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In Brief: June 24
This week, volunteers help Connecticut bookstore RJ Julia celebrate its 20th anniversary by donating 20,000 books to New Haven schools, Debra Frasier launches her state-fair themed alphabet book at Red Balloon in St. Paul, big birthdays for Walker and Puffin in the U.K., and Books & Co plays host to five YA authors.
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Autobiography of a Cover
The old saw that "you can't judge a book by its cover" may be true, but it doesn't stop YA publishers from pouring money into them to try to influence buyers, aka finicky teens. "The cover is a huge part of the way a book is marketed. It's almost the entire advertising," says Josh Bank, president, East Coast, of Alloy Entertainment.
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Plucky Heroine Takes Charge in New Penguin Series
First-grader Frannie dreams of getting a paper shredder rather than a doll for Christmas and keeps her resume updated in case the perfect job pops up. This aspiring career gal made her debut last month in Grosset & Dunlap’s Frankly, Frannie and Frankly, Frannie: Doggy Day Care...
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From Beach Lane, a Joint Effort by Twin Sisters
In Who Said Coo?, Lulu the pig is kept awake by two prankster pals—Pigeon and Owl—who make coo-ing, whoo-ing, and finally moo-ing sounds outside her cottage. When the sleepless porker shoos them away, their boo-hoos let her know their feelings are hurt, and she invites them inside, where they drink cocoa and snuggle in for a sleepover. Out this month from Simon & Schuster’s Beach Lane imprint, this picture book is written by Deborah Ruddell and illustrated by Robin Luebs, identical twin sisters from Illinois who have each published two prior books, yet have never before collaborated professionally. Here’s how the book was born.
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In Brief: June 17
This week, Reach Out and Read launches the Summer of a Million Books campaign, to get a million new books into the hands of children between Father’s Day and Labor Day; two sisters and fellow writers share a launch party, and novelist Mary Downing Hahn takes a break from writing to paint while visiting Provence.
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Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Winners Announced
Amazon and Penguin announced the winners of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award at a ceremony in Seattle Monday morning. This year, for the first time, two grand prizes were awarded: one for general fiction and one for best young adult novel, with each winner receiving a $15,000 publishing contract from Penguin.
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Colfer Pens First Adult Novel
Jane Morpeth and Marion Donaldson at Headline in London, and Peter Mayer at Overlook Press in New York, have bought Eoin Colfer's first independent adult novel, in deals negotiated by Sophie Hicks at Ed Victor Ltd. for an undisclosed sum. Plugged is set in New Jersey and is a classic noir novel which will be published in 2011.
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Little, Brown Launching 'Glee' Publishing Program
Calling all gleeks: Starting this fall, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will launch a publishing program based on the hit Fox TV show about a high school glee club, starting with The Beginning, a paperback original prequel.
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In Brief: June 10
This week, Holly Black winds up an 11-city tour, Harper's Supernatural Summer promotion returns for its second year, and Barefoot's new store in Concord, Mass., opens for business.
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'Bree Tanner' Proves Lackluster for Indies
While Stephenie Meyer's publisher is touting strong sales figures out of the gate for her new novella, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, not everyone in the bookselling community is happy with how the slim title is faring. A number of independent booksellers are complaining that Meyer’s book isn't selling in their stores. This, despite Little, Brown's news today that the book has sold over 350,000 copies since it went on sale just four days ago.
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‘The Metal Children’: Life Inspiring Art
Back in 2005, Adam Rapp visited a town that banned one of his books – and turned the experience into The Metal Children, a play that is running in front of sold-out audiences at the Vineyard Theatre in New York City through June 13.
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Slate Launches Interactive YA Serial
Tapping into teen trends--vampires and the push towards interactivity--novelists Laura Moser and Lauren Mechling have launched a YA serial on Slate.com with a parallel online world where their characters update their Facebook pages, tweet, and post videos on YouTube.
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BookExpo America 2010: Big Children's Books of the Show
The BEA convention may have been shorter than in years past, but there was no shortage of major titles at the show last week. “It’s been a good show, bigger than I thought it would be,” said Mary Albi of Egmont USA, while Robert Kempe of Seven Footer Press called it “BEA on steroids,” due to the compressed two-day schedule.
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In Brief: June 4
This week: A charity event with Judi Barrett, a stage production featuring Stanley the dog, Jimmy Gownley's 10-city tour, and a new book in Al Roker's Book Club for Kids.
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Release Date Revealed for Wimpy Kid #5
Amulet Books has announced the publication date for the fifth book in Jeff Kinney's bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The book will go on sale Tuesday, November 9, and for those keeping track: its cover will be purple (the first four books were red, blue, green, and yellow).
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Pretty Little Liars: The Latest on the 'Desperate Housewives' for Teens Series
For a "pretty little" series, Pretty Little Liars is generating some pretty big sales. And that's even before June 8, when HarperCollins publishes Wanted, the final title in the eight-book series—and ABC Family launches the first of 10 hour-long episodes of a TV show based on the racy teen murder-mystery tale.
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Dutton Gears Up for Grisham's Children's Debut
A 13-year-old is unwittingly is dragged into a sensational murder trial in Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, John Grisham's first novel for young readers. The book, which launches a middle-grade series starring this amateur trial attorney, will be released on May 25 with a one million-copy first printing.
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Candlewick Celebrates a Decade of Judy Moody
A decade ago, a plucky, unabashedly moody heroine first appeared in the pages of Megan McDonald’s Judy Moody, an early chapter book from Candlewick. The series is now available in 24 languages, has won more than 30 awards, and has a worldwide in-print tally of 12 million copies.
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Rights Report: May 20
Walden Media will produce a film version of Frank Cottrell Boyce’s novel Cosmic; Razorbill has acquired world English rights to a debut middle-grade novel, Giant Man-Eating Frogs with Hideous Fangs! by Richard Farr, and Tracy Gates at Viking has bought the next installments in Alane Ferguson's Edgar-nominated forensic mysteries series, The Academy.
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