On September 30th, Sourcebooks turned 30 years old. And yes, we had a great party a bit earlier to celebrate. Publisher and CEO Dominique Raccah shared some inspiring words about the company, our past and our bright future:
“As I look around today, I’m looking at so many of the people who made it possible to reach this milestone! YOU have all made a difference and helped this company become what it is today. Thank you all, along with our wonderful authors, vendors, partners, and readers!” Sourcebooks employees showed off their anniversary shirts in a group photo, enjoyed treats from three local food trucks, and an afternoon of games and sharing stories from those who have been here decades to days. With authors and ARCs in tow, the Sourcebooks library team headed to Boston for the American Library Association 2016 Midwinter Meeting. We love library shows! They are an opportunity to chat with forward-thinking, enthusiastic, book-loving librarians who all share the same purpose—to get the right books in the hands of the right readers. We packed the five days with events, giveaways, and signings and were blown away by the excitement surrounding our authors and titles. Here’s a glimpse of some of the fun: On Thursday, marketing specialist Beth Oleniczak joined more than twenty publishers to kick off the weekend events by presenting forthcoming kids/YA and adult lists to a room of more than one hundred librarians at the Boston Public Library Book Buzz. (Check out #BookBuzzMA on Twitter for highlights from the day!) The Sourcebooks booth, ready to go on Friday night for the opening reception! Sourcebooks Fire author Cori McCarthy signed ARCs of her forthcoming contemporary mixed-format novel You Were Here and was so excited to hear from librarians who were fans of her previous book, Breaking Sky! Sourcebooks Jabberwocky “Queen of Tween” Anna Staniszewski, a seasoned Bostonian, joined us at the booth to help spread the word about her superfun Switched at First Kiss series and sign copies of the first book, I’m With Cupid. Debut author Marieke Nijkamp celebrated the January 5 release of her harrowing, hopeful novel This Is Where It Ends at a variety of events throughout the show. Here, she joins authors (from left to right) Malinda Lo (Adaptation), Kody Keplinger (The DUFF), Adam Silvera (More Happy than Not), and Heidi Heilig (The Girl from Everywhere) on the conference’s incredibly insightful—and best-attended—panel, We Need Diverse Books. Read Publishers Weekly’s recap of the lively conversation here. On the right, librarians eagerly anticipating the WNDB panel! At the Booklist/AAP sponsored Read ’n Rave program, a panel of enthusiastic children’s and teen collection development librarians roamed the exhibit hall floor and highlighted their top picks for galleys to grab at the show. We were thrilled to hear panelist Joslyn Jones, children’s services supervisor at the Bowie Branch of the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (MD), call out three Sourcebooks Fire titles--This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp, My Kind of Crazy by Robin Reul, and Anything You Want by Geoff Herbach. Like the rest of the conference exhibitors and attendees, we woke up bright and early Monday morning for a good seat at the Youth Media Awards! What an amazing year it’s been for children’s books! Congratulations to all of the amazing titles honored this year—and a special congratulations to David A. Adler (author of Sourcebooks Jabberwocky’s Danny’s Doodles series) on his Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for Don’t Throw It to Mo! (Penguin Young Readers).
Thank you to all of the librarians who stopped by the Sourcebooks booth; we’ll see you again in April for PLA 2016! Beth, Margaret, and Alex Thousands of Fans Visit Bookstores Nationwide to Meet Cast Members on Book Tour Cast members from the award-winning NBC daytime drama Days of our Lives hit the road to meet thousands of fans and sign copies of Days of our Lives 50 Years, a new commemorative book celebrating the show’s five decades on air. Days of our Lives 50 Years debuted at #8 on the New York Times Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous Best Sellers list, and #65 on the USA Today bestsellers list! More than 5,000 fans showed up at The Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, TN (Bryan Dattilo, Deidre Hall, Greg Meng, Kristian Alfonso, Melissa Reeves, Lauren Koslow, Jen Lilley, Andrew Masset, Thaao Penghlis, Peter Reckell, Stephen Nichols). Photo credit: Getty Images More than 500 very excited fans came out to Tattered Cover in Aspen Grove, CO. Photo credit: Getty Images Cast members showed off their Kansas City Royals blues at Barnes & Noble in Overland Park, KS (pictured left to right-Eric Martsolf, Suzanne Rogers, James Reynolds, Patti Pease, Billy Flynn, Kate Mansi, Greg Vaughan). Photo credit: Getty Images Happy fans show off their signed copies at Changing Hands in Tempe, AZ. Photo credit: Getty Images And nearly 1,000 fans of all ages came out to Books & Greetings in Northvale, NJ! (Stephen Nichols) Photo credit: Getty Images Days of our Lives cast members also visited Kathie Lee and Hoda on the TODAY Show, where one lucky fan won trip to Los Angeles to attend the show’s 50th anniversary party! Check out the full segment: http://www.today.com/popculture/days-our-lives-cast-celebrates-50th-anniversary-today-t52436 (left to right: Days fan, Deidre Hall, Billy Flynn, Lauren Koslow, Thaao Penghlis, Galen Gering, Kathie Lee and Hoda, Kristian Alfonso and Greg Meng) Tune in when Deidre Hall and Galen Gering appear on the Steve Harvey show on Friday, November 6.
Many thanks to the Days of our Lives cast, the dedicated booksellers, and all the enthusiastic fans for helping make this tour a huge success! For more information about upcoming book signings in the U.S. and Canada, visit http://days50.com/ News of Sourcebooks’s acquisition of the bestselling 1-2-3 Magic parenting book series by Thomas Phelan was announced this week, with articles and news items running in Publishers Weekly, Shelf Awareness, Publishers Lunch, and the AAP newsletter. This is just the beginning of what is already a significant, creative partnership between Sourcebooks and Phelan. SOURCEBOOKS ACQUIRES BESTSELLING 1-2-3 MAGIC PARENTING SERIESPublisher Adds #1 Child Discipline Program by Renowned Clinical Psychologist Thomas Phelan NAPERVILLE, IL (October 21, 2015)—Independent publisher Sourcebooks has acquired 1-2-3 Magic, the #1 child discipline book program that has sold more than 1.6 million copies worldwide and has been translated into twenty-two languages. For more than twenty-five years, internationally renowned clinical psychologist Thomas W. Phelan, PhD, has helped millions of moms, dads, teachers, and caregivers with his 1-2-3 Magic parenting program. “Over the years, being in a position to be able to change—and often revolutionize—the home life of moms, dads, and kids has been a wonderful and heartwarming experience,” Phelan said. “We look forward to many productive years with Sourcebooks.” The deal, effective January 1, 2016, will kick off with publication of the sixth edition of 1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2–12 (ISBN: 9781492629887; February 2, 2016; $15.99 U.S.; Parenting; Trade Paper), in which Phelan breaks down the complex task of parenting into straightforward steps and advice for raising independent, emotionally intelligent children and building happier families. “Nearly twenty years ago we helped Dr. Phelan design his original book covers—we’ve been both friends and fans ever since,” said Todd Stocke, Sourcebooks Vice President, Editorial Director. “Sourcebooks has a rich history of number one authors who have huge impact on their readers’ lives, and we’re proud to add Dr. Phelan to that roster.” 1-2-3 Magic is a cornerstone book in the parenting category that combines timeless advice with a straightforward, relatable voice and up-to-date content, and is a must-have book for any caregiver focused on raising happy, healthy, and responsible children. Sourcebooks will also publish new editions of 1-2-3 Magic in the Classroom in Spring 2016, Surviving Your Adolescents in Fall 2016, and All About ADHD in Spring 2017. About the Author: A registered clinical psychologist, Thomas W. Phelan, PhD, has worked with children, adults, and families for over thirty-five years. Phelan maintains an active schedule of international lectures, and is a frequent guest on radio and television. His articles appear in numerous regional and national publications. 1-2-3 Magic has sold more than 1.6 million copies and has been translated into twenty-two languages. Phelan practices and works in the western suburbs of Chicago. Sourcebooks attends a variety of trade shows on behalf of our authors, but none are bigger or more exciting than the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. Thousands of publishers come to the show each year in order to buy and sell rights so that books can be made available in other countries. The view of one level of Hall 6, where the Sourcebooks staff met with rights agents from all over the world. We also look at bringing new, foreign authors to the Sourcebooks family. We send sales, marketing, and editorial staff to meet with agents. Shana Drehs, Editorial Director, Sourcebooks Landmark, meets with Adrian Weston, of the Adrian Weston Literary Agency Our CEO and publisher, Dominique Raccah, met with a variety of multimedia companies and licensor on behalf of our popular book personalization site, Put Me In The Story. Our incredible products, like the My First Peanuts ABC and 123 books, really excited all of our current and new partners! In addition to meeting with foreign agents, the book fair is also a place for readers to come and celebrate their love of reading. Our CEO, Dominique, took the opportunity to gush about our fabulous young adult titles to a group of book lovers below. At the end of another incredible show, the Sourcebooks team kicks back, raises a glass of wine, and says a hearty “Prost!” to all of our authors, agents, and readers who help us change lives, one book at a time. Shana Drehs, Sara Hartman-Seeskin, Valerie Pierce, Dominique Raccah, Ray Bennett, and Steve Geck
Prior to the start of the Heartland Fall Forum, Sourcebooks had the opportunity to invite approximately 50 independent booksellers and industry professionals to our offices in Naperville, IL. We were so excited to be able to host this awesome group of booksellers! A chartered bus brought our guests from The Westin in Lombard to our offices where they were greeted with lunch from a local favorite, Portillo’s. (The chocolate cake was a huge hit!), some familiar books (our Indie Next picks!), and goody bags in honor of our newsletter, Book Tipsy. Lunch was followed by a tour of the office which included stops in editorial, design, content delivery, customer service and of course an introduction to our beloved Well-Read Cow. It was a lively tour and really great for all of employees to get a chance to say hello to the amazing people on the frontlines. From there, we took our guests downtown Naperville to visit Anderson’s Bookshop and shop local. It was a great day at Sourcebooks and it was so exciting to have these special visitors! A huge thank you to everyone who made the trip out here, we loved having you and you are welcome back anytime!
Check it out: Put Me In The Story, our personalized books site, was featured in the Chicago Tribune’s Printers Row Journal this week! We were so excited to talk about the things happening with Put Me In The Story and share more about all the fun we’re having reimagining bedtime! Chicago Tribune lifestyles reporter Nara Schoenberg sat down with some of our Put Me In The Story team to talk about the creative opportunities and challenges that arise when creating personalized books with well-known brands and authors, including Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket, who is famous for his books in “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” “Approaching Daniel Handler with a proposal to personalize his intensely ironic Lemony Snicket books might sound a little like sticking your head into the mouth of his Incredibly Deadly Viper. But — fortunately for all involved — Handler was intrigued by the idea adding children's names and photos to his "All the Wrong Questions" books.” We are really so excited about all of the great partners that we get to work with: Handler is the latest addition to an impressive list of creative heavy-hitters who have signed on to produce personalized books with Sourcebooks, a publisher in Naperville that launched its personalized Put Me In the Story division in 2013. Sesame Street and Disney — both the princess powerhouse and the "Star Wars" subsidiary — have partnered with Sourcebooks to produce personalized books, as has Nancy Tillman, author of the best-seller "On the Night You Were Born." We had so much fun chatting with Schoenberg, discussing current and upcoming projects. When talking about working with Star Wars, Publishing Manager Karen Shapiro told Nara that when they asked her if she’d like to have her team come up with original book ideas, “I could put it in caps and bold and that's still not going to scream 'Yes!' loud enough."” Read about what Nara found the most interesting in the full Tribune article below! Her article can also be read on the Chicago Tribune website here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/books/ct-prj-put-me-in-the-story-personalized-childrens-books-20151001-story.html Put Me In The Story, Sourcebooks’ personalized book website, has just reached a HUGE milestone with 100 books available on our site! We’d like to take this moment to say a huge “Thank You!” to everyone who has made our 100 Put Me In The Story books possible… our authors, licensors, editors, and especially, our READERS! Without you, none of these 100 books (and counting!) would have been possible. We are forever grateful! To help celebrate this achievement, we decided to run a fun sweepstakes on our Put Me In The Story Facebook Page. We got a lot of entries, but what we really got was a sense of the impact that our books are having in people’s lives, how they are truly touching people. Here are our top 10 favorite comments we’ve received so far: #1 - For the Kids & Kids at Heart#2 - Keep them coming!#3 - Creating life-long readers#4 - A book starring your child!#5 - #BooksChangeLives#6 - Now you're just making us blush!#7 - Creating book addicts, one personalized book at a time#8 - Special gifts for your little one#9 - Showing us off#10 - We're suckers for cute photos of kidsOkay, so that was a little more than 10… but there were so many awesome comments! Here’s to the next 100!
Sourcebooks Publisher and CEO Dominique Raccah made NewCity’s Lit 50 2015, a list of the 50 greatest contributors to Chicago’s vibrant literary scene! “This year’s list includes indie-bookstore owners, booksellers, publishers, editors, chairs and directors of creative writing programs, literacy advocates, library leaders, execs at major literary foundations, organizers of festivals, conferences, live lit productions and salons. All of the individuals on this list contribute significantly—whether they help to get books in readers’ hands, excite the next generation in literary arts, afford writers opportunities to publish, provide storytellers a stage to share their tales, or create environments where writers can make the right connections or just talk shop.” “Behind all of the innovation is fundamentally our desire to create a more expansive future for readers, authors and book publishing,” Raccah said. Raccah is featured at #3, behind Elizabeth Taylor, Chicago Tribune’s literary editor, and Robert Polito, president of the Poetry Foundation. It’s a great honor to be included and the Chicago literary scene is a community that Sourcebooks is proud to be a part of. BEA is always a great show, a place where publishers, booksellers, librarians, bloggers, authors, and more can get together and talk about what is going on in the industry and the exciting books everyone is looking forward to in the coming year. We got a chance to introduce some of the books and authors we're most excited about to some of the people we are most excited about working with. Publisher Dominique Raccah was a part of the panel that kicked off the BEA 2015 programming: Innovation and Data: The Promise and The Pitfalls. More on what the panel discussed here. Publishers (and others) have booths on the trade show floor where they display their upcoming books, host author signings, conduct meetings, and talk with other industry professionals. Booksellers and librarians stop by to browse through what each publisher will be offering in the coming year. Some publishers give away copies of books so that people can read and recommend the books they fall in love with. Author signings are a great way for an author to meet and interact with a lot of industry professionals and to share their excitement about their book. A huge thank you to everyone who made BEA great this year!
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