Penguin Young Readers just announced a cool new imprint that will be geared toward putting out diverse books for children and young adults!
According to Publisher’s Weekly, Penguin Young Readers announced over the weekend that they’ve created a brand new imprint specifically geared toward diversifying the line of books that are published annually.
The new imprint is called Kokila and its aim is to focus on publishing diverse books for both children and young adults. Per the new imprint, their official mission statement is to “add depth and nuance to the way children and young adults see the world and their place in it.”
As part of the big announcement, Penguin also shared a few details with regards to how many books we can expect to see their new imprint pick up. Currently, Kokila is set to release approximately 15-20 fiction and non-fiction titles annually.
The plan is for Kokila to publish everything from picture books to middle grade to young adult, and even graphic novels titles meaning there’s sure to be something for everyone no matter their reading level.
Former associate publisher and editorial director of Dial Books for Young Readers, Namrata Tripathi, has been named publisher of Kokila. Joining her team are Joana Cardenas (editor at Viking Children’s Books) who will serve as editor, and Jasmin Rubero (associate art director for Dial Books for Young Readers) who will serve as art director.
Kokila’s push to bring diversity to the books they intend to publish is bound to fill a huge void many readers have been missing.
While there’s no denying there have been some amazing children’s and young adult books put out over the past few years, one thing that’s sorely been missing amongst these titles have been diversity in characters, narrators, and the stories that are being told.
Given the current pop culture climate and the need to see more representation in all forms of media, it seems as though there’s never been a better time to shine a spotlight unto stories that feature characters who come from different walks of life.
With that in mind, it’s incredibly exciting to hear that Penguin Young Readers is taking a huge leap in the right direction by giving Kokila the green light.
Kokila’s current debut list is set to launch in the summer of 2019. The list of authors and illustrators already set to be published under the new imprint include Pablo Cartaya, Sherine Hamdy, Myra El-Mir, Isabel Quintero, Zeke Peña, John Corey Whaley, Calista Brill, and Nilah Magrudedr.
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