Springtime in Bologna

Last week, two of our staff members were in Italy for the annual Bologna Children's Book Fair. Now that they're back home and (mostly) over their jet lag, they were eager to share their experiences.

Here's what Sales & Rights Manager Gayna Theophilus, who was looking for foreign publishers for Annick titles, had to say:

This was my second trip to the Bologna Book Fair in beautiful Italy. Here’s a look at the Annick Press stand:

It was great meeting with publishers from around the world to talk about new and exciting children’s books. This year, a number of people stopped by our booth to admire Annick’s edition of Erebos and to mention that they had read it, or had heard about it and couldn’t wait to read it!

As was the case last year, most of the editors I met with were looking for unusual and compelling YA fiction–and Annick has two great upcoming titles for this fall that fit the bill: The Lynching of Louie Sam by Elizabeth Stewart and Enemy Territory by award-winning author Sharon E. McKay. I will be sending out the manuscripts of both books to a number of publishers over the coming weeks and with any luck we’ll soon see them published in many different languages around the world.

Associate Publisher Colleen MacMillan, who was looking for foreign titles to acquire, shared her perspective from the buyer's side:

This year's Bologna had a lot of energy, much more than last year. There was good traffic in the aisles in every hall, and a general upbeat mood. Perhaps it's because last year was difficult–trade sales had taken a hit in many countries, and there was a sense of uncertainty about the future of the book market. Whether the perceived upbeat mood was fact or fiction will become clear in the next few months with the tangible measure of offers, but the sense was that publishers want to be positive about the future.

As a foreign rights buyer, I heard pitches for many dystopian novels. Whether it's The Hunger Games effect or something else at work, it's obvious many are hoping to catch a big readership in that particular genre.

We have some exciting prospects from the book fair to consider over the next few months. The title we purchased last year and just released, Erebos, was on prominent display at the originating publisher's booth:

We have high hopes for Erebos and are now on the search for the next foreign title that fits our mantra of excellence and innovation. It’s happy reading for the editorial team at Annick or, in some cases, for our foreign readers who prepare reports.

~ ~ ~

Speaking of Erebos, have you been following the blog tour this week? There are interviews, reviews, and giveaways! Click here for a list of all the tour stops.

Spring Blooms in Bologna

Today's post is by Annick's Associate Publisher, Colleen MacMillan, reporting on the Bologna Children's Book Fair:

Bologna 2011 is officially over. Despite a general nervousness in the publishing industry due to the recession, cutbacks in institutional budgets, changes in delivery of content and sundry other issues, the biggest international book fair to focus exclusively on children's books had a great energy and feeling of optimism. Aisles were crowded, both with publishers, the Italian public, and illustrators, many of whom came from around Europe to show their work.

Annick was there in both a selling and buying capacity. Gayna Theophilus, our new rights director, pitched Annick titles to our international agents as well as other publishers. Meanwhile, I was on the floor meeting with publishers who were presenting English language rights to us. Now Gayna will have follow-up work to do in sending out pdfs and hard copies for those titles which were requested, and publishers who met with us to sell will be doing the same for the properties we wish to look at. Certainly sending material electronically has made the whole process less expensive and faster than in the days when there were only hard copies or printouts of pages.

In the weeks to come we'll report on the results of Bologna, but in the meantime, these photos show our exhibit, along with the Bologna sunshine that poured into our stand:

Spring News & Reviews

Spring has sprung, even if it doesn't quite feel like it here in Toronto--though my friends in Vancouver say the cherry trees are beginning to bloom! Associate Publisher Colleen MacMillan and Sales and Rights Manager Gayna Theophilus are representing Annick at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, and they report that spring has arrived in full force there. We're looking forward to a full update next week.

The reviews are starting to come in for our Spring 2011 titles. Edeet Ravel's psychological thriller Held--about a teen who is kidnapped while on a class vacation in Greece--got a great review in Quill and Quire: "rich, thought-provoking stuff that would be excellent fodder for discussion and debate among older teens." Blogger and librarian Pamela Thompson also featured Held, calling it "clever, compelling, and consistent".

What's on your spring reading list?

Spring brings Bologna!

With spring comes the Bologna Book Fair, a gathering of thousands of children's publishers, agents, scouts, illustrators from around the world in beautiful Bologna. Situated in northern Italy, this ancient city is renowned for its ochre-red buildings, mosaic-lined arcades, university, and delicious food.

Annick has been attending this annual book fair since the 1980s and continues to hold a booth to display our books and meet with foreign publishing professionals in the hopes of selling foreign rights. We introduce our upcoming fall books with cover and spreads and highlight our recent releases. Below is our shared booth, with Owlkids on the right and Annick on the left.

We also attend the fair in order to acquire foreign titles for publication as an Annick book in North America. For this purpose, we visit foreign rights managers on their booths to hear about their books.

It's always really exciting to attend the fairs, to see old friends and make new acquaintances, hear people's response to our books, and get a glimpse at the wonderful books being produced around the world.

Globe-Trotting Authors!

The Bologna Children's Book Fair is next week (March 23-26) but it's not just publishers and agents who are in travel mode this spring: a few of our authors have also been busy traversing the globe.

Allan Stratton will be attending the Vietnam Book Fair to promote the Vietnamese edition of Chanda's Secrets (published by Thuong Huyen Books, Ltd.). Here's a photo of a poster announcing his visit. Hopefully he'll post more pictures on his blog!

We're also very proud of K.V. Johansen, who will be this year's guest at the Skopje Book Fair in the Republic of Macedonia (April 13-18). She will also be receiving the International Anna Frank Award for the Macedonian translation of her book Torrie and the Snake Prince. Here's the cover:

And last month, author Sally Rippin blogged about going to Ghana to see the effects of her World Vision sponsorship of a girl named Elizabeth in person. After her visit, she decided to sponsor another child, too.

Happy spring travels, everyone!

Bella Bologna!

What would spring be without a trip to Italy for the Bologna Book Fair, the only international rights fair dedicated soley to children's and YA books?

Publishers, agents, scouts, authors and illustrators from all over the world gather in this beautiful city for four days to proudly present their latest releases, reconnect with industry friends, and pitch, persuade, listen, review, oogle, covet, poo poo, and generally buy and sell rights to publish books from other countries. What fun.

The photo here shows the entrance to the fair, which this year featured Korea as Guest of Honour. In addition to several halls of publisher booths, the fair also hosts an Illustrators Exhibition, designated areas for literary agents, translators, tv/film producers, and other specialized fields within the biz.

For Annick, the fair was again a success, with international editors praising the innovation and originality of Annick books. But the hard work begins now as materials are sent out for review so editors can mull over these books in more detail and decide whether or not to make an offer for rights to publish their own edition of the book. Stay tuned for news... !!!

But wait! Before we go, we must share a true Italian delight - parmiggiano:

Mariatu Kamara Honoured with New Pioneers Award

Mariatu Kamara, author of The Bite of the Mango, was recently honoured with the New Pioneers Award (Youth category). This award is given out by the Skills for Change organization to immigrants and refugees who have overcome amazing obstacles and made Canada their new home. Mariatu was hailed as "an inspirational young woman who exemplifies the best of humanity." We agree--Canada is lucky to have you, Mariatu! (To see more event pictures and read about the other award winners, visit the Skills for Change website.)

Meanwhile, The Bite of the Mango continues to be well-received:

• Finalist, ForeWord Magazine's 2008 Book of the Year Award, in the Young Adult Non-Fiction category
• Selected by the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany, for the White Ravens 2009, a collection of outstanding international books for children and young adults

The White Ravens 2009 collection will be displayed at the Bologna Book Fair in Italy from March 23-26, 2009, and will be permanently housed at the International Youth Library in Munich. A description of the books is available on the International Youth Library's website.

More about Mariatu!
YouTube video for The Bite of the Mango
More info on The Bite of the Mano, including a podcast with Mariatu, sample chapter, lesson plans
The Mariatu Foundation

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.