ALA Midwinter Wrap-Up

Now that we're back from ALA Midwinter in Dallas, Texas, we can share a few photos.

The Annick booth, full of great reads old and new.

We were giving away advance reading copies of EREBOS, our latest YA thriller!

Bloggers show off their copies of EREBOS--we hope they enjoy it!

If you didn't make it to ALA Midwinter, or were too late to get an Erebos ARC, you can read it on NetGalley.com. If you like the sound of a creepy, suspenseful thriller about an addictive computer game that seems to know far too much about its players--and requires them to do tasks in the real world to advance in the game--this is the book for you. Personally, even after I found out what the game's sinister ulterior motive was, I still wished it were real so I could play it...

And now it's time for some trivia: comment on this post to tell us what the word "Erebos" means and you could win your own Erebos ARC! Winner will be selected at random.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Have you made any book-related resolutions for the year? If so, you're not alone: close to 78,000 people have already joined the Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge. Whether your resolution is to read more books, discover new authors and illustrators, venture outside your comfort zone by trying a new genre, or even write your own book, we wish you luck in 2012! (And if your resolution is to find great new books for your kids--we've got you covered.)

I've also enjoyed seeing end-of-year book surveys pop up on many book blogs. One survey, started by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner, has showed up all over, including: YA Book Shelf, One a Day Y.A., and There's A Book.

In other news, Annick Press will be exhibiting at the ALA Midwinter conference in Dallas in a couple weeks, so if you'll be attending, please drop by our booth (#1455) and say hi! We have sneak peeks of the Spring 2012 list, bookmarks and posters, and we might even have candy...

Exhibit times:

Friday, Jan. 20: 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Saturday, Jan. 21 & Sunday, Jan. 22: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Monday, Jan. 23: 9:00 am – 2:00 pm

Hope to see you there!

ALA Midwinter Wrap-Up

We hit the convention center in San Diego for the mid-winter ALA. Many from colder climates across North America reveled in the warmth, the sunshine, and the stands of palm trees.

Our booth

While numbers were down (by 14% according to official reports), we met many enthusiastic librarians who offered genuine encouragement for the titles on display. It’s always inspiring and gratifying to meet librarians face-to-face, where we can get their direct feedback. There was particular interest in Africans Thought of It, along with other Africana titles. We had a steady flow of traffic throughout the convention schedule, which we attribute in part to our excellent location. We were able to connect with librarians who were not as familiar with Annick Press, which is the benefit of a conference which moves into different regions of the country.

Laverne Page from the Library of Congress poses with our Africa-themed books

Sadly, we encountered librarians and teachers who were struggling with budget cuts. One teacher told us that she hadn’t had a single dollar for book purchases in the last three years. We also heard about librarians who financed their own travel to the convention, some from great distances. We all know how short-sighted it is to make cuts to libraries and to book purchases, which impacts reading. We can only hope the economic picture improves soon, but fewer library staff, shorter hours, and reduced book buying will carry long-term consequences.

Good Times in Boston: ALA Midwinter Wrap-up

My coworker Heather and I are back from the ALA Midwinter Meeting, where we proudly displayed our Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 titles (click here for a PDF of our Spring 2010 catalog). Here's a picture Heather took of our booth (er, and me):

That big, striking banner is for our new Single Voice series, which we're very excited about. We've acquired six short young adult novels from French publisher Actes Sud, and are releasing them as three flip-books, with two stories per book. We've also brought author/editor Melanie Little on board to develop more titles with Canadian authors. (We're just finishing up a podcast with Melanie, so I'll let her tell you all about it in her own words, soon!)

As always, highlights of the show included chatting with teachers, librarians, and other book enthusiasts (a lot of people recognized our books or were familiar with our press, which is always nice); visiting other exhibits to see what's coming out in 2010 (answer: lots of good stuff); and giving away posters and catalogs. (I'd love to see a picture of one of our posters in a school or library somewhere... does anyone have one they could send me?)

I also checked out the ALA Tweetup, organized by author Mitali Perkins and book marketer and promoter Deborah Sloan. As with the BEA Tweetup last year, it was pretty packed, but I did manage to meet lots of nice people and have some good conversations. Here's a look at the tweetup from above:

I hope everyone who attended ALA Midwinter had a great trip and brought back lots of new books, ideas, and contacts. For the rest of our ALA Midwinter photos, please visit our Flickr account.

Happy New Year!

I remember when the year 2000 was a huge deal... and now it's 2010! Time is just flying by.

Annick will have a booth at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston next week from Jan. 15 to 18. If you'll be attending, please drop by booth 1463 to say hi and browse our new books. Almost all of our Spring 2010 titles are now in, so this is a great chance to get some sneak peeks.

Exhibit times:
January 15 (Fri.): 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
January 16 and 17 (Sat. and Sun.): 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
January 18 (Sun.): 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

In other news, we're starting to see some early reviews for our Spring 2010 books: Chicken, Pig, Cow and the Purple Problem (third in the series!) received a starred review from Quill & Quire and our graphic narrative about adolescence, i.d.: Stuff That Happens to Define Us, appeared in the "Books for Young People" section of Q&Q's print edition. More news about our Spring 2010 books to come!

Annick Goes to ALA Midwinter

Annick Press regularly attends all the major book shows (BookExpo Canada, BookExpo America, American Library Association, etc.), but each show is a unique experience. When our Director, Rick Wilks, went to Philadelphia last week for the Midwinter ALA Meeting, he was delighted to see the aisles full of librarians from all over North America, many of whom stopped in at the Annick booth to say hello and check out our new Spring titles. Here's what they were saying:

"Annick always does such interesting books."

"I always look forward to receiving the Annick catalog."

"Thank you Annick for publishing books that other publishers won't."

The big hit among our upcoming books? The Apprentice's Masterpiece by Melanie Little. The advance reading copies and presentation kits were in high demand. This promises to be a book that people will talk about for a long time.