Children’s Publishing Industry Changes & Kudos

Marcela Staudenmaier is the recipient of the 2012 Tassy Walden Award: New Voices in Children’s Literature (Shoreline Arts Alliance, CT) and the 2012 Ann Barrow Illustrator’s Scholarship (New England SCBWI) for her children’s book illustrator portfolio.

Marcela is a freelance children’s book illustrator. Her clients include the McGraw-Hill Companies. CATugeau LLC is representing Marcela in a ‘brokered’ relationship at this time. Marcela was featured in Illustrator Saturday earlier this year: https://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2012/03/31/illustator-saturday-marcela-staudenmaier/

Congratulations to Leeza Hernandez New Jersey SCBWI Regional Advisor, Sheri Oshins Assistant Regional Advisor, and Karen Romagna Illustrator Coordinator for successfully running their first NJSCBWI event this past weekend.  The weekend was filled with good information, good company, and good memories.  If you were there and want to write an article and/or pictures to post, I would love to receive them.

Audrey Vernick’s FIRST GRADE DROPOUT, about a first grader who makes a mistake so hugely humiliating (and humorous) that she can’t possibly go back to elementary school, to Jennifer Greene at Clarion, by Erin Murphy at Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

Author of books including Crank, Burned and Perfect, Ellen Hopkins’ RUMBLE, about a 18-year-old boy and a horrific accident — of his own making — that plunges him into a dark, silent place where the only thing he can hear is a rumble, and eventually, a voice, which will call everything he has ever disbelieved into question, again to Justin Chanda at Margaret K. McElderry Books, in a major deal, in a two-book deal, by Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (world).

Abby Ranger leaves Disney-Hyperion to join the early childhood group at Harper Children’s as senior editor.

Jocelyn Davies from Razorbill returns to Harper Children’s division as editor.

Melanie Tortoroli is joining Viking as associate editor, reporting to Wendy Wolf.  She will focus on acquiring and editing nonfiction at Viking.

Maria Modugno will join Random House Children’s on November 26 as editorial director, Picture Books, for the Random House and Golden Books group. Previously she was vp, editorial director at Harper Children’s.

Random House is paying 54.5 million euros ($70 million) to buy out Mondadori’s 50-percent stake in their Spanish language book publishing joint venture.

Next month Ruckus Media will expand their children’s ebook platform with a revamped Ruckus 2.0app/store release and in advance, the company has announced a number of “ebook partnerships for digital distribution” with other publishers. Their new relationships include deals with Little, Brown Children’s, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s, Thomas Nelson and Charlesbridge Publishing, covering “about three dozen new titles” at launch with more titles to be added on a monthly basis thereafter.

Licensed titles include THE POLAR EXPRESS, TOOT AND PUDDLE, many CURIOUS GEORGE titles, some Margaret Wise Brown titles, and HEAVEN IS FOR REAL FOR KIDS.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy