BTW News Briefs
We Need Diverse Books Publishes First Anthology
On January 3, We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) released the organization’s first anthology, Flying Lessons and Other Stories (Crown Books for Young Readers), the Washington Post reported.
The anthology was edited by Ellen Oh, chief executive and president of WNDB, the nonprofit founded in 2014 to promote diversity in children’s literature.
Aimed at readers ages 8 through 12, Flying Lessons features nine all-new stories by contemporary YA authors such as Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson, and Matt de la Peña, and one story by the late Walter Dean Myers. The collection includes the winning entry in the 2015 WNDB short-story contest by debut author Kelly J. Baptist.
All anthology authors have donated any profit from the sale of Flying Lessons to WNDB, which already has plans to publish a YA anthology called Lift Off next year.
HarperCollins Takes Full Ownership of HarperCollins Brasil
After a 10-year partnership with Brazilian publisher Ediouro, HarperCollins has purchased all remaining shares of HarperCollins Brasil. The company will continue to publish titles from HarperCollins trade, children’s, Christian, and romance imprints from around the world, as well as a focused list of Brazilian authors.
HarperCollins Brasil was formed as a joint venture that combined the existing operations of Thomas Nelson Brasil and Harlequin Brasil with Ediouro’s commercial trade publishing list and personnel. Although it will now operate independently, HarperCollins Brasil will continue to work with Ediouro via a shared warehousing and logistics area.
HarperCollins Brasil will move its headquarters to Rua da Quitanda in Rio’s financial center on January 9.
2017 International Dublin Literary Award Nominations Announced
Libraries from all over the world have nominated 147 titles for the €100,000 International Dublin Literary Award, which helps promote Dublin internationally as a literary destination.
The award is said to be the richest annual literary prize for a single work of fiction published in English, according to Publishing Perspectives. The 2017 nominations include 43 novels in translation with works by 42 American authors, 23 British authors, 15 Canadian authors, 10 Australian authors, seven Irish authors, six New Zealand authors, and four Dutch authors.
The shortlist for the award will be revealed on April 11, and winners will be announced on June 21. The award, formerly known as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, was organized by the Dublin City Council and is managed by Dublin City Council’s library service.