The 33rd (2022) Edition of Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market

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Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market Some context: This edition of Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market, also known as "CWIM," is the first to come out after the publisher, Writer's Digest, was acquired by Penguin Random House. It was released in early 2022, after a gap of two years; as I write this in September 2023, the next edition is still not listed in online bookstores, meaning it must be several months away.

In this review, I'll be making some comparisons to previous editions but also assessing its usefulness as a market guide on its own. For brief comments on previous editions, from 2004 to 2019, see my list of past CWIMs.

Overall, this is still a useful guide. It includes listings of children's book publishers, children's magazines, and children's literary agents; information about conferences; listings of contests and awards; basic how-to information; and interesting feature articles.

Contents of Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market: The Markets listings are set up much like they always were, in these sections: Book Publishers, Canadian and International Book Publishers (oddly this section is not listed in the TOC), Magazines, and Agents and Art Reps. The publisher listings include addresses and other basics; they may also include names and titles of editors and art directors, a brief description of a publisher's program, sample titles, award-winning books, and other information. The Agents section includes similar information. Other sections cover Organizations, Conferences and Workshops, and Contests, Awards, and Grants. Near the back of the book you can find a list of "Publishers and Their Imprints": since CWIM lists imprints alphabetically, regardless of the publisher to which they belong, it's helpful to see "sister" imprints grouped together.

Indexes help you find publishers by name, subject, or age level (this last one does not include age-related categories such as "early reader" or "chapter book," so its usefulness is limited).

As it did under the previous ownership, the front of the book includes a number of articles. The same two articles appear every year at the beginning, with basic information: "Quick Tips for Writers and Illustrators" and "Before Your First Sale." As before, the articles that follow, different each year, are grouped into two sections, headed "Craft and Technique" and "Business and Promotion." These cover a wide range of topics; you're likely to find at least a few of interest.

As in past years, there is an "Interviews" section between the feature article sections, with six authors interviewed in all. All of the authors, with the notable exception of Jane Yolen, are YA novelists, and no illustrators are interviewed. Shorter interviews with debut authors, found in past editions, have been dropped.

Comments

Even though the market listings will only be current to the summer of 2021, they give anyone a big jump on the task of gathering this information. Here it is collected and organized in one place, and can be updated with your notes. I noted when I reviewed CWIM in 2017 that the book's focus has narrowed so that it is of most value to writers of middle grade and young adult novels who are looking for an agent, and that narrowing continues to be evident. Illustrators, picture book writers, or nonfiction writers won't find interviews for them in this year's edition, and only a few of the feature articles will be useful. For folks in this group, CWIM is the market listings; for novelists, it's the market listings, the interviews, and the articles.

Where and How to Purchase the 33rd Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market:

You can, of course, also purchase CWIM at any bookstore. If they don't have it, they can order it for you.

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This review is copyright © by Harold Underdown. If you wish to reproduce it, please see the Terms of use. Last modified 9/12/2023.

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