Can you believe it’s been two months?

Spring is in the air. It’s been raining for the last several days, but it seems to be clearing up.

While there hasn’t been much to post about, I’ve been quite busy behind the scenes. The nice thing about starting a new imprint is the lack of interruption. I can read and read and read without worrying about copyedits, covers, marketing meetings, and other interruptions. However, that also means my day looks the same day in and day out for right now, which is rather boring for blog consumption. And sometimes you like your day being a bit broken up. It’s great to have all this time to read, but it’s also nice to have books in various stages, allowing you to switch up your day when one thing becomes too fatiguing.

So my days have mostly been read manuscript, write editorial letter, rinse, repeat. I’m slowly working my way through full manuscripts that I’ve requested, reading new partials, and hopefully working toward those first acquisitions. (By the way, if you haven’t heard back from me and have been wondering why, you’ll want to know that Lee & Low’s company policy is to only respond to submissions if we’re interested. I’m afraid the volume of submissions is such that it’s the only way to keep the workload manageable.)

Edited to add: Here’s a great illustration of what my days tend to look like to an outsider!

I also find it easier to post quick thoughts on Twitter rather than putting together full blog posts nowadays. I’ll continue to blog—and once we have acquired a book or two, I’ll definitely want to talk about them more in depth!—but if you want to have more frequent updates, you’re welcome to follow me on Twitter. I’m more likely to share publishing-related links there, because that’s where I often find them (and it’s quicker to retweet something in 140 characters or fewer via Tweetdeck than it is to go to the blog, sign in, click “new post,” figure out what commentary I might have on it, figure out what category it might fall under, and post a blog post). Of course, I might want to do that for a number of things, but posts that were link-heavy have mostly migrated to the Twitter form, at least for me.

Speaking of reading and reading, I just finished reading an awesome manuscript and needed a rest, but now it’s time to dive back into the piles of paper on my desk. Or back into the Sony Reader (which I should post about at some point—that’s something new for me that I haven’t mentioned here!), depending on which book I’m going to read next. I need to let my thoughts percolate a little while before diving into my notes for the previous book.

How are things in your neck of the woods? I haven’t been on LJ lately to read friends’ posts and I forget to read my RSS feeds often, so I’m afraid I’m quite behind on everyone’s doings! It’s hard to believe I’ve been in New York two months already, and it’s made me realize how tunnel-visioned I’ve been lately. But it’s been a good tunnel vision—I’ve had some really awesome books to read lately.

Books for NYC Schools, School Library Month, and kimbap

Dropped in on the Books for NYC Schools event to see Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier read. But the trains were running late, so I missed their part of the reading, and forgot my copies of Leviathan and How to Ditch Your Fairy at work, so I pretty much listened to Bennet Madison and Cecily von Ziegesar’s part of the reading–and I’m so glad I did, because I haven’t read their books and really enjoyed hearing their work–and said hi to Scott & Justine, just getting my copy of Specials signed because that was the only one I had at home. But I was able to donate several books to the event, which was the most important thing. I love that they did this, and it looks like it’s an ongoing non-profit project sponsored by ReadThis and The Center for Fiction, so you might be able to find ways of helping out even with the event over.

Even if you can’t help NYC schools, remember that most school libraries are suffering right now because of local and state budget shortfalls. April is School Library Month, and there’s a lot you can do in your own neighborhood, city, and county to get involved and make sure that kids in your own area have the tools they need to get a good education. A huge part of that education is access to a library–and librarians to staff those libraries. Laurie Halse Anderson is this year’s spokesperson and she has a video over on her site talking about why school libraries in particular are important. Pull quote:

On the fact that math scores are up across the country, but reading scores are not: “We haven’t asked parents to volunteer to teach our algebra classes… we haven’t fired math teachers and let kids to figure it out on the Internet, but we’ve closed libraries and fired librarians, who are the central figure of literacy in any school.”

After that, I was on to run a few errands near work that I forgot to do yesterday evening, which put me in the neighborhood of a kimbap cafe across the street from the Asian market I needed to pick a few things up from. I saw it yesterday on my way back to the office from picking up japchae at a Korean restaurant on the same street, but it didn’t register until I got back to the office. I love kimbap–but it takes forever for me to make it just for me, and I always end up with too much. So just over $5 for a roll all for myself? YUM.

New York, New York

I’ve been meaning to post pictures to Facebook of all the things I’ve been up to lately (including pictures of my CUTE nephews from my visit as I drove through on my way to New York), but I can’t seem to find my sync cord for my camera to my home computer. I was able to upload the pictures to my work computer via a borrowed card reader, which means I can now put them on my jump drive and take them home, but I keep forgetting to.

So, while I kill an hour before meeting a friend for dinner—not enough time to go all the way home to Harlem—I thought I’d post a few pictures that I’ve taken around the city and on my way here. It’s been too long since I shared my photography (too long since I took pictures on a regular basis!). I found pictures from LTUE in February that I’ve been meaning to post for about a month or so, as well. But I’ll do those in a separate post, because I have enough from New York to fill one post.

Some pictures of a recent trip to New York before I moved. Apparently I forgot to get the camera out except for at the top of the Empire State Building—my first time up there despite many trips to NYC by that time.

View of the Chrystler Building and the Queensboro Bridge (I think)
View of the Chrystler Building and the Queensboro Bridge (I think)

View of southern Manhattan, with the Statue of Liberty just barely seen silhoutted in the distance.
View of southern Manhattan, with the Statue of Liberty just barely seen silhoutted in the distance.
The Flatiron Building and just a little bit of Madison Square Park. I work about 3 or 4 blocks north of here, and on nice days it's nice to go down to the park at lunchtime.
The Flatiron Building and just a little bit of Madison Square Park. I work about 3 or 4 blocks north of here, and on nice days it's nice to go down to the park at lunchtime.
Me, at the top of the Empire State Building
Me, at the top of the Empire State Building

A dizzying view of the streets of NYC from the top of the Empire State Bldg.
A dizzying view of the streets of NYC from the top of the Empire State Bldg.

Interviews, news, and Tu’s new submission guidelines

Link roundup from the coverage that Tu Books has been getting on the web, including interviews of me and coverage in Publisher’s Weekly:

ETA: Opening New Doors (PW)

Lee & Low Gets New Imprint

Interview at The Enchanted Inkpot (also be sure to catch their discussion of diversity in fantasy, if you haven’t seen it yet) (Oo! Just saw this–they also interviewed Clint Johnson, the author of Green Dragon Codex, which I edited)

Interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith at Cynsations

For those of you wondering how and where to get the information you need to send me your awesome fantasy or science fiction YA or middle grade novel featuring characters of color, check out the submission guidelines over at Tu’s new website. Note that there are a few changes to bring it in line with Lee & Low’s submission policy, such as the new no-response policy. Please be sure to note the new address, as well!

Thanks so much, everyone, for your support of Tu Publishing. We wouldn’t have gotten this far without you.

What’s up with this New York talk?

Have you been wondering where I’ve been on this blog? Have you noticed me talking on Facebook or Twitter about a move and wondered what was up with that? Now, your questions can be answered! Some pretty awesome things have been happening that required me to relocate to New York City. For more on what’s going on, check out the press release: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/03/prweb3699034.htm.

Now that it’s out there, we’ll have more to talk about in the next little while. I’m sure you’ll have questions, and you’re welcome to ask them here. (Right now, though, I’m starving and must go find myself some lunch.)

Here’s what it says:

LEE & LOW BOOKS, the respected independent children’s book publisher specializing in diversity, has acquired Tu Publishing, an independent press focusing on multicultural fantasy and science fiction for middle grade and young adult readers.

New York, NY (PRWEB) March 9, 2010 — LEE & LOW BOOKS, the respected independent children’s book publisher specializing in diversity, has acquired Tu Publishing, an independent press focusing on multicultural fantasy and science fiction for middle grade and young adult readers.

“This is a natural fit for us,” says LEE & LOW publisher Jason Low. “Our customers have been asking us for years to publish stories for older readers. Tu represents an excellent way for us to bring diversity to a whole new audience.”

Recent controversies over whitewashing have brought widespread attention to the dearth of people of color in fantasy and science fiction stories, although avid fans of these genres have long acknowledged the problem.

Tu Publishing founder Stacy Whitman began the press in 2009 to address the need for more books featuring diverse characters and inspired by non-Western cultures, a need that she had seen as both a reader and an editor of fantasy and science fiction.

Supporters met Whitman’s project with great enthusiasm and donated funds via the online organization Kickstarter to help launch the company. Through many small donations, Tu Publishing surpassed its $10,000 goal, catching the attention of LEE & LOW.

“The fact that Tu was able to raise so much money indicates that there is a real need for this,” says Low. Since Tu will now become an imprint of LEE & LOW, all money will be refunded to donors.

“The outpouring of support on the Kickstarter project and from children’s book professionals validates my mission, and the opportunity to join forces with LEE & LOW, with its vast experience publishing diverse children’s books, will allow me to accomplish my goals even beyond what I could have expected,” Whitman explains.

Whitman will join LEE & LOW as editorial director of the new imprint, which will undergo a slight name change to Tu Books. Several manuscripts are already under consideration for possible acquisition, with hopes of releasing the first books under the new imprint in 2011.

Writing for Young Readers Conference

I’m in the midst of a move and have been a bit too busy to post here, but hopefully this information will make up for that absence. If you’re familiar with BYU’s Writing for Young Readers conference—especially if you’ve been looking for information on the 2010 conference and have been unable to find it—you need to know this info I just got from organizer Carol Lynch Williams:

We’re letting you know that you can now register for The 2010 Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Conference!

This year’s conference will be held June 14-June 18, 2010, and promises to be an exciting week. Our new venue in Sandy, UT, is large and full of light. And we’re working with the wonderful bookstore
The King’s English! As usual, we have an amazing, award-winning faculty, too.

Our faculty includes:
Rick Walton and Cheri Earl–who will team-teach the Beginning Class        www.rickwalton.com
Bonny Becker–who will teach a Picture Book class          www.bonnybecker.com
Kristyn Crow–who will teach a Picture Book class            www.kristyncrow.com
Mike Knudson–who will teach a Chapter Book class        www.mikeknudson.com
Kevin Hawkes–who will teach the Illustration Class          www.kevinhawkes.com
Emily Wing Smith–who will teach the Beginning Novel Class         www.emilywingsmith.com
Ann Dee Ellis–who will teach the Contemporary Novel Class          www.anndeeellis.com
Alane Ferguson–who will teach an Intermediate/Advanced Novel Class         www.alaneferguson.com
Sara Zarr–who will teach an Intermediate/Advanced Novel Class             www.sarazarr.com
Brandon Mull–who will teach a Fantasy Class            www.brandonmull.com
Dave Wolverton (Dave Farland)–who will teach a Fantasy Class       www.davidfarland.net

Editors and Agent:
Jennifer Hunt  from Little, Brown
Kate Angelella from Simon and Schuster
Mary Kole from Andrea Brown Agency

Thursday Afternoon Presenter:
Mary E Pearson (The Miles Between, The Admiration of Jenna Fox, A Room on Lorelei Street, Scribbler of Dreams, David v. God)
www.marypearson.com

If you can’t spend the whole day with us, look into attending the afternoon sessions.
Additional speakers will include Will Terry, Guy Francis, Ally Condie, Jennifer Grillone, Kirk Shaw, Matthew Kirby, Sydney Salter

For more information, and to register, please go to www.foryoungreaders.com

Please forward this information on to your writing and illustrating friends. Thank you!!!

Updated LTUE schedule

I now have a couple panels on Friday, so if you don’t make it there today, there’s still Friday and Saturday. I’m not even going to format this–I have to run out the door to BYU.

Thursday

1:00 PM

– Defining Children’s Literature: What are a children’s book, a middle grade reader, a YA novel and an adult novel? (Stacy Whitman, Lisa Mangum, Mette Ivie Harrison, Dan Willis, Pat Castelli)

4:00 PM

– No More Dead Dogs (or moms): Why do mothers and dogs always die in children’s literature? How do we pull at the heartstrings and give child characters independence without killing off dogs and moms? (Paul Genesse, Stacy Whitman, Clint Johnson, Julie Wright)

FRIDAY, 12 February, 2010

9:00 AM

– Paths to publishing: When is traditional best and when should you try an alternative (Stacy Whitman, John Brown, Dan Willis, Eric Swedin, Sandra Tayler)

10:00 AM

– Cover art for Children’s and YA books (Amanda Sorensen, Nathan Hale, Brian Beus, Stacy Whitman)

SATURDAY, 13 February, 2010

10:00 AM

– What Exactly Does an Editor Do, Anyway? (L. E. Modesitt, Jr.,  Stacy Whitman, Suzanne Vincent, Lisa Mangum, Tristi Pinkston)

2:00 PM

– Regional Publishers

(Lisa Mangum, Stacy Whitman, Linda Brummett, Garry P. Mitchell, Tristi Pinkston, Dave Doering (M))

5:00 PM

– Edgy YA vs. not-so-edgy (Stacy Whitman, Laura Bingham, Mette Harrison, Julie Wright)

Anime again: current touchstones

My local library’s anime selection is pretty dismal. This makes me sad, because their movie selection in other genres is really quite good (especially British movies and TV shows).

They suggested that I fill out a suggestion form for anime series that are must-haves. I have several ideas from my last couple of posts about anime, but I thought I’d throw it out here, as well. What 5-10 anime series would you say were series that every library should have?

My criteria: can’t be from the 80s or early 90s. Anime has moved on since then. No Robo-whatever it was called that so many remember and love from their childhood. I’m talking *current* anime touchstones. Something from the last 10 years or so.

Suggestions?

ETA: I forgot to mention that I specifically told the librarian not to suggest Miyazaki films because I’d seen them all. I believe the library has most, if not all, of Studio Ghibli’s work.

My LTUE schedule

There’s a great little science fiction/fantasy convention (well, they call it a “symposium”) at BYU every year in February called Life, the Universe, and Everything. I’ve been going as a panelist for several years (I was an editor guest of honor a while back, too), and I highly recommend it for writers and fans who are relatively local—especially because it’s FREE!

Brandon Sanderson, bestselling author of Mistborn and a bunch of other books, is a guest of honor this year, as is James C. Christenson (Thursday only). The program is filled with a bunch of great Utah-local writers and artists who are well-known nationally, most of whom don’t have their names on the main page of the symposium website (they never put me on there, either, weirdly—this is the way it’s been for years). Let’s see: Mette Ivie Harrison, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., James Dashner, Brandon Mull, Howard Tayler, Jake Black, Clint Johnson (who writes as R.D. Henham), Dan Wells, Nathan Hale, Eric James Stone, and on and on. Weirdly, also, they have Jessica Day George on the website, but I don’t see her in the schedule, so it makes me wonder if they just copy and paste last year’s list in (it never seems to change).

Despite having a slightly out-of-date website, though, the symposium itself is a good experience, and writers get a LOT of good free advice, and get to meet a lot of their favorite published writers and working artists. So make sure you save the date—Feb. 11-13, 2010 in the Wilkinson Center at BYU (upstairs on the 3rd floor; there are usually signs).

Here’s my tentative schedule, and the people who are on the panels with me:

Thursday, Feb 11

(This first one’s a trick question:)

1 pm—Defining Children’s Literature: What are a children’s book, a middle grade reader, a YA novel and an adult novel? (Stacy Whitman, Lisa Mangum, Mette Ivie Harrison, Dan Willis)

4 pm—No More Dead Dogs (or moms): Why do mothers and dogs always die in children’s literature? How do we pull at the heartstrings and give child characters independence without killing off dogs and moms? (Paul Genesse, Stacy Whitman, Clint Johnson, Julie Wright)

Friday, Feb. 12

Apparently I don’t have anything on Friday. I’m confused on that. But I’ll probably be around, working, chatting, etc.

Saturday, Feb. 13

10 am—What Exactly Does an Editor Do, Anyway? (L. E. Modesitt, Jr.,  Stacy Whitman, Susan Vincent, Lisa Mangum, Tristi Pinkston)

2 pm—Regional Publishers (Lisa Magnum, Stacy Whitman, Linda Brummett, Garry P. Mitchell, Tristi Pinkston, Dave Doering)

5 pm—-Edgy YA vs. not-so-edgy (Stacy Whitman, Laura Bingham, Mette Harrison, Julie Wright)


Adding these to the list of anime

Since we talked about anime a few months back, I’ve been watching a few more that I’d recommend. I’m only a bit into most of the first few—I’m watching several at a time through Netflix, so I’m staggering the discs.

SPOILER WARNING: I’m linking to the Wikipedia articles about these anime and the manga or light novels they’re based on. Sometimes there can be spoilers on these pages with no warnings, so proceed with caution. There are no huge spoilers in my descriptions—everything I mention is mentioned in the descriptions of the anime on the Netflix or Hulu page—but those of you with low spoiler thresholds have been warned.

DN Angel (more, including content/age range info & no spoilers, at Anime News Network)—I’m just starting this one through Netflix and it’s been making me giggle. Daisuke Niwa is a pretty normal 14-year-old kid who turns into a notorious thief when he sees the girl he loves, and he can only turn back when he’s won her love in his thief form. His mom and grandpa as accomplices are hilarious.

Darker than Black (more at ANN)—also just started this one (have only watched the 1st disc so far) and it’s okay. Definitely at least PG-13 for gore in some places–don’t recommend it for kids. The stars have gone out and are replaced by the “stars” of what they call “contractors,” people who have a superpower that is constrained by a habit they hate. So, someone who can manipulate water, for example, might be required to smoke, that kind of thing. I’m still trying to figure out the thread of the plot on this one.

Tactics (more info at Anime News Network)—LOVE this one so far. Also only past the first disc, but it’s really great so far. I would LOVE to see a YA novel focusing on this kind of folklore—Shonen Onmiyouji (ANN), another anime, also features the same kind of concept, a boy/man who can see spirits and banishes them using traditional Japanese methods (which I believe, but I’m not sure, are based on real Shinto practices—someone correct me if I’m wrong). (Nevermind, I will correct myself—if Wikipedia can be believed, Onmyodo was a spiritual practice in and of itself, but influenced by Shintoism as well as other religions.)

Point being: We’ve had plenty of YA books in which teens can see spirits or demons or fairies. But I’d love to see one set in Japan or using these kinds of Japanese folkloric influences. I think it makes a familiar story into something completely different, something fresh and new to a U.S. audience. (As always when I hope for stories like this, do your research and know the culture!)

Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok—halfway through this one. Pretty great so far. Anime News Network’s plot summary: “Loki, the Norse god of mischief, has been exiled to the human world for what was apparently was a bad joke. Along with being exiled, he’s forced to take the form of a child. He’s told the only way he can get back to the world of the gods is if he can collect auras of evil that take over human hearts, and so to do this he runs a detective agency. Loki is soon joined by a human girl named Mayura who is a maniac for mysteries, and she soon helps out in her own way. However, soon other Norse gods begin to appear, and most have the intent to assassinate Loki for reasons unclear.”

Kyo Kara Mao! (ANN’s take on it here)—yet another one I’m not far into but love so far. Another giggle-worthy one. Main character Yuri Shibuya is flushed down a toilet into a parallel world where he is proclaimed the Demon King and accidentally proposes marriage to another guy by slapping him on the face for insulting his mother. Hilarious to watch him try to navigate a culture so different from his own (which is what parallel-world fantasy is all about, though it’s not always supposed to be funny). The more serious plot arcs are great, too—Yuri has no idea what he’s doing as a king, and he tries to avoid war between demon and human kingdoms, which baffles a lot of people.

R.O.D. the TV (ANN link)—Actually, I covered this one in my original post.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (ANN link)—somehow this one got left off my last list. Watch this one! It’s hilarious. Only 12 episodes, I think, so a relatively quick watch.

M0onPhase (ANN link)—A hilariously different take on a vampire story. I love the relationship between Kouhei and Hazuki. And the opening sequence is hilarious. I’m only about halfway through this one on Hulu—I discovered it over the holiday break and haven’t had time to go back to it. (Reading subs makes it harder to do other things while watching. I love listening to the Japanese inflections, but listening to dubs (even bad ones) makes it easier for me to accomplish other things at the same time.)

I also re-watched Fruits Basket recently (it’s on Hulu!) and again recommend it to anyone. It’s a classic YA fantasy story.

I really wish there were a second season of Ghost Hunt available (this one’s on Hulu, as well). From what I can tell, it was written by the same woman who wrote Twelve Kingdoms, which might be why I like it so much.