Working Titlez

We’re huge fans of illustrator and author Jorge Bettancourt Polanco — his bright abnd whimsical illustrations grace not only Stephens Press titles like Dreamygirl (which he also wrote) and Granny McFanny, but also local art gallery walls. The Read to Me program recently selected Jorge to read Dreamygirl to kids in Spanish. Go to www.readtomelv.com to watch — and while there, you and your kids can watch other celebrities read some great stories. Read to Me also offers teacher/parent lesson plans to download for each book. These plans offer fun and educational activies related to each book. Dreamygirl’s lesson plan can also be downloaded here

Congratulations and good wishes to Geoff Schumacher, Lewis Kimberly and Jorge Betancourt Polanco — their books have been named FINALISTS in the Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year awards. The competition was established to bring increased attention to librarians and booksellers of the literary and graphic achievements of independent publishers and their authors. ForeWord is the only review trade journal devoted exclusively to books from independent houses.

Geoff is the author of Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia & Palace Intrigue while Lewis the author and Jorge the illustrator of Granny McFanny. Granny recently received two silver medals from the Mom’s Choice awards, one for humor and another for illustration.

The prestigious Foreword awards process brings readers, librarians, and booksellers together to select their top categories as well as choose the winning titles. Their decisions are based on editorial excellence, professional production, originality of the narrative, author credentials relative to the book, and the value the book adds to its genre.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners, as well as Editor’s Choice Prizes for Fiction and Nonfiction will be announced at a special program at BookExpo America at the Javits Center in New York City on May 29. The winners of the two Editor’s Choice Prizes will be awarded $1,500 each.

Keeping our fingers crossed!