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I thought this fun illustration by Andreja Peklar went well with the publishing news of new imprints. It helps float all our boats. Andreja was born in a small medieval town of Kamnik in Slovenvia. When she grew up she moved to Lijubijana and studied art history, then switched to painting at the Academy of Fine Arts. She illustrates children’s books. http://www.andrejapeklar.si

Harper Canada will launch a new imprint, Harper Avenue, in fall 2014 devoted to fiction and non-fiction “that capture readers with strong storytelling and unique, memorable voices, and will feature ‘must-read’ works.” Titles on the launch list include fiction from David Nicholls, Caitlin Moran, Emily St. John Mandel, Jacqueline Baker and Graeme Simsion, and non-fiction from Amy Poehler and Andrea Martin. “Harper Avenue will give further shape and focus to an exciting part of our Canadian publishing program by highlighting books that speak directly to readers’ desire for compelling storytelling,” said vp, executive publisher and editor-in-chief at Harper Canada Iris Tupholme in the announcement. “Featuring books that readers will fall in love with and recommend to their friends, Harper Avenue gives special positioning to a select group of titles within the larger framework of one of the largest and most successful publishers in the country.

“Another new imprint, Fig Tree Books, for which we carried our first deal report yesterday (it’s separate from the UK imprint Fig Tree), will launch in March 2015, distributed by PGW. Founded and financed by former pharmaceutical businessman and inventor Fredric Price, the new house will focus on literary fiction about the American Jewish experience. Editor-in-chief Michelle Caplan says, “The American Jewish experience is a rich and broad category with a long history of compelling literature as well as an area that many talented contemporary writers are dynamically exploring. Our goal is to make Fig Tree the first place readers turn to in order to find new voices as well as classics that will still appeal to current readers.”

Here are the submission guidelines for submitting a First Page in June:

Please put “June First Page Critique” in the subject line. Please make sure you include your name, the title of the piece, and whether it is as picture book, middle grade, or young adult, etc. at the top.

Besides pasting it into the body of the email, please attach your first page submission in a Word doc using one inch margins and 12 point font – double spaced, no more than 23 lines and e-mail and send it to: kathy(dot)temean(at)gmail(dot)com. So it should be cut and pasted into the body of the e-mail and then also attached as a Word document to the email.

DEADLINE: June 19th.

RESULTS: June 27th.

Use inch margins – double space your text – 12 pt. New Times Roman font – no more than 23 lines – paste into body of the email and attach.

CALL FOR ILLUSTRATIONS: Still need illustrations for summer. Would love to show off your illustrations during one of my daily posts. So please submit your illustrations: To kathy (dot) temean (at) gmail (dot) com. Illustrations must be at least 500 pixels wide and include a blurb about you that I can use. Put Summer Illustration in the subject area. Thanks!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Rebellion’s profile in the U.S. has increased since Simon & Schuster began distributing its books in 2010, with growing sales for the graphic novel line following 2012’s Dredd.

U.K. publisher Rebellion is going after a somewhat younger crowd with its new children’s imprint, Ravenstone, which launched at BEA with the June release of its first book, Lupus Rex by singer-songwriter John Carter Cash.

The company’s entry into the crowded children’’s book field has been met with enthusiasm, said publishing manager Ben Smith, because the debut title is “not just another dark apocalyptic YA fantasy or vampire novel. People appreciate that it’s for middle grades.” Beyond the first two books, Ravenstone is looking to a possible sequel to Lupus Rex.

Ravenstone joins Rebellion’s other prose imprints: Solaris – which publishes fantasy, science fiction, and horror, including books by bestselling author James Lovegrove – and Abaddon Books, which presents shared-world fiction, mostly in the urban fantasy genre.

Jon Oliver, editor-in-chief at Rebellion, said that a children’s imprint fits well with the publisher’s genre offerings. The line begins with just one book a season to start: Lupus Rex, a fantasy about an epic battle among crows, wolves, and other creatures for the crown of their world. It’s the first middle-grade title for Carter Cash, who has previously published three picture books. Ravenstone’s fall release will be Jan Siegel’s comedic Devil’s Apprentice, in which a successor to Satan – who is retiring – must be found.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Bloomsbury Spark is a one-of-a-kind, global, digital imprint from Bloomsbury Publishing dedicated to publishing a wide array of exciting fiction eBooks to teen, YA, and new adult readers. 

Our outstanding list will feature multiple genres: romance, contemporary, dystopian, paranormal, sci-fi, mystery, thriller, and more. 

Bloomsbury Spark is a one-of-a-kind, global, digital imprint from Bloomsbury Publishing dedicated to publishing a wide array of exciting fiction eBooks to teen, YA and new adult readers. 

Launching in Autumn 2013 our outstanding list will feature multiple genres: romance, contemporary, dystopian, paranormal, sci-fi, mystery, thriller, and more. 

If you’re an author, Bloomsbury Spark is the premiere place to publish your work. 

Why? Because we are a hands-on, full-service publishing house. We will publish you globally  but market you locally. We are not just interested in publishing your book; we want to help craft your career.

If you have a manuscript between 25 and 60k words long, then send it to us at one of the following emails: 

For submissions in the United States and Canada: [email protected]
For submissions in the United Kingdom, Europe and ROW: [email protected]
For submissions in Australia: [email protected]
For submissions in India: [email protected]

Good luck!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Happy Valentine’s Day

Illustration by Maria Bogade Maria was featured last week on Illustrator Saturday.  Here is the link: http://wp.me/pss2W-68h

Amazon Launches Two Lions and Skyscape YA Imprints

Roughly a year after the Amazon Children’s Publishing division launched, it has announced two new imprints. Two Lions will be home to picture books, chapter books and middle-grade fiction, and Skyscape will be devoted to titles for young adults, encompassing works from both established authors and new voices. Margery Cuyler is editorial manager for Two Lions, and Tim Ditlow is editorial manager for Skyscape. Amazon Children’s Publishing’s general manager is Amy Hosford; Larry Kirshbaum, publisher for Amazon Publishing, oversees the editorial leadership for the company’s Seattle and New York adult imprints, as well as Amazon Children’s Publishing.

Amazon wants to take advantage of one of the hottest segments in the publishing world with these two new youth imprints, which is a great thing for all of us. They will publish established and new authors for these books.

In the next four months there will be a number of launch titles being issued. According to Publishers Weekly, Two Lions is slatted to release Gandhi: A March to the Sea by Alice B. McGinty, a biography written in free-verse; and Poco Loco, a debut picture book about a mouse inventor by J.R. Krause. Titles under the Skyscape umbrella include You Know What You Have to Do by Bonnie Shimko, about a 15-year-old girl who hears voices in her head telling her to kill people; and Reason to Breathe, the first book in the Breathing Series trilogy by Rebecca Donovan, an initially self-published title that has already earned a dedicated readership.

These new imprints will play into the new Kindle Freetime Unlimited program that allows parents to subscribe to the new Amazon service, and get as many kids books they want a month. It is very likely that a number of these titles will appear between Freetime and Amazon Prime. Have you taken advantage of this new program? Don’t miss out.

Nobrow Press to Launch Children’s Imprint in 2013

U.K.-based indie graphic novel publisher Nobrow Press is launching Flying Eye Books, a children’s book imprint that will debut in the U.K. in February and in March in the U.S. Flying Eye Books will release 12 titles in the first year including comics, picture books, activity books, fiction, and nonfiction for kids aged 4-11 years old.

Speeding Star is a new trade imprint from Enslow Publishers, Inc., esteemed for its high-quality nonfiction and fiction materials for the educational market.  Beginning in the Fall 2013, Speeding Star will release easy-to-read fiction and informational titles. This content will be suitable for boys and young men from third grade to high school. Each title will be either 48, 64 or 96 pages, on topics ranging from zombie mysteries to profiles of today’s greatest sports stars.  Available in both hardcover trade and paperback bindings, as well as through all major e-book outlets, our titles will keep boys reading!

Capstone Publishing Group, which has been aggressively expanding beyond the school and library markets with the launch six months ago of its Capstone Young Readers trade imprint, is adding picture books to the list this spring. Thirteen picture books in print format will be released initially under the CYR imprint; after the first list, the imprint will release four to six picture books each year.

Capstone Publishing Group has previously published picture books for the educational and trade markets under its Picture Window imprint and will continue to do so; this is the first time the company is publishing picture books under the CYR imprint. Thus far, board books, chapter books, and hobbies and crafts books have been published under the CYR imprint, which is overseen by senior product manager John Rahm and editorial directors Michael Dahl and Nick Healy.

In May Capstone will launch a Web site to promote its new CYR line, www.capstoneyoungreaders.com. CYR titles will be available in digital formats as well as in print. While only select Capstone Publishing titles for the educational market are available in digital formats, beginning in fall 2012, all of Capstone’s trade titles will be available in both print and e-book formats.

Valentine’s Illustration by Barbara Eveleth Barbara was featured on Illustrator Saturday, Nove. 11th, 2010.  Here’s the link: http://wp.me/pss2W-1ZX

This Valentine’s Day illustration was sent in by Michelle Kogan. Michelle is a Chicago illustrator, instructor, painter and writer. She’s working on a picture book called Through A Sunflower. You can view some of the illustrations for this book and read more about Michelle in the article: Journey with an Illustrator, Painter and Writer, in the January 2013 The Prairie Wind, the Newsletter of the Illinois Chapter of the SCBWI, where Michelle is the Illustrator in the Spotlight, http://www.scbwi-illinois.org/pdf/PrairieWind-Winter2013.pdf

View more of Michelle’s work at her website http://www.michellekogan.com

Talk soon,

Kathy

Nook Kindle PDF iTunes on the iPad, look for it in the iBook Store

In a recent PW announcement, Macmillan Children’s Books has announced the creation of a new YA Romance imprint. The switch? It will be a sort of American Idol for YA Romance Writers.

Romance writers, are you ready for this?
Crowdsourcing, or drawing on participation from the audience for decisions, will be the major focus of the new imprint. Audience will consider chapters and vote on their favorite. When a manuscript is finally chose, they’ll vote on book covers.

The editor’s role?

The imprint’s editors will not screen the submitted manuscripts, but will monitor the content to make sure that “nothing obscene happens” in the novels. Romance fans reading the manuscripts online will be able to provide comments and offer a rating, the highest of which is five hearts – or “swoon-worthy.”

The imprint will be under the leadership of the ever-innovative Jean Feiwel, senior v-p and publisher of Feiwel and Friends, Square Fish, and now Swoon Reads. She has collected wide support throughout Macmillan and this will be an imprint to watch.

Do you have a manuscript that is Swoon-Worthy?
Polish it up! Read the early offerings from SRYA and look for announcements of submission guidelines.

IT IS TIME TO NOMINATE WRITING AND ILLUSTRATING www.kathy.temean.wordpress.com for the WRITER’S DIGEST’S 101 BEST WEBSITES FOR WRITERS!

If you have enjoyed the articles and information you received everyday this year, please help by dominating my blog.  Submit an email to [email protected] to nominate my blog www.kathytemean.wordpress.com 

I would greatly appreciate  your help. 

Thanks!

Happy Chanukah!

This Chanukah illustration was sent in by Amalia Hoffman. She was featured on Illustrator Saturday on September 18th, 2010.

Have you noticed that since so many people have bought e readers that publishers are looking for ways to grab more sales? 

It seems publishers are getting their authors to write novellas and short stories to help inspire people who have not read the author’s books to read a smaller story, at a low price, that ties into the novel.  So authors, doing all those character studies can help down the road.  You may be able to write a novella or a short story about a secondary character, which could pique a reader’s interest, let them see for a small amount of money how you write, and glean a flavor of your novel.  It is an excellent strategy and one that wasn’t there before e readers were introduced.  It also works to keep the reader who was been pulled into your novel series, ready and waiting to buy the next book.  Now an author can put out a novella that can be sold to your readers, while you are working on the next book in the series. Perfect!  It will help readers keep connected with the story and, help them remember the characters, while they are reading another novel series that is on their reading list.

I have found this to be a problem, especially if the author doesn’t think of the second book as a stand alone read. If it has been a year and a half between books, most people will have read 20 or 30 other books waiting for your next book to come out and by that time readers can get secondary characters confused. No one wants to go back and read the first one again before opening the new release, so this will help.  I have read a few novel series where the author did manage to tell a great story without having to read the first book.  One that comes to mind is Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle Trilogy. I picked up the second book, because of the cover and I didn’t realize it was a series. Without having read the first, I was still able to enjoy that book and want to buy the first and third when finished.

Maryann Yin reported the following over a Galleycat the other week.

HarperCollins has created HarperTeen Impulse, an eBook imprint dedicated to publishing short stories and novellas for the young-adult genre.

The imprint will release one to four eBooks on the first Tuesday of every month, a day the publisher has dubbed “Impulse Tuesday.” The prices will range between $0.99 to $2.99. Follow this link to see the upcoming titles.

Here’s more from the release: “The first titles go on sale December 4, 2012, and they include Breathless by Sophie Jordan, a companion novella to her Firelight series; Stupid Perfect World, a future-set novella by bestselling author Scott Westerfeld…Cruisin’ by Sarah Mlynowski, a short story in which teens take a plunge on the high seas and discover that everything is not as it seems; and Radiant by Cynthia Hand, a novella set in the world of her bestselling Unearthly series…Forthcoming titles include The Prince: A Selection Novella by Kiera Cass, a companion to the New York Times bestseller The Selection; Tags, a one-act play by National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Walter Dean Myers; and One Day More, a prequel novella to bestselling author Aprilynne Pike’s forthcoming novel, Life After Theft.”

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Launching this fall 2011, Sky Pony Press is the children’s book imprint of Skyhorse Publishing. Following in the footsteps of our parent company, our goal is to provide books for readers with a wide variety of interests. As our list grows, we will be publishing fiction, picture books, educational books, novelty books, midgrade, and even reissuing some well-loved classics. Since we do not view our potential readers as generic age groups, but rather as individual children, each with specific talents and needs, we will be publishing in a broad range of subject matter to celebrate their diverse interests.

Many of you have asked what we are looking for, so here are some ideas.  This list will evolve and change as we begin to sell our early lists, so check back occasionally for new information.

We will consider picture books, early readers, midgrade novels, novelties, and informational books for all ages.  Although we are not searching for YA fiction, we would consider projects that tied in with the subject areas in which we are publishing.  We are mainly publishing single titles but are open to series ideas.

Our parent company publishes many excellent books in the fields of ecology, independent living, farm living, wilderness living, recycling, and other green topics, and this will be a theme in our children’s book line. We are also searching for books that have strong educational themes and that help inform children of the world in which they live. We are also interested in books with special needs themes, such as autism, ADHD, food allergies, and so forth.

To submit a manuscript or proposal to Sky Pony, please send an email to skyponysubmissions at skyhorsepublishing dot com.

Attach all material as Word documents—or as a jpeg if art is involved.  Include some relevant information about yourself, including your publishing history, any institutional associations you have, your occupation, a website link if relevant, and, for informational books, your qualifications as an expert in your subject area. Please do not mail hard copies to their office unless requested.

http://www.skyponypress.com/contacts/

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

3 Comments on New Place to Submit Your Books, last added: 8/16/2011