BTW News Briefs

ForeWord and NetGalley Announce Partnership to Deliver Digital Galleys

On Wednesday, October 1, ForeWord magazine announced that it has partnered with NetGalley to make digital galleys from independent book publishers available to professional readers. Publishers can submit their titles for review to ForeWord in digital form via NetGalley, and they will receive updates about the status of their submissions. NetGalley will deliver digital galleys and promotional materials to "professional readers" -- reviewers, media, bloggers, librarians, booksellers, and educators.

"My editors are very enthusiastic about adopting this program into their review process," said Victoria Sutherland, publisher of ForeWord. "The added benefit of streamlining the galleys and ARCs augments our mission of leveling the playing field between larger houses and small publisher. Plus, we can all feel good about saving more trees and lowering costs in an economically strained business environment."

Publishers Cheer House Passage of Libel Tourism Legislation

The Association of American Publishers praised the passage of legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday, September 27, that would make it harder for "libel tourists" to threaten American authors and publishers with foreign libel suits aimed at undermining their First Amendment rights.

The bill, H.R. 6146, which was introduced by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), prohibits U.S. courts from recognizing a foreign defamation judgment "based upon a publication concerning a public figure or a matter of public concern" unless the court determines that the foreign judgment satisfies the free speech and free press protections guaranteed by the First Amendment. H.R. 6146 is substantially similar to the Libel Terrorism Protection Act adopted earlier this year by New York State. The Senate has yet to take action on libel tourism legislation.

Scieszka Awarded First National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Medal

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington presented author Jon Scieszka with the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Medal in the Montpelier Room of the James Madison Building, as part of last weekend's National Book Festival celebration. Announced in January, the position was created to raise national awareness of the importance of young people's literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education, and the development and betterment of the lives of young people.

The official National Ambassador for Young People's Literature website, http://childrensbookambassador.com, aimed at parents, educators, and children, includes background information on the Ambassador initiative, Jon Scieszka, and a schedule of Scieszka's tour stops over the next year.

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, the Children's Book Council (CBC) and the CBC Foundation are the administrators of the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature initiative.