September 17, 2013

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Embracing Diversity in YA Lit

By on September 12, 2013 2 Comments
diversityinya-TB

From social media to publishing industry-led initiatives, the call for diversity in children’s and young adult literature has steadily grown into a loud roar in the past months. As part of School Library Journal’s SummerTeen virtual conference, the “Embracing Diversity” panel featuring Karen Arthurton, Jonathan Friesen, James Klise, and Amanda Sun, led to a lively and ongoing conversation about the importance of not only publishing books for kids by and about diverse people, but also getting them in the hands of readers. SLJ spoke to industry professionals who are raising awareness on the need for different perspectives in young adult books, and compiled a list of resources to find these titles.

Filed Under: Books & Media, Publishing, Resources, Teens & YA Tagged With: , , , , ,

Poetry Writing Contest for Kids; Eric Carle’s ‘Friends’ Exhibit | News Bites

By on September 11, 2013 Leave a Comment
friends eric carle

Publisher Kane Miller is cosponsoring a nonfiction writing contest for budding poets. Educators can enter the “Pin It to Win It” MathMovesU sweepstakes via Pinterest. From September 17, 2013 through March 24, 2014, the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA, is featuring the artwork from Carle’s new picture book, Friends. The Canadian Children’s Book Centre has announced the finalists for its seven major children’s book awards.

Filed Under: Awards & Contests, Featured, Industry News, Publishing Tagged With: , , , ,

Civil Rights Legend Congressman John Lewis Tells His Story in ‘March’ Graphic Novel

By Jonathan Hunt on August 28, 2013 Leave a Comment
SLJ1309w_FT_lewis_lunchcounter

In time for the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, John Lewis—former chairman of SNCC and now Congressman—collaborated with his comics-obsessed staffer Andrew Aydin and veteran graphic novelist Nate Powell on a powerful new graphic novel memoir, March.

Filed Under: Authors & Illustrators, Featured, Graphic Novels, Publishing Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Pictures of the Week: New Book Cover Unveiled for Harry Potter 7

By on July 31, 2013 Leave a Comment
Kazu Kabuishi

On July 31, 2013 (Harry Potter and author J. K . Rowling’s birthday), Scholastic unveiled a new look for ​Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Author/illustrator Kazu Kibuishi created new covers for each of the titles in the beloved series. The book covers were revamped in time for the 15th anniversary of the U.S. publication of Rowling’s series opener.

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Free Student Publishing How-To Manual | Big Brain Club

By on July 24, 2013 Leave a Comment
Big Brain Club

The Big Brain Club is now offering its how-to manual for student publishing programs to any schools interested in participating. The manual provides a blueprint for the program, making it easy to get organized and up and running quickly, especially key with the new school year just weeks away.

Filed Under: Industry News, Programs & Programming, Publishing, Teens & YA Tagged With:

Reader Expectations for ‘The Art of War,’ Snitches, and 50 Cent | YA Underground

By on July 23, 2013 1 Comment
Changin the Game Plan

How much do our expectations influence our reading? Sometimes it’s the cover that throws you off, or maybe the author’s back story. And then again, what we think is great may not ring the bell for the teens we serve. Amy Cheney presents several titles that have met her teen readers’ expectations, including classics, self-help narratives, and YA novels for reluctant and urban readers.

Filed Under: Publishing, Teens & YA, YA reviews Tagged With: ,

Marc Simont, Beloved Caldecott Medalist, Dies at 97

By on July 17, 2013 Leave a Comment
Marc_Simont

Acclaimed children’s book creator Marc Simont, who illustrated nearly 100 children’s books, died on Saturday, July 13. He was 97. His many honors include a Caldecott Medal for the art in Janice May Udry’s A Tree is Nice, and Caldecott Honors for illustrating Ruth Krauss’s The Happy Day, and his own The Stray Dog.

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Behind the Scenes of Our Sesame Street Cover | Inside SLJ

By on July 11, 2013 1 Comment
SLJ Sesame Cover

SLJ’s art director, Mark Tuchman, shares the story and process behind the creation of our July cover art—which featured the iconic Big Bird character from Sesame Workshop illustrator Louis Henry Mitchell—from conception to final design.

Filed Under: Featured, Opinion, Publishing Tagged With: ,

Pictures of the Week: Chronicle Books Celebrates 25 Years in Children’s Publishing | ALA 2013

By on July 8, 2013 Leave a Comment
Tom Lichtenheld and Susannah Richards

In celebration of its 25th Anniversary of children’s publishing, Chronicle Books hosted a cocktail reception at the American Library Association Annual conference that included a raffle of original artwork inspired by the company’s spectacles logo. The pieces were created by many award-winning and bestselling illustrators, including Tom Lichtenheld, who presented the prize to winner and children’s literature professor, Susannah Richards.

Filed Under: ALA Conferences, Authors & Illustrators, Publishing Tagged With: , , , ,

So What’s with all the ‘People Covers’?: SLJ’s Art Director Explains the Method to Our Madness

By on July 1, 2013 Leave a Comment
SLJ_PeopleCVs

Prompted by a reader’s comment, SLJ art director Mark Tuchman addresses our cover strategy and shares some favorites from recent issues of the magazine.

Filed Under: Featured, Publishing Tagged With: ,

Pictures of the Week: Bedtime Math Pajama Party

By on July 1, 2013 Leave a Comment
alrightmoment

On June 24, the National Museum of Mathematics in New York City kicked off its first annual National Pajama Party Week with the book launch of Bedtime Math: A Fun Excuse to Stay Up Late (Fiewel and Friends) by Laura Overdeck, author and founder of the Bedtime Math nonprofit, an organization whose mission is to make nightly the math problem as common as the bedtime story. The event included math focused games for families and a book giveaway and signing by the author.

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The Debut: SLJ Talks to Katja Millay About ‘The Sea of Tranquility’

By on June 18, 2013 Leave a Comment
The Sea of Tranquility

Angela Carstensen, Adult Books for Teens blogger, had a hard time putting The Sea of Tranquility down, even after reading it all the way through. Debut author Katja Millay put the book together by gathering scribbles, random lines, and characters in her head, calling her attempt to create an outline “laughable.”

Filed Under: Author Interview, Featured, Publishing, Teens & YA Tagged With: ,

Rebecca T. Miller Named Editorial Director of Library Journals

By on June 10, 2013
Rebecca T. Miller Named Editorial Director of Library Journals

Rebecca T. Miller, Editor-in-Chief of School Library Journal, has accepted the position of Editorial Director of Library Journals, effective immediately. She will serve as Editor-in-Chief for both Library Journal and School Library Journal. Michael Kelley, previously Editor-in-Chief of LJ, is no longer with the company. Please submit LJ news and feature queries to Executive Editor Josh Hadro at jhadro@mediasourceinc.com.

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Books for Teens You Might Have Missed | YA Underground

By on May 13, 2013 Leave a Comment
51513promises

Amy Cheney rounds up her “underground” picks, perfect for reluctant readers and teens looking for something a little different. From the latest in the Bluford series to a nonfiction title dealing with addiction, this compilation explores a few of the edgier titles being published this season.

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Hachette to Sell Frontlist Ebook Titles to Libraries

By on May 1, 2013
Hachette to Sell Frontlist Ebook Titles to Libraries

Hachette Book Group today announced that it will once again sell its frontlist ebook titles to libraries, beginning on May 8. Hachette’s entire catalog of 5,000 ebooks will now be available through OverDrive, Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360 platform, and the 3M Cloud Library, under a pricing and licensing model similar to the one employed by Random House.

Filed Under: Ebooks, Publishing, Technology Tagged With: , , , , ,

Publishing: Peter Workman, Founder of Workman Press, Has Died

By on April 9, 2013
Peter-Workman (2)

Mr. Workman passed away on Sunday. He was 74. Here’s a roundup of coverage. Announcement from Workman Publishing Blog He was the founder, president and CEO of Workman Publishing Company, one of the largest independent publishers of nonfiction trade books and calendars. In addition to the Workman imprint, the company consists of Algonquin Books of [...]

Filed Under: Featured, Industry News, Publishing Tagged With: ,

Goodreads Acquisition Presents Opportunity for LibraryThing

By on April 2, 2013
Goodreads Acquisition Presents Opportunity for LibraryThing

Amazon’s recent acquisition of Goodreads will likely have a ripple effect on other social media sites targeted at book lovers, with LibraryThing and Bookish potentially drawing membership from any defectors unhappy with the sale. Meanwhile, many Kindle owners will be introduced to Goodreads for the first time, as the site’s social media functions are integrated with Kindle devices. “Goodreads was fully independent…. it made them the natural allies of people who wanted to avoid the consolidation of the industry, in particular publishers,” LibraryThing founder Tim Spalding told LJ.

Filed Under: Publishing, Social Media, Technology Tagged With: , , , ,

Macmillan Partners with RAINN for Matching Donation Campaign in Support of Classic YA Novel

By on April 2, 2013 Leave a Comment
RAINN logo

In support of New York Times best-selling author Laurie Halse Anderson’s classic young adult novel, Speak, its publisher, Macmillan, is teaming up with RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) to raise funds for programs to end sexual violence. The campaign, nicknamed #Speak4RAINN, will be launched on April 2 (coinciding with the National Sexual Assault and Awareness Day of Action) and will run through April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

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A Visit from Ruta Sepetys

By Lauren T., Bookmarked, Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy, Jefferson LA on March 6, 2013 Leave a Comment
Bookmarked and Ruta Sepetys

Last month, the Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy’s juniors were treated to a talk by Ruta Sepetys, the author of the New York Times bestseller Between Shades of Gray (Philomel, 2011)—and it was engrossing from beginning to end. In fact, we didn’t even want to return to class because we were so enthralled by her.

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NYPL Launches National Poetry Contest on Twitter

By on February 28, 2013
NYPL Launches National Poetry Contest on Twitter

As part the library’s efforts to raise awareness about poetry leading up to National Poetry Month in April, NYPL is encouraging aspiring poets to “follow @NYPL on Twitter, and submit three poetic Tweets in English as public posts on your Twitter stream between March 1 and 10, 2013.”

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