Category Archives: News

The Jericho Prize: Celebrating Black-British new writing for Children

The inaugural Jericho Prize for children’s writing, open to Black-British writers with great stories to inspire children aged 4 years plus and 7–9 has just been announced!

Find out more about it here: https://www.jerichoprize.com/

Publisher Permissions for Online Storytimes in 2021

UK

Faber permissions extended to March 31 2021

Hachette

Little Tiger permissions extended to March 31 2021 https://littletiger.co.uk/little-tiger-group-permissions-policy-for-online-book-readings

PanMacmillan awaiting updated information

Usborne permissions extended to July 31 2021 https://faqs.usborne.com/article/83-id-like-to-make-a-recording-of-an-usborne-book

USA

Abrams permissions extended to June 30 2021 https://www.abramsbooks.com/abramskidspermission/

Albert Whitman permissions extended to March 31 2021 https://www.albertwhitman.com/rights-permissions/recorded-readings-during-covid-19/

August House awaiting updated information

Bellwether Media permissions extended to June 1 2021

Boyds Mills & Kane permissions extended to March 31 2021

Candlewick awaiting updated information

Capstone awaiting updated information

Charlesbridge awaiting updated information

Childs Play awaiting updated information

Chooseco awaiting updated information

Chronicle awaiting updated information

Cottage Door Press permissions stand as long as needed

Crabtree permissions extended to June 31 2021

Disney Publishing Worldwide permissions extended to June 30 2021

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers awaiting updated information

Enchanted Lion awaiting updated information

Familius permissions stand as long as needed

Flyaway awaiting updated information

Free Spirit permissions extended to June 30, 2021

HarperCollins permissions extended to June 30, 2021

Holiday House awaiting updated information

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt awaiting updated information

Jump! permissions extended to May 31 2021

Just Us Books permissions extended to June 30 2021 https://justusbooks.blogspot.com/2020/03/resources-and-guidelines-to-support-at.html?m=1

Lee & Low permissions extended to June 30 2021

Lerner awaiting updated information

Little, Brown permissions extended to June 30 2021 https://www.lbyr.com/little-brown-young-readers/lbyr-blog/lbyr-book-sharing-permission-statement/

Macmillan permissions extended to June 30 2021

North South awaiting updated information

Norwood House permissions extended to June 1 2021

Oni Press permissions extended to December 31 2021

Page Street awaiting updated information

Peachtree awaiting updated information

Penguin Random House permissions extended to March 31 2021

Quarto awaiting updated information

Scholastic awaiting updated information

Simon & Schuster permissions extended to March 31 2021

Source Books permissions extended to June 30 2021

Star Bright Books awaiting updated information

Tilbury Books permissions extended to June 30 2021

The Diverse Book Awards

This morning the longlists for The Diverse Book Awards were announced, created by The Author School to showcase the talent of marginalised voices, and the books started arriving at my house to read!

I’m really please that two of my fellow judges are actual teenagers, reading the children’s and YA lists, and the awards also teamed up with blogger and photographer Tenelle Ottley-Matthew, to help spread the love, so do keep your eye on her blog, insta and twitter!

The Children’s Longlist:

The YA Longlist:

The Adult Longlist:

To be eligible, the author has to be UK based and the book had to be published in the UK in 2019. I’ve already read all the YA and most of the children’s lists, all brilliant titles that I’m looking forward to rereading with the criteria in mind, to help choose the shortlist and eventual winner! I’ve read one of the grownup books so far…

No! Nobrow!

I have been a fan of Nobrow and their picture book imprint Flying Eye Books for a good few years now. I have reviewed a number of their titles (you can find the reviews here and here). I have written about them for the Federation of Children’s Book Groups here. I have interviewed their authors and illustrators and championed their books for years as they produce works of quality and beauty that catch the eye of readers of all ages. I have used them to turn reluctant readers on to the joys of reading many times over the years.

Over the past few days on twitter I found several threads accusing them of exploiting new and upcoming authors & illustrators and acting in a less than ethical manner against other small press publishers. Several years ago at a publisher event in London I was chatting to a publicist and mentioned that I was a fan of their work and the publicist (off the record) asked if I had heard the rumours about their low payment of creators and claiming rights to works created by authors and illustrators they published. I said that I had not and thereafter dug around but was never able to find anything about this so I marked it as unproven and moved on.

Below is a screenshot of an email allegedly sent by Alexander Latsis in 2013

Source: https://twitter.com/deadtreesanddye/status/1253762564032520195

Illustrator Lucy Haslam has been creating an epic twitter thread about ELCAF (the East London Comic Art Festival) and Nobrow. It is definitely worth a read for detailed background information about what has been happening for a number of years.

Illustrator Eleni Kalorkoti tweeted this about an offer from Nobrow in 2018:

This discussion was not a total pile-on, several creators spoke up positively about their interactions with Nobrow, including CILIP Kate Greenaway winning illustrator William Grill:

Astrocat creator Ben Newman:

Kellie Strøm:

and a few others.

Nobrow has also released an official statement that can be read here:

A Statement from Nobrow

It should definitely be read in full. In the statement they challenge the claims that their contracts are unfair and have promised to do research into comparative advances and royalties. They also go on to deny that they do not prevent their creators from working with other publishers and state that the screenshot of the e-mail was released without permission and out of context although it is hard to imagine what the context was without further information about that discussion as the e-mail alone appears to be pretty damning.

The full statement rather than allaying the fears and allegations seems to have inflamed opinion in more areas, with Paul Duffield‘s take being worth a read:

When this type of situation erupts it is not always easy to identify who is in the right, I support small publishers and creator rights but I think in this instance the number of dissenting voices that have been raised about unfair treatment as well as those raised in defense show that this situation is not clear cut to outside observers. I think that Valerie Pezeron‘s views as laid out in the thread below most closely match up with mine – they are definitely worth a read.

The vocalization of the long-term unhappiness of many of the authors and illustrators is an indication that people are no longer going to be quiet if they perceive themselves to be treated unfairly, this is good as it can act as a warning to others that may find themselves in a similar situation and can strengthen collective bargaining if enough creators band together. We may be witnessing the birth of unionisation in the author/illustrator world beyond what the Society of Authors and other groups that already exist.

I remain a fan of many of the authors and illustrators published by Nobrow, but this fandom is now tinged with a concern over what they may have experienced during the creation of their works for their publisher. Is it a fair and rational feeling? I don’t know, but it is human to have concern for the welfare of others and I am also concerned for those currently furloughed by the publisher and for everyone else impacted by the Covid-19 shutdowns across the world.

The National Shelf Service

CILIP started the National Shelf Service on Monday 6th April, a daily recommendation of a book available to borrow electronically through local libraries, live at 11am. Hopefully you’ve been watching these great videos from YLG colleagues, but if you haven’t seen any yet then why not start with mine! I’m the only one (so far) that has talked about a book that isn’t aimed at teenagers or young adults, not really living up to the TeenLibrarian name, but as I say: this book can be read and loved by anyone of any age…

The illustrations on the banners are by Fiona Lumbers, from the book Luna Loves Library Day written by Joseph Coelho

Publisher Permission Details for Virtual Story-times during the Coronavirus Crisis

You can view 2021 Publisher permissions here: http://teenlibrarian.co.uk/2021/01/06/publisher-permissions-for-online-storytimes-in-2021/

This list will be updated as I find more publisher positions on virtual story-times

Scholastic: https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=scholastic-temporarily-revises-policy-for-online-read-alouds-coronavirus-copyright

Candlewick: https://twitter.com/Candlewick/status/1240645865301295107 (applies to Walker Books US as well)

Little Brown Young Readers: https://www.lbyr.com/little-brown-young-readers/lbyr-blog/lbyr-book-sharing-permission-statement/

Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/penguin-random-house-temporary-open-license/

Simon & Schuster: https://www.simonandschuster.com/p/online-read-aloud-guidelines

Macmillan: https://us.macmillan.com/macmillan-content-use-guidelines/

Abrams: https://www.abramsbooks.com/abramskidspermission/

HarperCollins Childrens Books: https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/?detailStory=harpercollins-childrens-books-outlines-online-reading-policy-coronavirus-covid19

Lerner Books: https://rights-permissions.lernerbooks.com/

Boyd Mills & Kane: https://boydsmillsandkane.com/permissions2020/

Lee & Low Books: https://blog.leeandlow.com/2020/03/20/lee-low-guidelines-for-virtual-book-read-alouds-during-covid-19/

Quirk Books: https://www.quirkbooks.com/post/want-read-quirk-books-kids-online-while-social-distancing-heres-how

Mo Willems: http://wernickpratt.com/covid-19-guidelines-for-online-enrichment/

UK Publishers

Hachette Children’s Books: https://twitter.com/PiersTorday/status/1241493636069670917

Walker Books UK: http://www.walker.co.uk/UserFiles/file/2020/Storytime,%20Reading%20and%20Virtual%20Book%20Promotion%20Guidelines_COVID-19.pdf

JK Rowling Harry Potter temporary open licence: https://www.jkrowling.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/TBP-Temporary-Open-Licence-Schools-2.pdf

Chicken House:

These are challenging times for all of us and we are particularly sensitive to the needs of children to continue their learning and to reap the many benefits that literature brings them. We at Chicken House and Scholastic are in full support of providing a wide range of online learning activities for kids during this time of school closures.
We have been moved by the numerous requests we’ve received from people across the country who are trying to address these needs by posting readings of books online for children to access. We want to support you in your efforts and ask that if you choose to read your book online to your students you follow these guidelines:
• At the beginning of your video, please state that you are presenting your reading “with permission from Chicken House books.”
• You post your reading through your school’s platform or another closed group or platform with limited access for your students. Should this not be possible please let me know.
• Since we view this as a way to compensate for the closure of schools, please delete your video or disable access no later than 5pm 30th April 2020.
By posting a reading, you are agreeing to abide by the above terms.

Usborne Books: https://faqs.usborne.com/article/83-id-like-to-make-a-recording-of-an-usborne-book

Faber Children’s: https://www.faber.co.uk/blog/a-message-from-our-faber-childrens-publisher/

Little Tiger Group: http://littletiger.co.uk/tiger-blog/little-tiger-group-permissions-policy-for-online-book-readings

Quirk Books: https://www.quirkbooks.com/post/want-read-quirk-books-kids-online-while-social-distancing-heres-how

Macmillan: https://www.panmacmillan.com/panmac/macmillan-content-use-guidelines

Australia

Books Create Australia, the collaboration between the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA), the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), the Australian Publishers Association (APA) and the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has announced a special arrangement for library storytimes during the COVID-19 outbreak.

For the duration of the pandemic, virtual story-times will be sanctioned by an industry agreement. It is the policy of the Boards of the APA and ASA that their members suspend any requirements for copyright permission to be sought, in order to allow libraries to make recordings or livestream storytimes so children aren’t denied this important and much-loved service.

https://www.alia.org.au/news/21007/book-industry-partners-come-agreement-copyright

Canada

 The Association of Canadian Publishers has formed the Read Aloud Canadian Books Program with Access Copyright.

The Program will allow, on a temporary basis, a waiver of licence fees related to the reading of all or part of select books from participating publishers and posting of the video recording online.

https://accesscopyright.ca/read-aloud/

16 Years a CILIP Member

Having lived in the US now for 18+ months has given me some distance and useful perspective on the goings on in UK Libraries. What I have seen has disturbed me; from CILIP’s lack of  support of library workers striking in Bromley, to their uncritical stance on Dominic Cummings (and related online responses to library workers that protested this) as well as the Memorandum of Agreement with Sharjah Public Libraries in the United Arab Emirates, to mention just a few of the issues that have caused my disquiet. I signed open letters, spoke to colleagues, made my views known online but eventually the issues mounted up and became too much for me

As of today I am no longer a member of CILIP.

Were I still living in the UK I may have made the decision to remain a member and attempt to effect organizational change (using my white male privilege & fairly large social media presence to be vocal) from within.

I will always be grateful to CILIP for the opportunities it afforded me, from working on the London Committee of the Youth Libraries Group (two years as chair) to being a Judge for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals as well as sitting on the National Committee for the School Libraries Group. Not to mention the training events I attended (& in some cases ran) but I decided that I could no longer in good conscience remain a member. I will not criticize friends and colleagues that retain their membership.

I will continue to support and cheer on CILIP front-line initiatives from the side-lines, including the CKG Medals and #GreatSchoolLibraries and others for I believe now, as I did then, that the best of CILIP is to be found in the work done by the special interest groups (and I belonged to some of the best of those).

Empathy Day

Society faces an empathy crisis. But research shows that 98% of us can improve our empathy skills and that in books we have a hugely practical tool. This collection can play a powerful role in helping raise a generation of empathic citizens, story by story.

Miranda McKearney, EmpathyLab’s founder

The 2020 #ReadforEmpathy Book Collections from @EmpathyLabUK are announced today and feature 50 superb books; 33 for 4-11 year olds and 17 for 12-16 year olds. 

All the books from both the primary and secondary collections

Some illuminate the experience of people from a range of cultures or life circumstances. Others help children explore emotions, so they can understand how other people feel. Several reflect stories of our time, such as the refugee experience, or coping with anxiety. All are engaging and thought provoking.

The collections are available to order from Peters via https://www.peters.co.uk/empathy2020 or can be purchased from your local independent bookshop. Click https://www.booksellers.org.uk/bookshopsearch to find your nearest shop.

Each collection has its own Read for Empathy Guide with a synopsis of all of the books, top tips for sharing stories and more information about #EmpathyDay which is on 9 June 2020. 

Teachers, librarians, parents – download your FREE guides by visiting https://www.empathylab.uk/2020-read-for-empathy-collections

Missouri’s Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act versus the Library Bill of Rights

The Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act being brought forward by Representative Ben Baker falls foul of most of the rights laid out in the American Library Association’s Bill of Rights

Particularly:

Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves.

Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

…resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

and

A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.

The Library Bill of Rights is laid out below:

The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.

  1. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
  2. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
  3. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
  4. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
  5. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
  6. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

The full Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act can be accessed here.

The personal or religious beliefs of a small group of individuals should have no place in dictating what can be accessed or done by a community as a whole. This move by Representative Baker further blurs the separation of church and state.

In a news post he is quoted as saying: The main thing is I want to be able to take my kids to a library and make sure they’re in a safe environment, and that they’re not gonna be exposed to something that is objectionable materialUnfortunately, there are some libraries in the state of Missouri that have done this. And that’s a problem.

Access to information does not make a person unsafe, limiting their access to accurate information does that!

Views on what constitutes appropriate materials may vary widely from library to library.

If parents are concerned what their children are reading (and many are) then they should be active participants in their lives and be willing to have discussions on puberty, sex & sexuality and more. If young people are unable to have those types of discussions with their parents or guardians then they will go looking to find the information on their own and their library will be one of the safer and more accurate places for them to find information.

If parents and care-givers would rather legislate that option away from children in their care then they will go looking for information in places where accurate and truthful information may not be available.

The Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act will force library staff to act in loco parentis, as gatekeepers (a role that we have been trying to get rid of for years), young readers going through puberty, questioning their sexuality, trying to find information for class assignments or those that are just curious will be unable to access the information they require if the group overseeing the library collection takes a narrow view on what is appropriate for young readers.

If this act is passed then Libraries that fall foul of it will lose access to federal funds and Library staff that provide access to proscribed materials will face a fine or jail time.

You can find out more information about this developing story and how to make your views heard at Bookriot, EveryLibrary, PEN and The Guardian.

Visit this page for a list of interpretations of the Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations

Representative Ben Baker is “Thinking of the Children” with the Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act

I read a blog post last night (https://rturner229.blogspot.com/2020/01/ben-baker-files-parental-oversight-of.html)

It details the machinations of Ben Baker the GOP Representative for Newton County in the Missouri House of Representatives who is trying to get public libraries to age restrict materials that could be considered objectionable.

From the above-mentioned post:

Baker filed the Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act to keep impressionable young people from getting their hands on material that deals with sex or anything else that might be considered inappropriate by parents (or Baker).

No public library shall receive any state aid under this section if such library 53 allows minors to access age-inappropriate sexual materials in violation of section 182.821. HB 2044 3 182.821. 

As Library Workers, our job is to bring people and resources together. I can understand School Libraries being more prescriptive in their collection development; but to require Public Libraries to limit access to materials based on the age of readers is not only offensive but also dangerous. It places the decision on what is considered appropriate in the hands of a small group of people (& Representative Baker) who could, quite conceivably have a limited view on what “appropriate” is for readers of different ages.

The threat of losing funding is blatant strong-arming and needs condemnation in the strongest possible terms!

Libraries have made a concerted effort to move away from being gatekeepers and the story of Goodnight Moon at the New York Public Library is a great example of how a book can be kept out of the hands of readers: https://slate.com/culture/2020/01/goodnight-moon-nypl-10-most-checked-out-books.html

Sidelining the views of the majority of parents who will not be involved in the decision-making process sets a dangerous precedent, writing something into law that is best left up to families to decide is sheer overreach – I thought that Republicans were usually the part of small government and limited interference.