John Shableski, Diamond Book Distributors sales manager for independent retail, schools and libraries, and one of the best known and energetic supporters of the graphic novels category in publishing, is leaving the distributor to take a position as president of the newly formed publishing division of JeffCorwinConnect, a global ecological, educational and entertainment multimedia company launched by Jeff Corwin, the popular wildlife expert, nature conservationist and Animal Planet TV personality.
The newly formed publishing division will focus initially on graphic novels, launching with 6 titles in 2011 but will also publish works aimed at the prose trade and educational market. The first graphic novel title to be released is Black Tide and tells the story of the environmental impact of the Gulf Coast oil spill of 2010. The graphic book will be part of a line called the Corwin Adventure Series and is scheduled to be released at the first anniversary of the spill in April 2011.
Jeff Corwin said the mission of JeffCorwinConnect is to “build a global community of people who care about the future of our planet and seek to better the world for themselves and their children. With the growing acceptance and use of graphic novels in the education and the retail markets, we believe that we can highlight critical environmental issues through this exciting format.”
Shableski said the new publishing division was still being organized and emphasized that details about the full publishing program will be announced later. This is the first publishing venture for JeffCorwinConnect and Shableski said that distribution arrangements for the division’s titles are still being negotiated. He said the graphic novel titles are aimed at the "tween-market" and will all be full color, 6x9 inch trade paperbacks. Artists and writers, Shableski said, will be announced at a later date. While Shableski will be based out of Williamsport, Pa., JeffCorwinConnect will have offices in New York, Singapore, Brazil and India and the books will be distributed into the global market.
Anurag Agarwal, co-founder and CEO of JeffCorwinConnect Inc., emphasized that the new publishing division will focus on building a “global community through our programs, products and publications,” and said that “John brings significant experience and knowledge about the dramatically evolving graphic novel world and its applications in creating educating yet entertaining ways to engage and energize an audience.”
After working as a publications manager and project coordinator for library wholesaler Brodart for four years and most recently at DBD for the last three three years, Shableski has become an instrumental figure in the development of the graphic novel market. His knowledge of the category, enthusiasm, humor and tireless organizing in support of graphic novels and comics in libraries and schools is well known to anyone working in the comics publishing and retailing industry.
“I could immediately see the opportunities on a global scale” Shableski said about the offer to direct the new publishing division. “Graphic novels are allowing more kids to discover the love of reading. Now we get to bring it all together and connect the new generation readers to the environment around them.
