Publishing picturebooks: design and editorial decision-making for a global industry

Picturebooks form a significant part of a vibrant publishing industry and make meaningful contributions to culture and education. Within children’s literature, the roles played by authors, illustrators and readers of picturebooks have received considerable academic attention. Yet the role of the publisher with regard to the creation and distribution of a picturebook has, arguably, been less thoroughly explored. UK children’s publishing is an internationally successful sector in terms of revenues and innovation. Around 10,000 new picturebook titles are published in the UK each year, with many of these finding their way into multiple translated, foreign language editions. Buying and selling international rights form a significant aspect of the global children’s publishing market. The market for picturebooks differs across countries in terms of the content and style of the books, providing the publisher with complex and nuanced decisions to make when buying rights. This panel discussion will explore the creative and business decisions a publisher makes when buying rights or commissioning for different markets. Speakers such as Greet Pauwelijn, Director, Book Island; Holly Tonks, Commissioning Editor, Tate Publishing and Sam Arthur, Director, Flying Eye Books will offer perspectives from their experiences as publishers and discuss a selection of the titles that they have commissioned or bought and published. By discussing these titles, the decisions that publishers make on choosing, translating and adapting picturebooks for different markets will be explored. This panel will offer insights into the role of the publisher in the creation and distribution of picturebooks in an international market and question the wider cultural and educational benefits of this.