After seven years at his eponymous Holiday House imprint, Neal Porter Books, publisher Neal Porter will be stepping away from a full-time role to become publisher emeritus, effective this month. Taylor Norman, currently executive editor, has been appointed editorial director at the imprint.
“Having toiled in the fields of children’s publishing for close to 50 years, the last seven very happily spent at Holiday House, this feels like an appropriate time to step back and take a breath,” Porter said. “I’m thrilled to have a continuing relationship with the imprint and am delighted to be handing the reins to the remarkable Taylor Norman, who will continue to expand and shape it going forward.”
Porter started his trade publishing career in 1977, working in marketing at Avon Books, FSG, Atheneum, and Scribners. He became editorial director of Aladdin in 1985, and joint managing director of Walker Books in the U.K. in 1987. He later held the position of publisher of Macmillan Children’s Books and executive positions at Orchard Books and DK. In 2001, he helped found Roaring Brook Press, where he also launched Neal Porter Books, which was sold along with Roaring Brook to Macmillan in 2004, and which Porter moved to Holiday House in 2017. The first Neal Porter Books title at Holiday House was Dreamers (2018) by Yuyi Morales, published simultaneously in Spanish as Soñadores. It became a New York Times and Indie bestseller, and won a Pura Belpré Illustrator Award and a Tomás Rivera Book Award.
Throughout his career, many of Porter’s books have been recognized with the industry’s highest honors. Among his many achievements, Porter has edited a Caldecott Medal winner (A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead), four Caldecott Honor books, two Theodore Geisel Honor books, three Pura Belpré Award books, and Ezra Jack Keats and Coretta Scott King Award winners. In 2022, Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin, won the Caldecott Medal, a Newbery Honor, and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. “That book was a complete joy to make, and the awards only made it sweeter,” he said.
Porter reports that he’s often been told that people “can spot a Neal Porter book without looking at the imprint.” Although he doesn’t see his vision as singular, he said he always looks for a strong sense of story, even with nonfiction books, as well as “manuscripts that find an original way to tell a story and allow the reader to see the world a little differently.” As example, he cited Jason Chin’s Redwoods, which “reads like a straightforward nonfiction manuscript about trees but becomes something entirely unexpected when illustrations are added,” or Sydney Smith’s Small in the City, which “leads the reader down a particular path, then turns the tables on them, to their surprise and delight.”
Norman came to Neal Porter Books in July 2022 as executive editor, having previously served as editor at Chronicle Books. Career accomplishments include editing both Newbery Medal (“The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers) and Caldecott Honor (Have You Ever Seen a Flower? by Shawn Harris) titles. She was recognized in 2024 as Publishers Weekly’s Star Watch Superstar.
Describing the imprint’s vision, Norman said, “Our stories are ones that haven’t been told before; they are groundbreaking in terms of art and design, and they are unfailingly respectful of their young readers. We don’t talk down to kids, and we don’t preach to them.” In her new role, Norman will continue the imprint’s growing legacy while working closely with the NPB team, including Jennifer Browne, longtime creative director. “Our team is special because it is quite small, so we can be nimble. Importantly, we don’t publish books that we don’t truly love, a practice that makes for a list full of books that are guided not by trend, genre, or market research, but rather by the simple goal of reaching young readers with books they will love to read,” she said. “We all come from very different backgrounds, but we do share one conviction: a respect for kids.”
New directions for the publisher include an expansion upward into the middle grade category with the imprint’s first novel, H.M. Bouwman’s Scattergood, out this month. In the future, there are plans to add early readers, chapter books, graphic novels, and middle grade novels. “What Neal Porter Books picture books add to the picture book canon, these books for older readers will add to their respective canons,” Norman said.
Reflecting on his extraordinary publishing career, Porter said, “Having been at this for close to 50 years, I’ve seen several cycles of highs and lows in the industry, but my standard MO has always been one of cautious optimism. I’ve seen a deterioration of the institutional market of late, one that’s supported and rewarded books that take risks. Book bans haven’t helped.” On the trade side, he said, “I worry about market consolidation and putting all our books into the hands of one or two huge customers. And as someone who cares deeply about the physicality of books—the quality of paper, printing, the case as well as the jacket—I worry that these qualities aren’t reflected when people are buying them online. I worry about a lot of things, but at the same time remain confident that a really exceptional book will find its audience no matter what.”
Derek Stordahl, senior VP of global planning and integration at Holiday House, stressed that although in a different role, Porter will continue to be actively involved in the imprint. "We’re exceptionally pleased that both Neal and Taylor will be part of Holiday House for years to come,” he said.
