blprnt
blprnt@blprnt TWEETS TODAY:
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Jer Thorp is a software artist, writer, and educator living in Brooklyn. He is a co-founder of The Office for Creative Research & adjunct professor at ITP.
blprnt
''Good morning. I wrote some cheery email chain cli-fi about children's literature and extinction''
LINK HERE AND BELOW TEXT
Re: Percival The Lion
From: Marcy Franklin
Date: December 10, 2019 at 3:40:59 PM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: Percival the Lion, 2nd Edition
Date: December 10, 2019 at 3:40:59 PM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: Percival the Lion, 2nd Edition
Dear Patty,
As you know, we are big fans of your book. It has been a big seller for Puffin over the last 5 years, and we are excited to bring the adventures of Percival to a new generation of young readers with the 2nd edition!
However, you may have recently read the sad news that pangolins are extinct. In our focus groups with parents, many of them have said that while Percival’s visit to see the wise old pangolin is an important part of the book, explaining to their children that pangolins no longer exist could make them sad. And we don’t want sad kids!
We have workshopped a few options for easy edit that involve more abundant animals. We’d like to suggest that you might make the small change that Percival visits the ‘the wise old aardvark’ (preferred) or the ‘wise old armadillo’ (maybe not geographically correct?). We’d ask that you change the dialogue on page 5 where Percival references ‘her scintillating scales’ to something physiologically appropriate and equally alliterative.
We go to print in the third week of January, so your quick reply would be much appreciated!
Sincerely,
Marcy
From: Marcy Franklin
Date: September 14, 2022 at 11:43:17 AM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: Good news! And a request…
Date: September 14, 2022 at 11:43:17 AM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: Good news! And a request…
Dear Patty,
Good news! Percival the Lion has been listed by the Library of Congress as one of it’s ‘Best Children’s Books of the 21st Century’! The official announcement is expected to be made next week. We should see a nice boost in sales as the holiday season approaches (fingers crossed!), and in anticipation we’re planning a reprint as well as promotions for e-books and v-books.
We’d like to use this opportunity to make a small change to the text (with your approval!). First, it seems the jury is still out on wether the African Elephant is past the threshold for functional extinction. Still, we think it’s best to hedge our bets and we wonder if you can replace Ellie the Elephant with another species with less danger of disappearing. We know that Ellie is a main character in the book, but we trust that you can keep the spirit of the character without mentioning elephants. Maybe Zoe the Zebra? Allie the Antelope? We’ll leave it up to you! (ps: My daughter really loves the wise old aardvark!)
While we’re on the subject, it’s worth noting that the giraffe has recently been listed as critically endangered, so we might want to consider a substitute for Gary as well. Harry the very tall Horse? Personally I don’t think we need to get this change in right away, but could be worth thinking about for the 3rd edition!!
Best,
Marcy
From: Marcy Franklin
Date: February 14, 2023 at 1:42:11 AM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: FWD: Notice from Michigan State Department of Education
Date: February 14, 2023 at 1:42:11 AM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: FWD: Notice from Michigan State Department of Education
Another one :(
Marcy
Begin forwarded message:
| From: Michigan Department of Education
| Date: February 13, 2023 at 11:18:24 AM EST
| To: Puffin Press
| Subject: FWD: Notice from Michigan State Department of Education
| Date: February 13, 2023 at 11:18:24 AM EST
| To: Puffin Press
| Subject: FWD: Notice from Michigan State Department of Education
| This is a notice that your publication has been removed from Michigan
| State’s Early Childhood Teaching Approved Materials List. Details
| are listed below. Instructions on how to petition this decision can be
| found on our website:
| http://doe.michigan.gov/approved_materials/petition
| State’s Early Childhood Teaching Approved Materials List. Details
| are listed below. Instructions on how to petition this decision can be
| found on our website:
| http://doe.michigan.gov/approved_materials/petition
| Publication: Percival The Lion and His Animal Friends, 2nd Edition
| Author: Patricia Chang
| Publisher: Puffin Press
| Reason for Removal: Breach of state guidelines on climate communication
| Notes: No notes are available at this time.
| Author: Patricia Chang
| Publisher: Puffin Press
| Reason for Removal: Breach of state guidelines on climate communication
| Notes: No notes are available at this time.
From: Marcy Franklin
Date: April 2, 2024 at 10:17:16 AM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: Rebrand
Date: April 2, 2024 at 10:17:16 AM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: Rebrand
Hello writers!
We are pleased to announce that Puffin Press is now Seagull Publishing! All of our web and social media properties have been re-launched. Please be sure to use our new name in any interviews, etc.
Thank you!
Marcy & The Seagull Team
From: Marcy Franklin
Date: February 21, 2027 at 9:35:01 AM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: Idea: Percival the Lion
Date: February 21, 2027 at 9:35:01 AM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: Idea: Percival the Lion
Dear Patty,
As you have no doubt seen from your royalty payments, sales of Percival the Lion have declined significantly over the last few quarters. We’ve done some audience research on our end to try to figure out what’s going on, and what our readers have told us is that their kids have a hard time relating to Percival. Many parents told us that having to start by explaining what a lion was, or what a jungle was, made it hard to jump right in to the book.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that I think that we can work together to make your book a success again! Over the years we’ve had to work with many of our writers to make sure that their books stay relevant. Just last year we relaunched Mark Watkins’ classic Lets Go! series with three new titles: Lets Go to the WePlay!, Lets Go to the Voluntary Testing Center!, and Lets Go to the Climate Protected Enclosure! All best sellers!
If you’re interested, maybe we can arrange a workshopping session here in Maryland sometime in the next month. We’d love to find a way to continue to work together.
Let me know what you think!
Sincerely,
Marcy
From: Marcy Franklin
Date: March 1, 2027 at 9:51:08 AM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: Idea: Percival the Lion
Date: March 1, 2027 at 9:51:08 AM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: Idea: Percival the Lion
Hi Patty,
Just checking in to see if you received the e-mail that I sent last week.
Some of the other editors and I had a brainstorm, and we thought: what if we moved the whole story to the ocean? As long as we avoid old-fashioned sea life (whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles, fish etc.) there are still a lot of exciting animals to choose from!
Marcy
From: Mackerel Publishing
Date: August 21, 2029 at 9:21:14 AM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: Out of Print Notice
Date: August 21, 2029 at 9:21:14 AM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: Out of Print Notice
Dear Author,
This is an automated message to notify you that your book Percival The Lion and His Animal Friends, ISBN 978–1–56619–909–4 is no longer being published by Mackerel Books (formerly Seagull Publishing).
From: Amoeba Media
Date: March 2, 2031 at 9:22:56 AM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: Out of Print Notice
Date: March 2, 2031 at 9:22:56 AM EST
To: Patty Chang
Subject: Out of Print Notice
Dear Author,
This is an automated message to notify you that your book Percival The Squid and His Cartilaginous Friends, ISBN 978–1–56817–908–3 is no longer being published by Amoeba Media (formerly Mackerel Publishing).
JER is the co-founder of The Office for Creative Research, and an Adjunct Professor at New York University's ITP program. From 2010 to 2012, he was the Data Artist in Residence at the New York Times R&D Group.
You can find a rambling selection of his software-based, data-focused artwork at blog.blprnt.com.
HE ADDS: Recently I have collaborated with NASA, visualized 138 years of Popular Science, and have had work exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan.
You can watch my TED.com talk here. Recent talks that have also made their way onto the interwebs include this one from PopTech, and this one from Eyeo Festival in Minneapolis.
I am a member of the World Economic Forum's Council on Design Innovation.
For keynote speaking, I am exclusively represented by The Lavin Agency.
Photo by John Davey
You can find a rambling selection of his software-based, data-focused artwork at blog.blprnt.com.
HE ADDS: Recently I have collaborated with NASA, visualized 138 years of Popular Science, and have had work exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan.
You can watch my TED.com talk here. Recent talks that have also made their way onto the interwebs include this one from PopTech, and this one from Eyeo Festival in Minneapolis.
I am a member of the World Economic Forum's Council on Design Innovation.
For keynote speaking, I am exclusively represented by The Lavin Agency.
Photo by John Davey
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