Actually, I suppose it’s a “why-haven’t-I-seen-this-in-a-novel-yet post. The town I grew up in had a fairly serious extra-curricular boy choir. I was not in it, but I had several friends who were. It was an uncomfortable social balancing act for these pre-adolescent boys. On the one had: dorky robes, practice, and high voices. On the […]Read more "A Christmas post, sort of"

by Erin Finnegan, NY editorial intern This week I interviewed the colorist behind the three-book series The Elsewhere Chronicles, Corentin Jaffré. Book Four: The Calling, will be published by Graphic Universe in the spring. Q. What computer programs and/or what kind of pens, pencils and brushes do you use? A. All panels of The Elsewhere […]Read more "GU Comics Day: Shining a spotlight on: Corentin Jaffré"

By Domenica Di Piazza, Editorial Director, TFCB I’ve always assumed that biographers inevitably fall in love with their subjects. After all, they cohabit the same psychic space for months, if not years, and a certain amount of transference is likely to occur. Kind of like falling in love with your surgeon after he or she […]Read more "Living with Your Subject"

By Carol HinzEditorial Director, Millbrook Press I think it’s safe to say that all writers and editors of children’s books think about reading level at least some of the time. Within Lerner’s editorial department, we think about reading level a lot of the time. All of our nonfiction series have designated reading levels. Some manuscripts […]Read more "A Mystery Wrapped in an Enigma: Reading Level"

[I asked Associate Editor Anna Cavallo to give us her unique view of editing.] We editors all bring something different to the table at Lerner—knowledge of foreign languages, an interest in football, etc. In my case, a background in linguistics is one of these quirky assets. Many of my colleagues have degrees in English, and […]Read more "Disclaimer: I Was Not an English Major"

Adj. (15th c.) – established beyond doubt or dispute. See also, Walker, Sally and Carlson, Nancy. It’s my great privilege to have worked with many people who can wear the adjective “accomplished,” but this week Sally and Nancy have worn it particularly prominently. We recently got word that Sally Walker’s latest book, Written in Bone, […]Read more "“Accomplished”"

by Erin Finnegan, editorial intern Continuing bravely on, I have a third artist spotlight. This time it’s Matt Wendt, the artist behind some of our Twisted Journeys series, including the reoccurring character Agent Mongoose. Q. What computer programs and/or what kind of pens, pencils and brushes do you use? A. I’m one of those old-school […]Read more "GU Comics Day: Shining a spotlight on: Matt Wendt"

[A few weeks ago, we heard from Marcia Marshall, Sandra Markle’s editor, in her blog post about their work together. Here’s Sandy’s side of the story.] I love those Go Behind the Scenes shows about the making of a movie. Well, this time you’re getting to go behind the scenes with me on the making […]Read more "Behind The Scenes with Sandra Markle"

My colleague Andrew Karre posted last week (Thursday December 3) about the future of the book. His entry reminded me of the interest generated recently by the auction of Cormac McCarthy’s typewriter (not pictured at left). The typewriter at left is an Underwood and is part of a collection of manual typewriters that belongs to […]Read more "Moving—or Not—into Modernity"