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Lee & Low Books

Founded	1991
Founder	Philip Lee and Tom Low
Country of origin	United States
Headquarters location	New York City
Distribution	self-distributed (US) Fitzhenry & Whiteside (Canada)
Key people	Tom Low (President) Jason Low (Vice President, Publisher) Craig Low (Vice President, Publisher of Bebop Books)
Publication types	Books, Games
Imprints	Tu Books Bebop Books Children's Book Press Shen's Books Lee & Low Games Dive Into Reading Cinco Puntos Press
Official website	www.leeandlow.com

Lee & Low Books is an independent children's book publisher focusing on diversity.

History

Lee & Low was founded in 1991 by Chinese Americans Tom Low and Philip Lee as a children's book publisher specializing in books featuring people of color and one of the few minority-owned publishing companies in the United States. Low says, "There was a void in children's books. Most of the books were targeted to Caucasians or contained animals or fairy tales. There was nothing dealing with contemporary issues and people of color.". Lee & Low published its first list in 1993 and immediately gained attention when its first book, Baseball Saved Us was given a full-page review in The New York Times Book Review.

In 1997, founder Tom Low's sons, Jason Low and Craig Low, joined Lee & Low, and in 2004, founder Philip Lee retired.

Lee & Low Books publishes primarily picture books, but in recent years has also published a small number of middle grade and young adult titles.

In January 2012, Lee & Low Books acquired the backlist titles of the now-defunct non-profit publisher, Children's Book Press, as well as the latter's existing contracts with authors and illustrators, with the name itself being revived as an imprint of Lee & Low Books.

In 2021, Lee & Low acquired Cinco Puntos Press.

Research

In 2015, Lee & Low Books partnered with St. Catherine University and Assistant Professor Sarah Park Dahlen to conduct the Diversity Baseline Survey (DBS). The objectives were to look at 1) Gender 2) Race/ethnicity 3) Sexual Orientation 4) Disability in the publishing industry.

The Diversity Baseline Survey (DBS) was sent to 1,524 reviewer employees and 11,713 publishing employees for a total of 13,237 surveys deployed. The DBS survey results confirmed that the publishing industry is overwhelmingly white, at 79%, which corresponded with the numbers from Publishers Weekly's annual salary survey.

Arcoiris: books in Spanish

In 1994, Lee & Low began to publish Spanish/English bilingual books and Spanish translations of many of their English titles. The name Arcoiris, Spanish for rainbow, was chosen to reflect the diversity of the books and subject matter.

Bebop Books

Founded in 2000, Bebop Books is an educational imprint of Lee & Low. Bebop Books prints leveled books for early readers in English and Spanish.

Tu Books

Tu Books is an imprint of Lee & Low. Tu Books publishes middle grade and young adult science fiction, fantasy, and mystery featuring people of color or set in worlds inspired by non-Western folklore or culture.

Tu Books was founded as Tu Publishing in 2009 by Stacy Whitman, a freelance children's book editor. In March 2010, Whitman joined Lee & Low as editorial director of the new imprint.

New Voices Award

In 2000, Lee & Low Books established the New Voices Award to encourage writers of color. The award is open to any United States resident of color who has not had a children's picture book published previously. A winner receives $1000 and a standard publication contract, while an Honor Award winner receives $500. While Honor Award winners are not guaranteed publication, several honor books have been published.

New Voices Award recipients

Major awards

Books published by Lee & Low have received several major awards, including some given by the American Library Association, the International Reading Association (IRA), and the New York Public Library.

Major awards won by Lee & Low Books

Notable authors and illustrators

Authors and illustrators with work published by Lee & Low Books include:

• Lulu Delacre
• Ted Lewin
• Betsy Lewin
• Joseph Bruchac
• Ed Young
• Rosa Parks
• Carole Boston Weatherford
• Pat Mora
• David Diaz
• George Ancona
• John Coy
• Lynne Barasch
• Benny Andrews
• Jim Haskins
• Chris Soentpiet
• Greg Neri
• Kaylani Juanita

See also

• Media of New York City
• List of publishers of children's books

References

1. Publishers We Distribute
2. ^ "Descubriendo el sabor: Spanish Bilingual Book Publishing and Cultural Authenticity," Multicultural Review, Winter 2007
3. "Trailblazers: A Storybook Tale," Audrey / The Asian American Women's Lifestyle Magazine, June/July 2007.
4. Children's Books: Baseball Saved Us, The New York Times Book Review Accessed April 2, 2009
5. About Us Archived 2009-04-15 at the Wayback Machine Accessed April 1, 2009
6. "Lee & Low Acquires Children's Book Press". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
7. Nawotka, Ed. "The Byrds of Cinco Puntos Press Say Goodbye". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz, LLC. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
8. Assistant Professor Sarah Park Dahlen Accessed December 1, 2016
9. Lee & Low Books, About the Diversity Baseline Survey Accessed December 1, 2016
10. Lee & Low Books, Where is the Diversity in Publishing? The 2015 Diversity Baseline Results< Accessed December 1, 2016
11. Publishers Weekly The PW Publishing Industry Salary Survey 2015: A Younger Workforce, Still Predominantly White Accessed December 1, 2016
12. Arcoiris: Books in Spanish Archived 2009-02-25 at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 19, 2009
13. Bebop Books, accessed March 19, 2009
14. Tu Books Submission Guidelines, accessed October 27, 2010
15. Press Release: Lee & Low Books Acquires Tu Publishing, Brings Diversity to Fantasy and Science Fiction, accessed March 15, 2010
16. New Voices Award, accessed April 1, 2009
17. Coretta Scott King Book Award Recipients: Current and Past Archived 2011-04-06 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed April 7, 2009
18. John Steptoe New Talent Award, Accessed April 7, 2009
19. The Pura Belpré Winners, Accessed April 7, 2009
20. IRA Children's and Young Adult's Book Awards Archived 2013-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed April 7, 2009
21. The Ezra Jack Keats and New York Public Library New Writer and New Illustrator Award for Children's Books Archived 2008-06-22 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed April 7, 2009

External links

• Lee & Low official website
• Publishing Statistics on Children's Books about People of Color and First/Native Nations and by People of Color and First/Native Nations Authors and Illustrators Documented by the Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL)

• Children's book publishers
• Book publishing companies based in New York City
• Companies based in New York City
• Publishing companies established in 1991
• 1991 establishments in New York City