LERNER CELEBRATES 50 YEARS

Today the Lerner Publishing Group publishes 300 titles per year and employs 200 people on two continents, but fifty years ago, Harry Lerner began the company by publishing a series of books for children to read in the doctor's office. Michael Gets the Measles, Peter Gets the Chickenpox, and Dear Little Mumps Child were written by his sister-in-law, Dr. Marguerite Rush Lerner.

This was not Lerner's first foray into publishing. As a soldier stationed in Germany, Lerner published a book for servicemen who wanted to buy a car in Europe. When he returned home he started a magazine called Sporting Goods Journal before publishing his children's medical book series in 1959. Eventually the company began publishing books about music and nonfiction storybooks under the Carolrhoda imprint. Lerner further expanded the company by creating Muscle Bound Binder in 1967. Most of the orders for Lerner's books came from libraries, and the bindery was a way for Lerner to create its own library bound books.

Lerner Publishing Group, which celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year, is best known today for children's titles including the Words Are CATegorical series by Brian P. Cleary and the Mallory series by Laurie Friedman. It is one of the largest independent publishers of children's books in the country.

"We produce exceptional books by paying attention to the details including age-appropriate designs, carefully selected topics, and thoroughly researched content," Senior Publicist Lindsay Matvick told FTW. She added that the company publishes books to entertain, educate, and empower young people.

Lerner's titles for the fall include a new series, Lightning Bolt Books. According to Matvick, the series, which focuses on topics like animals, famous places, weather, and the senses, includes high-energy designs, photographs, and engaging text designed for K-2 readers. The first books in the series include It's Windy Today, It's Sunny Today, Do You Know About Birds, and Let's Look at Bats.

Single titles on the fall list include Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal, written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated R. Gregory Christie, a three-time recipient of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor; Thanksgiving Rules, a picture book by Laurie B. Friedman and illustrated by Teresa Murfin; and The Steel Pan Man of Harlem by Colin Bootman, a retelling of The Pied Piper of Hamelin set during the Harlem Renaissance.

Matvick believes the company's success lies in listening to its customers and changing with the times. She says Lerner has increased its Web presence and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and blogs in addition to its own Web site.

"Every year we host advisory boards composed of teachers and librarians from elementary schools and upper grade schools," Matvick said. "We get their feedback on our current titles, prospective titles, and what we can do to improve our books, Web site, catalog, and ordering process to better suit their needs."

Even in tough economic times, the company maintains a bright outlook for the future.

"In these hard times it is really important to listen to our customers, so we are in constant contact with librarians, teachers, and young readers," Matvick said.

The company will celebrate its anniversary with a cocktail reception at the Minneapolis Public Library during the International Reading Association's Annual Convention, and with receptions at BookExpo America and the American Library Association Annual Conference.

by Whitney Hallberg, Managing Editor

ASJA AND NYCIP WRITERS CONFERENCES
INFORM AND INSPIRE

During the last weekend in April I attended two writers conferences in New York City that provide access for novice as well as professional authors to the latest information on the tools and practices of the trade, outstanding resources and mentors, and motivational experiences to refresh their energies. For an observer such as this writer, it is an affirmation of what a great business this is.

"If you are a writer, you have to write. You do it very day. It makes good days in a life of good days." This recipe for an author's life was delivered by award-winning food writer and commentator Molly O'Neill at the three-day 38th annual conference of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. It was held at the elegant "grande dame" Roosevelt Hotel on East 45th Street in New York City, April 24-26.

Among O'Neill's bestselling works are New York Cookbook and A Well-Seasoned Appetite. She is writing her eighth book, One Big Table, Portrait of a Nation, which will be published this year by Simon and Schuster. After an earlier career as a chef and a columnist, O'Neill sees food as a positive experience in our "cultural crucible"--a spiritual, self-affirmative as well as political force. "Big food" is today at the center of social change and people are re-examining their food habits. O'Neill clearly sets herself in the middle of it.

A day earlier, and a few blocks to the west at the venerable Society for Mechanics and Tradesmen building on West 44th Street, author Wally Lamb, at a two-day conference by the New York Center for Independent Publishing, reflected on a different role as an author who took eight or nine years each to write his three published novels. The first, She's Come Undone, became a huge bestseller as one of Oprah Winfrey's first book club choices. His third novel, The Hour I First Believed was published by HarperCollins in 2008.

Lamb's view of writing as a novelist is "to render accessible to others some glimpse of our souls--otherwise imprisoned." Lamb's connection to the wider community has been through his volunteer work with a writer's workshop at Connecticut's York Correctional Institute, a maximum security prison for women.

An engaging autobiographical synergy between the two provided some good hooks for stories of family survival as well as how their interests were shaped: O'Neill grew up in Columbus, Ohio, with five brothers; and Lamb, in Norwich, CT with four sisters.

The NYCIP event featured two tracks of eight agent, publisher, author, and media workshops, and keynotes from authors Lee Woodruff (In an Instant and Perfectly Imperfect) and Alan Zweibel (The Other Shulman and Clothing Optional) as well as Wally Lamb. Its focus was on developing storylines and themes and acquiring an agent and a publisher. It benefited from panelists who are well positioned in New York's publishing industry.

The 1,300 member, 61-year old ASJA provides a well-balanced depth of field in workshops, presentations, and three tracks of panels aimed at early, mid, and advanced career interests. Their themes include writing in various genres and media, current trends, and the tools of self-management, freelancing, and promotion.

The two conferences regrettably competed (by accident) with each other--100 writers attended the NYCIP Writers Conference and 600 made it to the annual meeting of the ASJA. Despite the enterprise turmoil in all branches of the print-based publishing industry, no one attending seemed to have any doubts that they would be writing into the future and what they would be writing about--life and the world around them. Almost everyone had an iPhone or equivalent, and a fair number were actively Twittering. Yet these are all people who think of print as their platform for publication.

The buzz about eBook readers, online digital search, and social networking is largely a top-down conversation. Authors themselves, in touch with their subject and their markets, continue to explore their interests and present their narratives in words. At conferences such as these, they confront the realities of marketing and distribution, and they motivate each other to keep inspiration, hope, and intention alive.

by Eugene G. Schwartz, Editor at Large

Attention publishers:
Promote your BEA galleys

If you plan to give away advance reading copies at BookExpo America, ForeWord can help you promote them! ForeWord is working to showcase independent presses and their forthcoming works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction through a Galleys2Grab program for visiting booksellers, librarians, and agents. In order to participate, please Register online by May 8. There is no charge for this service. We will create a downloadable PDF file of the list of galleys and booth numbers, plus provide takeaway paper copies at the show from The Independent Press Lounge, booth number 2362.

PERSEUS JOINS FILEDBY.COM

Vanguard Press, an imprint of the Perseus Books Group, has announced its alliance with FiledBy.com, giving a lift to the direct reach by authors to their market. FiledBy is "a digital marketing platform for any author looking for a low-cost and effective web presence." This early step provides a boost for FiledBy, which was launched in March as an online commons for authors, readers, booksellers, and publishers.

FiledBy's goal, according to Peter Clifton, president and CEO, is "to help more readers discover authors and purchase their work." Authors have increasingly emerged as visible and primary links to readers on the internet. The author's book tour and book review interview has been replaced by real-time connection and interaction through author and publisher Web sites. FiledBy is an innovative effort to aggregate these connections.

As FiledBy describes their service, "more than 1.8 million author sites can integrate photographs, biographies, video, podcasts, press kits, blogging tools, event listings and more. For authors without a Web site, FiledBy is a free or low-cost solution that provides authors with control over their content, helps sell books and can serve as the primary online platform for their work. For others, it's an online platform that complements and links to existing author Web sites, Facebook pages, publisher pages, blogs, or groups."

The first Vanguard authors appearing on FiledBy include Eileen Goudge, author of One Last Dance, Garden of Lies and Thorns of Truth; Alan Jacobson, author of The Hunted and False Accusations; Kyle Mills, author of Lords of Corruption and Darkness Falls; Shane Briant, author of Worst Nightmares; and David Morrell, author of Scavenger and The Shimmer.

What is unique about the business is that the founders have assembled a huge database of author sites that can be claimed and then customized. Its business goal is to provide marketing services growing out of its free directory pages. FiledBy, like Google, brings value added to publicly available online data by organizing it in ways that are particularly useful to its marketplace.

"Writers are our business," said Roger Cooper, vice president and publisher of Vanguard Press, "and since we are a new publishing business model, we are also looking to partner with those companies that we feel are ahead of the curve in serving the writer and reader. Without question, FiledBy fills an extraordinary need for all authors, for the first time, to be discovered under one virtual roof."

This author-centric site is worth a visit. It will be interesting to see how it catches on.

by Eugene G. Schwartz, Editor at Large

BOOK REVIEW

Color Mastery: 10 Principles for Creating Stunning Quilts
by Maria Peagler
(Willow Ridge Press, 978-0-9816277-0-0)

Choosing colors can be one of the most enjoyable aspects of quilting, but also one of the most frustrating when the match-ups just don't seem to work together. Most quilters rely on their instincts to put a palette together, but don't have the skills to determine what the problem is when it just doesn't look right. Enter Color Mastery.

Peagler is an award-winning fine art quilter and writer who teaches quilting workshops on color and design. While taking up watercolor painting, she learned how to use a color wheel and realized that its principles could be applied to quilting. Other books have introduced the wheel to quilters, but usually focused on one of the three color elements-hue, value or intensity-more than the other two. Peagler chooses a more even-handed approach. "I didn't take this approach just to be different," she explains. "I did it because it's crucial to understanding how to make the most of the color relationships in your quilts."

The first part of the book focuses on creating color wheels from quilters' own fabric stashes, an exercise that simultaneously teaches the elements of color while examining a quilter's inventory and identifying areas that may be lacking. For instance, intensity refers to how bright or dull a color is. People tend to gravitate toward one end of the spectrum or the other, which can result in a shortage of fabrics from the opposite end that would add dimension to their quilts.

The second part uses the color wheel to create projects reflecting six different harmonies: groupings on the color wheel that work well together. Each quilt project includes a list of materials, color diagrams, step-by-step directions for creating the quilt, and a color photo of the finished project.

Peagler's writing voice is friendly and humorous, but she remains focused and professional throughout this guide, resulting in a book that is both highly informative and interesting to read. Her passion for color is contagious, and the exercises are meaningful and fun to do. While the book is geared toward quilters with at least a basic knowledge of quilting, she also explains how these concepts can be applied to other fiber arts such as knitting, weaving, and cross-stitch. Peagler equates her book to a "road map" for putting together colors that work, and she delivers on her promise when she says, "Follow the map.and your quilts will be transformed from blah to brilliant!"

Reviewed by Christine Canfield

Read more reviews at www.forewordmagazine.com.

Book Expo America Don't miss the all-new Friday line-up of events at BookExpo America (BEA). Children's Book & Author Breakfast - featuring Meg Cabot, Tomie de Paola, and Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Plus the BEA Young Adult Editor's Buzz - insightful and passionate, this intimate editorial exchange will provide you with the insiders perspective on some of the Fall's new YA discoveries and potential breakouts. Visit www.bookexpoamerica.com/Foreword6 for more information and to Register with Early Bird Discounts.

AUTHOR PAGES: BETTY WEBB

The Author Pages feature nearly 100 interviews with authors whose work has been reviewed in ForeWord magazine. Betty Webb, author of Anteater of Death (Poisoned Pen Press, 978-1-59058-560-3) writes:

"We had books all over the place, but I wasn't allowed near most of them until I was in my teens. My mother loved to read about very naughty movie stars, and she was so afraid I'd mimic their bad behavior that she hid those particular books from me. I also wasn't allowed to read ghost stories (my folks were afraid they'd give me nightmares), books with violence (same reason). And, of course, books with "romantic" (sex) scenes were definitely off-limits. Fortunately, I was able to find those books and read them anyway -- usually out by the barn, but sometimes in bed, under the sheets, with a flashlight."

Visit ForeWord’s Author Pages to read more about the authors reviewed in the pages of ForeWord.

Download ForeWord's latest 24/7 Bookshelf to read about eight outstanding audiobooks from independent publishers.

This week at Shelf Space, Carlie Webber pens a column titled "They're evil! They're brilliant! They're reviewers!"

At Editor’s Notes, Editor-in-Chief Heather Shaw talks about what you read when there's nothing to read.

At Publishing Insider, C.M. Mayo discusses what works and what doesn't in writer's blogs.

At Publishing Matters, Eugene Schwartz explores the myriad ways social networking and Web 2.0 can revitalize any publishing venture.

Visit www.forewordmagazine.com for publishing news, book reviews, and the ForeWord Book Club.

FOREWORD BOOK CLUB: BEA INDIE BUZZ

ForeWord's editor-in-chief, Heather Shaw, was chosen this year to host the Indie Editor's Buzz panel at BookExpo America. Shaw invited five independent publishers to each present a title at BEA that they feel will have wide appeal--there's a debut mystery, a memoir by Ted Kooser, a debut novel, a book of essays by Michael Greenberg, and a debut fantasy. The editor's pitch session will be held on Saturday, May 30, at 11 a.m. in Room 1E15. A panel discussion with the authors will be held on Saturday, May 30, at 3:30 p.m. at the Downtown Stage.

In the weeks leading up to BEA, the ForeWord Book Club will showcase each of the "Buzz" books. This fourth week, we're introducing one of America's most popular and bestselling songwriters, Amy Foster, and her debut novel: When Autumn Leaves (The Overlook Press).

In Avening, a tiny town on the Pacific coast, it's hard not to believe in magic. This is a town where the shoes in the window always fit, where you can buy a love potion at the corner shop, and where the woods at the outskirts of town just might be the door to another world. And, of course, there's Autumn, Avening's beloved resident witch. When Autumn receives news that she's been promoted to a higher coven, she also learns she has to replace herself. But who in Avening is in tune enough with her own personal magic to take over the huge responsibility of town witch? Is it shy Ellie, who is used to thinking of herself as invisible? Beautiful, charismatic Nina, who is hiding a dark secret past? Stella, the clumsy loud-mouth whose grandmother trained her in Appalachian healing?

Autumn has a list of thirteen women and men who just might have what it takes-but how can she get them to open their eyes to the magic in their lives? This endlessly surprising and heart-warming debut is the story of coming to terms with the magical things we take for granted everyday-our friends, our community, and, most of all, ourselves.

The daughter of Grammy award winning producer David Foster, Amy Foster has written songs for Josh Groban, Diana Krall, Eric Benet, Michael Buble, Destiny's Child, and Andrea Bocelli, who performed her song at the 2006 Olympics.

Read an excerpt from When Autumn Leaves at ForeWord's Book Club.

FOREWORD FOOTNOTES

Biography & Autobiography. JOHNNY CASH: AND THE PARADOX OF AMERICAN IDENTITY by Leigh H. Edwards (Indiana University Press, 256 pages, hardcover, $50.00, 978-0-253-35292-7, softcover, $19.95, 978-0-253-22061-5): associate professor of English at Florida State University explores the identity contradictions in cultural context of the "man in black"; topics discussed include the politics of country music, American mythologies, and prisons and masculine frustrations where Cash's empathy is expressed in one of his most famous songs, "Folsom Prison Blues."

Body, Mind & Spirit. SPIRIT OF THE BADGE: 60 TRUE POLICE STORIES OF DIVINE GUIDANCE, MIRACLES & INTUITION compiled by Ingrid P. Dean (Topaz Heart Publishing, b/w illustrations, 240 pages, softcover, $17.95, 978-0-9820824-0-9): holder of a master's degree in Transpersonal Studies and a Michigan State Police detective presents a distinctive compilation providing citizens with a "deeper sense of understanding and appreciation for the psychological, emotional, and spiritual aspects of police officers"; narratives include "A Clairvoyant Dream," "An Angel's Warning," and "The Amazing Shot," where a sharpshooter's bullet, with perfect trajectory, miraculously missed its mark saving two lives.

Business & Economics. EFFECTIVE APOLOGY: MENDING FENCES, BUILDING BRIDGES, AND RESTORING TRUST by John Kador (Berrett-Koehler, 288 pages, softcover, $19.95, 978-1-57675-901-1): contributor to the Chicago Tribune and author of The Manager's Book of Decencies: How Small Gestures Build Great Companies presents the impact of a "well-timed apology to defuse resentment, heal hurt feelings, reduce litigation, and restore relationships": "dimensions" of apology include recognizing what was done wrong, taking responsibility for the action, expressing remorse, and offering restitution.

Family & Relationships. EASY DOES IT MOM: PARENTING IN RECOVERY by Barbara Joy (Conari Press, 222 pages, softcover, $14.95, 978-1-57324-360-5): Positive Parent Coach and treatment center teacher provides mothers with encouragement, knowledge, and parenting tools as they continue their recovery from addictions; topics include shame, guilt, and handling anger: "If you are in touch with what is really bothering you, you will be less apt to take it out on your child."

Family & Relationships. THE PURITY MYTH: HOW AMERICA'S OBSESSION WITH VIRGINITY IS HURTING YOUNG WOMEN by Jessica Valenti (Seal Press, 250 pages, hardcover, $24.95, 978-1-58005-253-5): contributor to The Guardian and Ms. Magazine and author of Full Frontal Feminism examines the "fallacies of virginity, chastity, and purity" in a "sexually charged" media culture; topics include cultural stereotypes, the realities behind abstinence education, and "the widespread notion that women can't be trusted to make their own decisions."

History. FROM EGYPT TO BABYLON: THE INTERNATIONAL AGE 1550-500 BC by Paul Collins (Harvard University Press, 7 x 10, color photographs, 208 pages, hardcover, $35.00, 978-0-674-03096-1): curator of later Mesopotamian collections at the Department of the Middle East, The British Museum, presents political histories of the region's diverse societies of shifting fortunes, burgeoning colonies, trading connections, and cultural pressures in the "world's first international age"; among the nationalities mentioned are Mycenaeans, Assyrians, and Egyptians where Amenhotep I's reach into Nubia yielded access to "enormous" gold reserves.

History. THE HOOSIER CABINET IN KITCHEN HISTORY by Nancy R. Hiller (Indiana University Press, 7 x 10, 50 color and b/w photographs, hardcover, $34.95, 978-0-253-31424-6): cabinetmaker and contributor to Old-House Interiors and Fine Woodworking discusses the "labor- and time-saving conveniences" of a famously designed culinary workstation and its influence on the contemporary home; among the references are kitchen cabinet history, the Hoosier Manufacturing Company's "kitchen scientists," and a discussion of the early-twentieth century principles of salesmanship and marketing that were put into practice.

Performing Arts. THE THEATRICAL WORLD OF ANGUS MCBEAN: PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE HARVARD THEATRE COLLECTION by Fredric Woodbridge Wilson (David R. Godine, Publisher, 10 x 9, duotone photographs, 192 pages, hardcover, $40.00, 978-1-56792-306-5): curator of the Harvard Theatre Collection presents many of McBean's photographs of the British stage during its "golden years" (1930s-1960s); pictures include Richard Burton in Henry IV (1951), Vivien Leigh as "Aurora, Goddess of Dawn" (1939), and a studio portrait of a blond Maria Callas (1954), who, when asked to put on more jewelry for the camera said, "No, Mr. McBean, I wish the pictures to be very simple."

Self-Help. THE GIFT OF BETRAYAL: HOW TO HEAL YOUR LIFE WHEN YOUR WORLD EXPLODES by Eve A. Wood (Hay House, 220 pages, softcover, $14.95, 978-1-4019-1849-1): psychiatrist, clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Arizona, and author of There's Always Help, There's Always Hope offers fourteen healing methods for a breach of trust by a loved one; topics include the role of forgiveness, power of possibility, and the role of intuition, which is listening to one's feelings and acting upon them.

Self-Help. MOVING TO THE CENTER OF THE BED: THE ARTFUL CREATION OF A LIFE ALONE by Sheila Weinstein (Center of the Bed Publishing, 156 pages, softcover, $15.95, 978-0-9820822-0-1): holder of a master's degree in piano performance at Trinity University at San Antonio and Carnegie Hall docent forged a new life after her husband of forty-two years died of dementia; topics include resignation, resilience, and reality: "I am denied the exquisite joy of being touched by the man I love."

by Alex Moore, Book Review Editor

P.S. We're on Twitter! Follow us for quick updates on books and reading.