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Home » Archives for Dan Balow » Page 3

Dan Balow

Newbery @ 100

By Dan Balowon June 23, 2022
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Some rather significant publishing-related anniversaries are coming in the next week.

First, the Harry Potter book series turns 25 years-old on June 26. After a dozen publishers declined the first book, Bloomsbury Publishing saw some potential in it and published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The rest is history. Next time your writing is rejected, just remember: A dozen people can make mistakes regarding the same thing.

Then, on June 27, The Newbery Award celebrates its 100th birthday. The award is named after the 18th-century publisher and bookseller John Newbery, of Berkshire, England. It is part of the American Library Association’s (ALA) celebration of literature for children. In 1922, the first Newbery Medal was given to Hendrik van Loon’s The Story of Mankind.

From early on, a criticism levied at the Newbery medal winners was children would have a difficult time reading many of the winners and finalists. As adults choose the winners, they tend to select slightly more complex stories and ones that definitely are more literary in nature than what many children would pick.

Overall, the award probably illustrates the difference between the books adults choose for children and books children choose for themselves. I have a feeling this tension will never end.

A quick scan of some winners over the last 100 years shows the variety and complexity of children’s literature in the English-reading world:

1923 – The Voyages of Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting

1931 – The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth

1938 – The White Stag by Kate Seredy

1940 – Daniel Boone by James Dougherty

1944 – Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

1951 – Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates

1957 – Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen

1963 – A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

1970 – Sounder by William H. Armstrong

1972 – Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien

1978 – Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

1984 – Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

1986 – Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

1999 – Holes by Louis Sachar

2013 – The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

2022 – The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

Six authors have won the medal twice, the most recent being Kate DiCamillo in 2004 and 2014.

Laura Ingalls Wilder was a finalist honoree five times between 1938-1944 but did not win the medal. More recently, Jacqueline Woodson was a finalist four times between 2006-2015.

There is no question books for children in the broader publishing market are much more diverse in style, theme, and story than those in the specifically Christian publishing world. Certainly, some of the Newbery Medalists over the last one hundred years were written from a Christian worldview, but many were not.

Glancing through the themes of those books and authors honored by the ALA shows an amazing creativity and literary spark which hopefully inspires Christian writers who are crafting their next great story for kids.

But it is still adults with the money making decisions for kids. Not certain those two groups will ever be on the same page.

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Category: Publishing History

Roundabouts

By Dan Balowon June 15, 2022
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I like metaphors. I like everything about them. Analogies and similes are cool too. Today’s post extinguishes the notion that writer’s block is actually a thing. Every day, topics to write about are screaming at you. Writer’s block is simply a failure to pay attention to them. Almost everything makes me think about something else. In fact, baseball and driving a car in traffic are two general …

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Category: Book Proposals

Could You Translate Please?

By Dan Balowon June 2, 2022
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What many U.S. Christian authors write about today has little or no application outside of the U.S. It’s why the majority of Christian books are not exported or translated into other languages. Most often it is not the theology holding it back, but the theme of the book. A simple example would be homeschooling. It is illegal in quite a few countries of the world. (Germany, Sweden, and many other …

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Category: Book Business, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life

Publishing in Generalities

By Dan Balowon May 25, 2022
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While agents and publishers accept book proposals because they contain a number of specific things they like, most book proposals are turned down because of a general reason. For example, refer to the “Who We Are,” section of this website. Each agent has a set of filters we use to focus our efforts. The filters reflect our strengths and/or personal preferences. Outside of these, we decline. …

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Category: Book Proposals, Career, Get Published, Inspiration, The Writing Life

Does Faith Limit Creativity?

By Dan Balowon May 12, 2022
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No, it doesn’t. Look at nature or biology or astronomy and see how creative our God is. If anything, a Christian can see things clearer and be inspired to even greater creativity than someone who is not a Christ-follower. But, I think writers of Christian books have limited their vision for what they can write about; and maybe, just maybe, publishers have a role to play in limiting creativity. A …

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Category: Creativity

What Are You Doing This Summer?

By Dan Balowon May 4, 2022
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Writers conferences have been scrambling to maintain a connection to writers in two years of COVID restrictions, but maybe we are working our way toward a day when most can meet in person and get back to the best part of conferences: the planned and unplanned conversations that lead to inspiration and encouragement for everyone taking part. How will I spend some of my summer this year? May 11-14, …

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Category: Conferences

The Way Publishing Never Was

By Dan Balowon April 21, 2022
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In 1999, the book The Way Things Never Were: The Truth About the “Good Old Days” by Norman Finkelstein was published. I have a copy. My family grew weary of me referring to it in every conversation twenty years ago, so there it sits on the shelf. It is less than 100 pages, with plenty of pictures, so no one has the excuse that it is too long and complicated to read. Chapter titles …

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Category: Book Business, Career, Publishing History

Writers Groups

By Dan Balowon April 13, 2022
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Writers need good, personal support structures because so much of the work is done in solitude. Christian writers conferences, whether they are held online or in person, are part of this structure, as one receives training; exposure to different ways of thinking; critical review; advice from people with experience they lack; and, most importantly, relationships. But another level of support is …

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Category: Communication, Conferences

Stormy Writing

By Dan Balowon March 31, 2022
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It is safe to say we all tend to learn and grow more spiritually from difficulty than from the good times. Both reveal God’s presence in our lives, but our hard heads and hearts seem to need a good bit of humbling before we “get it.” Most people write more powerfully under duress. A couple months ago, while reading a manuscript of a long-time acquaintance, the tone surprised me a bit. I wondered …

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Category: Encouragement, Inspiration

Fearful Writing

By Dan Balowon March 23, 2022
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It is important for Christian writers to be bold, not worrying so much about who might be offended by the gospel or who might take biblical truth the wrong way. Despite society being fragile these days with so many people triggered by the littlest thing, this situation shouldn’t stop us from proclaiming God’s truth. We all need to be more fearless in the way we live and communicate. After all, as …

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Category: Career, Christian, Inspiration
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