Brown Books Publishing Group Launches New Imprint Promoting Children’s Literacy: Michael Sampson Books

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Brown Books Publishing Group (BBPG) is pleased to announce their new imprint Michael Sampson Books, launching Fall 2023. Named after New York Times bestselling author and former Fulbright Scholar Michael Sampson, the imprint will publish and promote excellent storytellers who focus on literacy for young readers. Thomas Reale, President & COO of BBPG, will be the imprint’s editorial acquisitions director. Sampson will have input on editorial selections, provide notes for acquired manuscripts and help promote the authors and their books.

“As we worked with Michael over the past year, his passion and deep experience in early literacy inspired us to produce at our highest level,” notes Reale. “Over time, we began talking about storytelling in general and the authors we both like and admire. The conversation about establishing an imprint progressed naturally from there.”

Michael Sampson is the bestselling author of more than 40 books for children. While earning his Ph.D. in Reading at the University of Arizona during the 1970s, he established a lifelong friendship and professional relationship with mentor and colleague, Bill Martin Jr. When founding the imprint, Sampson recalled their long, creative partnership as a key source of inspiration for the imprint’s mission. “The books will follow Bill’s innovative approach to reading, founded on the idea that when a child loves a story, they will read it repeatedly until they know it by heart. The more books a child loves, the more they will love reading.”

Michael Sampson Books will publish a series of picture and middle grade books that are a brand extension of what parents and educators have come to know and love about Sampson’s phenomenal work with children’s literacy. The plan is to launch 10 books in 12 months, beginning with Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist by award-winning author and illustrator Violet Lemay.

BBPG Founder and CEO Milli Brown reflected on the launch in the context of the company’s history, saying “Given our evolution over three decades, we feel this partnership signals the next level of our development and growth as a publisher.” In accordance with company policy, submissions can be made through literary agents or by authors themselves and sent to the publisher’s attention.