Candlewick Press

Candlewick Press, established in 1991 and located in Somerville, Massachusetts, is part of the Walker Books group. The logo depicting a bear carrying a candle is based on Walker Books's original logo. The Walker Books Group has a unique ownership structure that includes employees and more than 150 authors and illustrators.

Sebastian Walker launched Walker Books from his spare bedroom in his London home in 1978. Walker Books grew and he founded Candlewick Press in 1991. Candlewick Press opened with only six employees and now has one hundred.

Candlewick was first known for picture books but the company's offerings expanded to include board books, novelty books, e-books and middle-grade and young adult fiction and non-fiction. Candlewick is an important children's book publisher thanks to publications such as a series known as the 'Ologies; Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart's pop-up books; the ''Judy Moody'' and ''Stink'' franchises from author Megan McDonald and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds; ''Guess How Much I Love You''; Martin Handford's Where's Waldo? books; Lucy Cousins' Maisy Mouse books, and National Book Award winner ''The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Volume 1: The Pox Party'' by M. T. Anderson. Candlewick's books continue to be in demand as demonstrated by recent The New York Times bestsellers ''I Want My Hat Back'' and ''This is Not My Hat'' (also winner of the 2012 Caldecott Medal) by Jon Klassen and ''Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made'' by Stephan Pastis.

Candlewick Press is home to author Kate DiCamillo, having published her first novel, ''Because of Winn-Dixie'' (a Newbery Honor Book), along with ''The Tiger Rising'' (a National Book Award finalist), ''The Tale of Despereaux'' and ''Flora & Ulysses'' (Newbery Medal winners), ''The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane'' (a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner), the Mercy Watson series and ''Tales from Deckawoo Drive'' series of early readers, and ''The Magician's Elephant''.

M. T. Anderson, author of the revolutionary and award-winning Octavian series of speculative historical fiction, is another of Candlewick's most prominent authors.

Toon Books was an imprint of Candlewick Press from 2010 to 2014.

In 2019, Candlewick won six American Library Association Youth Media Awards including a Newbery Medal for ''Merci Suárez Changes Gears'' by Meg Medina, a Caldecott Medal honor for ''Alma and How She Got Her Name'' by Juana Martinez-Neal, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator award for ''The Stuff of Stars'' illustrated by Ekua Holmes, a Stonewall Book Award for ''Julián Is a Mermaid'' by Jessica Love, a Schneider Family Book Award for ''Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship'' by Jessica Kensky, Patrick Downes and illustrated by Scott Magoon and a Margaret Edwards Award for M.T. Anderson.

The Walker Books Group is made up of Candlewick Press, Walker Books UK and Walker Books Australia. In May 2020, the group was acquired by Trustbridge Global Media. Provided by Wikipedia