Author Hopes to Rally Publishers to Help Promote Children’s Literacy: A Q&A with Jon Scieszka, the first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature
Book Business Extra caught up with Scieszka, 53, as he hit the road on a tour to promote his new series of children’s books called “Trucktown.” He spoke about his plans to reach out to publishers, parents and children during his term as the new laureate of children’s literacy.
Book Business Extra: Will you rally publishers to get involved in this initiative?
Scieszka: Absolutely, the publishers are key. I’d like them to play a really huge role. My advantage is that I’ve been writing for the last 20 years, [so] I know all the different people in the industry. … I have to see what I can do to get the word out. It’s my mission to really excite them, and to help parents and children find really cool books. … I’m going to contact the publishers, and [stay] in contact with them on a regular basis to find out what [books are] out there.