HVLA’s Fall Meeting showcased new books for children and young adults from several New York City based publishers. In addition, keynote speaker Mark Siegel shared about the process for creating the 5 Worlds graphic novel series. The meeting was hosted at Nightingale-Bamford’s Middle/Upper School library space.
The afternoon began with free time for librarians to speak with publishers, preview new
books, and mingle with other librarians. Librarians also enjoyed snacks and admired Nightingale-Bamford’s newly renovated library space.
Mark Siegel kicked off the formal part of the event with a keynote speech. Though Mark works at First Second Publishing, a graphic novel publisher, he spoke mostly about the process he and hi
s brother Alexis use to create 5 Worlds, their popular fantasy graphic novel series. In addition to Mark and Alexis, the books are created by a team of three artists, Xanthe Bouma, Matt Rockefeller, and Boya Sun, who make the graphics to accompany the story. Mark shared about the many (mostly virtual) meetings the team has throughout different parts of the writing and illustrating process. Through an animated video presentation Mark highlighted the many detailed and intricate steps that go into creating the 5 Worlds series. He also hinted at several themes that will appear in 5 Worlds Book 3: The Red Maze, which will be published in May of 2019.
Next, in rapid succession librarians were treated to presentations of highlighted new books from several visiting publishers. These publishers included Workman Publishing, Akashic Books, Dottir Press, Enchanted Lion Books, MacKids, Lee and Low, Phaidon, Kane Press, Pow, and Sounds True Children’s Books. Though each presentation was brief, publishers were able to share a wide variety of upcoming books, diverse in both content and format.
After the event, attendees extended the collaborative feel of the meeting at The Rochard, where both librarians and publishers met to share some social time together.