Fall Flying Starts; Publishers Choose Their Favorite Books of the Year

[PW Children's Bookshelf: Breaking children's and YA publishing news, author interviews, bestsellers lists and reviews.] [PW WebCast with Codemantra | Books Apps vs. eBooks] In the Spotlight [Children’s Publishers Choose Their Favorite Reads of 2016] We asked staffers at children’s publishing houses to tell us about their favorite children’s book they read this year and how they discovered it. Our only proviso: it couldn’t be a book that their company had published. See their responses, and happy reading! [more] Fall Flying StartsTo wrap up the year, we spoke with the authors of five of the season's most promising YA debuts. [Martin Stewart] Martin Stewart, aspiring novelist and full-time Scottish schoolteacher, had a literary agent and a manuscript that numerous editors agreed was superbly written, but probably not right for middle grade readers. “Does he have anything else?” one editor asked. [more] [Audrey Coulthurst] If there’s such a thing as a straightforward path to becoming a writer, Audrey Coulthurst didn’t take it. "I actually never meant to be a writer," she admits. While she wrote as a child, her focus in high school was on music and art, and when she entered college, she quit writing altogether. [more] [M-E Girard] M-E Girard has spent a lot of time thinking about gender stereotypes. She can still remember being a kid shopping with her family when she picked out a She-Ra: Princess of Power figure while her sister opted for a Hot Wheels car. Now the 34-year-old pediatric nurse has published her debut YA novel, a meditation on the struggle to deal with social expectations, including gender and cultural norms. [more] [Jessica Cluess] Frank Herbert's Dune came into Jessica Cluess's life at a pivotal point. At 24, she’d just gotten out of college, and with a recession on, finding a job was easier said than done. She decided that an escape was just what she needed, and it came for her in the form of Dune. [more] [Traci Chee] The Reader is both Traci Chee’s first published work and her first attempt at writing a novel. The book was inspired by "one magical moment walking into a special collections of a library," Chee’s appreciation of "outlaws with hearts of gold" (think Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen in The Magnificent Seven), and her interest in grief and loss. [more] [Win an iPad Loaded with Publishers Weekly's Best Books for 2016] In the News [Barefoot Books Co-Founder Tessa Strickland Steps Down] On December 31, Tessa Strickland is retiring as editor-in-chief of Barefoot Books, the publishing house that she cofounded with Nancy Traversy 25 years ago. Strickland is retiring from her day-to-day duties at the press in order to spend more time writing; she has published several books with Barefoot under the pen name Stella Blackstone. [more] Milestones [Sarah Mlynowski] Sarah Mlynowski is currently marking a dual milestone: her Whatever After series has topped five million copies in print and has entered double digits in title count. Last month Scholastic released Sugar and Spice, the 10th installment of this middle-grade series that puts a spirited spin on fairytales. [more] Galley Talk ['The Lotterys Plus One'] Buffy Cummins, assistant buyer at Second Star to the Right Children's Books in Denver, shares her excitement about The Lotterys Plus One, the first novel for younger readers by Room author Emma Donoghue, due out next March. There is so much to love in Emma Donoghue’s middle reader debut. I’ll admit that I was glad to hear a sequel is in the works, as I definitely don’t feel finished with nine-year-old Sumac Lottery and her 11-person family. [more] SPONSORED [Win a Signed Copy of 'The Sun Is Also a Star'!] Enter for a chance to win a signed copy of 'The Sun Is Also a Star' by #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicola Yoon. Winners will also receive a prize pack including a cover art print, temporary tattoo set, and collectible button pack. (Sponsored) [Sign up here!] For more about these and other jobs, visit [PW JobZone]. To post a new job, [click here]. - American Academy of Pediatrics is seeking a [Publications Inventory Specialist (Part-time)]. - HarperCollins Christian Publishing is seeking a [Managing Editor]. - West Academic is seeking a [Publishing Operations Intern (Paid)]. - Sterling Publishing is seeking an [Editor]. - Chronicle Books is seeking a [Sales Assistant - Specialty/Mass Market Sales]. Rights Report Erin Clarke at Knopf has acquired two middle grade books by Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy author Karen Foxlee. Beetles of the Yukon tells the story of the relationship between Lenore Spink and her younger brother Davey, who suffers from a rare form of gigantism. The first book is slated for fall 2018, with the second to follow in 2019; Catherine Drayton at InkWell Management sold North American rights. Yvette Ghione and Semareh Al-Hillal at Kids Can Press have bought Throwing Seed Balls, a picture book from Andrew Larsen, author of A Squiggly Story and The Imaginary Garden, in a two-book deal. Publication is scheduled for April 2019 and April 2020; Fiona Kenshole of Transatlantic Agency sold world rights. Christina Pulles at Sterling has acquired world rights to the picture book Magnolia Mudd and the Super Jumptastic Launcher Deluxe by Katey Howes, illustrated by Valerio Fabbretti. Nuts-and-bolts Magnolia must invent a Mudd-powered way to participate in her uncle's wedding, or get stuck tossing petals in a frilly gown. Publication is set for fall 2017; Essie White of Storm Literary Agency represented the author and Justin Rucker of Shannon Associates represented the illustrator. To see all of this week's deals, [click here]. IN THE MEDIA [From Deadline:] Warner Bros and MGM team up to acquire The Sun Is Also a Star, the bestselling YA novel by Nicola Yoon. [Click here] [From Mashable:] How children's book authors are raising money for Aleppo. [Click here] [From the New York Times:] R.J. Palacio and Meg Medina Talk Diversity and Children's Books. [Click here] [From Business Insider:] The 10 best Australian children's books of 2016. [Click here] [From Bustle:] The NYPL is launching an imprint inspired by its collections; first up is a children's book by Maira Kalman. [Click here] [From the New York Times:] Forget Pat the Bunny. My Child Is Reading Hemingway. [Click here] [From Hoodline:] Daniel Handler Launches Per Diem Press, with $1,000 Prize for Poetry. [Click here] [From Entertainment Weekly:] Five offbeat children's books for the holidays. [Click here] SHELFTALKER Elizabeth Bluemle [Now More Than Ever] How this holiday season has felt different at the bookstore. [more »] Josie Leavitt [Holiday Shopping Comments] What happens when people who have no filter left shop at the store. [more »] Elizabeth Bluemle [Keystone Cops Behind the Counter] The reason you see spirally cartoon eyes on booksellers on a particular Thursday. [more »] Josie Leavitt [Things I Won’t Miss When I Leave] Leaving a job is always fraught, but often there is a small silver lining. [more »] FEATURED REVIEWS [Big Cat, Little Cat] Elisha Cooper. Roaring Brook, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-62672-371-9 Like a Japanese brush painter, Cooper uses bold, black lines to trace the outlines of a white cat; it roams through an apartment, playing with yarn and gazing at the bird feeder. Then a black kitten arrives, and the white cat shows it "when to eat, when to drink, where to go, how to be." [more] [Hello, Universe] Erin Entrada Kelly. Greenwillow, $16.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-06-241415-1 Kelly offers up a charming novel about a serendipitous friendship that forms among a trio of sixth graders after a bully’s heartless act brings them together. Virgil Salinas, an immensely shy 11-year-old, lives in the shadow of his boisterous family, struggles in school, and wants little more than to hang out with his guinea pig, Gulliver, and friend, Kaori Tanaka, a self-proclaimed psychic. [more] [Bronze and Sunflower] Cao Wenxuan, trans. from the Chinese by Helen Wang. Candlewick, $16.99 (400p) ISBN 978-0-7636-8816-5 Hans Christian Andersen Award–winner Wenxuan's moving story of a friendship between two lonely Chinese children, orphaned Sunflower and mute Bronze, bears all the elements of a classic: an inviting and solidly constructed setting, a close-knit family, and a kindhearted community (there's even a pet buffalo). Traversing five years, the book is beautifully translated into lyrical prose... [more] [Nemesis] Brendan Reichs. Putnam, $17.99 (464p) ISBN 978-0-399-54493-4 Reichs (coauthor of the Virals series) incorporates enough life-threatening, apocalyptic elements into this fast-moving tale for half a dozen ordinary thrillers: an extinction-event-size asteroid, comets crashing to Earth, mysterious tsunamis and earthquakes, secret medical experiments, libertarian survivalists, and more. [more] December 20, 2016 E-mail not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.] [When an Elephant Falls in Love by Davide Cali, Alice Lotti (Illustrated by)] [PW KidsCast: A Conversation with Jennifer Torres] People Suzy Capozzi has joined Simon Spotlight as editor. She was most recently a freelance editor. Scholastic has several new hires and promotions. Kiffin Steurer has joined as managing editor for Klutz; he was previously at HarperCollins Children’s Books. Chloe Fraboni has joined as editor, licensed publishing; she was previously at Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. Kirk Benshoff has joined as art director for Readers, Branches and Nonfiction; he was previously at Hachette Book Group. Erin McMahon has been promoted to senior designer, licensed publishing; she was previously designer. Emily Feliberty has been promoted to associate director of marketing and publicity for Klutz; she was previously marketing manager. Jenna Ballard has been promoted to associate editor, licensed publishing; she was previously assistant editor. Brooke Shearouse has been promoted to publicist; she was previously associate publicist. Hillary Doyle has been promoted to rights manager; she was previously associate manager. Emily Clement has joined as rights manager; she was previously editor at Arthur A. Levine Books. Milena Giunco has been promoted to publicity coordinator; she was previously publicity assistant. Christine Reedy has been promoted to marketing coordinator; she was previously marketing assistant. Courtney DeVerges has been promoted to sales coordinator for Klutz; she was previously sales assistant. In Case You Missed It [2016 Children's Starred Reviews Issue] [Click here] [Editors on Working with Their Childhood Literary Heroes] [Click here] [A Dual Career Comes Full Circle for Laura Godwin] [Click here] [Series Endings for Children’s and YA Books] [Click here] [PW At the Movies: ‘A Monster Calls’] [Click here] Bestsellers [Children's Frontlist Fiction] #1 Double Down (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #11) by Jeff Kinney. [Click here] [Picture Books] #1 Take Heart, My Child by Ainsley Earhardt, illus. by Kathryn Cristaldi. [Click here] Of Note Children's Bookshelf is on [Instagram]! Please follow us @pwkidsbookshelf. Bookshelf Archives Looking for a back issue of Children's Bookshelf? Didn't finish reading a story in last week's issue? Want to forward Bookshelf to a friend? [Click here]for our archives page! CONTACT US Have a comment or suggestion? We'd love to hear from you. [Click here] to drop us a note. [Follow PWKidsBookshelf on Twitter] Children's Bookshelf Editor: Diane Roback Send editorial questions about this e-newsletter to: childrensbooks@publishersweekly.com Send advertising questions about this e-newsletter to: cbryerman@publishersweekly.com Follow PW on [Facebook] and [Twitter]. For additional assistance, contact us by email or at the address below. Publishers Weekly, 71 West 23 St. #1608 New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2016, PWxyz LLC Email not displaying correctly? 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