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November 12, 2024: The industry has been quiet in the run-up to the election, but I do have a few updates to the Who's Moving Where page.
Also, I have news on my Conferences and Workshops page of a late-breaking addition to my schedule--an updated presentation of Successful Strategies for Submitting..., which I will be offering December 16 and 18 online. This is for anyone planning to send manuscripts out in 2025.
And I've updated the page where I list books I've edited to include recent and forthcoming books I edited at Kane Press.
September 24, 2024: Another sad update to the Who's Moving Where page, this time involving me and the Kane Press imprint.
On my Conferences and Workshops page, you can now find a link to sign up to watch the Kidlit Agents Panel, coming up October 7. Registration remains open for the Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing, which starts tonight, and the upcoming in-person Revision Retreat at the Highlights Foundation in November.
September 2, 2024: As we buckle down at work again after the summer, I have updated the Who's Moving Where page, with sad news of the closure of Algonquin Young Readers and the retirement of Paula Wiseman, but also happier news of a new imprint and editors moving into new jobs.
I've also updated my Conferences and Workshops page. The Revision Retreat at the Highlights Foundation in November is full, but coming up very soon I've got two workshops on the practical and business side of children's book publishing. There's a two-night mini-workshop on September 16 and 18, Practical Matters in Children's Book Publishing. Then starting on the 24th, The Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing, a more in-depth 10-week class. Both are offered online via the Highlights Foundation.
June 27, 2024: I have another dozen new items on the Who's Moving Where page, with several notable retirements among them.
I've also updated my Conferences and Classes page. Note that The Illustrator's Edition of The Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing has started, but you can join the class through July 2nd. And coming up in mid-July is my Successful Strategies for Submitting Your Manuscript to Agents and Editors mini-workshop, an updated re-run of the very popular workshop I gave in January. This will be the last time I offer it this year.
April 3, 2024: Two big updates today:
I've laid out my schedule of workshops at the Highlights Foundations this year on my Conferences and Classes page. There are some still to come, but you'll find dates and registration links for three different "Crash Courses," one of which is for illustrators, and a Working Revision Retreat on campus in November! Mini workshops still to come, though I was able to give the dates for a 2nd offering of my "Successful Strategies for Submitting Your Manuscript to Agents and Editors," which was extremely popular when I first offered it in January.
You'll also find more than a dozen new items on the Who's Moving Where page, including editors moving and imprints starting up.
January 8, 2024: I've updated the Glossary of publishing terms I originally created for my Complete Idiot's Guide, and now maintain as its own resource.
November 26, 2023: I've been updating some pages that offer information and resources about agents and how to find them. These include Children's Book Agents and Artist's Representatives: A Guide (a starting point and FAQ), Resources Listing Literary Agents and Artist's Representatives, Finding and Choosing Literary Agents, and Five Reasons Why You Don't Need an Agent.
As 2023 draws to a close, I've posted the first workshops and other events I know I'll be doing in 2024 on my Conferences and Classes page. This includes "Successful Strategies for Submitting Your Manuscript to Agents and Editors," a new workshop I'm offering via the Highlights Foundation. I'm excited to be offering this. It will be my best take on what works now, and what doesn't, in the always challenging submissions process.
I've also updated the Who's Moving Where page, with some particularly sad news among the usual mix of moves and announcements.
September 12, 2023: There are new updates on my Who's Moving Where page, most of them to do with the layoffs some publishers have made in response to slower sales this year. As you'll see, I often don't know who has been laid off, but I do know of places where it's been happening.
The big update on the site, though, is that at last I have reviewed the latest edition of Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market. There was a two-year gap in the program until the new edition came out in early 2022, and I thought I'd wait for the next one. But there's been no sign of it. So if you want to know how CWIM is fairing under new ownership, check out the review.
As the end of the year approaches, I've still got one big workshop coming up, The Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing. This begins October 4, online via the Highlights Foundation, and will be the second and final time I'm offering the course this year. It attempts to cover the practical and business information that children's book creators need to know, and I'm excited, as always, to begin it again.
June 16, 2023: I see I didn't update this page when I made some April updates on my Who's Moving Where page, so be sure to check that out, since I've added more updates for June.
Possibly my biggest news, though, is that I'm going to be offering an online workshop with the Highlights Foundation on July 11 and 13 called "Beyond the Craft: Practical Matters in Children's Book Publishing"--this is a carefully condensed version of the Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing that I've been offering at Highlights for years, but much less expensive and much less of a time commitment. Please tell your friends, especially those getting started in our business. I've also updated my conferences page with that and with other information, including dates for this year's Revision Retreat (registration will open soon).
Finally, I did some work on the Award-Winning Children's Books section of the site, adding the 2023 Newbery Medalist and updating some book lists.
December 26, 2022: As the end of the year approaches, I've added two final bits of news on the Who's Moving Where page, along with some updates to my conferences page. Notably, the Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing has opened for registration, and I've got some dates for other courses later in the year. Happy New Year!
November 21, 2022: It's been months since my last update, so once again there are a number of bits of news on the Who's Moving Where page, including what to me is the most exciting, which is that my friend and colleague Eileen Robinson has moved to Charlesbridge. Check the page for details!
I've also added three online workshops with the Long Island SCBWI to my conferences, retreats, and workshops schedule. The first of these is coming up soon, on December 4. I've pencilled in dates for other workshops in 2023 and will add more information, and registration links, as they firm up.
Finally, I made some updates to my article on No-Advance and Hybrid Publishing.
June 25, 2022: I've been busy at Kane Press, and haven't been able to keep up with the Who's Moving Where page, but I've now done a thorough update, adding 14 items, including 3 new imprints and publishers. I've also updated my conferences, retreats, and workshops schedule, notably with full details of this summer's Revision Retreat at the Highlights Foundation (which is already filling up).
I've also updated my PC Editorial Services information to note that I am now open to freelance projects, but with limitations to avoid a conflict of interest with my job at Kane Press.
February 7, 2022: Just a few things this time around, starting with three items on the Who's Moving Where page.
Last week, the ALA announced their "Youth Media Awards," and so I'm starting all over again to update the Award-Winning Children's Books section of the site. I'm continuing to link to Bookshop.org instead of Amazon. I started the new round of updates with the Newbery Medal page, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Scroll down to the bottom of the Newbery page for some links to articles about the 100th anniversary.
January 17, 2022: New updates to the Who's Moving Where page, and a reminder that I've got some online workshops starting soon, as you will see in my 2022 conferences, retreats, and workshops schedule.
Also, I've been working to update the Award-Winning Children's Books section of the site ahead of the announcements at the ALA winter conference, called "LibLearn" this year, when I'll have a whole new round to catch up. I'm working to link to Bookshop.org instead of Amazon, and have been replacing links as I work through that section. This time, I updated the Scott O'Dell Award page and the Sibert Informational Book Award Page.
Last of all, I linked in a new interview with me, on the Interviews page. This is my first interview since starting at Kane Press, and includes a considerable amount of personal history.
December 19, 2021: I made several updates to the Who's Moving Where page, and I've also done my first look at my 2022 conferences, retreats, and workshops schedule.
October 16, 2021: I have updated my conference page to note that I will be moderating an online panel of children's book agents being held online on November 8 at 6 PM Eastern time. It's free to SCBWI members and $20 for everyone else, but you must register in advance.
September 26, 2021: I know it's only been a couple of weeks since I last updated the Who's Moving Where page, but there's big news! I've taken a job as Executive Editor at Kane Press. It's been a long time since I last appeared on Who's Moving Where, so I had to post--and there is more about changes at Astra Publishing, of which Kane Press is one of the children's book imprints. Since I was doing updates, I also added a new update on the integration of HMH into HarperCollins, but I hope you'll understand that I think the big news is the Astra news!
That's not all. I also did some work to update my conference and PC Editorial Services pages. Though not related to my new job, I also updated the Purple Crayon Bookstores page.
I hope to have more news from Kane Press soon. And in case you're wondering--Kane is closed to submissions at present.
September 12, 2021: I've got a few new updates on the website. There are of course updates on the Who's Moving Where page, including news of further fallout from the purchase of HMH by HarperCollins, and a link to a feature article on new imprints, as well as news of editors moving. And I've noted there that Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market, after a year's hiatus, has a new edition coming out soon.
But that's not all. I've also updated the books listed on my Resources Listing Agents and Art Reps page, and updated an interview from 20 years ago with Arthur Levine with a link to a parallel interview just completed--the first interview was done not long after he started his imprint at Scholastic, and the new one not long after he started Levine Querido.
Last but not least, I've updated my Conferences page, notably with a link to a free webinar I'll be doing soon with Crystal Allen and Eileen Robinson on the key things something needs to know when getting started in the children's book writing and publishing world. If you know anyone who needs that information, please direct them to it!
July 14, 2021: Several new updates on the Who's Moving Where page, and that's all, this time!
June 3, 2021: Once again, it's been a while since my last update. But I'm excited to tell you that this year's Revision Retreat at Highlights is now open for registration. Like last year, we are offering it online, including the Retreat (in a structure we set up last year that worked very well), but this year there's an option to retreat AT Highlights. I also want to note that there is still room in the Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing, which starts June 9, though you can join after that if you want. These and a fall session of the Crash Course are listed on my Conferences page.
I've got lots of updates on the Who's Moving Where page--15 (oops, now 16) in all this time! These include some new imprints and very interesting moves by Stacey Barney and Tiffany Liao.
You may have heard about the Authors Guild's new "Model Trade Book Contract." This is a highly useful resource, and I've put up a page about it, with my comments and links to the contract itself and the press release about it. Please let me know if you have used the model contract and what you think--I'll update that page with comments.
Finally, I want to remind you about Harold's Book Lists at Bookshop. I am working to promote Bookshop, as I explain in my March update below, and I've been surprised by how little the links I've set up have been used. Maybe I should explain that you can march right past the books in my lists, once you get to Bookshop. I'll still get credit for any purchases you make on that visit. Thanks!
March 24, 2021: Updates and maintenance this month! Notably there are ten new items on the Who's Moving Where page.
I've also been working in my children's book awards section,, where I updated the Coretta Scott King Award page with the 2021 winners and honor books.
And I did a spring clean of my Book Reviews section, taking out broken links from the individual review pages when books had gone OP, and adding in links to Bookshop where I could.
Bookshop is the new online store that benefits independent booksellers, and I'm working to add links to them where relevant, as I mentioned last time. I've set up a "store" there called Harold's Book Lists. So far, it contains lists of recent award-winning books and a list of craft and reference books I recommend. Please visit the store and tell me what you think! I will definitely be adding more award-winner lists and will add other lists that make sense, or by request. (To be transparent: 10% of your purchase there goes to The Purple Crayon, and 10% to independent booksellers.)
January 25, 2021: Today was the day that the ALA announced their "Youth Media Awards," which include the Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, and others. I've been working hard and have updated both the Newbery Medal and Caldecott Medal pages in my children's book awards section with the latest winners. I've also decided to commit to Bookshop.org as an alternative to Amazon on those pages, so you'll find links to lists on Bookshop as well as individual links, in addition to the existing Amazon links. I had been using Indiebound.org, but I think Bookshop works better. Please check out the Bookshop links--purchases made through them benefit the Purple Crayon AND independent booksellers. If they are popular, I'll build them in more places.
I have also posted a couple of new items on the Who's Moving Where page.
Finally, I don't have news on my Conferences page, but I do want to mention that the Crash Course in Children's Publishing--Everything You Need to Know online via the Highlights Foundation starts next week. There's still room and time to register. It's a great course for anyone who wants a thorough grounding in the practical side of writing or illustrating children's books.
December 28, 2020: One final set of updates before the end of 2020! First of all, I've put up a list of what I've got scheduled so far in 2021 on my Conferences page. The first event comes up in only two weeks, when I'll be moderating a panel of three children's book editors for the NY SCBWI. This will be held online, and anyone can sign up to watch. It will work much like the one I did in November with three children's book agents, though I hope without the tech problems we had with that one! I've also posted dates for this year's first "Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing" at Highlights, beginning in early February, along with tentative dates for additional sessions of the Crash Course, later in the year, and for the Kid's Book Revisions annual retreat.
The "young people's" winner for the National Book Award was announced recently, so I've updated that page, and have added a new feature--a link to a list on Bookshop of recent NBA Young People's winners.
And I have also posted a couple of items on the Who's Moving Where page.
Happy New Year!
November 11, 2020: My first bit of news is a last-minute announcement: tomorrow, November 12, I will be moderating the annual children's book agent panel sponsored by the Metro NY SCBWI and The New School. Brenda Bowen, Janna Morishima, and Cindy Uh will be on the panel, and this year it will be streamed live via Zoom. Last I checked there were still slots available. It's free to SCBWI members and $20 to others, so if you're interested, go learn more and register via the link I've posted on my Conferences page.
There are also several news items on the Who's Moving Where page, as imprints close and others open. Interesting to follow the developments, as Simon and Schuster and Macmillan seem to be contracting while PRH and Little, Brown expand...
Finally, I'm pleased to say that I have finished updating the children's book awards section, now that I have updated the Sibert page, though the National Book Award will be announced soon.
October 5, 2020: I want to let you know that after having had a great experience doing short consultations for the SCBWI Summer Spectacular, I've decided to drop my minimum fee for my editorial services from $500 to $250, and for consulting to $175, in the hope that writers or illustrators with small projects or a need for a short consultation will be interested in my services. Please see what's available in the PC Editorial Services section.
But that's not the only update on the site. Not much new on the Who's Moving Where page, but you will find one item. My guess is that people are staying put. At least the pandemic is not causing layoffs in trade publishing in the way it has in textbook publishing--HMH recently laid off a lot of people in their educational publishing division.
I've also once again updated the Pura Belpré Award page in the children's book awards section. That means I'm almost done with that section for the year, with only the Sibert and the upcoming National Book Award left. I also want to let you know that there is still room in the new Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing, coming this week as an online class from the Highlights Foundation, which you'll find listed on my Conferences page.
Finally, I've added a link on my Interviews page to a video of an interview with me that author Mel Rosenberg did recently, covering various subjects, including how I become a children's book editor.
August 29, 2020: It's been too long--I'm pleading covid distraction--but I've finally done some catching up on website work, notably on the Who's Moving Where page, where you will find news of two new imprints and a reorganization at S&S as well as some moves by editors from one house to another.
I've also updated the Young Adult Awards page in the children's book awards section, and posted news of a new Crash Course in Children's Book Publishing, coming up soon as an online class from the Highlights Foundation, on my Conferences page.
I have not added new notes in my virtual "4th edition" project for the Idiot's Guide--but that's coming!
May 12, 2020: And I'm under way with my work on a virtual 4th edition of my Idiot's Guide. I've posted comments and a few updates on Chapter 1, which didn't need much work.
Check on my Conferences page for links to the live online interview I'm giving on Thursday morning, and to the registration for the SCBWI Summer Spectacular, which will include my career consultations. I can only do so many of these, so don't wait to register!
I've also done some work in the children's book awards section, where I've updated the Lifetime Achievement Awards page.
And be sure not to miss big news about Candlewick on the Who's Moving Where page.
May 3, 2020: My big news is that I am starting a project to create a virtual 4th edition of my Idiot's Guide. I was happy with the 3rd edition when it came out in 2008. I had been able to add some new chapters and make a number of updates. However, time passes, and there are no plans for a print 4th edition. So, I invite you to take part in this! Check my plans for the 4th edition, and let me know if you have any suggestions, specific or broad, for what you'd like to see in the material that I will be posting as I create the 4th edition. Two pages are already updated:
- Last month, I asked for your suggestions for the writing guides list that I created as a supplement to the 3rd edition--and I have now incorporated them in the posted Writing Guides list.
- I've also added new items and made some updates to the publishing Glossary I created for the Idiot's Guide. This includes both general publishing terms and specialized children's/YA terms. Let me know if I missed anything...
Also, be forewarned that SCBWI is planning a virtual summer conference in early August, and I'll be offering 30 minute career consultations as part of it. Watch for the announcement and sign up quickly if you are interested--slots will be limited.
And finally, only one update this month on the Who's Moving Where page, but I've updated my note on the covid-19 impact.
April 12, 2020: I've been doing some catching up on the Who's Moving Where page. As the note there says, I expect to hear about staff changes due to covid-19, and will update that page when necessary. So far, trade publishers seem to be continuing with acquiring and publishing...
I've done some work in the children's book awards section of the site. This time, I updated the Coretta Scott King Award page.
I had to note some postponed and cancelled events on my Conferences page--but as an FYI, I have a few "career consultation" slots still available as an online one-on-one meeting via the NE SCBWI conference. Let me know if you are interested in one and I'll connect you to the coordinator.
I spent some time updating the Writing Guides list that I created as a supplement to my Idiot's Guide. As I was doing this, I realized that I have few guides published in the past ten years, and that some of the books I do have listed may be out of date. If you have suggestions for books to add or remove, I'd love to hear them.
Last of all, I want to point you to this interview with me, "Revising with an Editor's Eye," which was intended to help publicize the (cancelled) LA Writer's Day. You may find it worth a read on its own.
February 18, 2020: The ALA announced a number of big awards at their recent convention, so I've started to update the children's book awards section of my site. So far I have updated both the Newbery Medal and the Caldecott Medal pages.
As usual, there is new news on the Who's Moving Where page, with the most notable item being the purchase of more than 1,000 Disney titles by Hachette.
Registration is open for all of the conferences where I will be speaking this spring--in Los Angeles, Ottawa, and Springfield MA. Links to all of the registration pages are on my Conferences page.
January 15, 2020: Happy New Year! There is new news on the Who's Moving Where page.
The first of the big children's book awards to be announced in 2020 was the Scott O'Dell Award, so I've updated that page in my children's book awards section. Stay tuned for updates in response to all the award announcements at the ALA convention in less than two weeks.
I'm also excited to announce that the Highlights Foundation and I are creating an online version of "The Crash Course in Everything You Need to Know about Children's Publishing," a workshop I've been leading there for years. That online course is now open for registration, and you'll find a link to it on my Conferences page, plus a link to a podcast I did about the course.
December 17, 2019: Just in time to have to start all over again next month, I completed 2019 updates to the children's book awards section, including the Sibert and the National Book Award. Note that I am working in more book links to Indiebound, the site run by independent booksellers, to offer an alternative to Amazon. If people use the Indiebound links, I'll keep them as a feature.
Coming up in 2020, Eileen Robinson and I will be doing graduate-level revision workshops via Kid's Book Revisions, and I've added a link on my Conferences page to some information we've posted about them.
I've also posted news of two new imprints on the Who's Moving Where page.
November 13, 2019: In a burst of activity, I have managed to get in some more work on the site less than two weeks after my previous update! Most of note are several updates on the Who's Moving Where page. I've also done some work in the children's book awards section, where I now have made updates with 2019 winners to the Lifetime Achievement Award page and the Pura Belpré Award page.
I also want to highlight a small update on my Conferences page, where the 2020 Revision Retreat is now open for registration, with a discount code to use to save $100 if you register before January 15.
And after the Agents Panel I mentioned in my last update, I've continued to update the pages about agents, and most recently worked on The Top 5 Reasons You Don't Need an Agent.
Last of all, just so you know, I've been updating my PC Editorial Services section, notably by adding two new blurbs to my Testimonials page, but there are changes and corrections throughout.
November 3, 2019: I'm excited to be moderating an Agents Panel at the New School on November 4, and in preparation for that I've been updating the agent-related resources on the Purple Crayon, including this guide to agents and art reps and this guide to researching agents--but see the other resources linked to from them.
I've also updated my Conferences page, starting with a link to information and tickets for the Agents Panel event, and adding details of what is coming up in 2020.
More soon, I hope!
July 24, 2019: Lots of news on the Who's Moving Where page, including the sale of Boyds Mills Press to a new owner, some new imprints, and some editor moves...
I've been busy with other things but hope to get to other updates and new things soon.
April 27, 2019: There are several bits of new news on the Who's Moving Where page, though nothing at earth-shattering as March's news about Arthur Levine leaving Scholastic.
Registration is now open for the Kid's Book Revisions Summer School, which Eileen Robinson and I are offering from June 21 to August 23. The link takes you to an information page about this self-guided course, and from there you can register.
I'll be heading to Springfield Massachusetts on Friday for the New England SCBWI conference. I hope to see some of you there!
March 14, 2019: BIG news on the Who's Moving Where page, as Arthur Levine leaves Scholastic to turn his personal imprint into an independent company--and some other pieces of less dramatic news.
I've also made updates to my Conferences page--note that registration for the NE SCBWI conference opens tomorrow, and if you're interested in my workshops or consultationc, you'll want to sign up soon. Things fill quickly!
No updates to the Awards pages, but I hope to get back to those soon.
February 19, 2019: I've continued to update the children's book awards section of the Purple Crayon. The latest page to be updated with 2019 winners is the Coretta Scott King Award page.
There's also some new news on the Who's Moving Where page.
I've made some updates to my Conferences page--and I particularly want to point out that "Revising and Re-Imagining Your Novel or Chapter Book" will be starting next week. This is a great class, if I say so myself, for anyone wanting to learn some new techniques and understand the revision process better.
January 28, 2019: With a new year come new children's book awards! Today came the excitement of the announcement of all the ALA awards. So I have been at work in the children's book awards section of the website. I have already updated the Scott-O'Dell Award, which is not an ALA award and was announced a little while ago. Of today's announcements, I so far have updated the Caldecott Medal page and the Newbery Medal page with the Medal and Honor books announced today. More to come soon...
Also, just a reminder--I previously announced the webinar class, "Revising and Re-Imagining Your Novel or Chapter Book," which I am teaching starting in February with Eileen Robinson. We are offering an early bird price, and it ends Wednesday night. So if you were thinking of signing up--and if I say so myself this is a good and inexpensive opportunity to learn a variety of ways to revise and re-imagine a novel--you might want to jump in now to say some money.
December 16, 2018: I am pleased to announce that with the 2019 awards announcements coming up soon, I have finished updating the children's book awards section--I updated the National Book Award and the Sibert Informational Book Award pages with the 2017 and 2018 winners. You will notice that I have started to include more links to the independent bookseller's website, IndieBound, and fewer to Amazon. As I revise this and other sections, I'll continue to do this.
There are two updates to my Conferences page--as you will see, there's a link to complete information about the upcoming KBR novels and chapter books webinar, which will open for registration in early January, and registration is now live for next summer's Kids Book Revisions Retreat at the Highlights Foundation.
And of course I've added some new updates to the Who's Moving Where page for December.
October 28, 2018:
Ann Whitford Paul revised and expanded her excellent picture book writing guide, Writing Picture Books, and so I've updated my review. If you are a picture book writer, this is the how-to book you most need to have.
I've updated both the Who's Moving Where page with some new items for October, and my Conferences schedule for 2019.
And I did some more work to catch up on children's book awards--I updated the Pura Belpré Award page with the 2017 and 2018 winners.
September 22, 2018:
I'm pleased to announce that I've reviewed the 2019 edition of Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market, after missing out on the 2018 one. As noted in my review, this edition has a strong focus on material for MG and YA novelists, though it remains a useful general guide.
At the same time, I also updated the related Agent's and Artist's Rep Resources page, adding in new editions where necessary.
There is, of course, news for September on the Who's Moving Where page.
Finally, I want to point out a post I wrote about line-editing, including what it is and hands-on examples of how to do it, for Cynthia Leitich Smith's blog. It's useful by itself but also part of the publicity we are doing for the upcoming "An Introduction to the Practical Side and the Mysteries of Line-editing," which begins in just a few days and for which registration closes Monday at midnight.
August 19, 2018:
I posted updates for August on the Who's Moving Where page, including three new imprints. This may be something of a trend.
I've also continued to update the the Award-Winning Children's Books section of the website, with the Young Adult Awards the most recent to be finished.
Finally, I've updated my Conferences page with a link to the video recording of the free webinar on line-editing that Eileen Robinson and I gave recently.
July 29, 2018:
I've finished working on updates to the Coretta Scott King Award section, and I've added link to a free webinar on line-editing that I'm doing with Eileen Robinson to my Conferences page.
July 24, 2018:
I've continued with the updates in the Award-Winning Children's Books section, and completed the Scott O'Dell Award page. I'm also working on the Coretta Scott King Awards page, but that's taking me longer!
There are a few new updates for July on the Who's Moving Where page, including a new imprint at Enslow.
And I've added a link on the conferences page, with registration now open for the mini-retreat I'm doing in Syracuse in October. Note also that the line-editing webinar will temporarily close our early bird registration (due to travel and the Revision Retreat), so if you were thinking of signing up, do it on the 25th or you'll have to wait until August 9.
June 30, 2018: I was unable to update the site from early April until a few days ago, due to a prolonged "migration" of the webhost. Why it took so long I don't know, but it's over. So this is a bigger than usual update.
I have updates from both April and June on the Who's Moving Where page, with new imprints as well as editor moves.
I've also updated the conferences page, most notably with a link to the upcoming line-editing webinar class I'm doing with Eileen Robinson. This is an all-new webinar, so you'll be hearing more about this over the summer.
And I've started the process of updating the Award-Winning Books section of the site, which has fallen two years behind, by updating the Newbery Medal page, the Caldecott Medal page, and the Lifetime Achievements Awards page. My goal is to catch up by the end of the summer...
January 16, 2018: Registration is open for the "Revising and Re-Imagining Your Picture Book" webinar that I am co-teaching from the end of February into April with Eileen Robinson.
January 10, 2018: I have written a review of the new 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, which will continue to be the style guide used by children's and adult trade publishers. I also have updated my conferences again, with some date changes and links to registration pages added. Please take note in particular that I'm giving a free webinar on "How Picture Books Work" on January 23.
Lastly, I've updated the Who's Moving Where page, with news from Rodale, Harper, and Lonely Planet.
November 19, 2017: I have updated the resources listed on my Resources Listing Literary Agents and Artist's Representatives page with 2018 editions of market guides. I have also updated the listing of Caldecott Medal and Honor books with 2107 winners, and decided to leave other 2017 updates until the 2018 awards are announced in January.
I want to announce that I am available for critiques and other editorial and publishing work in December. Please check out my rates and services in the PC Editorial Services section of the site.
I also have updated my conferences with 2018 dates, and added some news to the Who's Moving Where page.
September 20, 2017: There are a few new additions to the Who's Moving Where page.
I also want to note that the the "Revising and Re-Imagining Your Novel or Chapter Book" online class that I am teaching this fall is filling up. This is an opportunity to learn useful techniques, work on a manuscript, and get feedback from a personal teacher. We will close registrations October 1.
August 14, 2017: Lots of updates to the Who's Moving Where page, including Neal Porter moving his imprint to Holiday House, Dinah Stevenson becoming an editor-at-large, and more.
I have also updated my Conferences schedule, with registration page links now live for two events this fall: the "Revising and Re-Imagining Your Novel or Chapter Book" online class, and a Picture Book Revision mini-retreat in Syracuse NY in October (this is a great deal if you are anywhere near Syracuse, so be sure to check it out.). I've also put in dates for some 2018 events that are now confirmed, with more to come...
May 16, 2017: Updates! I updated an old article about why books cost what to they do and re-titled it "Why Does a Hardcover Book Cost $18?" There are more updates to my Conferences schedule, notably a link to information about the "Revising and Re-Imagining Your Picture Book" summer school that Eileen Robinson and I will be running soon. I've also updated my article about no-advance publishers, What About No-Advance Publishing?, in order to answer some questions I've received.
May 1, 2017: I have done a new update to the Who's Moving Where page, with several new items, most notably the layoffs at HMH.
Older news: This goes all the way back to 1996, if you're interested.
About me and the work I
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