News from Orca Book Publishers

October 2008

News and notes...
(Click on the covers for more info).

Quick Picks...

Four recent Orca Soundings titles have been nominated for the Young Adult Library Services Association's (YALSA) Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list for 2009.
Down by Norah McClintock, Responsible by Darlene Ryan, Pain and Wastings by Carrie Mac and Middle Row by Sylvia Olsen, have all been nominated for this list which collects new titles of special interest to struggling and reluctant readers. All of these titles are part of the Orca Soundings series, a collection of more than fifty titles that appeal to teen reluctant readers.
The final list will be voted on at the American Library Association Midwinter convention in Denver in January.

Stellar Teen Book Award...
The nominees for the 2008-2009 Stellar Teen Book Awa

rd, BC's Teen Reader's Choice Award have been announced.

The Bonemender's Oath by Holly Bennett and Tell, an Orca Soundings novel by Norah McClintock, have both been nominated. The winner is announced in May after Teen readers vote.

An Orca book has won this award in the last two years - last year's winner was Red Sea by Diane Tullson and the year before The Beckoners by Carrie Mac took the prize.

More info here.

Korean Language Rights...

Art's Supplies, a picturebook by Chris Tougas has been sold to a Korean publisher and will be published in Korea in the near future.
There has been a lot of interest in Art's Supplies. School Library Journal said of the book: "This lively title is sure to be a favorite of youngsters learning to appreciate both subtle humor and engaging cartoon art."

National Parenting Awards...

Welcome Song for Baby, a board book by Native author Richard Van Camp has won the Gold Award in the 2008 National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA).
Welcome Song for Baby has previously been selected for the BC Book for Babies project and also for the Manitoba Healthy Child initiative.
There are already a lot of babies chewing on this book!

Making Change...

There is a lot of talk about change at the moment with the election. Want real change? Then Bilaal Rajan's your man! Bilaal is the author of the just released book -Making Change: Tips from an Underage Overachiever.

Bilaal has recently been named one of the Top Twenty Under Twenty and is the current UNICEF Child Ambassador. Oh, Bilaal is twelve years old and holder of the title of "Youngest Orca Author."

Lobster Press...

Distribution Change
A reminder that Lobster Press, formerly with National Book Network, is now distributed by Orca Book Publishers. Picture books, chapter books, tween and teen fiction and nonfiction are all available from Lobster.
Order through Orca. Call 1-800-5277 for more info.

A review by any other name...

We live for reviews.

Two recent titles - Paul Yee's Learning to Fly and Norah McClintock's Watch Me were just released and have received wonderful reviews. The very astute (and well-read) Chris DeVito posted a mention on his site Paperjam.

"If you like to read - and you like to read classical stuff - there's never been a better time to be a tween...in Watch Me, an angry kid evens up things in the universe by stealing a lady's purse and then suffering mightily for it Crime and Punishment-style. In Learning to Fly...The first half of the book is equal parts Salinger's Catcher in the Rye and David Copperfield...Mid-way through the book echoes Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage...By its hopeful ending...you've had the complete Comparative Literature Experience - but without any of the university-level pain."

Take that Gossip Girl.

Thanks for reading!