Publisher Profile: Floris Books
The CBC asks Chani McBain, Commercial Director, questions about the publisher.
How did your publishing house start out?
Floris Books started out at a kitchen table in Edinburgh, Scotland, 49 years ago and half a mile away from where we are today.
What is your publishing house most known for?
We’re known in different markets for very different books. At home, in Scotland, we’re known for our Kelpies list of Scottish children’s books, specialising in folklore and fairy tales, and our amazing wildlife.
In North America, we are best known for beautiful picture books which share unique perspectives and new voices, often in translation, from around the world.
What conventions and conferences does your publishing house usually attend?
As we’re based in Scotland, our amazing colleagues at Consortium (our distributor) and Publisher Spotlight (our publicists) can often be found championing Floris Books at conferences in the US, including ALA, Children’s Institute, AASL, and NAEYC.
I take every opportunity to visit the States. This May, I’ll be meeting colleagues (and hopefully making new friends) in Boston and NYC. How many bookstores can I possibly visit in the name of research?!
What are some of your house’s publishing priorities over the next few years?
We are committed to bringing a wide range of voices from talented creatives across the globe to English-speaking audiences. For example, this spring we are publishing 12 new books in the US with international creatives from nine different countries. We curate our list to encourage readers to walk in other people’s shoes.
Which title does your house feel deserved more love than it got?
I’m not sure if this counts because it got a lot of love, including from NPR, and was a SSYRA selection, but I firmly believe there should be a copy of Our Incredible Library Book (and the wonderful journeys it took) in every library!
Which upcoming titles is your house buzzing about?
We are all totally buzzing for spooky season this year! The Slightly Spooky Tale of Fox and Mole is only a little bit scary… it’s a smart, meta picture book for older readers. The Grumpy Ghost Upstairs is a hauntingly beautiful and fun picture book from Japan that speaks to my introverted heart. Put the candy away this fall and get the books out!
Which of your frontlist titles would be great for a school or public library?
Publishing in October, My Home Is in My Backpack feels like an important book for encouraging empathy and understanding in these times. It is a powerful tale of forced migration and displacement but also of courage, perseverance, and community told through the eyes of a Venezuelan child.
From the spring season, I’d like to recommend two books for teachers and librarians, one for the mind and one for the body! How Far Are the Stars makes space for asking big questions, opening up conversations for all the curious kids out there, whether at home or at school. Time For Bed Little Owls is an interactive counting, spotting, flapping, hiding journey to bed. We can’t promise it will get wee ones in bed quietly but, librarians, your young visitors will have a lot of fun in the process! This one is sure to be well borrowed.
Which of your frontlist titles would you like to see get more attention from bookstores?
You may have seen The Paper Bridge recently on the cover of Booklist, it’s also on Consortium’s 5 for $20 indies promo, and illustrator Seng Soun Ratanavanh has created a CBC activity sheet for Children’s Book Week. It’s a gorgeous modern fairy tale with an environmental message.
The Illustrated Treasury of Dragon Tales is an anthology of stories from around the world by award-winning creatives. This book is big, purple, gold-foiled, hand-crafted, and earth-spanning in scope. It has been an intense five years in the making and we are so proud to be finally bringing it to your dragon-loving customers!
Blue Sky Morning by extraordinary South Korean illustrator Kim Jihyun, is a study in the beauty of the everyday and a reminder to take stock of the routine wonders around you in a mindful way.
Name a few of your favorite backlist titles that people should check out.
If you like your picture books wordless, Kim Jihyun is also the creator of the many-starred The Depth of the Lake and the Height of the Sky.
The Night Walk by Marie Dorléans also garnered a clutch of starred reviews, was a JLG pick and a New York Times Book of the Year. Inspire a night walk this summer! We do a strong line of anthologies, our bestsellers are the exquisite The Illustrated Treasury of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales, The Illustrated Treasury of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and if you’re looking for something a bit different, then check out John Bauer’s Illustrated Treasury of Swedish Folk and Fairy Tales.
What else would you like to tell us about your house?
Between the 19 dedicated book nerds working at Floris, we speak six languages, have many pets, were born in six different countries, have 15 kids — and we do enjoy a bake off! Please join us on Instagram and BlueSky. We love what we do and we love to share it with you, thank you.
Thank you, Floris Books!
