Children’s Writing Web Journal

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You may have noticed that it’s been pretty quiet around here.  I haven’t been slacking off.  Actually, I’ve been putting in loooonng hours on a top secret project.

Today, the veil of secrecy gets lifted.    Announcing:

THE CBI CLUBHOUSE - THE WEB COMMUNITY FOR CHILDREN’S WRITERS!

The CBI Clubhouse is packed with audio, video, ebooks, interactive coolness and a great message board for writers to hang out and share.  It’s a bonus for subscribers to Children’s Book insider, and we are now accepting new members!

We’re really, really proud of it, and we hope you’ll take a moment to check it out.  You can also view some of the early rave reviews — folks are simply blown away!  It kinda makes all those 3 a.m. bedtimes for your humble host worth it.

Here’s the address — go and watch the video tour and see the site for yourself!

http://cbiclubhouse.com

See ya’ in the Clubhouse!

• A Few Moments With…..
  Posted on Thursday, December 4th, 2008 in interviews - Comments: (2)
  …..Abby the Librarian.    Abby’s blog is a must-stop for children’s book lovers.  She recently took a few moments to answer some questions for us:1.  Tell us about your blog.  Why did you start it?  What has it added to your professional life?I started my blog to join this great community of kidlit bloggers and it’s really grown a lot more than I ever thought it would.
• Children’s Literature Blog Posts of the Day - December 1
  Posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 in Blog Posts of the Day - Comments: (4)
  Happy December!Back with more great posts from around the blogosphere.  If you’re enjoying these videos, please spread the word.  Click here and tell some folks.  Also, sign up to follow us on Twitter and you’ll get instant notice when each new video is posted.  Our twitter address is http://twitter.com/jonbardBig A little a:  Interview with Judy BlumeJen Robinson’s Book page: Children’s Literacy Round-Up: December 1Publisher’s Weekly: Children’s Book ReviewsThe Swivet: Why you shouldn’t panic about the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt buying freeze.
• Give It Up for the Toddlers!
  Posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 in authors - Comments: (2)
  Infant and board books don’t always get enough attention, so we enjoyed seeing this blog post from Joan Holub about a delightful soft-cloth book called Button Nose by Nina Laden.Some real creativity can be found in this genre, and the folks who make it happen don’t get enough love.  So go and give them some!
• Jon’s Twitter Updates for 2008-12-11
  Posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 in Uncategorized - Comments: (2)
  Toss your characters a curve with this instant conflict generator! http://snipr.com/7r848 Big list of descriptive words: http://fleck.com/ZMeMv Quite a brilliant little utility for when you can’t access a particular site: http://fleck.
• The 4 Traits of Successful Children’s Writers
  Posted on Friday, December 5th, 2008 in web resources - Comments: (2)
  Several years ago, Anastasia Suen sent us this note, which still appears on our web site: “Yesterday’s mail brought copies of Hodgepodge, with my poem on the back page, and an acceptance letter from Babybug for another poem! My poems in Shoofly will be out in April. ALL these leads came from Children’s Book Insider! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

• If you’re a grammar geek, this site will be like porn to you: http://bettereditor.org/ Jon, Write4Kids.com #
• Wild paperback covers from the 50s and 60s. Very cool indeed. http://jijr.com/9pm Jon, Write4Kids.com #
• Need a smile? 2008 intentionally bad writing contest winners are in. http://snipr.com/91qge Jon, Write4Kids.com #
• Interesting step-by-step guide on writing a novel: http://snipr.com/91qca Jon, Write4kids.com #
• Nice list of writing contests: http://snipr.com/91q1g Jon, Write4Kids.com #
• I love books as much as the next guy, but…. http://jpgmag.com/photos/1295486 Jon, Write4Kids.com #

If you said Janette Sebring Lowrey, you are good.

But most folks probably draw a blank, even though The Poky Little Puppy is one of the most famous children’s books ever written.  Ms. Lowrey deserves better, and the Beaumont Enterprise has done its part to remember their hometown girl with this article that recounts her life and works.  Turns out Janette was quite prolific, although her books beyond Poky are little known.

Take a minute to read the article and pay respects to the lady who gave the world a book that, for many young readers, is a true first love.

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/local/orange_native_wrote__poky_little_puppy___the_best-selling_kids__book_of_all_time_12-21-2008.html

Sorry for the limited posts — my time is being taken up entirely by a top-secret ultra-cool project that I’ll be telling you about after the new year.  It’s gonna be really amazing.  But good lord, I need sleep. 

Anyway, before I head back to the salt mines, here’s a link to a superb post by the always superb Nathan Bransford.  it’s about the fine (and sometimes non-existent) line between young adult and adult when it comes to novels.

Really good stuff:

http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/2008/12/holiday-cheer-dude-looks-like-ya.html

Farrar, Straus & Giroux is the publisher that has given us Madeleine L’Engle, William Steig, Louis Sachar and Polly Horvath.  And Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.  And Pablo Neruda.  And Isaac Bashevis Singer.   And…. well, you get the idea.

So it would be a tragedy if FSG was a casualty in the Macmillan restructuring announced yesterday.  Fortunately, it appears that FSG will make it through the storm, though not entirely unscathed.

On the heels of job losses and a restructuring of the children’s division, FSG publisher Jonathan Galassi penned a relatively hopeful memo to FSG staff yesterday that says, in part:

Our approach to publishing and what we choose to publish are not going to change…This new structure will make us more agile, more capable of being creative in doing what we do best in an environment that is constantly changing and ever more competitive.

The full memo, along with a thorough analysis that includes what’s in store for FSG’s Young Readers division can be found here:  http://www.observer.com/mobile/article/80428

With the dust settling after yesterday’s announcements from Macmillan, we’re starting to get a clearer picture of how, exactly, the new Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group will be structured.

Got your pencils and scorecards handy?

Publishers’ Weekly reports that Jean Feiwel and Simon Boughton are now senior vp publishing directors under group head Dan Farley. Feiwel’s domain will include Feiwel and Friends, Square Fish, Holt Books for Young Readers, and Priddy Books. Laura Godwin, publisher of Holt Books For Young Readers, will report to Feiwel. Boughton will oversee FSG Books for Young Readers and Roaring Brook Press. Margaret Ferguson,  ed. director of FSG Books for Young Readers and First Second’s ed. director Mark Siegel will now report to Boughton.

The most hopeful quote in the piece comes from Macmillan CEO John Sargent, who says he wishes Macmillan to remain “a loose federation of publishers.” Let’s hope so, especially when it comes to editorial autonomy.

Full article: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6623005.html?nid=2286&source=title&rid=

Publisher’s Weekly is reporting that Macmillan Publishing has eliminated 64 positions and has created a new children’s publishing division that will “bring all of its imprints under one umbrella”.

The new division is called the Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.    Children’s imprints owned by Macmillan include  FSG Books for Young Readers, Feiwel & Friends, Holt Books for Young Readers, Kingfisher, Roaring Brook, Priddy Books, Starscape/Tor Teen  and Square Fish.   Although there’s no specific word on what will happen with these imprints,  this piece deals with the possible fate of FSG Books for Young Readers.

Full story: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6622854.html

• Toss your characters a curve with this instant conflict generator! http://snipr.com/7r848
• Big list of descriptive words: http://fleck.com/ZMeMv
• Quite a brilliant little utility for when you can’t access a particular site: http://fleck.com/bRmsS

Infant and board books don’t always get enough attention, so we enjoyed seeing this blog post from Joan Holub about a delightful soft-cloth book called Button Nose by Nina Laden.

Some real creativity can be found in this genre, and the folks who make it happen don’t get enough love.  So go and give them some!

http://readertotz.blogspot.com/2008/12/nina-laden-button-nose.html