Welcome
to the very first GraphicNovelReporter.com
(GNR) newsletter. All of us at The Book Report Network are glad to have you onboard
for the launch of what we feel is going to be a very exciting --- and fun ---
website.
Our
goal is to make GNR a home for all readers of graphica. This includes those who
are brand new to the format and looking to learn a little bit more, voracious
readers who want news about what's coming up, teachers and librarians (and
parents) who want some help picking out titles for their students and patrons,
and everyone in between. Whichever
category you fall into, stick with us; our plan is to deliver books we know you'll
want to explore.
To
kick things off, I'd like to introduce you to some of the faces you'll
see around GNR. First is Carol
Fitzgerald, the
founder of The
Book Report Network,
which now includes eight sites devoted to helping people further their love of
reading. Some of you reading this now may have come to us through Bookreporter.com,
Teenreads.com,
Kidsreads.com,
or one of the other sites in the Network. If so, welcome to GNR, and I hope you
enjoy this site as much the others you have been reading. For some background
on why Carol decided to start this website, you can read her blogpost here.
As
for me, I've known Carol for years, beginning with her stint as a columnist
for the late, lamented Pages magazine, which I used to edit. Reading
has always been a passion of mine, and that certainly includes graphic novels,
as you will see from my blog post here.
I'm really happy to be part of a site that will help get the word out to the
world at large about the noteworthy graphic novels available. I'm also looking
forward to your feedback, which will help us make this a better site, so please
let me know what you
think. With that in
mind we offer you the opportunity to comment on all reviews and features for two
months after they are posted, so hit the "comment" section at the end
of each and weigh in.
Our
designer for the site was Alexandra Cannon, whose "I can do that" attitude
made the entire process a lot more fun. Jeff Raab's design for both our CMS system
and the architecture of the site made the process a lot smoother than we imagined.
Jeff read our minds on a lot of features and we are really grateful for that.
He also gave us ideas that we had not even thought about and we are even more
grateful for that. Sunil
Kumar produced the templates drawing upon his experience with our other seven
editorial sites ensuring that we were not reinventing the wheel.
I'd
also like to thank our reviewers,
who have devoted both time and effort to ensuring our inaugural editorial coverage
is diverse and thorough. We've turned to the most reliable sources we know
for our reviews: avid readers, librarians, educators, anyone who truly knows this
format and can speak to readers about what they really want to know. Poke around
the site; you'll see all books for all age ranges represented. In the months
to come we will be working on a rating system so you will be able to ascertain
titles that will be enjoyed by younger readers.
You'll
also see some "coming soon" sections which indicate content that will be added
in the weeks and months to come. We truly just have begun. That said, this is
not to be confused with an actual "Coming Soon" section of the site
that spotlights upcoming releases.
And
to keep in tune with what's happening in stores, we will be profiling a bookstore
each update talking about what's selling in their store on our Bestseller
List. This week we hear from Star
Clipper in St. Louis, Missouri.
Thanks
for being part of the launch of GNR; we love that you are sharing this special
moment with us. Our next update will be Wednesday, January 14th. Until then happy
holidays...and happy reading!
John
Hogan (John@bookreporter.com)
