Karen Shapiro, publishing manager of the IP children’s editorial group at Sourcebooks and founding editorial director of its Wonderland proprietary children’s imprint, died “suddenly and unexpectedly” of undisclosed causes this past weekend, reports the Chicagoland publisher. Shapiro, who lived in Naperville and worked at Sourcebooks since 2014 as publishing manager of the IP group, headed Wonderland since its launch in 2019. She previously worked for six years at Hinkler, an Australian publisher of books for children and adults, initially as managing editor and then as general manager.
Shapiro, 57, grew up in New York City, and graduated from New York University in 1989 with a B.A. degree in journalism. She launched her career in publishing that same year at Random House as an assistant editor. She also worked short stints as an assistant editor at Hearst Books and HarperCollins, before landing at Oxford University Press, where she worked her way up to managing editor during the 11 years she worked there.
Dominique Raccah, publisher and CEO of Sourcebooks, paid tribute to Shapiro on Wednesday, saying, “Karen truly understood how great stories impact children everywhere, and she inspired everyone in her orbit with her boundless enthusiasm. Karen was perhaps one of the most influential modern children’s book creators. She was our friend, our ally, our partner, and she changed all our lives. She will be deeply missed.”
Todd Stocke, senior VP and editorial director at Sourcebooks, also paid tribute to his late colleague, recalling that Shapiro was the originator of the How to Catch series of children’s books. “What most don’t know is that the How to Catch concept kicked around for quite a while before we had even the shreds of a manuscript that had Karen’s stamp of quality,” Stocke said. “When the first book, How to Catch a Leprechaun, met success, she was a creative machine at joyfully building around it.”
Working with IP, Stocke noted, and often with licenses, “Karen had one simple rule—the book had to stand on its own if you took the ‘brand’ off it. Karen thrived in the space, especially with Sesame Workshop, who she partnered with to develop books kids and parents would want to read again and again.”
He added, “When people say Sourcebooks is entrepreneurial and fast-moving, know that Karen Shapiro was the exemplification. My favorite Karen stories usually began with her pitching me a book concept and me throwing her out of my office halfway through, asking, ‘Why are we still having this conversation when you could be making this book?’ That was exactly the response Karen was looking for, and off she went, making more magic.”
A memorial service will be announced at a later date.