Welcome to the Lerner Books Blog! We are thrilled to be stepping into the world of new media to connect with our readers.
This is a group forum for our authors and illustrators, all of us here at Lerner Publishing Group, and you, our readers, to share our thoughts on children’s books and much more. It’s about the experiences and people that motivate us to empower, educate, and entertain young readers. Throughout each week, we’ll share thoughts on what we’re publishing and why, what we find fascinating about the transformations underway in the publishing world—and how we’re evolving alongside the market, what makes us laugh—or scratch our heads, and what excites and inspires us to do what we love every day.
In yesterday’s Shelf Awareness, George Weidenfeld, in an interview about the 60th anniversary of Weidenfeld & Nicolson, commented about the future of the book—a common topic of industry conversation these days, and certainly a topic on the minds of us at Lerner Publishing Group.
“I believe the electronic book has a future. But that is the case for reading for information—some genres will, broadly, disappear in paper format. There will still be beautiful books, though, ones you’d want on your library shelves. They will remain as works of art or in the case of a book you want to have constantly in front of you. It will, of course, have an effect on the number of publishers.”
As a company that just celebrated its 50th anniversary in publishing, Mr. Weidenfeld’s comments strike a chord. We believe in the book and in the experience of sharing a beautiful, well-written story with a child. We are committed to continuing to create and curate beautiful books. And, we believe in the blue sky of possibility that new media offers to bring the experience of storytelling and story loving to educators, parents, and readers.
We are excited to have this forum to share our ideas and thoughts on the goings-on at Lerner Publishing Group and the opportunities and challenges that lie before us—to bring a fresh set of eyes and ideas to the publishing process; to find new ways to connect with readers, and discover new ones; to embrace technology and create communities with others who believe books are a vital part of our culture. I hope you will join us in the discussion and share your thoughts and ideas about the future of publishing–whatever the medium. I hope you will join us in looking into the blue sky.
Terri Lynn Reden
VP, Marketing