Review of the 2009 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 book, magazine, and other publishers, information about conferences and agents, basic how-to information, and interesting feature articles.

I've been reviewing this yearly for several years now: and have posted notes on past editions if you want to keep track of new features or articles from year to year.

Contents of Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market: The core of CWIM is taken up by the Markets section. This provides information about publishers of books, magazines, agents, and artist representatives. There are several profiles of industry "insiders" scattered through, including picture book author Michelle Edwards and YA authors Scott Westerfeld and Jay Asher. 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 always 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.

The first part of the book has been expanded again. There are now 20 all-new articles: last year there were 18, which was up from 12 the previous year. I always turn to this part of a new CWIM first. This year, I noticed an article on trends, covering what's hot and what's not; articles covering picture books, young chapter books, YA fiction, and graphic novels; pieces on agents and researching publishers in depth; and advice on school visits and web sites.

Comments Though I like the feature articles, which cover topics of interest to published authors (such as web sites and school visits) as well as beginners, the reason to get CWIM every year is the Markets section. The editors attempt to update every publisher listing every year. Since they rely on the publishers to return detailed questionnaires, they don't always have complete information about every company. But what they do have is almost always accurate, and saves anyone who needs information about children's publishers an enormous amount of time and effort. This year, the cover claims "Over 700 listings for book publishers, magazines, agents, art reps, and more"--a reduction from last year's 750. I see this as a good thing, as it means they've cut out 50 entries for publishers who are closed or otherwise not worth contacting.

From conversations I've had with editor Alice Pope and some spot-checks I did last year, I know how hard the people who compile the entries work to make sure that information is accurate and up-to-date. Of course, the information in this year's guide was collected in early 20008, so to keep it up to date you will need to rely on resources such as my Who's Moving Where page, tips from friends, and information published in industry magazines. Starting with the latest CWIM does give you a considerable head start, though.

The staff's diligent research means that readers can assume that companies included in CWIM are legitimate and will not run off with a manuscript or charge fees to publish a book. Don't assume that the reverse is true, however; legitimate smaller companies may ask to be left out in the hope of reducing the volume of their submissions.

Who Needs Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market: Obviously, writers and illustrators need this, and should buy 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. 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 2009 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.

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