ESPN Personality & Award-Winning Author Howard Bryant to Publish Non-Fiction Children’s Book Sport Series with Penguin Young Readers Group
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, NY – July 22, 2013 – Howard Bryant, senior writer, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine, and sports correspondent for National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition, will publish three non-fiction books for middle grade readers celebrating the greatest moments of baseball, football and basketball. The deal also includes a fourth book—a picture book to be written by Bryant. Philomel, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, will publish the series, with the first book scheduled for publication in March 2015. Michael Green, President and Publisher, Philomel brokered the deal with Deirdre Mullane of Mullane Literatry Associates. Penguin has World Rights.
“Howard Bryant is one of the rising stars in the world of sports writing,” Green said, “an elegant and passionate spokesperson for the history and drama of the game. He brings a unique talent and perspective to an underserved market for young readers. I’m honored to be working with him.”
“It is always exciting to begin a new book project,” Bryant said, “but it is especially true of this one for two specific reasons. The first is that my nine-year old son is beginning to take an interest in the very subjects we’re going to be exploring, making this project personal as well as professional. The second is being asked to work with Philomel. The professionalism and enthusiasm Michael and his group bring to their books is both exciting and humbling. Being associated with the same imprint that publishes Eric Carle and Mike Lupica is a team on which every writer would like to join.”
Howard Bryant is senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. He has also served as the sports correspondent for National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Saturday since 2006 and appears regularly on ESPN’s The Sports Reporters, ESPN First Take, and Outside the Lines. His nonfiction titles for adults include The Last Hero: the Life of Henry Aaron, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and Juicing the Game: Drugs, Power and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball. He is the only two-time recipient of the prestigious Casey Award—for Shut Out: a Story of Race and Baseball in Boston, and The Last Hero: the Life of Henry Aaron.
Philomel Books was founded in the early 1980s from World Publishing Group for Young People. In its early days, with its mission to produce distinguished books that would stand the test of time, the imprint was home to what would become such industry classics as The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, Grandfather Twilight by Barbara Helen Berger, Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco, and the Caldecott Medal-winning titles Owl Moon by Jane Yolen and John Schoenherr, and Lon Po Po by Ed Young. Today, in addition to being the picture book home of contemporary luminaries Oliver Jeffers (The Day the Crayons Quit; Stuck) and Loren Long (Otis; The Little Engine that Could) the imprint is known equally for its groundbreaking books for boys. Among the series and authors that now call Philomel home include Brian Jacques’ Redwall saga, Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider Adventures, John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series, and Mike Lupica’s sports fiction—all New York Times bestsellers. Home, as well, to the multi-award winning novels Between Shades of Gray and Mockingbird, Philomel, publishes nearly forty titles per year and retains its standards of excellence in everything it releases, producing nourishing books for young minds that grow.
Media Contact:
Shanta Newlin
Director of Publicity
212-414-3630
Shanta.newlin@us.penguingroup.
