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Emily Meehan joined Disney-Hyperion as an Executive Editor.  She will edit “acquire and edit young adult novels as well as middle grade and picture books.” She came from Simon & Schuster, where she started as an Editorial Assistant in 2000.

Here’s Meehan’s essay about one of her acquisitions for S&S:
http://www.beccafitzpatrick.com/essay.html

Skyhorse Publishing, founded in 2006, will launch a children’s imprint this fall called Sky Pony Press:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/45634-skyhorse-acquires-sports-publishing-assets-launches-children-s-imprint.html

Jean Reynolds, a founder and Publisher at Millbrook, is serving as a consultant for this imprint, but the company doesn’t note any other personnel.

Parent company Skyhorse’s website does not invite submissions for children’s books yet:
http://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/submission.php 

If Sky Pony takes after its parent, it will publish nonfiction with an emphasis on “guy books.”

Changes at Penquin:

Since 2008 Lauri Hornik has overseen both the Dial and Dutton divisions as President and Publisher.  She will continue to be in charge of Dial, publishing 50-75 titles per year. Some of those titles and authors started out linked to Dutton.

Dutton will become a “boutique imprint focusing on MG and YA,” with Julie Strauss-Gabel in charge as Vice President and Publisher. It will
publish 10-15 titles a year. Strauss-Gabel was previously Associate Publisher, working under Hornik.  In sum, bigger fish, smaller pond, and a chance to exercise what she’s learned from Hornik.

Plume senior editor Denise Roy is now serving as a senior editor at Dutton.  She joined Penguin in 2009 after fifteen years at Simon & Schuster.

At William Morrow, Katherine Nintzel has been promoted to senior editor.

At Delacorte Press, Krista Vitola has been promoted to assistant editor.

Writers House junior agent Stephen Barr is the focus of an NYT “entry level” profile.

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By: Kathy Temean, on 12/18/2010
Blog: Writing and Illustrating (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Children's Books, Events, writing, Editors, conference, publishers, organizations, Publishing Industry, opportunity, Conferences and Workshops, Author, authors and illustrators, Publishing Industry Changes, Add a tag

Have you always wanted to go to the Writer’s Workshop that Highlights runs in Chautauqua, NY, but have hesitated to pursue your dream due to finances. The Highlights Foundation offers scholarships and now is the time to apply for consideration.

A lot of children’s writers dream of the Highlights Foundation Writers Workshop at Chautauqua. “Next year,” they promise themselves. “Next year I’m going to Chautauqua!” Then reality sets in. The drive and talent to support the dream are there, but the finances . . . maybe not.

Stop dreaming and start planning! Here is the scholarship newsletter from Highlights. Scholarships will be considered in two groups. Early applications will be accepted through December 15, 2010. (Final scholarship deadline is February 11, 2011.)

So take a look.  What’s the worse that can happen?  They don’t give you any money.  But then you aren’t any worse off than you were before.  I say go for it.  I applied when I first started writing children’s books and received a partial scholarship.  It was and still is a very wonderful week.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Filed under: Author, authors and illustrators, Conferences and Workshops, Editors, Events, opportunity, organizations, publishers, Publishing Industry Tagged: Children's Books, conference, Publishing Industry Changes, writing 1 Comments on Highlights Chautauqua Writers Workshop, last added: 12/19/2010

Natalie Zaman and Charlott Bennardo teamed up for their debut book SIRENZ.  It is available on pre-order from Amazon.  They also just signed today with Natalie Fischer of the Sandra Dijkstra Agency. 

Great news from Nanci Turner-Steveson.  She just accepted representation from Al Zuckerman the head of Writer’s House, today.  Yay, Nanci!

Publishers Marketplace reported two of our favorite people signed contract for another book.

GIRL PARTS author (and literary agent) John Cusick’s CHERRY MONEY BABY, a farce in three acts – a Cinderella story featuring surrogate pregnancy, high fashion, and heavy firearms, to Deborah Noyes-Wayshak at Candlewick, in a very nice deal, for publication in Fall 2011, by Scott Treimel at Scott Treimel NY (World English). John is an agent with Scott Treimel.  You will be able to meet him at the New Jersey SCBWI Mentoring Workshop on February 20th.  If you haven’t read GIRL PARTS, pick it up.  I loved it and can’t wait for the next book in that series. Click here to read my post about the book.

Cyn Balog’s DEAD RIVER, when she nearly drowns on a white water rafting trip, a teenager is given the clue to how her mother disappeared years earlier, to Stephanie Elliott at Delacorte, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.  If you attend the NJSCBWI Conference this past June you probably met Cyn at our book fair or maybe you were lucky enough to attend her workshop on Fantasy Writing.

At Abrams, Susan Van Metre has been promoted to svp and publisher and will now oversee all comic arts books in addition to Abrams Children’s and Amulet Books. Charles Kochman is promoted to editorial director for Abrams ComicArts, adding oversight of children’s comics and graphic novels, reporting to Van Metre. Chad Beckerman moves up to creative director and oversee design for all comic arts books, Abrams Children’s and Amulet.

Lindley Boegehold is promoted to editorial director for calendars, licenses and custom publishing. Jennifer Levesque is promoted to editorial director for Stewart, Tabori & Chang and Abrams Image (though Abrams Image executive editor David Cashion continues reporting to publisher Leslie Stoker).

Rebecca Kaplan has been promoted to senior editor for Abrams; Eric Klopfer has been promoted to associate editor.

Congratulations to all.  Your success should inspire all of us.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Lisa Yoskowitz has left Penguin for a position as Editor at Disney Hyperion Books for Children. In terms of any outstanding submissions, she has reviewed anything that was postmarked before last Friday. Lisa says, “While I have (or will, in the case of those that arrived last week) reviewed all of them, I was only able to respond to those I was interested in—giving the author one of my Dutton colleague’s contact information—and have recycled those that aren’t right for me or for Dutton.”

Any submissions addressed to Lisa will be reviewed by other Dutton editors, who will only respond if they have interest, typically within six months.

Unfortunately, she will not be able to accept unsolicited submissions at Hyperion, so you will need to attend a conference in order to submit something to her.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Kristin Daly Rens has been promoted to senior editor at Harper Children’s imprint Balzer & Bray.

Kristin will be attending our June conference in 2011.

Kristin edits picture books, middle grade and young adult books.

At Knopf Children’s, Nancy Siscoe has been promoted to senior executive editor, relinquishing her associate publishing director responsibilities and focusing on editing. 

 Erin Clarke at Knopf Children’s has been promoted to executive editor.
 

Katherine Harrison at Knopf Children’s moves up to assistant editor.  If you came to last years NJSCBWI Conference you met Katerine.  Nice to see her moving up.

Lindsay Sagnette will join Crown as senior editor, acquiring hardcover fiction, reporting to Molly Stern and starting November 15. She was most recently an editor at St. Martin’s Press.

At the Simon & Schuster imprint, Michael Szczerban has been promoted to associate editor.

Hope you make no

Imagine Publishing, started last year by Charles and Jeremy Nurnberg after they left Sterling, has been acquired by Charlesbridge Publishing. Both men will remain with the Imagine imprint, with Charles as publisher and Jeremy as VP of Sales. Imagine titles will start shipping immediately from the Charlesbridge warehouse in Massachusetts.

Charles Nurnberg says in the announcement, “Our growing success motivated us to seek a publisher that could handle the needs of our expanding list. Charlesbridge has the full range of promotional and distribution capabilities that Imagine needs.”

Imagine does a lot of non-fiction and a lot of books with  music tie-ins.  I mention this specifically, because I know there are a lot of you who have music backgrounds and talents.  You probably should consider the Imagine Imprint.

http://www.imaginebks.com/children/

http://www.imaginebks.com/submissions /

Hope this helps and good luck submitting your work.  Please let  me know if  you have any successes we can celebrate.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Well, I have been waiting to announce this one.  At the First Page Session in April, Susan Hawk, agent at The Bent Agency heard Felicia Chernesky first page and was excited to hear more.  Felicia has been working with her since and now the contract is signed on both ends.  It sounds like Susan has a lot of plans for Felicia, so it is okay to share her good news with you.  Congratulations!  Felicia and Susan.  The Bent Agency.

The 2010 E.B. White Read Aloud Honors for Older Readers was award to Kristin Venuti for her funny book, LEAVING THE BELLWEATHERS.  If you attended the conference in June, you had the pleasure of meeting her.  Hopefully you picked up a copy and had her sign it for you.  I did and I had already read it.  Pick it up.  I know you will enjoy it.  Congratulations!  Kristin
 

Also, you might have met Ann Rinaldi at the conference in June.  The Princeton Packet devote a page in its Time Off section on July 2nd to covering her new historical novel THE FAMILY GREENE about Katy Greene, beautiful young bride of General Nathanael Greene who became 2nd in command to General George Washington in the Revolution.  Katy lifts the troops’ spirits at Valley Forge, which causes years of gossip and rumors. This concerns her daughter, Cornelia.  The book reveals her struggles on her father’s plantation in Georgia (1786) with rumors of her mother’s being a “flirt” at Valley Forge.  Cornelia eventually comes to understand and deal with her mother’s struggles in the war.  Good luck with the book, Ann.


Please check yesterday’s post.  I added a lot of things, like Shauna Fay coming to the November 4th  First Page Session, a Picture of Leila Sales and what she likes, plus a book trailer for John Cusick for you to see what he looks like.

Laura Tisdel has been promoted to associate editor for Viking, Penguin and Plume.

At Harper Children’s, Farrin Jacobs has been promoted to editorial director, continuing to report to Elise Howard. She has been heading the teen fiction series team in the fiction publishing group. Erica Sussman has been promoted to senior editor, continuing