Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Simon and Schuster BFYR Logo

Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers is a Simon and Schuster imprint that is considered to be private equity. The books published by this imprint range from picture books to young adult novels. BFYR publishes a wide variety of genres including graphic novels, award winning fiction, classics, romance, fantasy, action and adventure, mysteries, historical, and thrillers. They print physical books, ebooks, and audible books that can be found at many retailers including Books a Million, Barnes and Noble, Target, and Walmart.

Simon and Schuster

Simon and Schuster is currently owned by KKR which is a publicly traded company and is for-profit. KKR does, however, support non-profit organizations. Simon and Schuster has more than 1500 employees and KKR had 4834 employees as of December 31, 2024. S&S has become more private since the purchase of KKR, making their last public financial report in October 2023 which states that they made $101 million in sales and $18 million in operating income. Their largest sales report was in 2022 when they made $1.1 billion in sales and $248 million in operating income.

Simon and Schuster's Mission Statement

“Simon and Schuster is a global publisher dedicated to sharing a broad range of works that educate, entertain, and inspire readers of all ages. We publish books that represent many perspectives, to stimulate readers’ curiosity and intellectual exploration. We believe the books we publish have the capacity to inform and challenge our views, and to create change in the world. Our passionate commitment to excellence in all aspects of publishing starts with our dedication to our authors, and is reflected in our unceasing effort to bring our authors’ works to the widest possible audience.”

Simon and Schuster's History

Richard L. Simon (left) and M. Lincoln Schuster (right)

Simon and Schuster was founded in 1924 by Richard L. (Dick) Simon and M. Lincoln (Max) Schuster. There isn’t a specific year that Books for Young Readers was founded, at least none that has been released by S&S. Simon and Schuster was then sold in 1944 to Marshall Field and repurchased by Simon, Schuster, Leon Shimkin, and James M. Jacobson in 1957 when Field died. From here, the company was resold many times. Gulf + Western acquired S&S from Shimkin in 1975 and became Paramount Communications in 1989. S&S then became part of Viacom Inc. in 1994 when Viacom Inc. acquired Paramount. Viacom sold S&S in 1998 to Pearson PLC which then integrated with Paramount motion picture and TV studios, essentially giving S&S back to Paramount in 2002. S&S was considered part of Viacom Entertainment Group at this point. In 2006, CBS and Viacom separated, making S&S part of CBS Corporation which later became Paramount Global. S&S was sold to KKR in 2023, returning the company to an independent publishing company.

In 2023, Richard E. Snyder died at the age of 90 from heart failure. He worked at S&S from 1960-1994 when he was abruptly dismissed after Viacom purchased the company. During his time at S&S, Snyder’s positions included President, Chief Executive, and Chairman.

Most recently, Jonathan Karp stepped down from his CEO position to launch a new imprint, Simon Six. As the name implies, Simon Six will be an imprint publishing only six books a year similar to his Hachette imprint in 2005 which only published one book a month.

Structure

Simon and Schuster Corporate Headquarters

Simon and Schuster have many different locations, both national and international. Corporate headquarters is located in New York, New York. They have two locations in Massachusetts, one in Stoughton and the other in Concord. There are two locations in Tennessee, one in Jackson and the other in Jefferson City. The two last national locations are both in New Jersey, one in Parsippany and the other in Riverside. The international locations are in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and India.

Simon and Schuster itself has over 1500 employees while Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers has 15 employees.

BFRY Editorial Team

The editorial team of Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers is comprised of Justin Chanda (Senior Vice President, Publisher), Kendra Levin (Editorial Director, Vice President), Sarah Barley (Editorial Director), Krista Vitola (Executive Editor), Nicole Ellul (Executive Editor), Celia Lee (Executive Editor), Alexa Pastor (Senior Editor), Deeba Zargarpur (Editor), Alyza Liu (Editor), Dainese Santos (Associate Editor), Daniela Villegas Valle (Assistant Editor), Alma Gomez Martinez (Editorial Assistant), Jessica Egan (Editorial Assistant), Tionne Townsend (Editorial Assistant), and Xenia Weakly (Editorial Assistant).

Publishing Program

BFYR’s catalog is seasonal and older ones are archived, so there’s only public access to the current catalog. The catalog includes all the books that will be released and information about the books.

BFYR has their own editorial team, but Simon and Schuster itself also has marketing teams, a design team, and sales teams. All of Simon and Schuster’s imprints also have their own editorial teams. All the different teams work together to produce each and every book, a process that typically takes over a year.

Publishing Process

According to a Top Ten Publishers article, Simon and Schuster’s printing and publishing process begins with literary agents submitting manuscripts to the editorial staff who evaluate it. The editorial team must decide whether or not they want to acquire the manuscript. If they decide to acquire the manuscript, there is contract signing with the author and manuscript revisions are made as well as copyediting. At the same time, S&S have book design and production teams who work on the cover design, the interior layout of the book, and the formatting of the book whether it is a print or digital copy. S&S then make advance reader copies which are printed and sent out to reviewers, booksellers, and certain media. The sales team then introduces the book to retailers before the final version is printed and released for purchase. The entire printing and publishing process typically takes anywhere from 12-18 months, and the pre-launch of the book typically takes 3-6 months itself.

Significant Books and Authors

Some notable books published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers are Powerless by Lauren Roberts, Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, Spy School by Stuart Gibbs, and Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter. Other notable authors include Neal Shusterman, Kelly Yang, Janet Fox, Rachel Lynn Solomon, Peter Brown, and Nikki Grimes.

Specific Publications

Three publications that show the wide variety of books published by BFYR are Creepy Carrots written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown, Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson, and Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter.

Creepy Carrots front cover

Creepy Carrots is a picturebook about a rabbit named Jasper Rabbit who loves carrots. He eats carrots on a daily basis, but the carrots start following him. It is recommended for kids ages 4-8 and is part of a series of picturebooks revolving around the character Jasper Rabbit. Creepy Carrots has received many awards including ILA Teachers’ Choices, NAPPA Gold Award Winner, Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award, and the ALA Notable Book award. The cost of this book ranges from $10.99-$19.99 depending on the retailer and the format of the book. On Amazon, a paperback copy is $18.95 while a hardcover is $12.51. On Barnes and Noble, the ebook is $10.99 while the hardcover is $19.99. On Walmart, a hardcover copy is $17.99.

Fever 1793 front cover

Fever 1793 is a middle grade book about a girl named Mattie Cook whose world is flipped upside down when an epidemic breaks out in the summer of 1793. It takes place in Philadelphia, but Mattie finds out that the disease has spread outside of the city. It is recommended for ages 10-14. Some of the awards that Fever 1793 has received include ALA Best Books for Young Adults, Storytelling World Award, Children’s Literature Choice List, and the Amelia Bloomer List. The cost of this book ranges from $7.59-$19.99. On Amazon, a paperback copy is $7.59 while a hardcover is $15.20. On Barnes and Noble, a paperback copy is $8.99 while a hardcover is $19.99. On Walmart, a paperback copy is $9.31 while a hardcover is $15.20.

Better Than the Movies front cover

Better Than the Movies is a young adult romcom revolving around Liz Buxbaum and her next door neighbor Wes Bennet. They’ve always been rivals, even from a young age, and it progressively becomes more competitive the older they are. In order for Liz to win over her crush, she enlists the help of Wes by bribing him with the parking spot they always fight over. As the story unfolds, Liz and Wes start fake dating, but their feelings start to become more than just fake. This book is recommended for ages 12 or older and is accompanied by the sequel Nothing Like the Movies. Better Than the Movies has received the Grand Canyon Reader Award, Rhode Island Teen Book Award, and Kansas NEA Reading Circle List High School Title. It has also been nominated for the Golden Archer Award and the Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book Award. The cost of this book ranges from $7.59-$25.99. On Amazon, a paperback copy is $7.59, a hardcover is $15.95, and is $9.99 on Kindle. On Barnes and Noble, a paperback copy is $12.99 while a hardcover is $25.99.

Audience and Community

Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers is mostly for children and young audiences, but their target audience is more geared towards librarians, teachers, and parents since they can point children towards their books. On their Instagram page, they have book give-aways, contests, and they have a week’s glance at what books are being released for that specific week. One author that has been shown quite a bit on their page is Stuart Gibbs, the author of the Spy School series. They also make posts about significant events in the book world including banned book week. Simon and Schuster's YouTube page also promotes new books, interviews with authors, and interviews with editors. Through their page, you can also access S&S Kids YouTube and S&S Teens YouTube.

Identity and Impact

Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers is part of one of the Big 5 Publishers in the publishing industry. The company has a prestigious reputation, especially due to their diversity and equity inclusion. BFYR has many young adult novels that include diversity and equity as well as an editor who exclusively works with diverse authors. Simon and Schuster as a whole also has entire imprints dedicated to diversity and equity including Black Privilege Publishing, Salaam Reads, and 13A.

While they have a lot to offer, Simon and Schuster does have room for improvement. They have mixed reviews, both good and bad, but most of their reviews are negative. Customers have accused S&S of political bias and censorship, leading to complaints and negative reviews. Positive reviews have been less common for S&S lately with everything going on in the world and the way they’ve chosen to react.

Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers continues to publish books for all ages and promote reading to kids. Through their catalogs, contests, and promotions, BFYR has allowed young readers a sense of community and belonging.