Year: 2015
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Happy National Library Card Sign-Up Month!
Whether you’re finding your people among other library regulars or seeing your own fears, pain, or joys reflected back at you from the pages of a book, a great library can be that critical source of …
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McDonald's UK to Bring the Extraordinary World of Roald Dahl to Life for Millions of Children Through a Landmark Book Partnership
The top ingredients of great storytelling have been revealed by McDonald’s Happy Readers today, including a knack for mimicking voices like Roald Dahl’s famous Willy Wonka, and adding sound effects …
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Sonia Manzano of 'Sesame Street' at the CBC's Annual Meeting
Over the course of her 40+ years on Sesame Street, Manzano emerged as a champion of literacy and diversity, creating a positive portrayal of Latino culture and community. Manzano reflects …
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Banned Books Week's Digital Expansion
The sponsors behind the event (including the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, and Pen America) have pushed to extend BBW’s digital reach through …
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An Inside Look at Publishing Dr. Seuss's 'What Pet Should I Get?'
Cathy Goldsmith, v-p and associate publisher at Random House Children’s Books; v-p and publisher Mallory Loehr; and senior editor Alice Jonaitis shared their experience working on the project and memories …
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Scholastic Education Announces New Leadership Team to Expand Professional Learning Offerings
New York, NY – Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children’s publishing, education and media company, today announced key appointments to leadership positions as part of the Company’s expansion of professional …
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Louis Sachar on the Writing Process
When Sachar begins a new project, such as his most recent title Fuzzy Mud, he works no more than one hour per day generating ideas. While his process is fairly …
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Pottermore to Launch Reimagined Website Featuring News, Commentary and Insights About J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World
Pottermore announced today that its newly imagined and redesigned website will launch in the coming weeks. Positioned as the digital heart of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, it will include more …
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Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Acceptance Letter to Be Auctioned
The letter is estimated to bring in more than £4,000 (US $6,000). But to fans of the series, a letter from Hogwarts is priceless. Harry’s invitation to Hogwarts marks a key …
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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Introduces New Programs on Trunity eLearning Platform, Improving On- and Offline Access to Digital Curricula
BOSTON, MA — Global learning company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) (NASDAQ: HMHC) and Trunity Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:TNTY) today announced the addition of new HMH digital curricula to the Trunity eLearning …
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Teen Librarian Toolbox Seeks Contributors for YA Mental Health Blog
The project aims to raise awareness and offer support and resources for teens with mental health issues. If you are interested in writing a guest post or sharing a book list, please …
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Hispanic American Heritage Book List
Silver People: Voices from the Panama Canal by Margarita Engle (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2014) What the Moon Saw by Laura Resau (Yearling/Random House, 2008) Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes …
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Parents' Choice Awards for Five Hachette Audio Titles
New York, NY – Hachette Audio is happy to share the news that five of its audiobook titles are being honored by the Parents’ Choice Foundation this year. Winning titles …
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How to Make a Difference in 8 Practical Steps
Contributed to CBC Diversity by Faye Bi
Many organizations, CBC Diversity among them, have done a fantastic job raising awareness of diversity in children’s literature. We’re at the point where we can easily fill a convention’s diversity panel. But how do we know if we’re making a difference? Is anyone listening to us? I often hear from supporters of diversity that they don’t feel like they have a loud enough voice to make an impact. Not everyone is a publisher or book buyer, after all. So what can we do?
Here are my practical tips for members of the publishing community, and anyone with a love of children’s books:
1. Listen. Keep an open mind about others’ experiences. I say this as a Chinese-American woman; I do not know what it’s like to be black, disabled, or an author.
2. Be deliberate in choosing the media you consume. If you read 15 books last year and not a single one was by a woman or writer of color, ask yourself why. Was it discoverability? Try to actively seek out diverse works.
3. Promote diverse books. Talk about diverse books with your family members, friends, and colleagues. Ask your child’s teacher to assign diverse books. Request books by diverse authors that may not be stocked in a bookstore or ordered by a library. Normalize these books.
4. Amplify diverse voices. If you are in a position of influence, allow others the space to share their experiences publicly. Follow and repost people online who might offer a different perspective.
5. Put your money where your mouth is. Financially support writers from diverse backgrounds by purchasing their books for yourself, your library/bookstore, or as gifts to others. If you are in charge of budgets, allocate real funds to diverse purchases, recruiting, promotions, and mentoring.
6. Have difficult conversations with people you value. This one is the hardest, but I believe it has the most impact. If someone—be it a family member, a close friend, or a colleague—says or does something that may be, speak up.
(Note: While I am the last person for tone policing, people will more likely react positively if the conversations are conducted in a respectful or professional manner.)
7. Become a diversity advocate. Celebrate successes and be the one to bring up issues and potential problems before they arise. Get involved with likeminded people and organizations (We Need Diverse Books, Latinos in Kid Lit, CBC Diversity, etc.) to mobilize others. Seek out mentors, or become a mentor yourself.
8. Recognize that no one is perfect, and that these conversations are ongoing. Own up to your mistakes when called on them. Also, cut yourself a break sometimes: you can still like problematic things—just recognize them as such.
Faye Bi works as a publicist at Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and Saga Press, and also volunteers for Sirens, a conference dedicated to women in fantasy literature. She tweets at @faye_bi.
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Remembering Who YA Fiction is For
Wetta understands the importance of creating (and marketing) YA fiction for young readers of all backgrounds and interests. I want to be sure there are books for all sorts of …
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Children in TX, FL, NY, NJ, and NC Logged the Most Reading Minutes in the 2015 Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge
NEW YORK, NY – This summer, more than 267,000 children from across all 50 states and 28 countries read 286,611,349 million minutes in the 9th annual Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge. The …
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28th Annual Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grant Program Call for Proposals
NEW YORK—September 15, 2015—The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, which fosters children’s love of reading and creative expression in our diverse culture, celebrates the 28th year of its Mini-Grant program—and Keats’s …
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The Animorphs Series to Be Adapted for Film
Featuring 54 novels, the series was originally written by K.A. Applegate and published by Scholastic. It follows five teenagers who develop the ability to transform into various animals, and are …
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Little, Brown Books for Young Readers to Publish Special Tenth Anniversary Edition of Twilight Featuring Exclusive Bonus Content
New York, NY — Megan Tingley, Executive Vice President and Publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, announces the publication of a special tenth anniversary edition of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, …
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Rita Williams-Garcia on Diversity and the Writing Life
As a young girl, Williams-Garcia practiced writing 500 words each night. She believes that children of all backgrounds need to see their lives represented in literature. We need diverse stories for each and …
