The View from the Internet Marketing Manager's Office...

Happy Victoria Day weekend everyone!

A Unique Collaboration

Each year Annick participates in the Bologna Book Fair. It was during one such fair in 2003 that we were approached by Erica Wagner, Publisher, Books for Children and Teenagers at Allen and Unwin in Australia. Erica told me about a German book entitled Mimus that she felt had great potential. Interestingly, the same book had been pitched to me, and I had the same response--it seemed exceptional. The problem was the book was very long, and since translators charge by the word, the cost of producing an English edition was prohibitive for Annick.

Erica proposed that we think about sharing the translation cost and dividing the English language territories where our respecitve companies were strongest. A & U would take Australia, New Zealand and the UK (where they had a distributor), while Annick would take North America. Thus began a unique collaboration in publishing outstanding books originally published in a foreign language. We each found German readers and asked them to produce assessments. We then shared our respective reports before deciding to make an offer to the publisher: two distinct territories, two separate rights contracts

In addition to being shortlisted for the prestigious Marsh award--a UK award that recgonizes stellar translations, Mimus went on to receive wide acclaim in review journals, including the following: Best Books of the Year, School Library Journal, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, and the Book of the Year Award, ForeWord Magazine.

Since the publication of Mimus, A & U and Annick have collaborated on three other novels, and are currently exploring a fifth. Not only have we shared translation costs, but some of the editing costs, and in each case, have agreed on the cover treatment, thus splitting design and permission fees as well.

Together we are able to search for the best fiction in other languages, an experience that has been beneficial to our respective companies, to our position in the international market place, and to the idea that there are unique opportunities for publishers to work together in new and exciting ways.

Superheroes, Sabayad and SUVs: My Friend Jamal podcast review

Click the link below to check out a podcast review of My Friend Jamal from the fine folks at Just One More Book!!

Superheroes, Sabayad and SUVs: My Friend Jamal

Would you like another cappuccino? Or, how to do business at the Bologna Book Fair.

We've just returned from the Bologna Children's Book Fair where Annick exhibits every year in order to meet with international publishers. What do we do there? Aside from consuming a lot of cappuccino, gelato, and other Italian culinary delights, we have a booth to display our recent books and present them to foreign publishers who may wish to acquire rights to publish our books in their market (depending on the market, that may mean publishing in translation).

Here's a photo of the corner of our booth this year:


We set up meetings in advance, every half hour for the three and a half days of the fair, and meet with about 60 different publishers and sub-agents from countries in Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, Australia, Latin America... It's really exciting finding that synchronicity, talking with a publisher from across the planet who shares our publishing sensibilities and aims. There's a wonderful global community of children's publishers out there. And personally, I love working with people from different countries and cultures and languages. Books really can bridge cultures!

Preparation for the book fair begins about three months in advance with the booking of appointments, preparation of catalogues, and cover blow-ups, shelf talkers, and other booth display materials. And the follow-up - that is, sending publishers the books they requested to review - can also take months, but the results can be very rewarding and very exciting (see The Little Black Book for Girlz goes to Italy! for an example of what can result from a book fair).

Though we've only just returned, here are some of the Bologna highlights this year:

• Receiving an unexpected offer from a prestigious Italian publisher for The Apprentice's Masterpiece by Melanie Little (the cover of which is featured in the large poster in the photo above). Stay tuned for an announcement of an Italian rights sale!
• Hearing several publishers describe The Bite of the Mango (to be published September 2008), the astounding true story of Mariatu Kamara's voyage from victim of war to UNICEF Special Representative co-written by Susan McClelland, as the most outstanding book of the fair! We expect international rights sales of this memoir will be swift.
• Receiving so many compliments on the quality and innovation of our books (kudos to our editors!)

So now it's all about follow-up. And the great thing about cappuccino? It can be enjoyed while working here in Toronto too.

The Best Job in the World, or, The Slush Pile Part 2

I love to read and I think I have one of the best jobs in the world. A part of my job is to read the unsolicited manuscripts that come into Annick...and there are hundreds. There is always the possibility that the next manuscript could be the special one; the one that interests and excites you, the one you want to publish.

Having said that, each manuscript that is submitted is special because it is the result of someone’s hard work and imagination. I'd love to have the time to critique each of these submissions but unfortunately there just isn't time, so below are some thoughts that might help.

What are the ingredients of that special manuscript? First of all it's original; the author has not tried to jump on a bandwagon. Consider the series about that boy wizard. People adored it but now publishers are looking for another kind of story. No one wants to be seen as a copycat. That doesn't mean that fantasy is dead, just that it should be based on an original idea, as should any other book.

I was once asked what makes me reject a manuscript. Sometimes, the subject just doesn't fit; for example, Annick doesn't publish holiday books, so, a book on Christmas or Halloween is not one that we'd consider. (If you'd like to find out what we are interested in, check out the author guidelines on our website.) In other cases, the story may start out well but the plot may fall apart, the characters may be wooden or unbelievable, or the subject lacks originality.

I also find it hard to read a manuscript that has a lot of spelling and grammatical errors. Rather than reading the story, I find myself correcting it instead. It may be out of fashion, but, spelling and grammar are two of the writer's most important tools. Check your manuscript before you send it off (and don’t just rely on spell check, it doesn't know the difference between there and their...but you should.)

And one last piece of advice; read. The best way to learn good writing is to experience it-and what an enjoyable way to learn!

Judy Diehl

The Queen and I

The Queen and I are happy to announce that my website is now up and running: check it out at http://www.chariscotter.com/. The Queen is excited because there is a button you can click on to see her talking in a video. She has been coming with me on school visits to talk about Kids Who Rule and she has confided that these outings provide a welcome change from opening hospitals, christening ships, and having lunch with French presidents.

We are both looking forward to the Silver Birch celebrations in May. We are booked to go to four award ceremonies in the week of May 19: in Whitby, Innisfil, Toronto, and Uxbridge. Can’t wait!

Charis Cotter

Author of Kids Who Rule: The Remarkable Lives of Five Child Rulers

Silver Birch nominee for non-fiction, 2008

The Slush Pile

Now that spring is here it doesn’t seem appropriate to be talking about slush, but as publishers we mean something quite different, of course. This is a silly way to lead into the question that we might most frequently be asked: how do I get published? For the record, I think the second most asked question is, “How many manuscripts do you receive each year”? We’re often not asked the third question that I would anticipate follows the first two: how many unsolicited manuscripts are published?

The answers, to the chagrin of the asker, is that virtually none of the manuscripts submitted are published; perhaps one, maybe two every couple of years. We receive thousands per annum. The sad truth is that so many of the manuscripts demonstrate real potential - we wish we could bring them into development. They may be based on a terrific idea or demonstrate some lively, engaging writing that shows flourish and promise. But can we take it on and fit it into our publishing program? Most often not and I’ll explain why in a moment. First, I should mention that we also receive a great deal of material that is totally unsuitable for Annick. Anyone wishing to submit a manuscript should spend time thoroughly researching publishers to make sure that what they’ve written is an appropriate fit with the company’s publishing program.

Every publisher has their own philosophy and approach to literature. We discuss ours on our web site. In a nutshell, manuscripts must be written to a high literary standard, be inventive, resonate with the reader, and advocate the priorities that this house stands for: encourage kids to think critically and analytically, entertain, and convey that change and getting by are possible no matter how difficult and elusive the challenge may seem.

The vast majority of ideas or requests to authors to submit stem from editorial story meetings. We’re constantly discussing topics that are of concern to the contemporary child. We search out exciting ways to offer a fresh, new look at a subject. We’ll also discuss which writers might be a good fit. Once we’re rounded out the various components of our list, YA fiction, illustrated non-fiction, etc., there are few, if any, spaces left. So if you’re wading into the slush, you’ll have to bowl over the reader with a work that is innovative and brilliantly constructed. That reader will need to hear a strong, clear voice that has something compelling to say to youth.

Rick Wilks

Director