Bad News, Good News, And Forever

Bad news: The hardcover edition of The Year of Goodbyes is going out of print. It has had a good run: five years since it was published in 2010. Still, I rather hoped it would be in print in this edition--well, forever. Or the publishing equivalent of forever. I hoped my mother's story, and the words of her young friends in her poesiealbum, would be available to wave after wave of readers.I know. Writers want waves of readers for all their books. But if you've read even a few words of what I've said about the story of my mother and her friends and family, you know the depth of my hope for this book.Which brings me to the good news. On April 7, Disney-Hyperion is publishing paperback and e-book editions of The Year of Goodbyes. Hooray for my publisher! So there is hope for my dream of those waves of readers. I do love a hardcover book, but, by weight, this little book could be considered kind of pricey as a hardcover. The paperback price is much less. It will be much more affordable. Will educators be more likely to bring it into their classrooms? (So many teaching opportunities!) Will more mother-daughter book clubs discover it? Will readers in churches, synagogues, and mosques shape conversations about prejudice around it?One can hope.