The 2012 Edition of Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market

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Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market, also known as "CWIM," is one of the few essential books for a children's writer or illustrator. It includes an annually updated "yellow pages" of children's book and magazine publishers, information about conferences and agents, basic how-to information, and interesting feature articles. And so I've been reviewing it annually--since the 2004 edition. This year is the first under the supervision of a new editor, so I'll have a good bit to say about the changes.

Let people know:   

Contents of Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market: What hasn't changed is that the core of CWIM is taken up by the Markets section. This provides information about publishers of books, magazines, agents, and artist representatives. The book publishers section has about 200 entries, and there is a small section of Canadian and international companies. The entries vary in length, but all of them include addresses and other basics; they may also include names and titles of editors and art directors, a brief description of a publisher's program, sample titles, award-winning books, and other information. Indexes help you find publishers by subject, a very useful feature, and a "Names Index" lists editors and agents--handy if you know someone's name but don't know where they work. Purchase of the book also gets you access to all of the book's listings in an online database. There is a code in the front of the book that gets you into the children's section of the writersmarket.com web site, and to updates of publisher listings across all markets.

Changes from last year: This is the first edition of CWIM to be edited by Chuck Sambuchino, who took over from Alice Pope, and coincidentally or otherwise, there are changes. The most obvious one appears in the listings, which have a new format. They've gone from one to two columns, and the body type has been reduced by a half point or so. As a result, they now take up 20 pages less than last year, though the number of entries seems to have stayed about the same. Two resource sections, on print and online resources, are also gone. And the age-level and general indices have been dropped. What's new? There are two new general articles, on writing query letters and synopses, with examples. There are also more interviews, including a few with editors. The page count remains the same.

Purchasers also get access to a one-hour webinar on how to use CWIM. But most people will be interested in the listings, the feature articles in the front, including some interesting ones on voice in teen fiction, writing for magazines, and "A Look at the Future of Books" (ebooks and more)--and my overall impression is that CWIM is in good hands.

For brief comments on previous editions, from 2004 to 2011, see this list of past CWIMs.

Comments What strikes me about the changes this year is that they reduce pages in the market listings and resource section, in favor of material that makes this even more of a writer's guide, rather than just a market guide. CWIM has long had basic how-to articles that appeared every year, in addition to the annual crop of features and interviews, and the new material largely serves to strengthen that aspect of the book. How significant is this change? Could you buy only CWIM and have all the information you needed? I'd say "no," but the added features may help a budget-conscious writer postpone the day when they have to start buying other books.

As usual, keep in mind that the research for this edition was completed by the spring of 2011, so you'll need to update it -- I don't find the Writer's Market site tremendously useful for that purpose, as their list of recently updated listings covers all publishers and doesn't indicate what or how much has been updated. Use resources such as my Who's Moving Where page (and others noted on that page) to stay current: I suggest noting such information in the pages of CWIM itself, to keep it all in one place.

Who Needs Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market: Obviously, writers and illustrators need this, and should consider buying a new edition every year--because so much does change. But other people can use it too---teachers and librarians and others professionally involved with children's books will find this a useful reference, since it puts addresses and other contact information for children's publishers at your fingertips and also has some discussion of current trends (such as a piece on "The State of Young Adult Books"). Publishing professionals looking for a handy and inexpensive alternative to the usual industry guides may also want this on the shelf.

Where and How to Purchase the 2012 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market:

You can, of course, also purchase CWIM at any bookstore. If they don't have it, they can order it for you.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book free of charge from the publisher, as do most reviewers. I also earn commissions on purchases of books via links on this site, as explained on my policy page.

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