Book Swag

Swag

• Standard Definition: plunder, booty; money, valuables.
• Recent Definition: confidence, style, carriage; related to swagger.

There's a saying going around the internet that “swag doesn’t pay the bills.” In Children’s Marketing, that is patently not true.  Swag totally pays the bills—or, at least it helps sell books, which is what keeps the lights (and air conditioning) on in this funky-shaped building. [Note: Much of Macmillan is housed in New York City’s Flatiron Building, an angular architectural wonder that is on the National Register of Historic Places and has a perfect five-star rating on Yelp. Swag.]

Kids book swag is kind of like a party favor—if your book had a birthday bash or a wedding, it would thank you for coming and hand you a little gift on your way out that looked like one of the following:

Bookmarks: Classic swag! A bookmark doesn’t stray too far from the world of ink and paper. Almost anything can be a bookmark, including smaller books—but do this too much and you get a Matryoshka doll effect with a couple of broken bindings. Better to pick up the real deal!

Poster: When you’re not reading your book, it can still beautify your world. A children’s book poster usually consists of a spread from the book with a tagline that is funny, telling or inspiring. Since they are often displayed in libraries and bookstores, these posters may have messages which encourage you to read. Consider yourself warned.

Class Activities: Sometimes class activities are on the back of a poster; sometimes they’re on their own. You can check out book pages on the Macmillan website to see if there are bonus activities! Is this type of swag a little like the carrot sticks that one of your neighbors gives out on Halloween instead of candy? Maybe. Did that person know what was best for you? Definitely. Some of these activities were created by interns, specifically this intern, and they are FUN—and good for you.

Buttons, Tote Bags, Pencils: This genre of swag is my favorite, as it’s a killer combination of practical and expressive. Plus, sometimes tote bags contain… more swag. And books.

Alternative Swag: Here’s where things get really creative. Did you know that Shadow and Bone has its own nail polish? And that the upcoming Crewel has its own swanky purple wristband? 52 Reasons to Hate My Father had a giveaway that included heiress sunglasses like the one in the book. Step aside, Duane Reade, because Mackids has this covered. These novelty items are a ton of fun to come up with in marketing meetings—it’s an interesting challenge to design a small object that both conveys something about a whole book and is useful or cool on its own.

Now you might be asking yourself: Where can I get my hands on some swag? Easy! To get a party favor, go to a party. Check out author signings and book festivals. Buddy up with your local librarian. Consider working in publishing! The whole floor may or may not have sampled custom Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group cookies to make sure they were OK for ALA. (They were, but it’s always good to check.) Turn your swag on, and happy reading!

 -Katherine

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Crewel by Gennifer AlbinHello, internet! My name is Caitlin — the newest addition to the Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group — and I’m coming to you live from the tenth floor of the Flatiron Building, overlooking a crazy line at Shake Shack. You’ll be hearing a lot from me moving forward so I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself* and tell you a little bit about why I’m so excited to be talking books with you.

Working in publishing is literally being surrounded by stories. Having only landed at Macmillan recently, I am AMAZED by the number of great stories floating around and the impressive population of fellow book nerds in my department. In fact, there are so many great stories and campaigns coming down the pipeline that I’m SO excited about and can’t wait to get all of you excited about also!

Specifically, two super incredibly fantastic awesome books that I’m personally very excited about coming out this fall are Crewel by Gennifer Albin and Promised by Caragh O’Brien.

Crewel, the first in the Crewel World trilogy (Get it? Cruel World? Crewel World? Love it!) by Gennifer Albin, is a smart dystopian with a smart protagonist. This book is part of our fall 2012 Fierce Reads campaign and on sale October 16!

Promised by Caragh O'BrienPromised is the final book in the Birthmarked Trilogy by Caragh O’Brien. I’ve been a fan of these books since the reading Birthmarked in 2010. In this dystopian trilogy, the world is divided by those who live inside the wall, and those who live outside. The protagonist, a teenage midwife, must go inside the wall to try and save the lives of her parents. I’ve loved all three books and as a finale, Promised doesn’t disappoint.

For more information on these and many other Fierce Reads this fall, stop by the Fierce Reads Facebook Page.

What books are you looking forward to this fall?

 -Caitlin

*One of the many complications of being included in the latter part of Generation Y (which could also be called the special snowflake generation, those kids who think vampires sparkle, etc.) is that I cannot say or even think ‘allow me to introduce myself’ without Eminem’s “Will the Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up?” getting caught in my head forever (you’re welcome!).

Confronting Fears in Soviet Russia

By Eugene Yelchin, author of Breaking Stalin's Nose

Before immigrating to the US, I lived in the former Soviet Union. Once in the early 1980s, an official from the KGB called me in for an “informal” chat. A typical Soviet secret policeman, he locked the door of his office, put the key in his pocket, and invited me to discuss the political views of my coworkers. His goal was to recruit me as an informer. I had no idea what would happen to my family or to me were I to refuse, but I suspected bad things. The KGB terrified everyone, and I was afraid. But I could never become a snitch, either. For two straight hours, I played dumb, evading questions and pretending I didn’t understand him. He got bored, unlocked the door, and finally let me go. I felt insulted and humiliated, but I was not harmed. Had that happened some years earlier, when the ruthless dictator Joseph Stalin ruled Russia, I would not have gotten out of that office alive.

During his reign, from 1923 to 1953, Joseph Stalin ensured his absolute power by waging was against the Russian people. Stalin’s State security executed, imprisoned, or exiled over twenty million people. Not a single person, be it a government official, war hero, worker, teacher, or homemaker, could be certain he or she would not be arrested.

To arrest so many innocent people, crimes had to be invented. Stalin’s propaganda machine deceived ordinary people into believing that countless spies and terrorists threatened their security. Tormented by fear, Soviet citizens clung to Stalin for guidance and protection, and soon his popularity reached cult status. “The father of all Soviet children” smiled and waved at his supporters during parades and celebrations, while at night, in his Kremlin office, he was signing orders for innocent people to be shot without trial.

Paradoxically, when I was growing up in the Soviet Union, few people of my generation were aware of what had transpired under Stalin. During his lifetime, the crimes had been carried out in absolute secrecy. After his death, the secrecy continued: All evidence was classified or destroyed. Older generations, either still terrified or responsible for the crimes, kept silent.

But Stalin could not simply disappear; his legacy endured in the Russian people. They had lived in fear for so long that fear had become an integral part of their very beings. Unchecked, fear was passed on from generation to generation. It has been passed on to me, as well.

My book Breaking Stalin’s Nose is my attempt to expose and confront that fear. Like my main character, I wanted to be a Young Pioneer. My family shared a communal apartment. My father was a devoted Communist. And like my main character, I too, had to make a choice. My choice was about whether to leave the country of my birth.

I set the story in the past, but the main issue in it transcends time and place. To this day, there are places in the world where innocent people face persecution and death for making a choice about what they believe to be right.

—Los Angeles, California

A Heart to Heart with the Author of Henry's Heart

By Charise Mericle Harper (@ChariseHarper)

The title of this book is Henry’s Heart, but really it could be Luther’s Heart. Luther is my seven-year-old son, and I made this book for him, because of him, and with him—and three hundred of his classmates at school. I love my boy and want him to be healthy and happy, but it’s not always easy being a parent. There are many noes involved, and this is my least favorite part.

“No, chocolate cake is not a healthy snack.”
“No, not today. No potato chips for lunch.”  
“No, you can’t have a brownie for breakfast.”  

It's exhausting.  

My son doesn’t always believe what I say, but words on a page, well that’s different—he loves a good book. Maybe a story could help him understand that being healthy is necessary and important, and that the mean gatekeeper of the unhealthy snacks is really a kind and compassionate mommy. This is how Henry’s Heart was born.

Every year I offer my children’s elementary school a free author visit. It’s something I started when my daughter, Ivy, was in kindergarten. It’s fun to meet the kids, and I enjoy demystifying the whole “Oooh that person is an author” thing. I’m just Ivy’s mom, and I happen to write books. If a regular mom can do it, how hard can it be? Maybe that in itself will inspire some future writers.

Two years ago I was speaking with the school librarian, and she asked if I would be up for my yearly author visit. I had just finished the manuscript for Henry’s Heart, and was about to start on the illustrations. For some reason, standing in front of the kids and making them listen to another one of my author speeches just didn’t sound appealing, so without even thinking, I blurted out a different suggestion: What if I illustrate Henry’s Heart right here at the school? Then the kids could be part of the process and really see how it's done.

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The Making of The Lost and Found Pony

By Tracy Dockray, author and illustrator

The origins of The Lost and Found Pony came from a long time dream that many girls my age had, the dream of owning a horse. After time, I realized that my pony dreams were to remain, just that, dreams. BUT I could create a horse of my own, I could write a book about a horse and his girl.  During the writing process, my wonderful editor encouraged me to revise my story and that is how the lovely circular ending came to be. The writing and rewriting was the most difficult part. It's the illustrations that are my favorite part of creating a book. But on this project the revisions were fun because then I got to draw even more horses!