Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Independent publisher releases bilingual titles for children

Posted by Elena del Valle on June 14, 2018

Babies Nurse

Babies Nurse/Así se alimentan los bebés

Photos: Platypus Media

Platypus Media released two new bilingual titles this month, Babies Nurse/Así se alimentan los bebés, for children four to seven years old, and Cuddled and Carried/Consentido y Cargado for children up to four years of age. The softcover titles, in full color and 32 pages in length, each sell for $9.95. The first booklet was written by Phoebe Fox and illustrated by Jim Fox. The second title was written by Dia L. Michels and illustrated by Mike Speiser. Both were translated by Victory Productions.

When asked about the translation Michels, owner, Platypus replied: “The bulk of the translation was done by Victory Productions, a company based out of Massachusetts, but we also had many many trusted individuals look over the translation to ensure accuracy. Most notably, Edgardo Moctezuma of Latin American Book Source, Inc volunteered to guide us through the translation process and gave his advice along the way.” 

Cuddled and Carried

Cuddled and Carried/Consentido y cargado

The publisher plans to target educators, especially those with a high percentage of English Language Learners or who offer dual language programs,  librarians, health care providers and departments of health, breastfeeding organizations, mother-to-mother support groups, early childhood centers, and literacy programs across the country. 

Dia Michels, author, Cuddled and Carried

Dia Michels, author, Cuddled and Carried

“We are committed to the promotion and protection of breastfeeding, and donate a percentage of profits to groups that work in this field,” said Michels. “These two publications are the inaugural titles in our new Beginnings series of books for young readers.”

Michels is an internationally published science and parenting writer who has authored or edited more than a dozen books for children and adults. Her titles include If My Mom Were a Platypus: Mammal Babies and Their Mothers and Look What I See! Where Can I Be? With My Animal Friends. Her books have been translated into Spanish, Hebrew and Dutch.

Mike Speiser, illustrator, Cuddles and Carried

Mike Speiser, illustrator, Cuddled and Carried

Speiser’s artwork has been featured on the covers of Wild Animal Baby magazine and on fundraising products for science organizations. His paintings have been displayed at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. He is involved with efforts to protect the natural world for future generations. He lives next to the Black Hills of South Dakota. 

Phoebe Fox, author, Babies Nurse

Phoebe Fox, author, Babies Nurse

Phoebe Fox wrote Babies Nurse / Así se alimentan los bebés to show children that all mammals provide milk for their babies. She has degrees in Early Childhood Development and Curriculum Instruction and experience as an elementary school librarian.

Phoebe Fox, illustrator, Babies Nurse

Jim Fox, illustrator, Babies Nurse

Jim Fox is Phoebe’s father-in-law. He retired from the NBA, where he played for the Phoenix Suns.

Platypus Media is an independent press that “creates products with a broad appeal to diverse families who believe in the importance of close family relationships for the full and healthy development of children.” Platypus books are distributed through National Book Network and are available widely through bookstores, retailers, and online sites as well as through the publisher’s website. Title 1 schools, literacy groups, and non-profits can find them, at deep discount, on the First Book Marketplace.


Click to buy

Cuddled and Carried

Cuddled and Carried / Consentido y cargado

Babies Nurse

Babies Nurse / Así se alimentan los bebés


 

Podcast with Laura J. Miller, Ph.D., author, Building Nature’s Market about evolution of natural foods market

Posted by Elena del Valle on June 4, 2018

Laura J. Miller, Ph.D., author, Building Nature's Market

Laura J. Miller, Ph.D., author, Building Nature’s Market

Photos: author photo courtesy of Elias Johansson-Miller*

A podcast interview with Laura J. Miller, Ph.D., author, Building Nature’s Market: The Business and Politics of Natural Foods is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, she discusses the evolution of the natural foods market with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

Laura J. Miller is associate professor of Sociology at Brandeis University. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, San Diego, and previously taught at the University of Western Ontario and Vassar College. Her research focuses on the intersection of cultural and economic factors within industries characterized by moral commitments to their products. Building Nature’s Market was published in 2017 by University of Chicago Press. She is also the author of Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption.

To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Laura J. Miller, Ph.D.” and click on the play button below or download the MP3 file to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home from the RSS feed. Some software will not allow flash, which may be necessary for the play button and podcast player. If that is your case, you will need to download the file to play it. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the June 2018 section of the podcast archive.


Building Nature's Market

Click to buy Building Nature’s Market


*Book cover courtesy University of Chicago Press

Executive enthusiastic about advantages of storytelling in business

Posted by Elena del Valle on May 23, 2018

Let the Story Do the Work
Let the Story Do the Work

Photos: Leadership Story Lab

After dedicating 20 years to evaluating the potential of future leaders to succeed for a living, as a university admissions officer, Esther Choy, M.B.A., decided to change career tracks. Now she is president of Leadership Story Lab. Taking advantage of the lessons learned in both jobs about the value of stories in the business environment she wrote a 230-page hardcover book for business leaders with technical, quantitative and analytical expertise who need to master communication so that they can inform and influence a broad set of audiences. Last year, Let the Story Do the Work The Art of Storytelling for Business Success (American Management Association, $24.95) was published.

“I’ve seen it from both sides,” Choy said by email when asked what makes her an expert on the subject. “Spent my twenty-year career on developing and evaluating leaders’ potential to succeed. The key is storytelling, which leads to job promotion, new clients and record fundraising.”

In the jacket of the book she promises readers it will help them by breaking down the art of storytelling into step-by-step guidelines, insights, and examples so they can weave storytelling techniques into their communications and strengthen their impact. The book, which has several pages of end notes, is divided into eleven chapters and three main parts: Anatomy of a Story, Bringing Stories to Life, and Stories in Action.

When asked if there are business types for which letting the story do the work is not advisable or doesn’t work she replied, “No. I wrote the book with a general business audience in mind. However, one thing to note is that Let the Story Do the Work is not meant to be a book on writing. Contrary to popular belief, oral storytelling shares more things in common with performing arts and it does with writing.”

Esther Choy, author, Let the Story Do the Work

Esther Choy, author, Let the Story Do the Work

The author believes in the power of well told personal stories combined with social influence to elevate a narrator’s ability to stimulate effective networking and inspire conversations as well as audiences during presentations. Asked about data accumulation by third parties, that some people may be shy about sharing more private information, and what other options they have she replied, “It’s precisely because third parties data collection is constant and inevitable that we have to take active control of our own narrative. Keep in mind, your compelling story shouldn’t just have your credentials or competence, which are both easy to search in this day and age. It should first and foremost share your characters. What make you you is the core of personal storytelling.”

When asked about the impact of technology, including AI, on the work environment and whether story telling may be affected she said, “Technology can connect us in ways never imaginable. If misused, however, technology create more harm than good. Just think the term, ‘Death by PowerPoint.’ The key to using tech without abusing is to never assume that it will solve all our problems. People still need other people, that may never be replaced by machines.”

In her current company Choy coaches managers in storytelling techniques. She also teaches in the executive education programs at Northwestern Univerity’s Kellogg School of Management. Prior to that she served as admissions officer for the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.


Let the Story Do the Work

Click to buy Let the Story Do the Work


Personal finance blogger pens book emphasizing frugality

Posted by Elena del Valle on May 10, 2018

Meet the Frugalwoods

Meet the Frugalwoods

 

Photos: Courtesy of HarperBusiness, Nate Thames

​​​​The rat race sometimes gets to be a bit much, dragging down the best of us. A few lucky people discover a way out. Fewer still find financial independence of some kind and share the story of how they did it. Elizabeth Willard Thames and her husband Nate are working yet living life on their own terms. While many may not want to relocate permanently to remote and rural Vermont as they did achieving their goal of financial independence may appeal to many of us.

In Meet the Frugalwoods Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living (Harper Business, $22.99), a 229-page hardcover book published recently, Elizabeth Thames shares the experiences in life and work that led her and her husband to quit their jobs and leave a conventional life in upscale Cambridge, Massachusetts in search of a more meaningful and satisfying life in the country. She also explains in general terms how they followed a more frugal than most approach for years that allowed them to save enough (as much as 70 percent of their take home income at times) to make big purchases with relative ease without having to always borrow for a mortgage or bank loan.

Elizabeth Willard Thames, author, Meet the Frugalwoods

Elizabeth Willard Thames, author, Meet the Frugalwoods

Thames is the blog voice behind the Frugalwoods website, focusing on personal finance from her personal perspective. She, her husband and their small children live in a homestead in the Vermont woods. She did not respond to questions submitted more than one week in advance via her publishing company.

Thames holds undergraduate degrees in political science and creative writing from the University of Kansas and an masters in public administration from American University. Prior to following her calling as a writer and homesteader, she worked for ten years in the nonprofit sector as a fund-raiser and communications manager.


Meet the Frugalwoods

Click to buy Meet the Frugalwoods


New recording tells story of small Mexican town massacre

Posted by Elena del Valle on May 3, 2018

The Making of a Massacre

The Making of a Massacre

Images: Audible, ProPulica

On May 4, 2018 the final parts of The Making of a Massacre, a five-part audio series (The first part of the series is already available for Audible members on the company website) should become available. In the series, Ginger Thompson, investigative reporter, ProPublica, takes listeners through the nonfiction story of the disappearance of dozens of people from Allende, a small Mexican border town. She relies on interviews, English voice over excerpts of interviews with townspeople, officials, and cartel members to illustrate “the way in which well-intentioned efforts to curtail the drug trade had devastating real-life results.”

The review edition of the audio recording, about two hours long, had uneven volume and at times it was difficult to distinguish sounds and words from sound effects and background noises. Despite multiple requests submitted two weeks in advance via a publishing company representative first and later directly to the journalist, Thompson declined to respond to questions about the recording.

Ginger Thompson

Ginger Thompson

According to promotional materials, Thompson spent 15 years at The New York Times, including time as a Washington correspondent and as an investigative reporter whose stories revealed Washington’s secret role in Mexico’s fight against drug traffickers. While at The Times, she covered Mexico’s transformation from a one-party state to a fledgling multi-party democracy and into breaking news events across the region, including Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela.

For her work in the region, she was a finalist for The Pulitzer’s Gold Medal for Public Service. She won the Maria Moors Cabot Prize, the Selden Ring Award for investigative reporting, an InterAmerican Press Association Award, and an Overseas Press Club Award. Thompson was also part of a team of national reporters at The Times that was awarded a 2000 Pulitzer Prize for the series How Race is Lived in America.

Latin Alternative Music Conference

Posted by Elena del Valle on April 26, 2018

Information provided by Event Partner

Latin Alternative Music Conference 2018

July 10th – 14th, 2018
New York City – Stewart Hotel

The Latin Alternative Music Conference is the only major conference devoted to bilingual and bicultural cutting edge music, art and entertainment. The five-day event includes industry panels, concert showcases, parties and films and draws a tastemaker crowd of leading artists, executives, journalists and forward thinkers. This July, the LAMC will be celebrating its 19th year. The conference will take place at the Stewart Hotel in Midtown Manhattan with concerts throughout New York City including Central Park SummerStage, Celebrate Brooklyn at Prospect Park, Lincoln Center, the Highline Ballroom, SOB’s and other iconic New York venues.

In its 19 years, the LAMC has made a name for itself as a hub of Latino culture, bringing talent from all over the world to celebrate Latino identity each summer. The NY Times hails it as the “Sundance of Latin music”. Don’t miss the dynamic industry panels, featuring many of the movers and shakers who are helping to further define today’s music market. Head over to latinalternative.com (http://www.latinalternative.com/) before online registration closes Sunday, July 1st!

Podcast with Marco Casanova, author, Branding IT 3.0., about brand management

Posted by Elena del Valle on April 23, 2018

Marco Casanova, author, Branding IT 3.0

Marco Casanova, author, Branding IT 3.0

Photos: Marcocasanova.com

A podcast interview with Marco Casanova, author, Branding IT 3.0 is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, he discusses brand management with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

Marco is the founder and managing partner of the Branding-Institute, which he began in 2002. He serves in various executive boards and does consulting as strategic advisor for Bayer and Credit Suisse among other enterprises and international organizations, associations and countries and their governmental institutions in brand and reputation guided stakeholder management.

He was the founder of the Community of Interest COI Branding in Switzerland as well as co-founder and co-chairman of the International Brand & Reputation Community (INBREC), where ABB, Allianz, Bayer, Bosch, Henkel, Hilti, Mercedes, Schindler, Shell, Siemens, and UBS meet regularly. He is an international speaker for several executive management programs, the United Nations and conferences in Europe, China, India, and South America.

To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Marco Casanova” and click on the play button below or download the MP3 file to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home from the RSS feed. Some software will not allow flash, which may be necessary for the play button and podcast player. If that is your case, you will need to download the file to play it. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the April 2018 section of the podcast archive.


Click to buy Branding It 3.0


Podcast with Ken Dunn, CEO, GoRead.com, about writing a book to achieve your business goals

Posted by Elena del Valle on April 16, 2018

Ken Dunn, CEO, GoRead.com

Ken Dunn, CEO, GoRead.com

Photo: Ken Dunn

A podcast interview with Ken Dunn, CEO, GoRead.com, is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, he discusses writing a book to achieve your business goals with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

Ken’s passion is eliminating illiteracy and also helping experts turn their experience into a highly profitable authority platform. Fourteen years in investigative and tactical policing allowed Ken to hone deep organizational and leadership skills, and sparked an entrepreneurial fire inside of him. Throughout his law enforcement career, he also helped to start businesses, which was the beginning of his serial entrepreneurial path.

Ken hungers to learn and teach others, which has led him through five careers in the past 25 years. In addition to his work as founder at GoRead.com he is an international speaker, author and sales trainer. Ken is an avid reader (he reads a book per week), in addition to being an author and publisher, and he believes that more people should be made aware of the widespread issue of child illiteracy.

To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Ken Dunn” and click on the play button below or download the MP3 file to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home from the RSS feed. Some software will not allow flash, which may be necessary for the play button and podcast player. If that is your case, you will need to download the file to play it. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the April 2018 section of the podcast archive.

Job search expert shares insights in updated book

Posted by Elena del Valle on April 12, 2018

The Ultimate Job Search Guide

The Ultimate Job Search Guide

Photos: Simon and Schuster, Knock ’em Dead

For 32 years Martin Yate, CPC has been “thinking about, writing and helping people through the issues that can advance a career or get a stalled one back on track.” During that time he has shared his insights in 18 books in 85 editions. Updating existing books requires approximately three months of work. In the 32nd edition of Knock ’em Dead: The Ultimate Job Search Guide (Adams Media, $17.99) published last year he outlines his latest tips for job finding.

When asked about the target audience for his book he replied by email “…anyone who can read, wants to be successful, achieve financial stability and live a personally fulfilled life. The professional world. I have readers who started with me after graduation and now make speeches at Davos & G7, single parents struggling to get ahead from a bad starting place, and everything in between. I have honed a comprehensive and completely new approach to career management that makes sense to anyone at any age, professional title, socio-economic status or situation. I don’t waste words so every page of every book offers common-sense advice that anyone can apply to their unique situations, which is all focused on you personally, achieving success, stability and fulfillment.”

The 400-page softcover book is divided into 30 chapters and four parts: The Well-Stocked Briefcase, Get the Word Out, Great Answers to Tough Interview Questions and Finishing Touches. It addresses age discrimination, career changes, confidential job searches, staying ahead of disruptions as well as answering tricky and touch interview questions, social media and other job search and job finding issues. The chapters include tips, highlighted in a blue background.

Martin Yate, CP, author, The Ultimate Job Search Guide

Martin Yate, CP, author, The Ultimate Job Search Guide

“My 360 degree understanding of career issues that come from being one of the early Silicon Valley international technology headhunters, Director of HR at Bell Computer Memory Division, Dir of Training & Development at world’s 3rd largest employment services company, and spending the majority of my waking moments for 32 years, thinking about, writing and helping people through the issues that can advance a career or get a stalled one back on track,” the author said when asked about his qualifications to write the book.

When asked about the impact of artificial intelligence on the job market he replied, “It’s too scary to think about but think and prepare we must because since 1948, recessions have come round with regularity every 7-10 years; each time they get a little deeper, with longer recovery every time. The last one topped out at 10 percent unemployment in 2012, and 6 percent of our workforce are discouraged workers many of whom lost their ability to make a living because of the impact of earlier waves of technology adoption.

Now let’s add in the impact of AI: No less an authority than Forrester Research released a report last year on the impact of of AI on employment by 2027, the highlights are: We will lose 16 percent of all jobs, at all levels, in all industries and professions and that 30 percent of today’s heritage technology companies will cease to exist. Put these facts together and we could be looking at 20 percent+ unemployment.”

To the question of what jobs might be available in the next decade he replied, “The same Forrester report predicted 9 percent of new jobs created will be in AI. Beyond this it is almost impossible to say. I have a belief that this upheaval will necessarily increase entrepreneurial endeavor. Beyond that the safest jobs will be those that are driven by demographics (example the aging population), or require interaction with the customer, making the professional trades more appealing.”


The Ultimate Job Search Guide
Click to buy Knock ’em Dead: The Ultimate Job Search Guide


Podcast with Ira Pastor, CEO, Bioquark Inc., about regeneration, repair and rejuvenation in humans

Posted by Elena del Valle on April 2, 2018

Ira Pastor, CEO, Bioquark

Ira Pastor, CEO, Bioquark

 

Photo: Bioquark Inc.

A podcast interview with Ira Pastor, CEO, Bioquark Inc., is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, he discusses regeneration, repair and rejuvenation with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

Ira has over 30 years of experience across multiple sectors of the pharmaceutical industry including pharmaceutical commercialization, biotech drug development, managed care, distribution, and retail. According to his biography, prior to working at Bioquark he served as vice president, Business Development for drug development company Phytomedics Inc., raising $40 million of private equity, consummating over $50 million of licensing deals, and bringing a lead drug candidate from discovery stage to Phase III development.

Prior to that, he was employed by SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals in sales, marketing, and business strategy positions. He has also served as vice president of Corporate Development for the pharmacy benefit management company Prescription Delivery Systems (acquired by Cigna Health Insurance). He is board member of RegenerAge SAPI de CV, the Reanima Project, and member of the World Economic Forum’s Human Enhancement Council.

To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Ira Pastor” and click on the play button below or download the MP3 file to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home from the RSS feed. Some software will not allow flash, which may be necessary for the play button and podcast player. If that is your case, you will need to download the file to play it. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the April 2018 section of the podcast archive.