On Wednesday, October 26, the Children’s Book Council held its annual meeting virtually electing its new slate of board members and highlighting the organization’s notable work throughout the year.

The meeting opened with Shaina Birkhead, associate executive director, welcoming guests and introducing a short video featuring authors and illustrators such as Jason Reynolds, Gene Luen Yang, and Raúl the Third, as well as publishing professionals, librarians, and students giving the CBC a “thank you” for all its hard work in 2022.

Yolanda Scott, associate publisher and editorial director of Charlesbridge and chair of the CBC board of directors, called the business portion of the meeting to order, opening with the election of the board officers. The board welcomed two new officers: Francesco Sedita, president and publisher of Penguin Workshop, as board chairperson, and Alvina Ling, v-p and editor-in-chief of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, as vice chairperson.

New additions to the board since the last meeting included Diane Mangan, marketing director of children’s books at Andrews McMeel Universal; Lisa Moraleda, executive director of publicity at Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing; Ginee Seo, children’s publishing director of Chronicle Books; and Tracey Keevan, editorial director of children’s books at Union Square Kids.

Several members of the previous board were up for reelection; the slate was accepted as it was proposed.

Treasurer Terry Borzumato-Greenberg then took over, explaining the balancing act between cost savings in the budget with the rise of basic costs and an increase in membership dues. CBC had a travel budget for the first time in three years, used to host panels at San Diego Comic Con, where the CBC held six panels.

Birkhead resumed moderating, reflecting on how virtual panels have affected the social aspect, the “eating okay bagels and talking to people face to face,” which has been sorely missed. Birkhead took this moment to introduce “Continuing Connections,” a forthcoming program featuring more than 40 publishing veterans who will offer 30-minute remote sessions to network and share insight to members.

“This is a chance for you to connect with industry pros from different houses, learn more in-depth knowledge about our industry, and continue fostering connections within the industry as remote working models are sustained.” she said.

The Year in Review

To kickstart the next portion of the meeting, there was a video compilation of publishers and authors highlighting their favorite big moments of the year. Experiences ranged from publicity assistants placing their authors on podcasts to new authors hitting the New York Times bestseller list, and publishers launching new initiatives to stay in touch with readers. The video also showed clips of employees getting to see each other in-person for the first time, finally putting names to faces in person.

Next, the entire CBC staff took a moment to share their favorite moments from the past year, starting off with executive director Lennertz taking time “to brag on my creative and hardworking colleagues.”

Head of content Laura Peraza shared her experience transforming her History Is Lit blog series into a new format, a podcast that highlights literary history, alongside CBC’s freelance social media manager John McCormack. An episode discussing the horror genre is currently available, with more episodes to come. Peraza also hinted at future podcast projects in the pipeline from the CBC.

CBC’s freelance social media manager John McCormack noted both the joys and importance of using social media to highlight critical moments. “Over the last five years, I’ve gotten to see some amazing things happen and watch communities come together through social media accounts. This year, in particular, posts on banned books week and our National Ambassador Jason Reynolds have really taken off.”

Paulina Ramirez, a newcomer to the CBC, shared her experience from her brief but impactful time as a marketing associate with the team. “Joining full-time this fall has given me a chance to work creatively on many other programs and projects, especially within Every Child a Reader [the CBC’s charitable arm],” Ramirez said. “I’m ecstatic to be part of a group whose goal is connection and communication between publishers and librarians.”

Working alongside Ramirez in the marketing department are marketing assistant Sommer Wissner and marketing manager Jena Groshek. Wissner touched on the expansion of the CBC blog which houses several book lists as resources for readers and publishers alike, and expanded inclusivity resources, curating lists for banned books, and books that center LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent experiences. Groshek started the CBC book club in the summer of 2021 and worked on a sensitivity series as an expansion of the CBC Ed Talks. The first of the sensitivity series focused on disability and neurodiversity, in which a panel featuring disabled and neurodivergent speakers shared their thoughts on representations and how best to promote and advocate for their respective communities.

“I was so humbled and inspired to see that these two events garnered some of our highest RSVP numbers of any of our Ed Talk events to date,” Groshek said. “I believe that is a testament to our collective goals in children’s publishing to not only foster accessible and inclusive workplaces, but to also translate that into the books that we create.” The next in the sensitivity series will center LGBTQIA+ experiences in the workplace.

Birkhead reflected on her time supporting National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Jason Reynolds on his journey in providing access to books and storytelling over the past year through book tours and his Grab the Mic initiative.

“I take Jason’s mission seriously, and I feel like it can be incorporated into all aspects of life.” Birkhead said. “Everyone deserves a chance to grow and shine, to feel like they matter, to ‘grab the mic,’ which is the absolute best part of my job.”

The staff then touched on the many plans the CBC has coming up for members to look forward to, including a new Midlevel Career Committee, dedicated to help midlevel professionals network and find next steps forward. Upcoming dates include the announcement of the eighth National Ambassador for Young People's Literature in January 2023, and the Eloise Greenfield CBC Poetry Award in partnership with HarperCollins.

Newly reelected chair Yolanda Scott called the meeting to a close, and said she was grateful for the opportunity to “replace the bagels with some personal connection on the screen to bring us all together.”