Small Press Fortnight Blog Tour

For the next two weeks there is an ongoing project that will showcase various independent publishers, started by Jodie from Bookgazing.  The full schedule   Tomorrow, is my official day to post about Cinco Puntos Press. (Still need to finish it.)  Today, I've decided to a list titles by small presses I've loved and some I am looking forward to. 

Albert Whitman & Company
 Zapato Power  by Jacqueline Jules, This is a great series

Beautiful Lie by Irfan Master, which comes out in August is excellent. The book was first released in the UK.

Charlesbridge
Flying Dragon by Natalie Dias Lorenzi - A very good debut, this month actually.

Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins - I love the author's style and this story 

Cinco Puntos Press
Crossing Bok Chitto by Tim Tingle - This awarding winning book is intense and very good. 

Conspiracy Girl by Karen Chacek. I don't know what I love more, the cover or the title.  Can't wait to read this one.

                                                            
Kane Miller Publishing
Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke - This is a great series.

Lee & Low Books  - First kudos for having such a searchable website. 
Shining Star:The Anna May Wong Story by Paula Yoo - I love this biography

 
Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall.  I loved the author's award winning debut Under the Mesquite  and I am very much looking forward her next novel and first fantasy

Peachtree Publishers

The Cheshire Cheese Cat by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright - I loved this one so much. 

We've Got A Job by Cynthia Levinson -Excellent piece of nonfiction

Interview with Stacy Whitman (2011 SBBT, Day 5)

One thing I was really looking forward to this year was Tu Books, a new Lee and Low imprint that focuses on diversity for young readers in Fantasy, Science Fiction and Mystery genre. Stacy Whitman is the editorial director and founder of Tu Books. Even though Whitman's busy starting up a new imprint she still found the time to answer a few questions.

Hi, Stacy and welcome. Can you please tell us a little about your history in the publishing industry? And the beginnings of Tu Books?

Thanks! I am a farm girl, actually--grew up on a farm in Illinois raising horses and rabbits. Fast forwarding a bit, I got my master's in children's literature from Simmons College, and have worked at a newspaper, a trade magazine, an educational publisher, and Wizards of the Coast's Mirrorstone imprint for young readers, and was a freelancer when I started Tu Books

In 2009, as a result of the big #racefail discussion and while considering how we might be able to read books from Japan that hadn't been translated into English yet, a friend and I had an idea of filling a gap in children's and YA fantasy. We started playing with numbers, putting together a business plan--almost as a joke, though the more I looked at the numbers and the need, the more serious I became about it. My friend decided it wasn't for her, but I stayed with it, continuing to meet with our Small Business Administration counselor and starting a fundraiser on Kickstarter.com in hopes of raising enough money to approach a bank for a small business loan.

Meanwhile, at Lee & Low Books, they were considering how they might reach older readers, and when they saw all the excitement online that our Kickstarter campaign was attracting, publisher Jason Low got in touch and suggested that perhaps we might have similar goals. I joined Lee & Low early in 2010 and have been working on launching Tu ever since--our first books come out this fall!


I am a big fan of Lee & Low Books. How has the transition been after they acquired Tu?

Being with Lee & Low has been the perfect opportunity. Rather than having to create my own marketing, sales, and distribution plans and networks, Lee & Low already has a great reputation as a publisher of award-winning, diverse books for children. The people I work with get it, and their excitement to branch out into science fiction, fantasy, and mystery for older readers has been a huge support to me. And the best part of all, instead of the two books I'd initially been looking to publish in the first year, we plan for six books a year, with three our first season. I have all the support I need, including an intern who helps to read submissions, to enable me to make this work.

How big or small (since size is relative) is the Tu staff? And how diverse is it?

As you probably know, Lee & Low Books was founded by two Chinese American businessmen who saw that children's books needed more diversity. The company has been dedicated to diversity from day one. Our publisher, company president, and staff hail from a wide variety of ethnicities.

Tu's editorial staff is pretty small! I'm actually the only full-time editor, so being a white woman of Swedish-Irish-Scottish-English-German-Prussian descent, not much diversity there (I represent the farm-girl, rural perspective!). I have an intern who reads for me, freelancers who give feedback on manuscripts before acquisitions, and copyeditors and proofreaders who go over manuscripts before they're finalized in design. These women are from a variety of diverse backgrounds and their points of view are always helpful in asking questions I might have not thought to ask.

We also consult cultural experts to read manuscripts and give us feedback on blind spots we might be missing. Everyone at Lee & Low is dedicated to diversity in children's literature, so we all share a common mission both for Tu's books and for the Lee & Low and Bebop titles.

I love the covers of the three inaugural Tu titles, Tankborn by Karen Sandler, Wolf Mark by Joesph Bruchac and Galaxy Games by Greg R. Fishbone. The covers have a lot of eye appeal and fit the premise of their stories.

What is the cover process like? Do you use test groups?

Once the designer has read the book and I've given them suggestions from myself and the author, the process starts with the designer presenting me with sketches or mock-ups of cover concepts. If the cover is illustrated, of course, the artist might be involved with sketches. I run the concepts that I like most past several people in the office, including our publisher--who is very involved with Tu decision-making--and marketing people, and I consider all feedback.

Occasionally I might informally show a cover to a few teens with whom I work at a tutoring group in Harlem, but it's nothing official. It's nice to know, though, for example, that they all *loved* the cover of Tankborn. "That's a book that I would totally read," one said. That made me feel like we're on target. I've toyed with the idea of official test groups, and it may be something we'll consider in the future.

When will the Tankborn, Wolf Mark, and Galaxy Games be up on Tu Books website? Will excerpts be included? Where and when will Tu Books be available?

They're up now! Here are the links
Galaxy Games, Tankborn and Wolf Mark

And yes, there will be excerpts as well. All three books are available for pre-order at both Amazon and BN.com, and they'll be available in stores and online come September. They're listed as "out of stock" on the website right now, of course, because they won't be released until September, but once the release day arrives, you can order them online or find them in a bookstore near you.

The past few years there have been more middle grade and young adult fantasy novels with diverse cast. Though the number of authors of color writing fantasy is still very low. First things first, I want a good story. Period. Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't pay attention to how many middle grade and young adult authors of color are being published.

I've read some great novels with female leads written by men but I wouldn't want to be limited to female characters created by male authors. There is power in creation and everyone has a right to it.

Has Tu been doing anything to encourage authors of color to submit their work?

I've really been appreciating the recent uptick in diversity as well. Though of course the question is, are we doing much better now than we were twenty years ago? According to the CCBC, the actual numbers have held steady for over a decade. I'm glad to see more POC starring in their own stories rather than being relegated to sidekicks, but of course there's always more we could be doing. And you're right, part of doing better would be publishing more authors of color.

We've been working to reach out to a variety of writing societies for POC, such as the Carl Brandon Society, which is an African American science fiction and fantasy writers' society. I also try to encourage authors of color via calls for submission to general writing societies like SFWA and SCBWI, and in my talks on diversity at writing conferences--I try to address both encouraging authors of color to write fantasy/SF (or submit those manuscripts they might have put aside thinking there was no market for a POC main character in fantasy) and encouraging white writers to diversify their writing in a way that doesn't appropriate from other cultures.

Not to mention in my own personal networking on Twitter (@stacylwhitman), my blog, and so forth. But I'm also always looking for new places to send calls for submission, and would love suggestions for places I might have missed, particularly bloggers and online communities of writers that I might not know about.

Will Tu do its own version of the Lee and Low's New Voices Award?

I hope so! We haven't discussed it, but I think it's a good idea. We've just been focused on launching the actual imprint for now. Perhaps sometime in the future it could happen, but we don't have plans for it right now.

How does an editor edit cross-culturally?

Being an editor is kind of like being a lifelong student. You learn to look things up, to think about what you're reading critically, to figure out what you don't know and to ask questions. And there's a general awareness of diversity issues at play as I edit, things I've learned from talking about diversity issues with authors and readers online for several years and and from years of living with roommates from around the world and from different U.S. ethnicities. This awareness helps me have cultural perspective on a manuscript, to have a sort of rubric of questions I might ask a manuscript to meet in its own way (though each story is different). I try to get a sense of whether issues of privilege and racism are being played with in a way that enlightens rather than pains the reader (well, other than in ways that literarily *should* pain the reader, such as in a dystopia!). I hope I'm asking questions of authors that help them avoid pitfalls and blind spots.

But I don't think of myself as the expert--my role is to facilitate a good story and make sure that the cultural content works, up to the limits of my understanding, but I also rely on authors to have done their research and/or to speak from personal experience in their own culture. I also, as noted above, rely on cultural experts to help us fill in the gaps where the author's research might have fallen short, especially for writers who are writing cross-culturally, who may miss nuances even if they've lived in a culture as a Guest (see Nisi Shawl's excellent article delineating the theory of Invaders, Tourists, and Guests here.

If I'm an expert at anything, I hope it's an expert at asking questions that the author can translate into crafting a better book.

How has Tu Books reception been?

At ALA last month in New Orleans (the American Library Association annual conference), and the reception from librarians, I'm told, was *wonderful*. People were so excited about it--both people who knew Lee & Low and were excited for the expansion, and people who love fantasy and science fiction and were excited about the diversity of characters and stories. I'm starting to see reviews online of the ARCs that were given out at Armchair BEA, as well, and so far I'm seeing so many positive things. It's reaffirming.

Many people got behind Tu before it was acquired by Lee and Low, proving that diversity is needed and wanted. What can people do to help Tu become a viable imprint?

Keep an eye out for our books this fall. Ask your local independent bookstore to consider stocking our books, and support them by buying books from them. And if you got an ARC, please consider posting a review if you liked the books, even if it's just a mention in your Facebook profile. Any word of mouth will help! Tell all your friends about it! Ask your library to order our books for their shelves, and recommend that your friends check it out from the library if they can't afford to buy books. Suggest the books to teachers for whom the books might be appropriate--sometimes fantasy and science fiction is the best way to reach reluctant readers, and they might even find ways to use the books in the classroom that meet science, history, culture, or other standards.

Also, encourage writers of color to consider submitting to us if they have a book that might fit our mission.

And hey, young writers of color: Keep writing! We need your stories! As I read the other day--and I'm sorry I don't have an attribution for it--there have been societies who got along without the wheel, but there have never been societies who didn't have stories. What are your stories? What folklore, fairy tales, ghost stories, etc. can you draw upon for a fantasy story? Where will kids like you be in 100, 200, 400 years? What if a mystery happened in your neighborhood? There are so many possibilities, so many stories waiting to be told, and I look forward to reading them.

What if a teacher wants to order a class set?

All they'd need to do is to call our office see ordering information here on our website and ask for the Sales Department, who will be glad to assist you.

Stacy, Thanks so much for your time and goodluck with Tu Books

Be sure to check out the other Day 5 interviews

Genevieve Valentine @ Shaken & Stirred
Alyssa B. Sheinmel @ A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Matthew Cody and Aaron Starmer @ Mother Reader

The full roundup of this weeks SBBT interviews is here

Interview with Ken Min

After reading and loving Hot Hot Roti for Dada-ji by F. Zia and illustrated by Ken Min, I wanted to interview both debut artist. Hannah Ehrlich and Lucy Amon from Lee and Low Books were kind enough to make that happen. Lee and Low is having a great sale for the month of May. All books are 25% off free standard USPS on all orders just over $10.

In case you missed it my interview with Farhana Zia Now please welcome Ken Min


Hi Ken, Congratulations on a wonderful debut. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA and studied illustration at Art Center, College of Design. I have a background in storyboarding- having worked on some animated projects and for various commercial houses- but my true love is definitely illustrating. Working on a picture book has been a goal of mine for a very long time now and I'm grateful to Lee & Low for the opportunity to work on my first one.

It's very rare for author's and illustrators to have contact while working on a project. Though its not often they debut at the same time. Did you two exchange emails?

Well, the general rule of thumb is that the author and illustrator don't usually communicate with one another, but now that the book is out, I guess we can mention that we did indeed break that rule. Granted, Ms. Zia was aware about the 'no communication' policy that most publishers have, but she just wanted to drop a note to say hello. I, in return, understood where she was coming from and I also wanted to let her know that I was going to treat her story with all the respect, attention and dedication I could muster.

Hot Hot Roti for Dada-ji is the blending of two cultures. Making the story backdrop as essential as the two main characters, Aneel and his grandfather. Was there a particular character or scene you worked around first?

For my part, I did a lot of character design work initially. It helps to 'see' who they are and what they are about visually. Since Aneel and Dada-ji are the main characters, they were my primary focus. From there, the rest of the family came together nicely. Being a family, I wanted visual traits to carry from one to another.
As for starting with a scene, I really just went through from the beginning of the story and jotted down ideas for images. Sometimes I had a picture in mind, other times I skipped over parts to follow up later. It's a bit like a puzzle. Sometimes you'll work on the corner over here and then work on the face over there; going back and forth. Then, as you complete more and more sections, the entire image comes into focus, or, in this case, a picture book.

Have you had the opportunity to read Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji to a group of kids yet? If so what has the response been?

No, not yet. It's something I'm curious about doing and also mildly afraid of trying. I like kids, but not so good speaking and standing up in front of crowds. Oh, the conundrum!

The art work is beautiful. I love your use of color. Can you tell us a little about the style?

I work mainly in acrylics and color pencils. Textures always fascinated me so I rarely ever just put down a straight, flat color. Most times, I'll layer in colors till I get something I like. (This is where working in acrylics is so helpful, since one can paint right on top of the existing paint.) If one wants to talk about influences, it would have to start with Ezra Jack Keats.


I was in a bookstore when I came across his book, The Snowy Day. I remember how much I liked that title as a child for its colorful, clean edge shapes. And just flipping through it then, triggered an idea of how I might approach painting. Of course one can't talk about textures and colors without also referencing Eric Carle, Alice & Martin Provensen and Charley Harper. So, really, a lot of people had a part in this style.

How much different is the finished illustrations from the first drafts?

Well, certainly with any project, one goes through a series of sketches trying to find a layout or composition that best reflects the text. It's probably the most important aspect of the process and the most time consuming just in terms of wanting to get it right. Certainly a lot of discussion went on going back and forth with my art director and editor, but we're all after the same goal- getting the most narrative and fun images we can come up with for each piece of text.

Some images I came upon really quickly, some needed to be worked on and revised. The nice thing about book illustrations is that one has the time to let things marinate for a spell to try and bring out one's best work. Once the composition is working, the actual painting part can move about relatively smoothly. It's like building a house, once you have the foundation set, the rest is very straightforward.

Did you try roti and mango pickle? If so what did you think?

I think the phrase, "It's like a party in one's mouth" comes to mind.

Ken, thanks so much for your time. I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.

Interview with Farhana. Zia

I recently read a wonderful picture book called Hot Hot Roti for Dada-ji by F.Zia illus. by Ken Min. It's a beautiful debut for author and artist. I wanted the chance to ask both a few questions. Hannah Ehrlich and Lucy Amon from Lee and Low books were both kind enough to make it happen. Lee & Low Books is having a great sale this month. All books are 25% off and free standard USPS on all orders over just $10.

I will be posting the interview with Ken Min soon, first Farhana Zia


Hi, Farhana, congratulations on a wonderful debut. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I immigrated to the US from Hyderabad, India in 1967. My husband and I live in Framingham, Mass. We have two children and three grandchildren. Ages 5, 3 and 2. I am an elementary school teacher. I've taught the fourth grade for the past 26 years. You could say that teaching is my first passion and writing, my second. Hot -Hot Roti is my first picture book.

It's very rare for authors and illustrators to have contact while working on a project. Though its not often they debut at the same time.

Did you two exchange emails?

I was able to submit illustration notes to my editor but that was the extent of it; the publisher didn't encourage communication with the illustrator. I did send Ken an email, just to say ‘hello’. It seemed to be the proper thing to do. I am grateful to him for doing such a marvelous job of interpreting the text. I had heard that he’d do serious research before embarking on this project and knowing that really eased my mind.

Have you had the opportunity to read Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji to a group of kids yet? If so what has the response been?

So far, I have read the book in my classroom, at the India Society of Worcester in Shrewsbury and to a children’s group at my local town library. I combined the reading with a roti demonstration and a craft. The reaction was very positive. Children love the story and are particularly interested in the lad’s fantastical powers.

Some wonder if drinking milk will make them just as strong! They love to roll the roti dough, north, south, east and west with me. We also have nice discussions about grandparents and grandchildren in general and practice saying, “Arre Wah!”

When I was writing the review, I almost wrote "Aneel's grandparents were coming for a visit." but they were coming to stay.

Did you always known the grandparents would be staying?

Yes. That is the basic premise of the story….multi generations living together, somewhat like a mini joint family system. A lot of inspiration for the story comes from just such settings in the US, where aging parents have come to live with their children and grandchildren, forming three, or even four generation households.

I believe there is a great value in such a set up where everyone learns something valuable from everyone else---the old get to impart their wisdom and the young get to impart their vivacity. Each generation operates as a safety net for the other and there is a lot of sharing and giving. In actuality, Hot ,Hot Roti for Dada-ji really means to highlight and honor inter-generational family bonds.

Hot Hot Roti for Dada-ji is the blending of two cultures. Making the story backdrop as essential as the two main characters.

Was there a particular character or scene you worked around ?

Roti was foremost in my mind and I used it as the common cultural element to bridge the past and present in the story. Actually, the idea of Roti was the first thing that came to mind when I was mulling over what to write about, in the first place.


I did give weight to the roti making scenes and particularly wanted to show off Aneel’s initiative, his regard for his grandfather, and his sense of accomplishment at the end.

I love how well this story comes together. Its very seamless from the dada-ji tales wonderful tales, to the inclusion of the whole family and Hindi words sprinkled throughout.

Was it difficult to edit down?

I needed to bring two stories together, the ‘then’and the ‘now’, so to speak. I also wanted to insert cultural elements to bridge these two times. Dada ji’s storytelling and the roti making, were both appropriate common threads linking the past and the present.

The biggest challenge was to pare down the word count and get everything said in a concise manner without compromising the essence of the story.


Mango Pickle is another food dada-ji loves. What is mango pickle? Do you have a regional preference?

Pickles are popular condiments in the cuisine of the Indian sub continent and serve to enhance the taste of a meal. They are made from certain vegetables and fruits that are chopped up into small pieces and cooked in oils, brine and a variety of spices. A high concentration of oil, spices and salt acts as a preservative.

Mango pickle is made from unripe, green mangoes and is pretty popular. Other pickles include lime, carrot, radish, cauliflower, ginger, etc. The Hindi or Urdu term for pickle is achar.

Indian cuisine is regional, extensive and varied. There is something from each region that I love… deep fried puri (deep fried roti) and saag (curried greens) from the North;

a well made lamb or goat biryani (rice stewed with meat) from Hyderabad, accompanied by a dahi ki chutney(yogurt sauce with onion, coriander leaf and green chilli); crispy dosa (crepes made with fermented lentil/rice flour) from the South;

syrupy rasgolla from the East and dhokla from the West. And I absolutely love pani puri, a very popular snack.

I shouldn't have asked that last question because now I am hungry. Farhana Zia, thanks so much for your time and congratulations again on a wonderful debut.

TU Publishing, Japanese Relief Effort

Lee&Low, an independent publisher just announced the first three titles to be released under their new imprint TU Books.

Fantasy, science fiction, and mystery: these genres draw in young readers like no other. Yet it is in these genres that readers of color might feel most like an outsider, given that such a large percentage features white characters (when they feature human characters). It is the goal of Tu Books to publish genre books for children and young adults that fills this gap in the market—and more importantly, this gap in serving our readers. By focusing on diverse settings and characters in fantastic stories, we also open up worlds to all readers.

The three books are coming out in the Fall. - Tankborn by Karen Sandler, Wolf Mark by Joseph Bruchac and Galaxy Games by Greg H. Fishbone. Checkout the summaries and the great covers.

If you place a winning bid you can win all three and support the Japanese relief effort. Japan Auction# 97 From Stacy Whitman.

I just found this today and was very tempted not to mention it to increase my chances of winning. But that would be wrong. The auction ends Monday 4/11 9 AM, Edt. So go bid now.

Spread the word about TU Books. Its success means more diversity. As their author list grows, I hope to see more authors of color. For now I plan talking up TU Books whenever I can. Slipping in a few mentions in comment boxes when appropriate.