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.

Below you'll find a cool book deal by Carolrhoda Lab, top picture book agents, an essay defending grown-ups who read YA (whatev!), writers helping a financially strapped library in my home state, layoffs at Borders, Elizabeth Bluemle's updated list of star-reviewed titles (fall reading list, anyone?), speculation on THE HUNGER GAMES movie casting, an enhanced e-book from Knopf BFYR, query letter tips, and some Twitter news items worth tweeting about.

Lerner Lands Unconventional Book from Three YA Authors (PW)
YA readers will have an opportunity to learn how authors conceptualize and write fiction, from start to finish, when Lerner Publishing Group releases (in spring 2012) a collection of YA stories written by Maggie Stiefvater (Shiver and Linger), together with her colleagues Brenna Yovanoff (The Replacement, Razorbill, fall 2010) and Tessa Gratton (Blood Magic, Random House, summer 2011). The stories originally appeared on the three authors’ blog, Three Merry Sisters of Fate. The as-yet-untitled release, which will be published under the Carolrhoda Lab imprint, will also include private emails, tweets, and IMs among the three, discussing and critiquing each other’s work as they develop and revise their stories.

Top 20 Picture Book Agents in Publishers Marketplace (Suite101)
The world of children's literature is packed with promise and savvy literary agents, listed below are the top 20 dealmakers as of August 6, 2010.

Twitter Moves to Make it Easier to Tweet (WJS Digits)
Twitter borrowed a page from Facebook Thursday, announcing a plan to begin offering online publishers the chance to embed a “tweet” button on their sites. The goal is to make it easier for users of Twitter to share content–or tweet, in Twitter-speak. More than 30 large sites including CNN.com, HuffingtonPost.com, and YouTube, the video website, today will begin making the tweet button available to users, Twitter announced.

The Stars So Far 2010—Updated 8/12/10 (Shelf Talker)
It’s time for another update of the starred reviews from Booklist, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, the Horn Book, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates). Starred reviews are excellent guideposts, but they don’t tell the whole story, of course. There are amazing books out there that never receive a starred review but are popular and/or critical favorites nonetheless.

Writers Help Struggling Ohio Library (PW)
Newcomerstown Public Library in Newcomerstown, Ohio, has been struggling to remain open in its small community due to state budget cuts. The library formed a fundraising committee last fall and has been working hard to raise funds so that it may continue operating.

Borders Group lays off more employees at Ann Arbor headquarters (AnnArbor.com)
Borders Group Inc., which is battling a continuous revenue slide and massive industry changes, laid off more employees at its Ann Arbor headquarters this morning, a spokeswoman confirmed. The job cuts come as the book store chain is placing a heavy emphasis on its new electronic books strategy in the midst of major structural challenges to its core business model.

The Kids’ Books Are All Right (NY Times)
While au fait literary types around town await the buzzed-about new novels from Jonathan Franzen and Nicole Krauss, other former English majors have spent the summer trying to get hold of “Mockingjay,” the third book in Suzanne Collins’s dystopian trilogy, so intensely under wraps that not even reviewers have been allowed a glimpse before its airtight Aug. 24 release. What fate will befall our heroine, Katniss Everdeen? My fellow book club members and I are desperate to know. When will the Capitol fall? And how can Collins possibly top the first two installments, “The Hunger Games” and “Catching Fire”? Oh, did I mention? “Mockingjay” is for teenagers. I am well into my 30s.

FishbowlNY Talks To Marie Claire About Its Interactive September Issue (FishbowlNY)
It seems that many publications are touting the interactive features made possible with iPad or smartphone applications, but Marie Claire has found a way to make browsing through a print magazine a more interactive experience for its readers. We spoke with the magazine's publisher, Nancy Berger Cardone, about how Marie Claire's September issue, with a little help from image recognition technology expert Pongr, is helping readers shop instantly for items found among its pages.

3 Key Elements of a Great Query Letter (HuffPo)
Yes, the concept of writing a query letter can be an intimidating process. The fact that it should only be one page in length makes the need for potency even more relevant. It is the proposal for your proposal and it's just as important. You have to be able to convince agents why you and why your book.

RH Children's Does First Enhanced E-book (PW)
Knopf Books for Young Readers is publishing its first enhanced e-book, a tie-in edition of Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen. The publication marks the first foray any Random House imprint has made in publishing an enhanced e-book for the children's market. The e-book went on sale August 10 for $14.99, leading up to the August 27 release of the film, which is directed by Rob Reiner.

iStoryTime Launches Story App For Deaf Children (eBook Newser)
Digital publisher iStoryTime, a publisher of children's storybooks for the iPhone and iPad, has launched a new app for deaf children. Their first app designed for the hearing impaired, the app is a hear impaired version of Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy includes a sign-language interpretation.

Casting Future Movie Franchises: Who Will Star in The Hunger Games? (New York Magazine)
The next win-a-franchise battle—this one called the “Who gets to be Katniss Everdeen?” contest—is scheduled to begin on August 24, with the release of Mockingjay, the third installment in Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy, a series of adult-loved YA books that will be adapted into movies, and that you will only be hearing more about.

Women in Publishing Twitter Directory (GalleyCat)
Today Dear Author co-founder Jane Litte created a big stir in the publishing Twitter-sphere, celebrating her favorite Women in Publishing. Her post generated a massive response from readers around the globe, all archived at the hashtag, #womeninpublishing.