A Banner Year at NBN Kids

By Judith Rosen, Children's Bookshelf
Publishers Weekly — January 19, 2006

When former PW Rep of the Year Patricia Kelly was hired nine months ago as NBN Kids director and senior director of sales for National Book Network, it was with the understanding that she would increase the number of children's-only publishers and publishers with strong children's lists represented by the company.

Kelly takes that mission seriously and has already acquired close to one new client a month. This season NBN reps are selling eight new lines of children's books. And their bags are stuffed with children's catalogues, with close to 100 frontlist titles in a variety of formats.

The new NBN Kids clients are: Spanish-language graphic novel publisher Public Square Books, which will release Persepolis author Marjane Strapi's Chicken and Plums, Pollo con ciruelas in June; Writer's Institute Publications, which publishes writer's guides for children's book writers; The Secret Mountain, a Montreal-based bilingual children's label/publishing house; Kidwick Books, which publishes picture book and audio CD combinations like Eric Drachman's A Frog Thing (May), illustrated by James Muscarello; multimedia publisher August House; education publisher Cookie Jar; U.K. fiction publisher Red Rock; and California-based Birdcage Press, which NBN won't start shipping until April 1.

"Some of our publishers are $2 million and some are $50,000," says Kelly, adding, "I want publishers to be acquired in all channels."

Going forward, Kelly says that she would like to continue aggressively acquiring new clients, not necessarily eight a year, but "a lot." She plans to grow the department as well, and will add a second children's specialist in addition to marketing director Peg O'Donnell in the not too distant future.

Down the road Kelly would also like to see NBN move to a separate children's sales force. In the meantime, she continues to increase the number of children's-oriented shows and conferences that she attends. She'll be at booth #1328 at the ALA's midwinter meeting, which starts tomorrow in San Antonio.

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About August House

Recently recognized as one of "America's 101 Top Independent Publishers," August House is a highly-acclaimed and award-winning multimedia publisher of children's stories and folktale anthologies. August House's is based in Atlanta, GA.

August House Media Contact

Rob Cleveland
404-442-4422

Conejito, by Margaret Read MacDonald