Hey Readers!
Welcome to the The Sunday Scoop!!! Since I’ve been MIA for some time (thank you finals) I’ve decided to do highlights from the previous month so without further ado, here’s what happened during May in the world of publishing:
Children’s/YA Sales Rose 13% in 2012 – May 16th
“Total sales in the children’s/young adult segment rose 13.0% in 2012, to $3.70 billion, according to figures released by BookStats, the statistical program run by the Association of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group…E-book sales had the biggest gain in the year within the segment, jumping 117%, to $469.2 million.” Read the full Publishers Weekly Article!
AAP, AEP to Merge – May 20th
The school division of the Association of American Publishers has agreed to merge with the Association of Educational Publishers, a move that unites two of the largest organizations that deal with publishing for the K-12 market. In their announcement the two organizations said the merger will combine “AEP’s quality programming and professional development with AAP’s public policy advocacy to provide the strongest services for the preK-12 education publishing industry in a rapidly changing environment.” Read the full Publishers Weekly Article!
Amazon Debuts Licensed Publishing Program for Fan Fiction – May 22nd
Amazon is launching an innovative licensing and publishing program targeting the flourishing world of online fan fiction. The program will support Kindle Worlds, a new commercial publishing program that will enable fans to create original works based on established franchises, and earn royalties for doing so. In June the Kindle Worlds self-publishing portal will be available for fans to upload their stories. Read the full Publishers Weekly Article!
Young Authors Give Back Tour Starts – May 30th
Four (amazing!!!) YA authors who started writing when they were young (Erin Bowman, Susan Dennard, Sarah J. Maas, and Kat Zhang), are going on a multi-city tour, hosting free workshops for young aspiring writers, and attending book signings and discussion panels. Learn more and see the full tour schedule!
BEA 2013: Strong Season Ahead for Children’s Publishers – May 31st
Browsing the booths, booksellers found plenty of titles to get excited about. “I’m just ecstatic about the children’s books I’ve seen,” said René Kirkpatrick, owner of the recently opened Eagle Harbor Book Co., in Bainbridge Island, Wash., and a longtime children’s bookseller. “It looks like a great fall season. There’s a trend toward more realistic books, and I’m thrilled about how much good middle-grade there is—it’s been so hard to find.” Read the full Publishers Weekly Article!
*Bonus – New Guide Navigates World of Kids’ Books – May 29th
“Parents, grandparents, and teachers in search of help selecting books to share with the children in their lives may want to consult The Barnes & Noble Guide to Children’s Books by Kaylee N. Davis, released last month by Sterling. Organized by age levels, genres, and subject matter, the book offers succinct evaluations of 1,000-plus titles, guidelines for choosing books in different categories, and brief essays by 20 acclaimed children’s authors and illustrators.” Read the full Publishers Weekly Article!
And that’s all folks!
What are you thoughts on what’s going on in publishing and do you have any publishing news of your own???
Whimsically Yours,
PnC
Whimsically Yours 