Common Core's Effect on Publishers

Jessica King

Rosen, J. (2013, October 25). Publishers respond to common core. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/59720-publishers-respond-to-common-core.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly&utm_campaign=a7952de79a-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0bb2959cbb-a7952de79a-304458421

            This article by Rosen offers a look at what individual publishers are doing to meet the increasing needs Common Core is presenting as it is being implemented in many of the states. It is interesting to see the effect this change in curriculum focus has on the industry as a whole; in terms of what books are going to be published, how they will be marketed, and even new authors that are published. Little Brown is working with educators “to develop two-page teachers’ guides that focus on how a book aligns with the standards.” A majority of the publishers, however, are creating resources on their sites for educators to identify the title and to give ideas on how to use them in the classroom. Each page that is discussed is given a link to that page, making this a great resource for any educators that are looking for that information. A remarkable quote from one of the publishers is that, “ ‘a selling point for picking up a new author is certainly that he or she has Common Core knowledge and/or experience.’” This is not something that all publishers talked about but the fact that it is now being used as a determining factor in whether or not a new author gets signed on is startling. I did like that Rosen chose to end the article with a quote from Simon & Schuster Canada, who do not plan to alter the books that they have been publishing. For them this will continue to be about bring great literature to children, whether or not it is ‘Common Core aligned.’