Merry Christmas and Publishing Industry Information

Because it’s Christmas, and I am working to finish a book, reading a ton of books for the Whitney Awards since I am one of the judges, and dealing with the holiday and children and snow, I am becoming quite the lazy blogger. Sorry.

I am happy to report that I am ready for Christmas. The presents are under the tree torturing my little people. We are still arguing the menu for our special family Christmas Eve dinner. Rae wants chinese chicken salad. Bing wants mac and cheese (which is soooo not going to happen), and I want bacon wrapped pork. I will win, because I’m the mom! (GO MOM POWER) Rae still thinks she has a fighting chance though. Christmas eve is traditionally candlight and the china, along with sparkling cider in crystal goblets and a small gift to be opened set out next to each plate. Because we live so far from our family, it’s just the five of us and I’ve come to appreciate the joy our little dinner gives me. Christmas day, we’ll drive up and join the extended family and get loud, eat too much and play video games until our eyes roll into the backs of our heads (well . . . everyone else will play games; I will be either reading or writing), but Christmas eve is reserved for just us. I can’t wait! We’re also planning on going to see the bedtime stories movie over the Christmas Break. It looks awesome!

Some interesting things are going on in the publishing world right now. One is the little bit of criticism the Newbery awards are getting this year (note: I am not the one being critical, merely reporting on the critiques of others) You can read that news flash here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/15/AR2008121503293.html?sub=AR

The summary of this article is that the Newbery winners might be too big a stretch for young minds and that the award is going to books catering to adults who like children’s books rather than to books catering to children. It goes on to say that perhaps the books are even turning children off to reading. Whether or not it is true, I can’t say, but I thought it was a good reminder for us authors to remember who our real audience is and to do what we can to write our best for that audience.

Another interesting aside is that Harperstudio and Borders have reached an agreement on the end of returns. For those of you who don’t know, the publishing industry has a bit of a quandary when it comes to ordering books and returning books. Publishing companies allow bookstores to order in as many books as they’d like and if those books don’t sell, those bookstores can return the books to the publisher. This model of business is rare, but allows bookstores to take chances on new product, new authors, new ideas.

Because of the returns policy, publishers are continually backed into a corner of economic and environmental strife. But because of the policy, many new authors who might get passed over, are given chances to sit on store shelves. You can read about the deal Borders made with Harperstudio here:

http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/2008/12/harperstudio-and-borders-no-returns.html

Remember the Whitney awards nominations are only available to the end of the year. If you read a book that simply rocked your world, give that book a shout out with a nomination. You can nominate here:

http://www.whitneyawards.com/

And last but not least, if you’re an author and still hinting at things people might get you for Christmas, remember to mention the Storymaker writer’s conference. It’s the perfect last minute gift since it can all be done online. It is one of the best writer’s conferences I have ever attended, which is saying something since I’ve been to a lot. If you are looking to hone your skills, meet agents and editors, enter the first chapters contest, or make connections in the literary world, there is no place better than the here:

http://www.ldstorymakers.com/conference.html

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you stay safe for the season, and that you feel nothing but love from those around you.