Good News for Trudi Trueit

Good News and a big round of applause for Trudi Trueit! Ruckus Media Group and Scholastic, which teamed up in September of 2011 to launch a new children's transmedia imprint, has optioned the rights to sell her Julep O'Toole series in e-book! The digital books will be part of Ruckus' 2012 spring list, and includes all three books in the series: CONFESSIONS OF A MIDDLE CHILD, MISS INDEPENDENT, and WHAT I REALLY WANT TO DO IS DIRECT. Trudi is over the moon about this opportunity. So be sure to look for Julep O'Toole for your e-reader coming soon! Wonder if she'll become an animated app?

Here's the link to the Ruckus site. Congrats to Trudi! For more information on Trudi, and her work, you can visit her website.

"Will books, as we know them, come to an end?"

Take a look at this article from www.guardian.co.uk entitled "Are Books Dead, and Can Authors Survive?"

As Chris Anderson said in his book Free: Why $0.00 is the future of business: "Every industry that becomes Digital will eventually become free."

The reason why a living wage for writers is essential is that every industry that has become digital has seen a dramatic, and in many cases terminal, decrease in earnings for those who create "content". Writing has already begun its slide towards becoming something produced and consumed for free.

Visit the Annoyed Librarian for an interesting take on this article, full of snark and wisdom.

Betteridge’s Law of Headlines usually gets confirmed with every instance of a question mark in a headline I see. The problem with this headline is that it has two questions. Are books dead? No! Can authors survive? Yes, at least depending on what you mean by an author.

Why couldn’t the Guardian just ask if authors were dead? No!

What do you think? The Guardian article does seem focused more on adult publishing--but could children's publishing be headed that way as well?

E-book Webinar

SCBWI WWA recently had a Pubbed Pro Think Tank that focused on E-books. Sara Easterly, who hosted the event, sent information about an upcoming webinar that is the perfect follow up to our event. The Library Journal/School Library Journal will present the second annual Virtual Summit on Ebooks: The New Normal. It's a one-day virtual conference on ebooks and their role in the future of libraries. The virtual conference will be Wednesday October 12, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (EDT).

Author M.T. Anderson will be the keynote speaker at this virtual summit. You can find more information and register here.

Libraries, Publishers Primed for E-book Showdown

The Seattle Times had this interesting story about publishers decision to limit the number of times library patrons can check out e-books. It's a good story to check out! By the way, The Seattle Public Library is hosting free, drop-in sessions at several branches in April and May to help patrons learn about e-books. Details: 206-386-4636 or visit the SPL website. Thanks to Jim Whiting for sending this link.