Have you always wanted to write or illustrate children's books? Maybe you've started writing an adventure story that will have readers eager to turn the pages, or perhaps you've got an idea for a picture book that's sure to fire up imaginations.
Either way, the Children’s Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook 2014 is an essential guide to all the contacts, advice and information you need to help you on your creative path.
It's an exciting time in children's publishing - a time full of changes for publishers, writers and readers. In this blog post, children's books editor Caroline Horn gives us her insight into the changes you, as the writer, need to know about:
According to Bowker’s ‘UK Books & Consumers’ survey in 2012 (©Bowker Market Research 2013), we continue to spend as much as ever on children’s books. Bowker estimates that during 2012, UK consumers spent some £441 million on children’s books (both print and digital), which is just up on 2011 (+0.2%), when we spent £440 million.
The biggest shift we are seeing is the move to buying and reading books on e-readers. In 2012, Bowker’s survey showed that ebooks accounted for 6% of children’s books purchases by volume and 5% by value, still a tiny proportion of sales as a whole although it is rising steadily.
The Wimpy Kid films and Stephen Spielberg’s War Horse film, based on Morpurgo’s book, have once again demonstrated the power of the big screen to drive sales, but the effect this year of The Hunger Games film on book sales – as well as teen publishing in general – has been spectacular, helping to drive dystopian fiction for YA readers.
For those authors who are still trying to get their names known, there is a growing number of websites that can put their work online.
There is growing awareness at government level that reading for pleasure can play a significant role in a child’s learning overall and there have been a number of initiatives from the government to encourage schools to develop an ethos of reading for pleasure.
On a wider level, authors have also been in the vanguard of efforts helping to make books available and reading aspirational.
To read the article in its entirety, which includes Caroline's review of purchasing trends, digital developments, opportunities for authors and reading initiatives, purchase your copy of the Children's Writers' & Artists' Yearbook now and receive a a 25% discount if you order by July 31st.
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