This month, Maheneen Alam, subsidiary rights manager at Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, familiarizes us with First, Second!
First Second is the 5-year old graphic novel imprint of Macmillan. Their motto is excellence in storytelling, in artwork, and in production. First Second’s debut list included National Book Award Finalist and Printz Medalist AMERICAN BORN CHINESE by Gene Luen Yang which set the bar for this fledgling imprint.
One of First Second’s biggest strengths is the variety of their list– they have something appropriate for all ages. From toddler favorites like NURSERY RHYME COMICS (with illustrations by the best and brightest of the graphic novel world), to middle-grade fantasies about giant-slaying tomboyish heroines-GIANTS BEWARE!, to serious YA fiction like THE SILENCE OF OUR FRIENDS-set during the Civil Rights struggle in Texas.
Their recent biography about quirky Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman (FEYNMAN) beat all the superheroes and debuted at #1 on the New York Times Graphic Novel Bestseller list. Check out their website at www.firstsecondbooks.com for upcoming graphic novels.
