Open Letter to Children's Publishing

I'm reposting this from readertotz. Just a few thoughts...

*Feel free to repost*

Dear Children's Book Publishing Industry,

As I read PW's article, "An Impassioned Plea for Picture Books" by Judith Rosen, reporting on Ken Geist's plea for picture books at the NECBA meeting, I had a few thoughts.

As the article notes, most picture book print runs which were previously 20,000, now hover at 6,000. What I see as a reviewer of board books is an overwhelming number of picture books being published. So much mediocrity is being churned quickly through the presses, with the hope of one bestseller being found. Smaller runs support this effort to throw a multitude of stories into the pot while watching to see if one bubbles to the surface.

My challenge to you is to print fewer books. Dedicate and determine to publish only the very best, and then show us that you believe in that picture book with a larger print run and your full marketing dollars directly supporting it. Publishers, quiet the voices so that we might find and hear the book you believe in, the book that will touch parent and child, and foster readers for life.

As a corollary, I have to say that, yes, the picture book may create the lifelong reader, but even more likely, the board book will. A high quality, literary novelty or board book is often the child's first encounter with literature. In your pursuit this year to raise the profile of the picture book, don't forget the first books. Here is the reason Joan Holub and I continue to support readertotz. Board books are the roots of picture books. Let them be nourished as well.

Thank you for all you do for our children and literacy, publishers. Now show us your best.

Sincerely,

Lorie Ann Grover, author and illustrator

MINX Discontinued?

Are you kidding me? I just got a tip from GuysLitWire, Colleen Mondor, to read The Plain Janes and Janes in Love for rgz. I do and they are awesome graphic novels for teens. I'm psyched to get ahold of Cecil Castellucci and invite her to be a feature author for readergirlz. We've been looking for the right graphic novels for the group. Here they are. Tada!



And then rgz diva HOLLY CUPALA tells me they discontinued the graphic line, MINX. WHAT? The publisher of The Plain Janes.

So I found this link this morning from PW The Beat:



"Over at CBR, Andy Khouri reports that DC has canceled the Minx line, the much-talked-about line of GNs aimed at the female YA market, launched with much fanfare last year...CBR News was told that Random House, DC’s book trade distributor, has not been able to successfully place MINX titles in the coveted young adult sections of bookstores like Barnes & Noble."

Are you kidding me? They expected teen girls to find this amazing imprint for them in the graphic novel section? Not YA? And is two years really long enough to test the success? The works received star reviews!

Here's Cecil's announcement. http://castellucci.livejournal.com/474170.html

The PW post says that now the books are creeping over to the teen sections, but it's too late, right? This is just sadness. Cecil, rgz loves these works. Can anyone tell me if they'd still be available next summer for our girlz?