Take Our Daughters to Work Day 1998
Book Publishing Workshop Press Release
Ballantine Books Presents the Hottest Young Talent Writing Today, to Celebrate
TAKE OUR DAUGHTERS TO WORK DAY
New York, April 23, 1998: For the third consecutive year, the Ballantine Publishing Group will produce a series of limited-edition books created by the daughters (and other relatives) of Ballantine employees. Published in celebration of Take Our Daughters to Work Day 1998, the titles reflect the breadth of Ballantine's publishing program. Ranging from fiction to autobiography to how-to books, they are the work of girls ages 7 to 13. The books were contracted for, written, edited, copy-edited, typeset, proofread, designed, and produced in the course of a single day. The books were illustrated throughout by the multi-talented young authors, who also created illustrations for the covers.
Creative writing and editing sessions in the morning were followed by sessions on cover art and interior art, copyright, and publicity in the afternoon. Throughout the day, the girls enjoyed a behind-the-scenes look at the publishing process as they followed their books through all steps of production. By the end of the day, finished editions of eight original titles were produced:
The Adventure of Cookie Two by Natalie Braun: fantasy about a gerbil who runs away from home
The Kittens and Smokey by Raquel Castro: a story about cats and their owner
Albert's New Home by Vicki Costikyan: the fictional adventures of a rabbit
What and How to Feed Your Cat by Samantha J. Gil: a how-to book about food and vitamins for cats
A Weekend at My Aunt's House by Kristen Lange: a true-life story about the author's visit to her aunt's house
The Jet Ski by Domeeka Long: a family Jet Ski adventure
Lost in the City by Alex Tsocanos: an autobiographical account of two girls trying to find their way to Grand Central (an amusingly frustrating adventure)
The Undefeated Team by Chantal Williams: sports non-fiction about the author's winning basketball team
Each writer received a finished copy of her book. The entire series will be featured on the Random House Web site:
http://www.randomhouse.com/BB/promos/daughters98
About their day spent at Ballantine to learn about publishing, the girls had this to say:
"I would like to be in this business when I grow up." --Domeeka Long
"I like the workshop a lot." --Natalie Braun
"Writing the story was my favorite part." --Kristen Lange
The workshop involved the help of many Ballantine departments: editors, the copywriting department, the copyediting department, the art department, the publicity department, and a force of volunteer typesetters. In addition, the workshop was visited by Random House's Associate General Counsel, Diana Frost, and Ballantine's Publisher, Judith Curr.
The Ballantine Publishing Group, long a force in Young Adult fiction, is proud to have published these books, and welcomes its newest authors.
For more information or for a review copy, please contact: Christine Levis at 212-572-2856, or
by e-mail at clevis@randomhouse.com
