Children’s Publishing
Trends - LESSONS ON KINDESS • ‘This past year’s news headlines can provide children a false perception that the world is unkind and hostile. Parents and educators can take the opportunity to find books by authors and artists who are doing their part to implement the need for kindness in an uncertain world. For younger children, look for titles that teach the importance of empathy, openness and sharing. For older children, discover titles that showcase the power of unexpected friendships.'
Trends - BOOK ANNIVERSARIES WILL REINTRODUCE MODERN CLASSICS • ‘The 30th anniversary of The Magic School Bus, the 25th anniversary of Goosebumps, and the 20th anniversary of Captain Underpants will introduce a new fan base to these popular franchises. In addition, the new television series revamp of The Magic School Bus, as well as the upcoming film release of Captain Underpants and a new release in Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man series will be on every kid’s reading wish list.'
Trends – REINVENTING MODERN CLASSICS • ‘A great way to get kids introduced to new genres and stories is reading classic fairy tales – with an unexpected twist. Meet Little Red Riding Hood, but this time as a superhero. Revisit the land of Oz with the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Cowardly Lion as the cast of characters from the Geronimo Stilton series. Children’s literature is always being reimagined in new ways and putting favorite characters into a new world of hijinks is bound to get children of all ages interested in reading for fun.’
Trends - FANTASY • Stories about dragons, wizards and mythical creatures are popular due to the success of fantasy novels The Hobbit and Harry Potter.
Trends - ILLUSTRATED TYPE
Facts – Physical Book Sales • "2015 was notable for being the first year in a long time in which the UK book trade experienced an increase in physical book sales. "However, it was also the year in which digital sales growth finally went into reverse, following the slow-down in 2014."
Facts - Market • Value sales in the UK Children’s market hit an all-time high of £309m in 2015.
Not 2015
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2015
Facts - Market •1 in every 3 books sold is a children’s book. (The Bookseller’s Chart Editor, Not a Children’s Kiera O’Brien) book Children’s book
Not a Children’s book
Facts - FANTASY • “This is a golden age of children’s literature,” said Dawn Finch, the fantasy author. “I’ve never seen such a steady flow of extraordinary fiction for younger readers, and children are far more prepared to read longer and more challenging material.” • J.K. Rowling was still the highest selling author of 2016, with The Cursed Child the bestseller according to Amazon.
Facts - CATEGORIES • The three largest categories (Children’s Fiction, Picture Books and Novelty & Activity Books) all showing significant growth in 2015.
Case Study - MERCHANDISE
Case Studies - ANORAK
Case Studies – MEG AND MOG • Meg and Mog is a series of children’s books written by Helen Nicoll and illustrated by Jan Pieńkowski. First published in the 1970s, the books are about Meg, a witch whose spells always seem to go wrong, her striped cat Mog, and their friend Owl. •Simple picture book •bright & bold colours •Made into a TV series in 2003 •for ages 2-5
Case Studies – THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR • The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a children's picture book designed, illustrated and written by Eric Carle. The winner of many children's literature awards and a major graphic design award, It has been described as having sold the equivalent of a copy per minute since its publication. described as "one of the greatest childhood classics of all time." It was voted the number two children's picture book in a 2012 survey of School Library Journal readers.' • first published in 1965, later published by penguin • collage/ mixed media illustrations • sold over 30 million copies worldwide • for ages 2-5
Case Studies – WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE • Where the Wild Things Are is a 1963 children's picture book by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several times, including an animated short in 1974 (with an updated version in 1988); a 1980 opera; and a liveaction 2009 feature-film adaptation, directed by Spike Jonze. The book had sold over 19 million copies worldwide as of 2009, with 10 million of those being in the United States.
Online Resources • Publishers (resource for finding existing products/exploring market/contacting the publishers) Bloomsbury - www.bloomsbury.com/uk/childrens/ Nosy Crow - www.nosycrow.com/ Hachette Children's Group https://www.hachettechildrens.co.uk/ Walker Books - www.walker.co.uk/ Penguin RandomHouse - www.randomhousechildrens.co.uk/ Other Online Resources Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators https://www.scbwi.org/ (advice, articles) Creative Bloq - http://www.creativebloq.com/ Illustration Age - https://illustrationage.com/ Business of Illustration - http://businessofillustration.com