PW profiles the first picture book to come from the We Need Diverse Books mentorship program: "The Field"

The point made in Claire Kirch's article, "It Takes a Village: NorthSouth Publishes WNDB Grant Recipient" should resonate loudly for us all:

"The picture book’s backstory to publication is one of serendipitous personal connections, demonstrating what most of those in the publishing industry have long known and what WNDB is successfully tapping into: this is an industry built upon relationships just as much as love for the written word."

The book is "The Field" by Baptiste Paul, illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara.

As the book's editor at NorthSouth Beth Terrill put it,

"I hope this story encourages other writers of color to join the WNDB program."

From the PW article: "The Field tells the story of a girl and her younger brother, who rouse their Caribbean community—family, friends, even the local fruit vendor—to play a friendly game of soccer after clearing a field of the cows grazing there. While the book is primarily written in English, Creole words and phrases are sprinkled throughout the text, giving it an international flavor. Besides the English/Creole and German/Creole editions, a Spanish/Creole edition will be published this spring."

Cheers to debut author Baptiste Paul,  his wife Miranda who met Beth at the SCBWI conference in Los Angeles a few years ago and introduced the editor to her husband's work, debut illustrator Jacqueline Alcántara, Alcántara's agent Adriana Dominguez, Alcántara's We Need Diverse Books mentor Author-illustrator Carolyn Dees Flores, NorthSouth, and the whole WNDB team! Wow - it really does take a village!

Read the full article here.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee