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Children's Book Authors: Learn How To Promote Children's Book Week, Your Books, and Yourselves
Juanita Havill, Charline Profiri, and Jennifer J. Stewart
The Bright Idea
By Charline Profiri
Self promotion, the discussion topic for an upcoming meeting of a group of Tucson, AZ children's writers, was on my mind when I visited the CBC website. I read the press releases for Children's Book Week and thought, Why not promote local authors at the same time?
I posted an e-mail on the Tucson group's listserv asking those interested in participating in a press release promoting Children's Book Week to contact me. Ten authors responded. At our monthly meeting, we brainstormed ideas.
The group decided that the press release should include a quote about reading from each author in addition to their contact information (phone, e-mail and website). To shorten the press release, it was decided that only the author's most recent book (title, publisher, date) would be listed. I agreed to compile the information and send the release, and the group chose me to be the contact person as well.
Later in the week, Janni Lee Simner, an author listed in the press release, wrote a draft of the introductory paragraphs. Meanwhile, I solicited, collected, and organized each participant's submitted information. Janni e-mailed the draft to me, and I tweaked it and added the gathered data (in alphabetical order by author's last name). Then I e-mailed the release to each participant for his or her edit or approval.
The next step was submitting the release to local print and television media. I e-mailed the press release to nine newspapers and five television stations one month before the November 14, 2005, start of Children's Book Week. The subject line memo read: Press Release: Children's Book Week and Local Children's Authors.
On October 19, I received a phone call from the local PBS station's newscaster, Bill Buckmaster. He invited Juanita Havill, Jennifer J. Stewart, and me to appear on his November 14 news magazine Arizona Illustrated. Mr. Buckmaster apparently used the information and quotes provided in the press release to choose those he wanted to interview. I relayed the exciting news to Juanita and Jennifer, then Googled what not to wear on TV.
Show Time
By Jennifer J. Stewart
Charline, Juanita, and I met at the studio at 4:00 pm, and one of the producers got busy powdering the shine off our faces. Soon we were seated in swivel chairs, which we were warned not to swivel—not to move even a millimeter—at a kidney-shaped conference table under hot studio lights. Tiny microphones were threaded under our shirts, clipped in place to our collars, and tested. We were warned not to mess with them. It was all a bit nervous-making.
Mr. Buckmaster tried to put us at ease, asking "Have you ever been on TV before?" Charline and Juanita had, but I hadn't. If I hadn't confessed this upfront, it became obvious when I kept on chatting to the host, not realizing that he was talking, not to me, but to another of his producers (who was talking to him through a cunning Karl Rove-type earpiece).
Once I got over that embarrassment, Mr. Buckmaster lobbed a few questions at each of us. He was warming us up, as if he was a pitcher and each of us a catcher. We got a few final warnings: Do not play with your coffee mug, keep your hands still, and look interested when someone else is talking. And then, really truly, someone yelled, "Action!"
Since I was seated between Juanita and Charline, I had the benefit of listening to Juanita's response first, as Mr. Buckmaster asked us the same question in turn. And, hurray, they turned out to be the questions he had asked before!
Mr. Buckmaster is very good at what he does, and I think he will not be afraid to invite a children's author on his show again. Still, I admit to being very, very glad when we were done. What a relief to swivel, fidget, and take a sip from our coffee mugs—and now I can claim to be a TV veteran!
Viewing the Interview
By Juanita Havill
By 4:30 pm, we had finished the ten-minute interview which would air at 6:30 that evening. Much to our surprise, we learned that the show would not be edited but would be presented as taped. What to do until air time? We departed for a popular Mexican restaurant with KUAT souvenir mugs in hand and unwound over topopo salad, chile relleno, and chicken fajitas.
Then we tensed up again as we gathered at Charline's home to watch the show. Our segment did not air first. We sat through a visit to a riparian area in southeastern Arizona, then an interview with a Tucson city council member before the host announced Children's Book Week, and we sounded a collective, "We're on."
The covers of our books flashed on the screen, and then, one by one, we were introduced and asked questions about why we choose to write for children, what makes a good children's book, and if children are finding time to read in our time-crunched society.
We stared in silence, the question hovering over each of us: Do I really look like that? Self conscious, then fascinated, we finally concluded that we acquitted ourselves rather well, after all, in responding to the host's questions. What we tried to communicate in our brief interview is that we write for children because of our love for stories, our respect for children, our appreciation for intelligent humor, and admiration of the simplicity of children's books. A good children's book is one that speaks to children, to their minds and their hearts. And children will continue to read despite their over-programmed schedules as long as they find value, meaning, entertainment, and something they can connect with in books.
After Effects
By Juanita Havill, Charline Profiri and Jennifer J. Stewart
All three of us got phone calls within minutes of the show's airing, and congratulatory e-mails as well. The following day, a participant heard a portion of our interview broadcast on the local PBS radio station. Another person found the first paragraph of our press release copied as an announcement in one of the weekly newspapers. Although the group had hoped for a better response from local media, a limited response is better than none. And no doubt we'll try again in 2006.
Perhaps our experience will encourage other children's authors to follow suit. That's why the CBC asked us to tell you what we did and to share our press release. Feel free to copy or adapt it to fit your needs.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (name of person to contact)
phone:
e-mail:
Promote Reading and Local Children's Book Authors During Children's Book Week, November 14-20
The Children's Book Council (www.cbc.org) has designated November 14-20 as the 86th annual Children's Book Week. The theme for this year is Imagine. CBC encourages children and the adults who care for them to spread the joy of reading by spending time with a book each day.
This would be an opportune time for (name of newspaper or television station) to (publish/air an article/a story) about (name of region/city/state) many professional children's book authors and how they work to encourage children to imagine and read.
A group which includes the (number) authors listed below, meets monthly at the (place). You are encouraged to attend one of their upcoming meetings: (date and time) or (date and time) to interview and/or photograph these local children's authors. Please advise the contact person, (name), if you plan to take advantage of this opportunity.
(Note: This optional paragraph was an afterthought added by Charline after the group's approval of the release. Omitting it wouldn't affect the release.)
Feel free to contact any of the writers listed below for individual interviews, to use their quotes, or to contact (name) for more information.
Rhody Cohon, author of the Blast to the Past series including Disney's Dream (Simon & Schuster, June 2005). (phone, e-mail), www.blasttothepastbooks.com
Judy Dyl, author of a poem in I Invited a Dragon to Dinner and Other Poems to Make You Laugh Out Loud (Philomel, 2002), says, "A child with a book is never alone." (phone, e-mail)
Monica Hay-Cook, author of Kickin' Up Some Cowboy Fun: 130 Activities for Cowboys + Cowgirls (Monjeu Press, Inc., P.O.Box 64353, Tucson, AZ 85728) and two other children's activity books that make learning fun, says, "When children bury themselves in books they will discover golden treasures." (phone, e-mail)
Juanita Havill, award-winning author of the acclaimed Jamaica series, Eyes Like Willy's (HarperCollins, 2004) and numerous other books, says, "Every child should have the chance to be transported by a book." (phone)
Marjorie Pellegrino, author of Too Nice (Magination Press) and two other books, says, "Give the ultimate gift to a child—share the power and excitement of reading." (phone, e-mail), www.maginationpress.com/pellegrino.html
Charline Profiri, author of a board book for babies to age 5, Counting Little Geckos (The RGU Group, June 2005), says, "Research has shown that children start getting ready to read from birth. So read to your newborn every day. As a former K-3 teacher, I observed that children who were read to daily became early readers and better readers. Make a weekly trip to the library a fun family event." Charline will be signing her book at Kid's Center, 1725 N. Swan Rd., Nov. 13, 2-4 PM and at The West, 5615 E. River Rd., Dec. 4, 1-3 PM. (phone, e-mail), www.cprofiri.com
Joan Sandin, award-winning author/illustrator whose latest book, Coyote School News, has been chosen by Governor Napolitano to give to every Arizona public school fourth grader, says, "A book is a great travel buddy: Curl up with one (or why not two?) in the back seat, on the plane, or in the airport. It's better than fighting with your brother." (e-mail), http://members.authorsguild.net/joansandin
Janni Lee Simner, contributor to Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales (Candlewick) and author of the forthcoming Secret of the Three Treasures (Holiday House, Spring 2006), says, "Books kept me from being bored as a kid. They kept me from being lonely. They showed me that the place you're in isn't the place you'll always be, that there's always a way through. They made me long for other worlds, and they helped me make a place for myself in this one." (phone, e-mail), www.simner.com
Jennifer J. Stewart, award-winning author of Close Encounters of a Third-World Kind (Holiday House, 2004) and two other seriously funny mid-grade novels, says, "If I ever get marooned on a tiny desert island with one palm tree—the way people are always being shipwrecked in cartoons—I would have to have a book with me. But if I didn't have one, I would have to write in the sand with my finger, a new page every day, after the tide washed away the previous page. The right book at the right time shows you a world you knew in some way existed, but never in words. My advice to you: Wear that library card out. Your brain is like a sponge. It absorbs everything. Reading trains your mind to think." (phone, e-mail), www.jenniferjstewart.com
Karen T. Taha, former teacher and library media specialist, author of Hotdog On TV (Easy Reader from Dial Press, 2005) and two other books, says this Groucho Marx quote is one of her favorites: "Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." Meet Karen at Kid's Center, 1725 N. Swan Rd., November 20, 2-4 PM. She'll be signing her book and giving out doggie treats! (phone, e-mail), www.karentaha.com
Jennifer Ward, award-winning author of Forest Bright, Forest Night (Dawn Publications. 2005) and five other picture books for children birth to age eight, says, "Open a book and, Presto! There's an opportunity to travel anywhere! Outer space, magical kingdoms, back into the past; into the future. Books are a vacation-travel-adventure everyone can afford. Don't just use your library card, abuse your library card!" (phone, e-mail), www.jenniferwardbooks.com
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Upcoming Book Week Dates:
2008: May 12 - 18
2009: May 11 - 17
2010: May 10 - 16
2011: May 2 - 8
2012: May 7 - 13
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2006 Celebrations
2005 Celebrations
2004 Celebrations
2006 Book Week Materials
The Best of Book Week Materials
Celebrating Book Week
Promoting Book Week
A History of Book Week
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