Lawrence Schimel

@lawrenceschimel

Reader. Bilingual (Spanish/English) author & literary translator. Kidlit. Poetry. SF/F/H. Comics. 🌈 He/él I’ve translated: Maggie Nelson, Danez Smith, George Takei, Juan Villoro, Carmen Boullosa, Trifonia Melibea Obono, Koleka Putuma, etc.

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Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· 27d

Y la antología QUEER también incluye a Bartlett y Hollinghurst (y 78 autores más). 🙂

Back cover of QUEER edited by Frank Wynne with list of all 80 contributors..

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· 27d

10 años después recopilé una secuela, y ese tuvo una traducción al castellano (de solo un tercio del libro original) hecho por Josep Escarré. (Pero ni Hollinghurst ni Bartlett repiten como colaboradores.)

The front covers of THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF GAY EROTICA in English and the Spanish translation SOÑÉ TU BOCA.

Both show two anonymous/faceless (one can see chin/lips but not rest of face) muscular white men embracing (kissing on one cover).

The back covers of THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF GAY EROTICA in English and the Spanish translation SOÑÉ TU BOCA.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· 27d

Hace casi 20 años, incluí extractos de ambas novelas (SWIMMING-POOL LIBRARY y READY TO CATCH HIM) en una antología que recopilé para Constable & Robinson en UK y Carroll & Graf en EEUU, publicado en 1997. (Por eso también las tengo asociado.)

Front cover of THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF GAY EROTICA edited by Lawrence Schimel which shows two white male bodies facing one another, with double exposures of arms crossing one another's bodies, and the list of contributors:
Neil Bartlett
Allan Hollinghurst
Andrew Holleran
Michael Lassell
Stan Persky
Felice Picano
Aaron Travis
Philip Ridley
and many, many more.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· 28d

O frabjous day! After FAR TOO LONG we are finally getting more @joekeenan.bsky.social novels! 😍😍😍😍 New series from @sohopress.bsky.social #booksky

Publishers Marketplace
Deal report

SLOW DOWN, MR. PYM
and
SING OUT, MR. PYM
By Joe Keenan
Imprint: Soho Crime

Thurber, Lambda, and five-time Emmy-winner and author of BLUE HEAVEN Joe Keenan's SLOW DOWN, MR. PYM and SING OUT, MR. PYM, set in mid-century Manhattan, pitched as a classic fair-play mystery and romp for fans of Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz, centered on a renowned sleuth more skilled at PR than detection, and a young journalist—a reluctant detective duo if ever there was one—as they try to solve the murder of the sleuth's Watson-esque sidekick, to Nick Whitney at Soho Crime, in a very nice deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2028, by Mitchell Waters at Brandt & Hochman (world English).
Translation: Marianne Merola mmerola@bromasite.com

Fiction: Mystery/Crime July 13, 2026

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· Jul 9

Outside a bookshop in Cologne. (Especially for @kellylink.bsky.social and @gavingrant.bsky.social )

A sign board outside Siebter Himmel bookstore in Cologne which reads

READ BOOKS
WALK DOGS
FIGHT NAZIS
❤️

Under the board is a metal dog bowl full of water for thirsty hounds.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· Jul 7

Yay! Kirkus gave a starred review to my translation into English of graphic novel THE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS written by Nicolás Schuff & illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson, forthcoming from Eerdmans in October. This is my TENTH starred review from Kirkus, so quite a milestone! 🤩🤩 #comics #kidlit

Screenshot of the starred review from KIRKUS for THE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS:

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nicolas-schuff/the-adventures-of-odysseus-2/

THE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS
A GRAPHIC NOVEL OF THE ODYSSEY
by Nicolás Schuff ; illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson ; translated by Lawrence Schimel ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 27, 2026

An engrossing, entertaining work of graphic fiction that captures the spirit and strangeness of its source.

Abright, buoyant graphic adaptation of Odysseus’ arduous journey.

After Greece’s hard-fought victory in the Trojan War, Odysseus begins his sea journey home to Ithaca. What follows is a series of strange incidents marked by seduction, destruction, and encounters with gods and monsters. Schuff’s retelling communicates the timelessness of Homer’s work, demonstrating that the tale still has the power to hold audiences rapt thousands of years later. His narration, translated from Spanish, maintains a lucid, forthright tone, with spare yet splendid use of descriptive language: The cyclops devours a man’s “flesh and bones like a savage lion,” and when Odysseus reunites with his son, “they mourned like birds whose chicks were stolen before they learned to fly.” Ruiz Johnson’s illustrations blend clever, contemporary cartoonish fluidity with the lyrical litheness of the figures on Greek vases. Lotus eaters’ eyes spin in spirals; ghosts rush from Hades like Halloween haunts. Neither overexplicated nor oversimplified, this work is a beautiful entry point for readers new to the pace and purpose of the Homeric epic. Those familiar with this tale will delight in seeing Schuff and Ruiz Johnson blur the lines between the playful potential of our modern literary landscape and the ancient epic poem that lies at its roots.

An engrossing, entertaining work of graphic fiction that captures the spirit and strangeness of its source. (Graphic fiction. 9-15)
Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2026

ISBN: 9780802856630

Page Count: 196

Publisher: Eerdmans

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· Jul 6

Oh! What happy news! Eva Roth's translation into German of my picture book DAS DORF DER STEINE illustrated by Lena Studer (Atlantis Verlag) was chosen for the 2026 IBBY Honour List! And they even put the protagonist Sonja on the cover of the Honour List catalogue! 🥰🥰 #kidlit #booksky #buchsky

A screen shot of page 98 of the IBBY Honour List Catalogue, with the cover and info about two notable translations, first Johanna Lindbäck's translation into Swedish of a graphic novel by Norwegian cartoonist Nora Dåsnes, and then the entry for Eva Roth's translation into German of my picture book HABLAN LAS PIEDRAS illustrated by Lena Studer:

"SWITZERLAND (German)
Roth, Eva
Das Dorf der Steine
(Orig. Spanish: Hablan las piedras by Lawrence Schimel) Zurich: Atlantis, 2024
22x28cm, 26pp
ISBN 978-3-7152-0869-5, ages: 4+ Grief, graveyard, uncle
In a colourful graveyard radiating coziness, blind Sonja visits her late uncle Fred, feeling her way through engraved letters with her hands. With the help of Martin, the gardener, she discovers the stories behind the names, turning every gravestone into a window to a departed life. This succinct and sensitive text paints a comforting picture of saying goodbye and holding on to fond memories.
Eva Roth, born in 1974, is a writer and former editor at Atlantis Verlag. Her young adult novel Lisa Perk was part of the IBBY Honour List in 2022. Known for her linguistic sensitivity and precision, she translates picture books from Spanish into German, demonstrating the same keen sense for nuance found in her own award-winning texts."

The cover of the 2026 IBBY HONOUR LIST, which shows various buildings, with four people peering around the corner of one, a bus driven by various animals, some trees, a fox leaping over a toadstool, and on the bottom right, a snippet of the cover of my picture book DAS DORF DER STEIENE illustrated by Lena Studer, of the protagonist, Sonja, leaning against (for the IBBY catalogue) a tree.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· Jul 2

The cover of my translation into English of poetry book WHEN YOU WERE A CLOUD written by Chilean poet María José Ferrada & illustrated by Mexican artist Azul López, forthcoming from @theemmapress.bsky.social in September. 😍😍😍😍 #worldkidlit #kidlit #kidlituk #ukkidlit #poetry #xl8 #witmonth

The cover of WHEN YOU WERE A CLOUD illustrated by Azul López. A dark skinned girl with shoulder length black hair dressed in a yellow t-shirt and blue shorts is lying against a yellow background with green blobs and reddish blob-flowers, looking up at a dragonfly (whose shadow is also on the ground). The top and bottom of the image are also shadowed, as if by clouds up above (but out of view in the image).

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· Jun 27

Enhorabuena! There is a new edition of my children's book about the Camino being published for next year, which is a special Jubilee/Xacobeo year. 🥰 Have just seen the sketches and sample. Looks great! (But it follows the Camino Francés, not the route you two did.)

The endpapers for my forthcoming children's book about the Camino de Santiago, THE FLYING PILGRIM, illustrated by Blanca Millán. A path with different monuments from key stops along the Camino Francés--in reverse order, as the story features a swallow who lives among the spires of the Cathedral, who flies the Camino backwards, asking different animals along the way why the humans are engaged in this strange migration...

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· Jun 27

There isn't yet an English edition sold yet (my DMs are open if any publishers are interested!) but my new book as an author, PINTAMOS!, is all about a boy who finds a paintbrush but can't find inspiration until cat comes to help... Here's a peek at the Swedish edition. #worldkidlit #kidlit

The first three spreads of the Swedish translation of a new children's book illustrated by Elīna Brasliņa:

Spread 1: a dark-skinned boy is proudly holding up a paintbrush on one side, and on the other, his two moms and sister, all of different non-white skintones, are offering him paper and paints.

Spread 2: the boy is holding the brush over a blank page uncertain what to make. On the right side, we see various art supplies and the striped orange tail of cat.

Spread 3: Oh no! Trying to help, Cat knocks over the glass of water onto the pristine white page. Now it's ruined...

...or is it?

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· Jun 19

Got copies of the Croatian edition of my picture book DAS DORF DER STEINE illustrated by Lena Studer, translated by Bojana Bajić & published by Ibis grafika. Originally published by Atlantis Verlag, it was a finalist last year for the Swiss Children's Book Award. 😊 #kidlit #booksky

A photo of me holding copies of the original German edition and the new Croatian translation of my picture book DAS DORF DER STEIENE. I am a middle-aged white man with close-cropped dark hair and a short salt-and-pepper beard. I am wearing a heathered light blue t-shirt with a pink neck and navy blue sleeves.
The cover shows a girl with her eyes closed leaning against an unidentified grey object. Behind her is a fence, with a bird perched atop it, part of a small evergreen, and some flowers and a rake and a cobbled path.
The German cover has a white and orange sticker from the SCHWEIZER KIND- UND JUGEND-BUCH PRIZE 2025 nomination.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· Jun 15

Pride in your 50s. 🤣🌈 We're here. We're Queer. And we're going to bed at 9pm. Painting by @anthonyhurd.bsky.social

Painting of three embraxing cowboys in Southwestern tones. Text reads:
We're here. We're Queer.
And we're going to bed at 9pm.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· Jun 11

Me with Jane Yolen at Boskone in 2012, hand-delivering to her the first copy of her poetry collection THE LAST SELCHIE CHILD, which I published with A Midsummer Night's Press. I started the press in 1991, when I had access to a letterpress as an undergrad, & published broadsides by her.

A photo of me with Jane Yolen at Boskone in 2012 with me hand-delivering to her the first copy of her poetry collection THE LAST SELCHIE CHILD, which I published with A Midsummer Night's Press.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· Jun 6

Madrid is half shut down for the Pope's visit. Madrid está medio-cerrado por la visita de Su Santidad.

Selfie in front of large temporary letters in Plaza de España, Madrid spelling out: LEON XIV

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· Jun 4

¡Enhorabuena! 👏🏽👏🏽🎉🎉 Just saw the happy news.

Screenshot of Foreword Indies award
Winners:

2025 HONORABLE Mention for Picture Books

Foreword INDIE
#honorablemention

The Fib
Contributor(s): Pedro Iniguez and Nathan Kwan (illustrator)

Publisher: Gloo Books
ISBN-13: 978-1-962351-30-0
Publication Date: Oct 7, 2025

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· Jun 1

This is not an un-boxing video because my editor from Colombia just hand-delivered to me the copies of the special, inclusive editions of my #rainbowfamilies children's books created with Elīna Brasliņa, with #braille, #pictograms & textures for the illustrations. 😍😍🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈 #PrideMonth #kidlit #lgbtq

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· May 28

Enhorabuena, @capaciousmood.bsky.social ! 👏🏽👏🏽🎉🎉 #kidlit #booksky #publishing

A screenshot from Publishers Lunch:

Maria B. Campbell Associates

Kaylee Hirzel-Duff has been promoted to scout, children’s & YA.

Irene Vazquez has joined as scout, children’s & YA. Vazquez was previously at Levine Querido.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· May 25

From my TBR stack, so haven't read it yet but maybe of interest for your student? www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/250924...

Cover of THE HAPPIKY EVER AFTER: A MEMOIR OF AN UNLIKELY ROMANCE
NOVELIST by Avi Steinberg

Cover shows a romantic clinch between a shirtless male hunk and a long-haired woman in a flowery-colored dress, both of them white, with pink and red roses surrounding them. Their faces are covered by a yellow post it note with the title, two other post its are on bottom left corner with subtitle and author byline.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· May 21

The first publication for the sequels Elīna Brasliņa & I created of our #rainbowfamilies board books will be back from the printers next week. Again translated into Swedish by Tova Lundin Mylläri, they're published by OLIKA. One is about creativity, the other about community. 😍😍🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈 #booksky #kidlit

The front and back cover of the Swedish translation of LET'S PAINT!

Front shows a Black boy holding a brush and a tube of paint above his head. An orange cat is raising one paw to pat at the brush.

The back cover shows the boy's two moms and sister, and also the covers of the other three titles.

The front and back cover of the Swedish translation of LET'S PLAY!

Front shows a light-skinned girl chasing after a red ball, here black and white dog is chasing after her, and a darker-skinned hand is visible (having just thrown the ball).

The back cover shows the girl playing with two other kids of mixed skin tones, and also the covers of the other three titles.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· May 18

There's a church dog scene very like this in my new picture book SUCH A BUSY SUNDAY. 🥰🥰 thepilgrimpress.com/products/suc...

Two spreads from picture book SUCH A BUSY SUNDAY illustrated by Mati Ark.

Top shows Tina next to woman with a crunch who she befriended earlier at the park. Her two dads, one of which has their dog on his lap, and then her older brother Todd.

Bottom shows much the same scene except the dog has its head raised to howl and join in on the hymns.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· May 17

🙃

Two panel cartoon by Dudolf.com.

Panel 1 shows a bear sitting in a chair with eyes closes resting. Text reads:

Parenting be like:

Speech bubble:
finally, silence...

Panel 2
Shows same seated bear 2ith eyes wide open in alarm.

Speech bubble: Wait, WHY is there silence?

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· May 17

A few shelfies of paperbacks... #booksly #amreading

A shelfie of Michael McDowell paperbacks (including his fun, campy gay mysteries cowritten as Nathan Aldyne) and Barbara Neely's four Blanche White mysteries.

A shelfie of mixed old mass market paperbacks of different genres including Alexander Key, Vin Packer/ME Kerr, Gerald Durrell, Phil Andros, Naomi Mitchison, etc

A shelfie of mostly Shirley Jackson and Diana Athill books, also some written or translated by Ursula K LeGuin and Laurie Halse Anderson's THE IMPOSSIBLE KNIFE OF MEMORY, a Maxine Kumin and two Gilbert Adairs.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· May 13

O frabjous day! New Karen Joy Fowler novel announced! 🎉🎉😍😍 #booksky #amreading

Publishers Marketplace
Deal Report

OTTER MUSIC
By Karen Joy Fowler

Imprint: Putnam, Serpent's Tail, Aufbau

Author of Booker Prize-nominated WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES Karen Joy Fowler's OTTER MUSIC, about a marine researcher fighting to protect the California coastline, the creatures who inhabit it, and the stories we tell ourselves to find courage and hope, to Lindsay Sagnette at Putnam, with Daphne Durham editing, by Molly Friedrich and Lucy Carson at Friedrich Agency (NA).
Rights also to Serpent's Tail (UK); and to Aufbau (Germany)

Rights: mtakikawa@friedrichagency.com

Fiction: Literary
May 12, 2026

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· May 12

Hablando con Su Majestad la Reina de España sobre libros esta tarde en la entrega de los Premios SM. Chatting about books with Her Majesty the Queen of Spain this evening at the awards ceremony for the Premios SM.

A photo with Her Majesty the Queen of Spain, at the Premios SM.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· May 6

Congrats, @mdbell79.bsky.social ! 👏🏽👏🏽🎉🎉 #booksky

Publishers Marketplace Deal Report

PENITENT
By Matt Bell
Imprint: Doubleday
Author of APPLESEED and contributor to Best American Mystery Stories and Best American Fantasy Matt Bell's PENITENT, a future-set novel cast in a medieval-like world in which a dutiful subject is called to war by his queen and, after killing seven men, must undertake a grueling journey of atonement—one year of pilgrimage for each life taken—only to find his path complicated by encounters with uncertain allies, hidden enemies, and the queen herself, whose plans grow ever more at odds with his own, forcing a reckoning with faith and violence as he struggles to return to the wife and unborn child he left behind, to Thomas Gebremedhin at Doubleday, by Kirby Kim at Janklow & Nesbit (NA).

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· May 5

Asturiando. Visiting Asturias. (Have a school visit tomorrow morning.)

A selfie wearing a black hooded raincoat and an open purple umbrella behind me. To my left are large blue letters spelling out OVIEDO.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· May 1

We have shared antho ToCs since the mid-90s (solo me mudé a España en 1999). Here are a few I grabbed off the shelf nearest me. :) (A lot from so long ago is still in NY in my parents' attic.) Maybe also in Janet Fox and Kathy Ptacek's market zines, too?? So long ago!

A photo of three horror anthologies, in hardcover, trade paperback and mass market from left to right:

HORRORS! 365 SCARY STORIES

100 VICIOUS LITTLE VAMPIRE STORIES

ELF FANTASTIC

WEREWOLVES

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· May 1

New Akwaeke Emezi book klaxon! 🎉🎉 Squee! #booksky

Publishers Marketplace
Deal Report
ECLIPSE & THE WOLF
By Akwaeke Emezi
Imprint: Voyager
Author of FRESHWATER and SON OF THE MORNING Akwaeke Emezi's
ECLIPSE & THE WOLF, a dark epic fantasy, the author's first, which follows the heirs to a magical city's rival clans through shifting alliances, devastating betrayals, and brutal power struggles that will give way to a new order, and perhaps blood-soaked redemption, to Laura Schreiber at Voyager, in a major deal, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in winter 2027, by Jacqueline Ko at The Wylie Agency (NA).
Fiction: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
April 30, 2026

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· Apr 30

How lovely! The Latvian edition of my picture book ¡QUÉ SUERTE TENGO! illustrated by Juan Camilo Mayorga, translated into Latvian by Elīna Brasliņa and published by Liels un mazs has been chosen as one of the 5 finalists in the Children's Jury for the 5+ category! 😍😍 #kidlit #scbwi #booksky

A screenshot about the announcement of the finalists for the Children's Jury Award in Latvia, with my book circled in red.

Lawrence Schimel@lawrenceschimel· Apr 29

These four pages in @delilahsdawson.bsky.social's BOOKS & BEWITCHMENT made me think of @theferocity.bsky.social ... 🦃🦃🦃