In the News This Week

Fridays on the SCBWI blog, I share snippets of and links to some of the publishing/media-related news I've read during the last week that I found interesting, helpful, and/or fun. Click titles to get to the full articles.

This week you'll find news on a Charlesbridge acquistion, a new imprint for teens by teens, a study that finds many young women check Facebook first thing in the morning (I'm beyond the demographic, but I do keep my iPhone next to my bed for a reason),  news on Suzanne Collins' print run, and a slideshow from ALA for those of us who missed it.

Also James Patterson proves that an author can sell eBooks into the millions (as long as that author is James Patterson), libraries are moving into malls (Richard Peck must be so conflicted), an essay on what the TWILIGHT phenomenon says about love and American girlhood, and another on why vampires don't really make good lovers (everyone knows werewolves are better).

Charlesbridge Buys Imagine Publishing (PW)
Charlesbridge Publishing has acquired Imagine Publishing, a publisher founded in 2009 by Charles and Jeremy Nurnberg to do children and adult titles. Charles Nurnberg, the former CEO of Sterling, will stay on as v-p and publisher of the Imagine imprint, while Jeremy will become v-p of sales for Charlesbridge, reporting to associate publisher Mary Ann Sabia. Charlesbridge is taking over distribution of Imagine titles effective immediately. The company had been one of the original clients of BookMasters Distribution Services for which Jeremy Nurnberg served as head of sales. 

The Meduim is the Medium (NYT)
Recently, book publishers got some good news. Researchers gave 852 disadvantaged students 12 books (of their own choosing) to take home at the end of the school year. They did this for three successive years. Then the researchers, led by Richard Allington of the University of Tennessee, looked at those students’ test scores. They found that the students who brought the books home had significantly higher reading scores than other students.

Libraries Moving Into Shopping Areas To Attract Patrons (psfk)It’s one of the main tenets of business that you bring your product where the demand is the highest and it’s most likely to get noticed. But what if your goal is to get today’s youth excited about reading? Logic says if you want to find the customer you’ve got to reach their favorite haunts, which in today’s society often includes the local mall.

The First Thing Young Women Do in the Morning: Check Facebook (Mashable)
Young women are becoming more and more dependent on social media and checking on their social networks, according to a new study released earlier today by Oxygen Media and Lightspeed Research. In fact, as many as one-third of women aged 18-34 check Facebook when they first wake up, even before they get to the bathroom.

Teenagers in Love (Slate)
With TWILIGHT: ECLIPSE (Summit Entertainment), the third installment of the teen-vampire film franchise based on the books by Stephenie Meyer, it's clear that the movie version of the series has become its own thing, a multipart organism that operates independently of the matrix that generated it. Like the Harry Potter movies, the TWILIGHT films cater--some might say pander--to fans of the books. But three films in, the source material has become vestigial to the viewer's enjoyment--it's possible to be interested in TWILIGHT based on the movies alone. After finishing the first book in the series, I wouldn't pick up another Meyer novel for anything less than a five-figure raise. But I wouldn't miss a TWILIGHT movie. Not because the films are good, exactly, but because they are terrifying, transfixing, and, yes, moving bulletins from the trenches of contemporary American girlhood.

James Patterson Sells More Than 1 Million eBooks (eBook Newser)
James Patterson has sold more than a million eBooks, 1.14 million to be exact. The Hachette Book Group claims that he is the first author to do so.

Children's Books at ALA: A PW Photo-Essay (PW)

Librarians, publishers, and authors braved the heat and crowds to attend ALA's annual conference, held late last month in Washington, D.C. Numerous authors and illustrators mingled with librarians and signed copies of their books. 

Scholastic Announces 'Mockingjay' Print Run, Tour Details (PW)

Teens, tweens, and adults alike are eagerly awaiting the arrival of MOCKINGJAY, the third and final book in Suzanne Collins’s dystopian Hunger Games trilogy. And come August 24, they shouldn’t have trouble getting their hands on a copy: Scholastic has increased the book’s initial print run to 1.2 million copies, up from 750,000 copies. Additionally, the trade paperback edition of THE HUNGER GAMES will go on sale in the U.S. and Canada on July 3, with a 500,000-copy first printing. 

Medallion to Publish YA Titles by YA Writers (PW)

Medallion Press is venturing into unfamiliar territory, in announcing the launch of its new Ya-Ya line of fiction and nonfiction for young adult readers ages 13-18. Not only is the Ya-Ya line intended for teen readers, but the titles in the imprint will actually be written by teen authors.

 
Curse of the Greedy Copyright Holder (WSJ)
"Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal," wrote T.S. Eliot. I am neither poet nor thief, so when I wanted poems at the start of each chapter in my recently published memoir, I sought permission. The poem that best describes my experience is "The Odyssey," navigating as I did between the Scylla of non-responsive copyright holders and the Charybdis of fee-seeking attorneys.

A Vampire Does Not Make a Good Lover (HuffPo)
I haven't jumped on the Twilight bandwagon yet. Chances are I'm not going to. I realize there are now many women out there that are gasping and would like to pull me through the computer screen, shake me violently, and ask me what in the world can possibly be wrong with me. I assure you, I am fine. Judging from my friends, it seems the most devoted fans are in the 20- and 30-something crowd and nearly all women. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a male post anything about being on Team Edward on Facebook.