience in the AR field. The outcome is sad - many companies, who have experimented or “have heard from partners” about AR, do not see the possibilities this technology provides when used in a proper manner by an experienced AR developer.

The succeeded companies, such as Hasbro, have partnered with DEVAR as a proven AR supplier, and that was the right way. As a company, who has been serving AR development for major companies in publishing and entertainment, DEVAR has been collecting and analyzing a vast scope of users’ feedback for at least 3 years. This data is the basis for the creation of new AR products, which meet modern consumer expectations.

The toy industry reacted a bit slower to the AR trend because a toy development cycle takes more time than a publishing one (may take up to 18 months) and any serious enhancement to toy companies flagship franchises is thoroughly evaluated. But things change and what we hear now is that the toy industry “is crying for AR”.

“As an industry, we all are challenged to do things differently in a fast-changing world” - said Margo Georgiadis CEO Mattel. She also promised that Mattel would develop toys and content that would better align with the increasingly digital world. In the U.S., 85% of kids between the ages of three to five have a tablet and already a third of them are creating their own content (Fortune.com). “Toy time is holding steady but kids are spending more time on digital and toys need to adapt,” said Georgiadis.

Mattel is going to invest more in the company’s most iconic “power brands”, such as Hot Wheels, which Margo Georgiadis wants to be far larger than it is today. 2018 is the 50th Hot Wheels’ anniversary, and to celebrate this, DEVAR will release an AR Hot Wheels encyclopedia as a gift to all the brand fans. This book with AR technological component is going to meet the market demands of today to let readers engage with the book and favorite toys in a completely new way.

Margo Georgiadis sees the toy industry development in the link with education, and this strategic approach could be beneficial if considered with the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics) trend in the toy market. Mattel plans the success by making its toys both educational and fun, and here the technology of Augmented Reality helps a lot. The Mattel’s partnership with DEVAR, an experienced technology company in the sphere of AR development, is an essential part of this direction.

2018 is the key year that will determine the market leaders - the companies that first adjust to the new realities, thus changing the rules to suit themselves. AR is a relatively new technology that inevitably comes to stay, and the early adopters win, while others who are not that far-seeing, will kick themselves.

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