When Benton Harbor freelance writer and author Anne Brandt decided to start a publishing company, she was very clear on her goal. She wanted to publish children's books that offer a gentle view of the world. But 'gentle' is not to be confused with 'boring.' Thus, she launched Spectacled Bear Publishing.
While Anne was naming the company, a search of words revealed there is a real-live spectacled bear in the animal world. Found in South America, the actual spectacled bear is in danger of losing its environment and is on the vulnerable list. Armed with that information, Spectacled Bear Publishing's motto became: "Saving gentle reads from extinction."
Anne's company debuted its first book, Philip & Phoebe, last month. The story concerns Philip, a klutzy young boy with a cape that makes him feel like a superhero. At least until the arrival of his new baby sister Phoebe. Sad and lonely as the newborn gets all the family's attention, he devises a plan to change her into something more fun, except things don't go exactly as planned.
Anne Brandt worked with one of the top ten book printers in the nation, which conveniently happens to be Walsworth, just down the road on Maiden Lane in St. Joseph Charter Township. Walsworth copywriter and blogger Elizabeth Braden recently profiled Anne's work saying, "While many books, television shows and movies are violent, scary or leave nothing to the imagination, one writer has opened her own publishing house to bring readers gentle but not boring books."
Amazingly, Brandt actually wrote the book 40 years ago and recently found it at the bottom of a cardboard box. Her original manuscript of some 1,500 words were trimmed to less than a third of that volume and converted into a 450-word illustrated children's book, "with an inviting soft-touch matte lamination hard cover that is seven inches square," according to Braden.
Braden uses her blog as well to chronicle Anne's journey with the team from Walsworth where they worked out a deal for an original print run of 2,000 copies and fulfillment services so orders will go right from her website to Walsworth. She's hopeful of additional print runs as word of the book gets out and more people seek it out. She was recently profiled in the Independent Book Publishers Association, and Philip & Phoebe is also available at Forever Books in downtown St. Joseph as well as on her Spectacled Bear website which is linked below.
Anne has been working to get the book into various holiday gift guides for the upcoming season and hopes it will be the first of at least a three-book series.
Click the link below to see and order Philip & Phoebe and learn more about Anne's new publishing company right here in Michigan's Great Southwest.
