January is gone! We're headed into February, which is just a little over two months from our 20th Annual Writing & Illustrating for Children Conference! Time for a preview of another one of our fabulous Editorial & Art Director Faculty; Justin Chanda. Justin is the VP/Publisher with Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, and is the publisher of three flagship imprints; Atheneum, BFYR, and McElderry (which means he helps to bring 200+ books into the world every year). He gets to edit some of it's best talent, including the likes of Jon Scieszka, David Shannon, Michael Ian Black, and others (Keynote Speaker Holly Blacks' WHITE CAT is published through McElderry).
He was recently on the Editor Panel at the LA SCBWI Conference last summer. You can find an interview with him here. And here's his stance on e-books (borrowed from another interview with Justin on the Official SCBWI Conference Blog
"E-books are great. They are wonderful. Anyone who tells you different is wrong. It's just a new avenue to get great stories out to kids and adults. It's like the Wild West right now, and we are still trying to figure it out. I do not believe e-books are going to eradicate the hardcover books. I know it will be difficult for booksellers, but I'm embracing it. And the iPad is going to be a great way to develop picture books. Digital publishing in general is not replacing things, its just a way to get more people reading."
Justin is known for his enthusiasm for children's books, and has also worked as an executive editor at both Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins.
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