I’ve just returned from The Big Apple and the O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference. As I got back and reviewed my notes and twitter stream from the past 3 days (@terrireden), my mind is processing, processing, processing. The conversations were fascinating, eye-opening, and energizing. My role, like almost everyone at TOC, is hybrid–mine […]Read more "This is my brain on TOC"

.. baseball season is upon us. It’s not even ten degrees here and, with two feet of snow on the ground, I don’t think I’ll be shelving my skis anytime soon, but nonetheless, it’s definitely baseball season. The shadow of the new Minnesota Twins ballpark looms just beyond the view from my office window, ready, […]Read more "Despite all meteorological indications . . ."

As an educational publisher, we at LPG follow teaching trends and challenges. These days, the challenges involve time, money, quality of teaching, and testing cycles. Except for the last, these challenges are old news. Another radio program from BackStory talks extensively about public education. You can access the podcast here: BackStory with the American History […]Read more "U.S. Education"

By Anna CavalloAssociate Editor In creating K-12 nonfiction, we’re always trying to balance the big picture with the details—taking care with the little stuff without losing track of the big stuff. It’s the details that sometimes need careful fact-checking, and I think the details will often stick with a reader—a “fun fact” that piques an […]Read more "It’s in the Details"

I’ve been thinking about movie adaptations of literary works lately. Last weekend, I saw the Jungle Theater’s production of Blithe Spirit, the Noel Coward play about a writer haunted, literally, by past loves. The play was so much fun that I put the 1945 David Lean movie version on my to-see list. The movie was […]Read more "Literary Movies"

Apparently the recent outbreak of unusually snowy weather in the south and east of the U.S. has been fodder for climate change skeptics. An NPR piece on this subject leads this way: “With snow blanketing much of the country, the topic of global warming has become the butt of jokes.” Jokes? Okay, I’ll admit to […]Read more "The Stakes"

[Recently, Adam Lerner, president & publisher of Lerner Publishing Group, met with U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (DFL-MN). Below is a recounting of their meeting by Adam Lerner.] Several weeks after we won the Coretta Scott King Author Award for Bad News for Outlaws–The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, U.S. Marshal, I mentioned it to a […]Read more "Not Such "Bad News"– A Meeting with Representative Keith Ellison"

by Erin Finnegan, NY editorial intern Continuing on with writer spotlights from last week’s look at Trina Robbins, this week I interviewed Colleen AF Venable, the author of our hilarious and cute new series Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye, with art by Stephanie Yue, who was in the spotlight in November. Q. What was […]Read more "GU Comics Day: Spotlight on Colleen AF Venable"