Welcome to the World, Post Wave Children’s Books

Emma Blackburn, publisher of Post Wave Publishing UK, introduces the publisher’s new imprint, Post Wave Children’s Books, and the delights of its inaugural list of illustrated nonfiction, preschool, gift and picture books.

A new publisher in the children’s book industry always generates a bit of a buzz and, in our experience, a plethora of questions.

Who are you? Are you independent? What will you publish? What makes you different? Where will you sell your books? Who will sell your books? When will you start publishing? How will you start publishing? What are you looking for? Where are you going? Will you be originating your own titles? . . .

These are just some of the questions (there are many more!) that I and the team at Post Wave Children’s Books have been asked since arriving on the scene. Most of the questions have straightforward answers, but some remain open as we are still in the early stages of our journey. Understandably, however, people are keen to know as much as possible about us and this, of course, is music to our ears.

We are new, very new in fact. Post Wave Publishing UK was established in the autumn of 2023 as an independent publishing house, focusing on our children’s imprint, Post Wave Children’s Books. As the UK subsidiary of Post Wave China, a leading, privately-owned publishing house, we champion fantastic stories from all around the world. We are led by Managing Director Emma Hopkin, who has over 30 years of industry experience, including roles at Bloomsbury and Macmillan Children’s Books. Our mission is to make every child around the globe a reader.

We are committed to publishing beautiful, illustrated books showcasing diverse voices, excellent design and award-winning illustration. Our experienced and creative acquisitions teams are based in London, New York and Berlin. When Emma Hopkin came on board at Post Wave Children’s Books’ inception, she quickly assembled a talented team of publishing experts that would deliver on our aim to grow quickly, cleverly and creatively. In our central London office, our creative team is led by me, Emma Blackburn, as Publisher. I had worked with Emma Hopkin (Note: At Post Wave Children’s, we do nothing to dispel Posy Simmonds’ assertion, in her early noughties Guardian cartoon, that 98% of people who work in children’s publishing are called Emma. But neither of us, for those who can remember the cartoon, wear black Lycra-wool mix trousers) at both Bloomsbury and Macmillan, and I knew that Post Wave would be a dynamic, creative, nimble and fast-moving enterprise with Emma at the helm.

And so, in April this year, I stepped across from my then role as Group Picture Book and Preschool Publisher at Hachette Children’s Group to join our Editorial Director, Joanna McInerney, who had recently joined from Big Picture Press, and our Art Director, Avni Patel, who had joined from Thames and Hudson. Shortly afterwards we appointed Krestyna Lypen as our Editorial Director in New York. Meanwhile, in Berlin, Harriet Birkinshaw, Chief Editor, was already busy making books for our Berlin Studio. Most recently we have taken on two junior editors; appointed Nicola Goode, from Hachette Children’s Group, as our Global Sales Director; and announced our UK and US sales and distribution partners (Bounce and Chronicle respectively). We will be announcing our sales and distribution partner in Australia shortly.

We acquire and translate original, beautiful, fun, clever books that visually delight, entertain, inspire and help children discover the world around them. Our motto is: Read. Dream. Discover. And we are delighted that our Autumn launch list is a varied mix of picture books, nonfiction, preschool and gift books that showcase the very best in international publishing.

Tiger, It’s Snowing! by London-based Chinese illustrator Daishu Ma is the first book in an exciting new series introducing two adorable picture book characters, Mei and Tiger. Little ones will love joining this dynamic duo as they navigate new experiences, solve problems and enjoy a world full of fun, adventure and friendship (whilst still managing to get home in time for tea!). Daishu is a hugely talented picture book creator, and we are thrilled that her books are at the forefront of our picture book list. There’s lots more to come from her!

In the preschool space, we are publishing Who Ate The Little Bug? by Hector Dexet, a gloriously bold, innovative and colourful board book with a succession of die-cut multi-coloured holes that get smaller and smaller to reveal a delightfully funny twist, whilst introducing the very youngest book lovers to a host of different animals.

Sara Stefanini’s A Little Sailing Lesson is the perfect book for life’s big moments and a thoughtful gift for anyone facing a difficult time. It tells the story of a sailor called Aldo who, along with his companion, sets sail on a journey of discovery. It’s wonderfully life-affirming with a positive message about enjoying the moment and appreciating the small joys of life –and it’s great for showing little ones what resilience looks like.

The Jellyfish Garden by Paola Vitale and Rossana Bossù is a breathtakingly beautiful introduction to the fascinating world of jellyfish. From their capacity to self-heal to their ability to glow in the dark, the book is full of incredible details and information.

Art’bracadabra by Raphaël Garnier is a fantastic introduction to the fundamentals of art for inquisitive and creative kids. Featuring a host of clever interactive elements such as pop-ups and rotating wheels, alongside beautiful design features such as pantone inks and a variety of textures, this visually arresting book helps to unlock the secrets of art.

As our fledgling list grows and develops, we will continue to publish the very best books in translation, selling these English language editions through our global partners, but we will also begin publishing original titles acquired and developed by our in-house creative teams. Our list of originated titles launches at the start of next year with an array of stand-out books from both new and established creative talents such as Fátima Ordinola, Elyon Liu and Carly Gledhill.

This is just the start of our journey and there’s so much more to come. I am often asked whether I find the unanswered/open questions unnerving or scary, but it’s quite the opposite. Finding the answers and ploughing our own furrow is energising, motivating and inspiring. Because we are starting from scratch, we can do things differently, and we aren’t afraid to do so. We hope you like the results!

For updates and news, follow us on social media: @postwave_books or visit our website.