Interview #1 – Emma Interviews Mary Brown
Mary Brown is the owner of Books, Bytes & Beyond, a children’s specialty book business located in Glen Rock, New Jersey, right outside of New York City. She has been involved with children’s literature for over 25 years. Books, Bytes & Beyond also specializes in author events and, over the past 21 years, has hosted hundreds of authors at its storefront location as well as at schools and libraries in the area. During the interview, Mary shared a wealth of information for authors about how to prepare for a successful book signing or school visit.
Most of Mary’s efforts are now spent in curriculum advising, organizing author events in the community and at local schools, and consulting for educators on the development of leveled libraries for their classrooms. She is also working with schools to help them find the right books for use in meeting the requirements of the Common Core curriculum. Focused on the personalized approach to educating children, Mary’s ultimate goal is to put the right book into the hands of each child to encourage excitement about both reading and learning.
To find out more about Mary, visit https://www.facebook.com/BooksBytesBeyond.
Please click on the play button in the mp3 player below to listen to the Expert Interview with Mary Brown.
[divider style =”1″]
Click on the image below to download/read a transcript of the Expert Interview or click Here.
[divider style =”1″]
Click on the image below to download a PDF of “Emma’s Top Takeaways with Mary Brown” or click Here.
Interview #2 – Emma Interviews Catherine Balkin
Catherine Balkin got her start in international advertising, first as a project coordinator for Dentsu Inc., then as a traffic coordinator and back translator for Horizon/Meamco, an international agency specializing in the Middle Eastern market.
But her heart belonged in publishing, and in 1986, she began working at Macmillan, first as the assistant to head of the children’s book division and then as a library promotion associate. In 1990, she joined HarperCollins as the library promotion manager, where she set up author appearances in schools, libraries and conferences and handled all the arrangements for the educational and library conferences HarperCollins attended. After working with the legendary Bill Morris for nearly 15 years, she started her own business when he died in 2003. The creation of Balkin Buddies (www.BalkinBuddies.com) reflects her continuing dedication to the world of children’s books and to the teachers and librarians who get them into the hands of children. In recent years, Balkin Buddies has expanded to include promoting the authors and artists she works with on social media.
Catherine has also written biographies of children’s book authors and artists for three volumes of the Books of Junior Authors and Illustrators (H.W. Wilson); worked at Hyperion Books for Children, and freelanced for Scholastic, August House and Watson-Guptill. She’s a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI); the American Library Association (ALA); the International Literacy Association (ILA); the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE); and the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE (ALAN), where she handles the ALAN Speakers Bureau.
A New Yorker at heart, Catherine and her husband currently live near Tampa, Florida with their two parrots, Woof and Meow.
Click on the image below to download/read a transcript of the Interview or click Here.