A greenhouse with a view

Part of the teen section of the Scholastic shop in SoHo

On the ground floor of the Scholastic building there is a bookshop. Up among the clouds there is a cafeteria, the Greenhouse, with amazing views south over the city. (You can have your wedding reception up there! Sadly, I don't think attendance by Harry Potter or Clifford are part of the package offered.)

In between the ground and the clouds, there are a lot of people making books.

Arthur A Levine Books publish a small but perfectly formed list. (Oh, you know, Shaun Tan, some Philip Pullman, a bit of Jaclyn Moiarty... ) Arthur himself is probably most famous for being JK Rowling's US editor.  You can't really make this out, but below is a letter from Arthur, accompanying the reading copies of the first Harry book, pre-publication in the USA. He says in the letter that it will be a collector's item - and lo, there it is, in a glass case in the main branch of the New York Public Library.

It was very lovely to get the chance talk a bit to Arthur, Emily Clement and Nick Thomas - about what they're working on, the pressures and challenges of publishing YA in the current market, the importance and excitement of publishing foreign books in translation, the necessity of passion, and sometimes passionate disagreement, to good publishing - and also some general de-briefing.

Thank you so much, guys!  It was a real pleasure to get a little glimpse into your world.

Hi there, Clifford!