Philomel was created in the early 1980s as part of World Publishing Books for Young People, by Editor and Publisher Ann Beneduce. The imprint’s name, which literally means “lover of song,” implied that these books would be lyrical, beautiful in concept and form, and fine enough to be celebrated as gifts. The early lists included such future classics as Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide; Virginia Hamilton’s Newbery Honor winning Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush; and Ed Young’s Caldecott Honor winning The Emperor and the Kite.

In 1985 Patricia Lee Gauch took over as Editor-in-Chief of Philomel. Sharing Ms. Beneduce’s vision, she published Caldecott winners Owl Moon by Jane Yolen and John Schoenherr, Lon Po Po by Ed Young, and So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George and David Small. She also published the soon-to-be iconic animal fantasy series Redwall by Brian Jacques and the inimitable homespun picture books of Patricia Polacco, including Pink and Say.

Michael Green joined the imprint as Editorial Assistant directly from graduate school in 1991, eventually taking the helm as Publisher in 2003. Under his direction, Philomel continued its tradition of producing quality picture books for the youngest of readers while simultaneously growing as one of the industry’s leaders in commercial fiction for middle grade and young adults. His list included the #1 bestselling blockbuster The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers; Stuck, written and illustrated by Mr. Jeffers; Loren Long’s New York Times bestselling Otis series, about a heroic tractor and his farmyard friends; Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider spy novels, which are #1 bestsellers the world over; Mike Lupica’s sports-centered novels, such as Fantasy League and Heat, that capture the purity of the 12-year-old sports fanatic in all of us; and John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice epic, the worldwide bestselling fantasy/adventure series. Mr. Green’s quest to reach the reluctant reader added to Philomel’s initial mission and expanded the type of books published under the imprint’s name.

With an editorial staff of five, all working to create books that enlighten and inspire, the Philomel list has grown to include Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger‘s New York Times bestselling picture books She Persisted and She Persisted Around the World; Ruta Sepetys’s internationally acclaimed historical fiction bestsellers Between Shades of Gray and Salt to the Sea; Lisa Graff’s National Book Award nominee A Tangle of Knots; Chelsea Clinton’s New York Times bestselling It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going!; Mayim Bialik’s Girling Up: How to be Strong, Smart and Spectacular; Emily Barr’s literary thriller The One Memory of Flora Banks; and many, many more.

Whatever the genre, Philomel strives to foster a love of reading in children and young adults. It is a love of story, of language that captivates, of art that makes both a parent’s and child’s eyes open wide with delight, of books that beckon to be read over and over and yet lose none of their magic, that drives the people of Philomel to make distinguished books.

AWARDS

 Caldecott Medal Winner

• 2001: So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George, illustrated by David Small
• 1990: Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China, translated and illustrated by Ed Young
• 1988: Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, illustrated by John Schoenherr

Caldecott Honor Book

• 1993: Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young
• 1968: The Emperor and the Kite by Ed Young

Carnegie Medal Winner

• 2017: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

 Newbery Honor Book

• 1983: Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush by Virginia Hamilton

National Book Award Winner

• 2010: Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

National Book Award Nominee

• 2013: A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff

The New York Times Best-Illustrated Books of the Year

• 2016: The Cat from Hunger Mountain, written and illustrated by Ed Young
• 2012: The Hueys in: The New Sweater, written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
• 1993: The Bracelet by Yoshiko Uchida, illustrated by Joanna Yardley
• 1993: Gulliver’s Adventures in Lilliput by Jonathan Swift, retold by Ann Kay Beneduce, illustrated by Gennady Spirin
• 1988: Cats are Cats, compiled by Nancy Larrick, illustrated by Ed Young
• 1988: Swan Sky by Tejima
• 1987: Fox’s Dream by Tejima
• 1982: Anno’s Britain by Mitsumasa Anno