Bloomsbury Celebrates Two Decades of American Children's Publishing

Bloomsbury Children's Books has enjoyed commercial success over the past two decades thanks to the appearance of bestseller lists across North America for books

on Dec 16, 2022

The young readers' line, a division of London-based, international publisher Bloomsbury, debuted in the United States in 2002 as a division of Bloomsbury USA, which was founded in 1998.

More than 400 starred reviews and numerous prestigious honors have been bestowed upon books published by Bloomsbury Children's over the past 20 years, including the Printz Award, National Book Award, Coretta Scott King Author Award, Pura Belpré Illustrator Award, and numerous Honor designations from the Newbery, Caldecott, Sibert, and Pura Belpré Awards committees.

Additionally, Bloomsbury Children's Books has enjoyed commercial success over the past two decades thanks to the appearance of bestseller lists across North America for books written by well-known authors like Kalynn Bayron, Shannon Hale, Brigid Kemmerer, Emery Lord, Sarah J. Maas, Kate Messner, and Renée Watson. Salina Yoon, a best-selling author, celebrated the publication of her eight-volume Penguin and Pinecone picture book series, which has sold one million copies worldwide, for ten years in 2022.

Penguin and Pinecone: A Friendship Story, the first book in the series, was released by Bloomsbury last month in a special 10-year edition that includes a poster.

The appearance of bestseller lists in North America for books written by well-known authors like Kalynn Bayron, Shannon Hale, Brigid Kemmerer, Emery Lord, Sarah J. Maas, Kate Messner, and Renée Watson has also contributed to the commercial success of Bloomsbury Children's Books over the past 20 years.

In 2022, best-selling author Salina Yoon will mark 10 years since the release of her eight-volume Penguin and Pinecone picture book series, which has already sold one million copies worldwide.

The first book in the series, Penguin and Pinecone: A Friendship Story, was published by Bloomsbury last month in a special 10-year edition including a poster.

Despite publishing just two American-written novels out of a total of 20 during its initial year, the label now produces 60 titles annually, more than half of which are written in this nation. In 2005, Mark started working with the house as the art director. She stated that "the children's division was developing" when she started working there, and she was "eager to take part in all the possibilities that came with an increasing list."

Eller started working for Bloomsbury in the same year that the publisher bought Walker Books for Young Readers, which was Bloomsbury's first significant expansion of its U.S. publishing program. For the newly combined organization, Eller was named director of school and library marketing.

Before 2013, when the two labels were merged under the Bloomsbury name, the Walker Books for Young Readers imprint coexisted with Bloomsbury Children's Books.

In 2006, Castellani began working at Walker Books for Young Readers as Emily Easton's editorial assistant. After the two lines were merged, Castellani joined Bloomsbury Children's as senior editor. I helped Emily with some fascinating projects over the years, and in 2009, I started establishing my list, and The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. by Kate Messner was the first book I bought, she remembered.

As our list flourished and expanded in so many ways, with fantastic writers and colleagues bringing such enthusiasm to their work, it has been an amazing adventure to be a part of Bloomsbury's growth. I am privileged to continue the work of my predecessors and steer our children's list toward the future in my current role as publishing director. Supporting my team is rewarding since they provide so much vigor and wisdom to our list.