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You may have noticed some subtle changes to my social media and official site recently.

Here is the good news: MillerWords, LLC is now accepting submissions for publication.

I am delighted to say I have been taken on by a new publisher for my latest children’s humorous fantasy, ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’

”Finn is a bored young leprechaun who lives a quiet life with his family and friends in the sleepy village of Duntappin. He wants something exciting to happen, but never having been blessed by the Good Luck Fairy he soon gets far more than he bargained for. When he least expects his adventure to begin, Finn finds himself a long way from home in dire circumstances. Home begins to seem very appealing all of a sudden. Has he any hope of getting back? This is no fairy tale…

This funny and fast moving story filled by weird and wonderful characters will turn all your expectations on their head, but that’s a good thing, because it makes them all the more amusing’

My new publisher is the American based ‘Crimson Cloak Publishing’ The following extract is taken from their website.

‘Crimson Cloak Publishing was created by people who care about our authors, editors, artists, and customers. For without them, we could not exist.

Crimson Cloak Publishing is a new and exciting voice in the publishing industry. Our main goal is to provide quality literature to our audience at a fair price. We publish soft-covers and e-books, currently.  Audiobooks and hard cover will come later.’

Click on the link below to check out the great books for sale!

http://www.crimsoncloakpublishing.com/main_page.html

Are you a librarian or parent working to create a diverse book collection in your home or school? Don’t miss Lee and Low’s inventory and list of resources to help you along the way.

Be certain to read The Brown Bookshelf’s feature from Carole Bostone Weatherford on why she entered the print on demand and ebook market.

There is a market, and need for, more multicultural books and ebooks. The number of multicultural children’s books being released each year has plateaued at fewer than 100 titles a year. This at a time when the U.S. population is increasingly diverse.

Several days ago, Zetta Elliott’s post about #weneeddiversebooks discussed the need for those who want more diversity in YA to support self published authors.

I’ve been discussing the barriers faced by writers of color and my colleagues had several ideas, including a collective of indie authors. I think the big review outlets—Kirkus, School Library Journal, Horn Book—ought to devote a column to indie authors so that they can shine a spotlight on the very best self-published books instead of using blanket policies to shut out those truly talented writers who have already been turned away by publishers. But if members of the children’s literature community refuse to change and instead opt to wait on the publishers themselves to do better, nothing will ever change…

I’d had a similar discussion with Amy Cheney just the week before. Amy says that without self published authors, there would be even less for her students to read. She specifically mentioned L. Divine who self published to continue her Drama High series and No Matter What by Jeff Rivera.

I still, still hesitate with self published works even though I know Zetta Elliott, B. A. Binns, Neesha Meminger, L. Divine and Jeff Rivera do good work. These authors know the process and don’t rush a first draft to press. Not everyone has that dedication.

And then there are small presses. While some can rush works through, the majority whose work I’ve read, spend time with writers of color who wouldn’t get a chance with a larger press. They don’t necessarily have the resources for a lot of marketing, but the larger houses that do have the marketing departments don’t necessarily use them on newer writers.

And, we can’t assume anything because a book comes from a major publisher. Biases are still there, editing can be sloppy and research on historic events, cultures or places can be incorrect.

By these standards, we should be willing to give independent authors and smaller publishers a try, but when you consider that these large publishers so seldom give writers of color a try, perhaps we need to really reconsider where our money is going. In Econ class we called it the ‘dollar vote’. Be selective where you spend your money and make it count. Look at the reviews and consider how well Native American culture is being portrayed. They won’t get it right until our dollars vote for the right books.

I really do try to make this easy for you. I have a nice list of authors of color who have published with smaller companies, and I even have information on some of the smaller publishers who have been flying under the #seneeddiversebooks radar. While many publishers such as those listed below are on my Resource Page, the ones I’m presenting today are not.

 Pinata Books

 RoadRunner Press

 Saffron Press

 Shen’s Books

 Starbright Books

 Tara Books

 Tiny Satchel Press

 Tulika Books

 Tuttle Publishing

 7th Generation Press

Black Sheep YA is an imprint of Akashic Books.

“Akashic Books is a Brooklyn-based independent company dedicated to publishing urban literary fiction and political nonfiction by authors who are either ignored by the mainstream, or who have no interest in working within the ever-consolidating ranks of the major corporate publishers.”

Black Sheep YA is meant to appeal to reluctant readers and those looking for something not found in traditional publishing. 2014 Titles include Changers Book 1: Drew by T. Cooper and Allison Glock-Cooper and Game World by C.J. Farely.

Jacqueline Guest’s books are published by Lorimer. From her webpage:

Jacqueline is a Metis writer who lives in a log cabin nestled in the pinewoods of the Rocky Mountain foothills of Alberta . 

Her award winning books are unique in that many of the main characters come from different ethnic backgrounds including First Nations, Inuit or Metis. Her well-drawn characters face issues common to every child such as bullying, blended families and physical challenges and are strong role models for today’s youth. Jacqueline’s historical novels for young readers’ present Canada ’s vibrant past as an exciting read every child will enjoy. Her young adult mysteries address teenage problems in a sensitive way while still providing a great page-turner.

Her recent books include Free Throw, Triple Threat and Hat Trick.

Na’ima B. Roberts? Too awesome!! Check her out on Wikipedia!

If you’re more visual, She Wore Red Trainers is her current UK release.

It’s love at first glance when Ali meets Amirah, red trainers and all. Ali is still getting over the loss of mother, and trying to come to terms with his identity as a Muslim who likes basketball, motorbikes and wants a gap year in Mexico. Amirah, the gifted artist, has sworn never to get married. But falling in love isn’t simple when trying to remain true to the deen, the spiritual path of Islam.

Watch the trailer and then read the first chapter!

Into steampunk steamfunk? You have to know about Balogun Ojetade, author of the Chronicles of Harriet series, self published by Roaring Lions Produections. Come back sometime. I just bought a copy and plan to review soon. Much more to follow on this author.

Natasha Hanover

I also just purchased Edge of Truth by Natasha Hanova. Hanova writes YAParanormal, is published by Sapphire Star Publishing and is a blogger extraordinaire!

Paul Ferrante publishes with Fire and Ice, an imprint of Melange Books. Melange is a “royalty-paying company publishing ebooks and print books. We pay authors 40% net royalties on ditital formats and 10% on print.” Self publishing that isn’t completely DIY. Ferrante writes the T.J. Jackson mystery series nad has currently released the third in the series, Roberto’s Return.

Something’s Wrong in the Birthplace of Baseball

In life, he was one of the all-time greats, a trailblazing icon who played the game with unmatched passion and style. In death, his mystique only grew, the circumstances of his demise shrouded in controversy and myth. When he passed into legend it was believed his like would never be seen again. But now he’s come back. And it’s up to T.J., LouAnne and Bortnicker to solve the riddle of Roberto’s Return.

Medeia Sharif released Snip, Snip Revenge this April from Evernight Press.

Beautiful, confident Tabby Karim has plans for the winter: nab a role in her school’s dramatic production, make the new boy Michael hers, and keep bigoted Heather—with her relentless Ay-rab comments—at bay. When a teacher’s lie and her father’s hastiness rob her of her beautiful hair, her dreams are dashed. The fastest barber in Miami Beach has made her look practically bald. With all her pretty hair gone, Tabby doesn’t believe she fits the feminine role she’s auditioning for. Michael is still interested in her, but he’s playing it cool. Heather has taken to bullying her online, which is easier to do with Tabby’s ugly haircut. Tabby spearheads Operation Revenge, which proves satisfying until all of her problems deepen. After messing up, she sets to make things right.

I recently joined a webinar for the purpose of learning about upcoming multicultural titles in children’s literature. Lee and Low, Groundwood, James Lorimer and Co (distributed by Orca) and Tuttle Books all shared information about new or upcoming titles. I have to admit I was quite interested in the picture books although I rarely take the time to read them.

At the same time, I look for titles written by authors of color and for books that have fully developed characters of color, where their culture is part of their identity. This doesn’t mean constantly fighting racism or proclaiming ethnic identity but it does mean paying attention to hair texture, family structure, foods and dialog. Eluding to a character’s skin tone doesn’t quite give a full sense of who that character really is.

I read someone somewhere, probably a white author, stating with regards to writing about characters of color that they felt ‘damned if they do and damned if they don’t’. Yes, I feel you on that. I honestly don’t know if I can clearly articulate how I feel about white authors writing characters of color. Do most of us know what we want and, do we know when our expectations are fair and equitable?

What does ‘do it right’ really mean? I continue to say that if your personal life, your friendships, reading and musical selections, knowledge of history, restaurant and movie choices aren’t diverse then you should avoid trying to write diverse. You can’t get it right if you don’t know it.

But, what if a white author does know it and then chooses to write about Native or Asian characters? How far can they develop the story without being criticized? Imagine if a white author were to write honestly about what goes through a characters mind when they encounter a group of Latino teens speaking Spanish or if they’re trying to figure out a young black person’s natural hairstyle. What if a secondary character who is a person of color also happens to be the antagonist? I think that could happen in real life. Books can guide young white readers ability to navigate this racist and sexist world as well as it can young folk of color.

I suggest that if white authors cannot be honest with characters in these moments, if they are going to be accused of being racists or bigots, then they can’t ‘do it right’. Allow them to be racist? No. But, do allow them to explore honest thoughts and emotions. Authors should be able to work with editors who know how these situations unfold. We should work toward having honest dialogs. Once again, I’m expecting way too much of children’s literature because this just doesn’t happen in American society.

See, this is what happens when you don’t write. All your thoughts merge in unexpected ways in unexpected places and you end up with a huge thought peice when all you wanted to do was announce new and upcoming books. So, here we go!

Lee and Low

Family owned company that focuses on stories that children of color can identify with and that all children can enjoy.

Parrots Over Puerto Rico author Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore Illustrator by Susan L. Roth

Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac

Summoning the Phoenix: Poems and Prose author Emily Jiang illustrator by April Chu

The Hula Hoopin Queen Written author Thelma Lynne Godin illustrator by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Twenty-Two Cents: Muhammad Yunus and the Village Bank author Paula Yoo and Jamel Akib

Drift author M. K. Hutchins

Rebellion (Conclusion to the Tankborn series) author Karen Sandler

Lee and Low will also be republishing their very popular global Cinderella books this year.

GROUNDWOOD

Canadian publishing company.

spring

Why Are You Doing That? author Elisa Amado illustrator Manuel Monroy

Bravo, Chico Canta Bravo authors Pat Mora, Libby Martinez Illustrated by Amelia Lou Carling

Norman Speaks! author Caroline Adderson Illustrator Qin Leng

Lost Girl Found: Story of the Lost Girls in Sudan author Lean Bassoff and Laura Deluca

The Amazing Travels of ibn Battuta author Ratima Sherafeddne illustrator Intelaq Mohammed Ali

Movi la Mano/I Moved My Hand author Jorge Luján illustrator Mandana Sadat translator Elise Amado

upcoming

Work: An Occupational ABC written and illustrated by Kellen Hatanaka

The Cat in the Wall author Deborah Ellis

LORIMER

Lorimer is a division of Orca Books that maintains a diverse cast of characters throughout their hi/lo Sport, Replay, Podium Sports Academy and Lorimer Side Streets series. Some of the newer titles include the following.

Free Throw by Jacqueline Guest

Hat Trick by Jacqueline Guest

Sidelined author Trevor Kew

Big League Dreams: Baseball Hall of Fame’s first African Canadian, Fergie Jenkins author Richard Brignali

TUTTLE

66 year old company founded in Tokyo.

Jet Black and the Ninja Wind authors Leza Lowitz and Shogo Oketani

Revenge of the Akuma Clan by Benjamin Martin

In Real Life by Lawrence Tabak

Korean Folk Songs Stars in the Sky and Dreams in Our Hearts written by Robert Choi; illustrated by Sam Ed

Mei Mei’s Lucky Birthday Noodles by Shan Shan Cen and Heidi Goodman

Ming’s Adventure on China’s Great Wall author Li Jian translator Yijin Wert

The Sheep Beauty author Li Jian translator Yijin Wert

In the Forbidden City by Chiu Kwong-Chiu

This is the Greatest Place: The Forbidden City and the World of Small Animals by Brian Lee

The myth that publishers have stacks of manuscripts  and that writers have to line up in a long queue was deflated by Jennifer Bacia during her talk at the Gold Coast Writers Association meeting . ‘Actually, that is not the case’ she stated. According to Jennifer, publishers are always looking for something that will make […]

The author in repose.

BY J DAVID OSBORNE

I tried retail for a while, and that was fun, in the way that puking on yourself at a family gathering is fun: you have a story. After a time, though, it stops being a story you laugh at and starts being one that you cry over. Usually into a beer. Next came moving furniture. For a time, that was good, physical work. I genuinely enjoyed it. And the stories I heard there, man, the meat of my second novel is mostly that. My imagination’s not that good. But then here comes nature and that heavy time and all of a sudden my back is in ruins and I got sick of carrying marble armoires up three flights of stairs. Then came restaurant work. That was fun.

Through all of this, I wrote. My first novel dropped in that weird interim before I started the moving job, when I was living in my car. The second hit and I was getting these royalty checks, but aside from the first one (which paid my rent), it wasn’t paying my rent. It hit me: “I’ve gotta find a way to make a living off of words or I’m going to die.”

I’ve been a fan of crime fiction since before I can remember. It started with Ellroy. I read White Jazz and threw my hands up and hollered. You can say this much with so little? I was hooked. I got the classics in, then I got voracious with it: Mosely, Sallis, Willeford, Pelecanos, Westlake, Parker, on and on.

I loved the opportunity crime fiction presented to peer into the human condition, and the (usually) clipped, no-bullshit delivery. What I didn’t like were the formulas, the staunch sexism, the rampant racism. I really wanted to carve something out that could represent everything that makes crime fiction beautiful, minus the stuff that made me cringe. That, and I didn’t want to sell hot dogs anymore.

I gathered a nice group of brilliant writers, who for whatever reason decided to hook me up with some manuscripts. I started a Kickstarter (pause for groans) in which I detailed five books my new indie press would put out, and—wonder of wonders—people thought it looked cool. I got the money and I was off to the races.

Sort of.

The books were edited and designed and off to the printers. They dropped, and then there I was. Floating.

There were many times I’d go out to my porch and smoke a cigarette and my house would shake as the trains rolled by out across the road, and I’d wonder what I could do to actually get people to look at these titles, to pick them up. I’d gotten a massively talented artist (Matthew Revert

Still waiting to hear back from most of those places.

I got tired of sitting on my hands. I took the books and grabbed a friend and hit the road. We went from Oklahoma to Wichita to Denver to Salt Lake City to Boise to Seattle to Portland to Sacramento out to the Bay to Los Angeles to El Paso. We performed in punk squats and abandoned warehouses and bookstores and back alleys. At one performance we lit a mannequin head on fire while I paced the floor with paint on my feet, tracing a chalk outline of an eye, rambling about a cyclops. At another I read the audience the end of my first novel and ripped out each page and burned it as I went. Though I didn’t sell copies at every stop, I talked to as many people as I could about the books. And I noticed an uptick. We live in an age of social media noise and rampant void screaming. There’s only one way to get things going, especially if you live in Oklahoma: you have to get out there and talk to people.

You have to ask them to dance.

There are other things you have to remember, too. Running a small press, it’s important to utilize social media, despite my prior assertion that it’s a dying medium. You have to be a person online, first. I see folks every day, inviting me to their “book releases,” which are really just Amazon launches of e-books. That’s annoying. You’re more likely to see me posting pictures of my dog, or complaining about how I could really go for a cigarette (quitting is tough, but, hey! nine days) than you are to see me talking about the books or writing or editing. The first reason is that places like Facebook and my blog are my escapes. The second is that you just turn into a spambot and fade into the background, and good luck swimming out of that lagoon.

Another thing: finances. Be careful. Keep your receipts. Where I live, there are crazy tax breaks for small businesses. Make sure you know exactly what you owe your authors. If you don’t pay them right, everyone will know, and you will be ostracized. And rightly so.

On the topic of writers: they are, for the most part, a funny bunch. They care about this stuff. So they’ll have things to fix, last-minute requests, bizarre neuroses. You have to learn to bend, to understand that your voice is not the voice. And if they want changes, you make them. Mark Twain once said that a novel is never finished, only abandoned, and I think that’s true, but Broken River authors abandon their children with a packed lunch (complete with smiley face note written on napkin), surplus army jacket, mace, a Swiss Army knife, and one of those flashlights you put on your head. And a ‘mommy loves you’ and a peck on the cheek. God love them for that. They care. And you have to, as well. If you don’t, well … you know.

I’m not a father so I don’t really know what I’m talking about here, but I’m assuming there’s a feeling you get when you hold a baby for the first time. Does it get real? I figure it gets real, then. When you spend months and months eating tuna from a can and pecking at a keyboard and making sure the kerning and keeping and hyphens and headers look right in InDesign, and then you send it to a printer and they send you copies and they are physical, real objects, resting there, looking up at you, you can almost see these big blue cartoon eyes, these helpless things that need you. So, you start to feel an obligation.

When you start a small press, you lack resources, usually. And that should make you hungry. You need to provide for these babies. Your authors, they spent years writing these things, invested their lives into them. Now here they are. Your responsibility. You’ll want to quit, lord I know you will, because the whole thing is so big, like pressing your body up against the edge of everything. But you have to get out there, you have to keep your mind right, and you have to make people sit up and take notice. You didn’t pull a sword out of a stone; no one ordained you the Chosen One. You chose you. It’s your responsibility. So go do it. If you love something, take that big Christmas dinner in your heart and break it down into MREs and dish it out to every person you meet, in small, manageable doses. They’ll feel it. They’ll know you’re down.

And then, you ask them to dance.

Warning: I’ve been working on this for hours. While I know I need to give this 2-3 more read-throughs, I just don’t have time. Please forgive the typos!

I went to ALAN this year because Lyn Miller-Lachmann (Rogue; Nancy Paulsen Books) asked me to moderate a panel with her, Kekla Magoon (The Rock and the River; Aladdin) and Rene Saldana Jr (Juventud! Growing up on the Border: Stories and Poems; VAO Publishing). entitled “It’s Complicated: Diverse Authors Revisit the Classics”. We had a nice turnout and it was great working with these talented individuals, although Rene was unfortunately detained in that terrible storm in Texas and unable to join us.

I was truly disappointed in the lack of diversity at the conference. As a new friend stated “I’m tired of the all White world of YA.” I could count on my hands the number of people of color who were present. While there those who are committed to YA and to the teens who read it, most teachers and librarians of color will choose to come if they see people like them somewhere in the program. It makes you feel welcome, you know?

My criticism is more with the industry and how it promotes authors.

I felt quite welcome at ALAN this year as I always do.

Yea, it bothered me that after all I’d gone through to get there, the room was so packed that it seemed I’d spend the first day standing around the back of the room. But this is a conference where people talk to one another! We talk about the books, the authors, programs we’re planning, students we teach and the shoes we wear. We talk to librarians, authors, editors and university students. While this year we celebrated 40 years of ALAN, we listened to authors as they shared about their writing, their readers and their lives.

I hated that I missed hearing Jacqueline Woodson’s (Each Kindness, Nancy Paulsen Books) poem but I had to get Swati Avasthi’s (Chasing Shadows, Random House) autograph and arrange an interview with her!

Who was it during the Coming of Age session when talking about hope in our stories that said “It’s not the despair that gets you, it’s the hope”?

Alan Sitomer (Caged Warrior, Disney Hyperion) on the same panel postulated that “we all live on hope.” With much passion, he proclaimed that “there’s an assault on kids in urban schools today.” They’re not bright enough, not motivated enough… and this is only said about the urban kids!

Upon receiving the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award, Eliot Schrefer (Endangered, Scholastic) reflected on his visit to the Congo where he spoke to teens growing up in this war-torn country and he wondered why he was there talking to these students about books. But then, they began taking examples from his reading and applying them to situations in their country.

Fellow recipient A.S. King (Reality Boy; Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) made even more of a point about why she writes. “I need to write the air. I write because I need to. I believe in compassion and community and I’ve always wanted to live in a world where people really are equals … Writing should make us generous. You have to give up yourself to the book. Writing should change you.”

As someone who has moved over to the academic side and who teaches research to students, I really appreciated what Tanya Lee Stone (Courage has no color, the true story of the Triple Nickles: America’s first Black Paratroopers; Candlewick) had to say about research. She suggested getting young researchers to realize what they are passionate about and then figure out what’s important about that. Passion should drive research.

I loved hearing Beth Kephart (Going Over; Chronicle Books) state that “landscape is character” because it spoke to my passion for geography in literature.

Sharon McKay (Enemy Territory; Annick Press) was amazing as she unfolded her personal story that helps her know how to be an insider when writer. “Outsiders have simple solutions.” They don’t understand life’s complexities.

“We are all writing about people in the end. We’re all writing about love in the end.” Kephart.

But readers need to find themselves in what they read. They need to be able to relate to the characters and situations.

Sara Farizan (If you could be mine: a novel; Algonquin) reflected on growing up uncomfortable with her gay identity. She found solace in reading and writing and she sought out books. While she found some with gay and lesbian characters, she couldn’t find any Middle Eastern or Asian characters who were facing obstacles like her.

Authors with so many provocative thoughts! While so many writers urge us to push the envelope and to be edgy (which we need to do because so many teen’s lives are edgy) Another perspective was presented by Carl Deuker (Swagger; Houghton Mifflin). “They grow close to 6 feet tall but they’re still very close to Charlotte’s Web”.

I wish I knew who said it!!!
“Why are books the last racial  barrier where many white kids only read about their own experience”? neighborhoods and schools are integrated. We listen to each other’s music, so what is it about books?

I loved witnessing Paul Rudnick’s (Gorgeous; Scholastic) sheer exuberance about writing; Ann Burg’s (Sarafina’s Promise; Scholastic) commitment to truth, Robert Lipsyte’s plea for literacy over sports (where “character has become less important than characters”); Ken Setterington’s (Branded by the Pink Triangle; Second Story Press) work to preserve the pink triangle of the holocaust and was perplexed by science fiction writings admitting the lack of science in their writing yet  managing to redeem themselves in their use of horror.

I was glad to discover a new author of color, Kendare Blake (Antigodess; Tor), a Korean American author.

As is fitting, my take-a-way came from Walter Mayes, librarian extraordinaire and the face of ALAN. Remember, ALAN is part of NCTE, so the majority of people there are teachers. Walter was part of a panel celebrating librarians and media specialists. I think he’s an incredible librarian. Well over 6 ft tall, he’s still close to Charlotte’s Web, still close to what children hold dear. Walter related a story to us.

In his library, the older students are able to speak their mind if no younger students are around. Walter’s students aren’t those urban students but they’re diverse. His library books represent diversity. He’s figured out how to give students what they’re ready for and he knew this particular 8^th grade black girl was ready for pretty much the same thing her white classmates were reading until one day, she came in, looked around and said she was tired of all these books with “rich, white bitches”. Their conversation led him to make a selection for her that had her coming back, and coming back and coming back.

Walter, this tall white guy working in a library in an all girl’s school was aware enough to get that not all Black, Latino or Asian kids are able to recognize or articulate their desire for books with characters like them. I can remember Ari, Kekla and even myself being quite satisfied with reading about “rich white bitches”, but once discovering a book with a character like us, we wanted more! For publishers to want students to articulate their desire for ethnic diversity in literature is absurd: they simply haven’t all reached that level of psychological development. Thankfully, librarians get it.

ALAN was stimulating, thought-provoking and irritating. I made wonderful connections in terms of thoughts, ideas and relationships with other people. I just know that a more diverse presentation would have enriched us all so much more. The authors not being there wasn’t because ALAN didn’t invite them, it has to do with who publishers choose to market.

ALAN is very inexpensive to join. The organization is extremely inclusive. Its journal is quite important to the field of YA literature. Let’s not pull away from ALAN. Only by joining such organizations and working with such allies can we get publishers to realize they’ve got to change how they market their authors of color and how they represent YA lit to readers. Next year’s conference will be in Washington D.C..

ALAN is the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English.

First Book wanted to improve literacy for all young readers so they developed the Stories for All Project. This special initiative recognizes that children need to have books with characters and stories that are relevant to them.

“We are not the first people to complain and worry about this issue. So we knew if we were actually going to make a difference we needed a market-driven solution. In short, we needed to put our money where our mouth is.“

Stories For All would purchase $500,000 worth of books from any one publisher for books featuring characters of color. This is where I falter: First Book says the response was overwhelming. I look at the books currently available and wonder who all these publishers could be. I could name a few companies but “overwhelming?”

First Book actually found two companies that published a noteworthy amount of high quality books featuring characters of color and they decided to commit $1 million to the program.

Congratulations to HarperCollins and Lee & Low Books

And, thank you First Book for taking direct aim at addressing why more children are not readers. I hope others will follow your lead, if not in donating large sums that will make a difference, then in actually doing something.

If you work with children from low-income neighborhoods, or know someone who does, sign up with First Book today.

Related articles:

An Interview with Mary Cash and Jason Low

NY Times article about the Award

The First Book blog

In purchasing from both of these companies, not only does First Book more firmly establish their dedication to literacy, but the make thousands more books available.

The official word from my publisher, Helping Hands Press:

We will start using the mailing list March 1st, and send out the newsletters each month on the 1st and 15th.Each newsletter will be filled with inside information for you on our authors, new author signings, new release dates, inside information on new series…basically you will hear of it first in this newsletter.

-If you haven’t “liked” our Facebook page, please do so, we like to have as much fun here as possible. CLICK HERE

-Pinterest, if you are a member, please follow us; we will follow you too. We love to know what our friends are doing on Pinterest; it is a great place to have fun. CLICK HERE

All of this information will be listed on the Helping Hands Press Facebook Page. Please look for the Rafflecopter; we will be using that to help choose the Grand Prize winner. 

To enter the contest CLICK HERE  

Prizes, did someone mention Prizes? 

I believe we did.

If you go to the Helping Hands Press website and sign up for the newsletter, we are going to email you a simple question: We have a list of stories; which one do you want to read for free? Also do you mind if we send the audio book sample for the following three releases as they are done: Karen Anna Vogel’s “Amish Knit Lit Circle- Volume 1 – Pride & Prejudice”; Murray Pura’s “The Rose of Lancaster County – Volume 1 – The Rose Garden” and “The Defective Amish Detective – Volume 1 – The Whoopie Pie Affair”. Each of them is narrated by our own Big Daddy Abel.

Now for the Grand Prize:

The Grand Prize winner will get all the Helping Hands Press paper books! Right now we have eight:

Karen Anna Vogel’s: “Amish Knitting Circle Complete”,” Knit Together”,” Amish Doll”

George Michael Loughmueller’s- “An Amish Journey – Set Free Complete”

Mark Miller’s- “Sons of The King Complete” and “Daniel’s Lot”

Marsha Hubler’s – “Bachelor’s Choice”

David Stearman’s-“Hummingbird”