Scarletta, a Minnesota Independent Publisher

Since its founding in 2005, Scarletta Press has been known for having a quality eclectic publishing collection. Recently, Scarletta Press has rebranded itself as simply "Scarletta".

The company now features four imprints: Scarletta Press, Scarletta Junior Readers, Scarletta Kids, and Red Portal Press. Scarletta Press, the original flagship, continues to feature adult titles while narrowing its genre focus to autobiographical fiction, creative nonfiction, and memoir. The Junior Readers imprint focuses on fiction and non-fiction books for middle-grade readers, while Scarletta Kids sparks imagination with engaging picture and story books for ages 0 to 8. Red Portal Press, a hybrid self-publishing imprint involving trade distribution, started this past fall with its first title Knives on the Cutting Edge by Bob Macdonald.

Scarletta started publishing children’s titles in 2011 when they acquired their first middle-grade fiction, Lost in Lexicon by Pendred Noyce. The Ice Castle, Noyce’s second book, came out in August 2012 as their second children’s title.

Besides expanding from 2–3 titles annually to 10–12 titles annually, Scarletta has also created a new online store. It has partnered with ABDO Publishing Group for various titles in each season, allowing Scarletta to redesign institutional titles and place them in the trade, special, gift, and mass merchandise markets.


Scarletta’s spring 2013 title list features six titles across three of its imprints, with the majority of authors being from Minnesota. Determined to Matter by Jen O’Hara, an adult nonfiction about facing the loss of a child to an inoperable brain tumor, will be published June 1 in the Scarletta Press imprint. Scarletta Junior Readers features The Mighty Quinn by Robyn Parnell (May 2013), a humorous fiction story about growing up in the fifth grade, and Cool World Cooking by Lisa Wagner (July 2013), a cookbook for young chefs. Their three Scarletta Kids titles Nalah and the Pink Tiger by Anne Sawyer-Aitch (March 2013), A Day at the Lake by Stephanie Wallingford and Dawn Rynders (March 2013), and Betsy’s Day at the Game by Greg Bancroft (April 2013), will all feature ancillary products and interactive activities.

The company’s fall 2013 title list features a similar mix of authors across imprints withan adult fiction title, two junior readers, and three kid’s books.

Scarletta can be thought of as a new company, one with fresh and vibrant ideas driven by consumer-dedicated market strategy. “Publishing is challenging, complex, yet exciting,” says publisher Nancy Tuminelly. “Our goal is to positively and effectively impact our readers’ lives. Our tagline sums it up for us: Publishers by trade. Readers at heart.”

Want to find out more? Check out Scarletta's website.

Christine Petersen - Rock On

Rock On!: A Look at Geology

by Christine Petersen

ABDO Publishing

Fantastic Fossils

Groovy Gems

Mighty Minerals

Outrageous Ores

Rockin' Rocks

Super Soils

Sparkling diamonds, oozing lava, giant crystals, and… dinosaur bones? How could these strange and special substances have anything in common? Find out when you examine the world of geology in the Rock On! series. Uncover how fossils form and what they can tell us about the past. Chip away at the three types of rock and unearth the importance of ores. Be dazzled by gems and discover Earth’s many minerals. Then, get your hands dirty with experiments you can do at home! With full-color photographs and easy-to-read text, you’ll dig the science of Earth.

BIOGRAPHY
I grew up exploring tidepools in a small town along the California coast. My parents encouraged my long, rambling stories during our evening beach walks. Along the way, both nature and narrative became integral to my awareness of the world.

My career began in the early 1990s, while I was employed as an assistant museum biologist. I loved the quiet museum work by day and was exhilarated by nighttime fieldwork on bats. A request to do public programs about my work made me nervous. I’m a bit of an introvert and expected to dislike this aspect of the job. But it was a perfect fit. I soon decided to make a career change into K-12 science education.

For nine years I taught at the Blake School in Minnesota. Writing children’s educational resource books became a summer occupation, but gradually encompassed more of my interest and time. In 2007 I decided it was time to try writing full-time. Educational literature remains my primary focus, but I’ve also recently begun to write a blog called "Intelligence with the Earth.” I look forward to finding new ways to merge nature and narrative in my life and work.

BLOG
http://www.christinepetersen.com/christines-blog.html

WEBSITE
www.christinepetersen.com