Cassandra Clare‘s lawyer, John Cahill of Cahill Associates, issued a statement Thursday afternoon responding to Sherrilyn Kenyon’s trademark and copyright infringment lawsuit filed against Clare late last week. “Cassie was both surprised and disappointed that Ms. Kenyon would file this baseless lawsuit, a decade after the debut of Cassie’s books. Kenyon is wrong when she claims that Cassandra Clare or her publisher made any agreements about using ‘shadowhunters.’ Cassie never gave Kenyon any assurances regarding this and, although she would have preferred to resolve any concerns that Ms. Kenyon has or may have had, Ms. Kenyon never contacted or spoke […]
Children's
Best ofs Begin, with the NYT’s Illustrated Children’s Favorites
We officially start transitioning from awards season to best of the year season, as the NYT Book Review takes the traditional lead with their list of the Best Illustrated Children’s Books. (Two are written by Mac Barnett, and two of the books on the list are about the Eiffel Tower.) Big Bear Little Chair, by Lizi Boyd A Fine Dessert: Four Centuries, Four Families, One Delicious Treat, by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Sophie Blackall Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras, by Duncan Tonatiuh Leo: A Ghost Story, by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Christian Robinson Madame Eiffel: The Love […]
Corporate: Pearson Sells Family Education Network Sites, Harlequin Launches Audio
Pearson has sold their Family Education Network — the group of websites for kids that includes Poptropica and Funbrain — to UK-based private equity company Sandbox Partners for undisclosed terms. Founded last year, Sandbox is run by former president of Pearson English Bhav Singh. Pearson spokesperson Brendan O’Grady said the sale is part of a “shift to focus on the Pearson products and services with the biggest potential impact on learning outcomes.” But he noted Pearson will still use Poptropica characters in a number of their English-language learning products. Author Jeff Kinney, who co-founded Poptropica while working at FEN and continues as Poptropica’s creative […]
Katz to Retire from Harper Children’s, Murphy to Take Over
President and publisher of Harper Children’s Susan Katz “has decided to retire after an illustrious career of nearly 30 years with the company,” ceo Brian Murray announced. Katz took over the children’s division in 1996. Murray writes, “She has guided the division through one successful year after another, and has made an enormous contribution to the company’s overall success – whether she’s breathing new life into our timeless classics or launching new brands that engage the next generation of readers…. While I am sad that Susan will not be part of the HarperCollins team going forward, I am thrilled for her […]
Statistics 101: Juvenile Book Sales Did Not “Plummet”
The internet is so full of groundless stories about book publishing these days that the most efficient approach is for us to ignore most of them. But PW posted a story Thursday, “Juvenile Book Sales Plummet,” that is simply wrong and should be cleared up before the meme gets set. The thrust of the piece was this: Juvenile print book sales “plunged in the week ended April 19, 2015, compared to the similar week in 2014. Unit sales in the juvenile nonfiction category fell 39% in the week and dropped 46% in fiction at outlets that report to BookScan.” But they simply misunderstand how to make reasonable year-over-year […]
Scholastic Acquires Minority Stake in UK Publisher Make Believe Ideas
Scholastic announced Monday that it acquired a minority equity interest in UK-based education learning company Make Believe Ideas. The first co-branded books for children aged 0-5 will be unveiled at the Bologna Book Fair next week, with worldwide release scheduled for fall 2015. Financial terms were not disclosed. “Make Believe Ideas’ focus on early learning and creativity and its engaging product line extends our publishing program and fits seamlessly into our distribution channels at Scholastic,” said evp & president, trade publishing Ellie Berger in the announcement. “With a renewed focus on the importance of reading with babies beginning at birth, […]