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From: NJSawicki at aol.com <NJSawicki>
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 10:52:29 EDT
Judith Ridge, in her many thoughtful and interesting comments said, " Australian book buyers--parents, teachers, and librarians--want Australian Books for Australian children," and the same can be said about many American children's book buyers about American children's books. In our many conferences here, I often wished for a program/panel consisting of librarians, educators, etc., that would present and explore the varying points of view about the Americanization of texts, the view of "foreign," books, etc. The "voice," heard conferences is often the same, and while it is the voice I prefer, it is not the only voice nor am I sure it is the majority. In the late 60s/early 70s, Barbara Ker Wilson, an extraordinary publisher of children's books in Australia decided to travel throughout the U.S. in conjunction with a business trip to New York because she felt she knew little about the U.S. When she returned to New York for her flight to Australia, we had dinner and she said she was surprised that "we" got along as well as we did (and this was after the demonstrations about Vietnam, Civil Rights, etc.). She believed the U.S. was like Europe yet we share the same flag. These days it is a cliche to say we are a diverse society but we always have been although not necessarily in the way we are today. Having been raised in upstate New York, each area of the country, including New York City, has its own form of provincialism, as does the U.S. as a whole...something I once contributed to our geographic isolationism but no longer do having spent a fair amount of time traveling in Europe, and years attending the Bologna Book Fair. Now I think nationalism comes into play in most countries and while children's books in Western countries are not viewed and "used" in the way they are in China, they are still "used"..hence the thinking behind American books for American children, Australian books for Australian children, etc.
I should have been more specific about Australian friends believing the U.S. and Australia share a similar history. It was meant in terms of the relationship to the British Empire and to early settlers in both countries being renegade/outsiders. So yes, the histories are different but not the earlier strife with the British which some see as the "common bond," that has spilled over into the culture. Neither country, for instance, is as class conscious, etc., which is not to suggest class does not exist/matter in the U.S. or Australia but partly because both countries are "younger," it is not as deeply ingrained.
When I first began doing business with Australian publishers, their "dance cards," at the Bologna Book Fair were fairly empty. It was possible to have dinner with an Australian friend more than once during the fair which is not true for many of those publishers today. They too are "wooed," and courted which is great but I did not mean to suggest it was true of everyone. Bob Graham, Julie Vivas, Mem Fox, Margaret Wild, etc,....while well known today, were sought after early on in their careers, nor was I the only publisher interested in Garry Disher's The Bamboo Flute.
I wish, during these discussions "we" would hear from those book buyers whose take on the Americanization of "foreign," texts differs from those of us who have chimed in; it would be interesting and helpful.
Last but not least, when an American publisher is buying a picture book, the arrangement includes a co-production so the costs can be spread over x number of copies. One American publisher may offer to take 10,000 copies, another more, etc., and in many cases, but not all...the publisher offering to buy the most copies gets the book which is not to suggest all books are
"auctioned." In some cases, one is told the offer(s) will be discussed with the author before a decision was made. All of this depends on the U.S. market...when the market is weak, American publishers can pull back and not buy as many books from Australia or elsewhere, etc. The shock to publishers from other countries is the realization that while the U.S. is a large country, a children's book can sell as little as 2,000 copies. It is certainly not what anyone wants but it happens more often than people realize. Norma Jean
Received on Tue 16 Jul 2002 09:52:29 AM CDT
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 10:52:29 EDT
Judith Ridge, in her many thoughtful and interesting comments said, " Australian book buyers--parents, teachers, and librarians--want Australian Books for Australian children," and the same can be said about many American children's book buyers about American children's books. In our many conferences here, I often wished for a program/panel consisting of librarians, educators, etc., that would present and explore the varying points of view about the Americanization of texts, the view of "foreign," books, etc. The "voice," heard conferences is often the same, and while it is the voice I prefer, it is not the only voice nor am I sure it is the majority. In the late 60s/early 70s, Barbara Ker Wilson, an extraordinary publisher of children's books in Australia decided to travel throughout the U.S. in conjunction with a business trip to New York because she felt she knew little about the U.S. When she returned to New York for her flight to Australia, we had dinner and she said she was surprised that "we" got along as well as we did (and this was after the demonstrations about Vietnam, Civil Rights, etc.). She believed the U.S. was like Europe yet we share the same flag. These days it is a cliche to say we are a diverse society but we always have been although not necessarily in the way we are today. Having been raised in upstate New York, each area of the country, including New York City, has its own form of provincialism, as does the U.S. as a whole...something I once contributed to our geographic isolationism but no longer do having spent a fair amount of time traveling in Europe, and years attending the Bologna Book Fair. Now I think nationalism comes into play in most countries and while children's books in Western countries are not viewed and "used" in the way they are in China, they are still "used"..hence the thinking behind American books for American children, Australian books for Australian children, etc.
I should have been more specific about Australian friends believing the U.S. and Australia share a similar history. It was meant in terms of the relationship to the British Empire and to early settlers in both countries being renegade/outsiders. So yes, the histories are different but not the earlier strife with the British which some see as the "common bond," that has spilled over into the culture. Neither country, for instance, is as class conscious, etc., which is not to suggest class does not exist/matter in the U.S. or Australia but partly because both countries are "younger," it is not as deeply ingrained.
When I first began doing business with Australian publishers, their "dance cards," at the Bologna Book Fair were fairly empty. It was possible to have dinner with an Australian friend more than once during the fair which is not true for many of those publishers today. They too are "wooed," and courted which is great but I did not mean to suggest it was true of everyone. Bob Graham, Julie Vivas, Mem Fox, Margaret Wild, etc,....while well known today, were sought after early on in their careers, nor was I the only publisher interested in Garry Disher's The Bamboo Flute.
I wish, during these discussions "we" would hear from those book buyers whose take on the Americanization of "foreign," texts differs from those of us who have chimed in; it would be interesting and helpful.
Last but not least, when an American publisher is buying a picture book, the arrangement includes a co-production so the costs can be spread over x number of copies. One American publisher may offer to take 10,000 copies, another more, etc., and in many cases, but not all...the publisher offering to buy the most copies gets the book which is not to suggest all books are
"auctioned." In some cases, one is told the offer(s) will be discussed with the author before a decision was made. All of this depends on the U.S. market...when the market is weak, American publishers can pull back and not buy as many books from Australia or elsewhere, etc. The shock to publishers from other countries is the realization that while the U.S. is a large country, a children's book can sell as little as 2,000 copies. It is certainly not what anyone wants but it happens more often than people realize. Norma Jean
Received on Tue 16 Jul 2002 09:52:29 AM CDT
