Forgotten Vintage Children's Lit We Want Republished! discussion

Thanks for visiting!

Here's the place to laud your favourite forgotten childhood books.

Why aren't they available as ebooks?! That's a good question, and one we'd like publishers to consider looking into! ;)

Please share this group widely, as an increased readership might help attract those publishers considering resurrecting out-of-print classics. :) At least, we can hope...

Oh, I forgot to mention (but it should be said!) - if your book of interest (or author of interest) can be read on OpenLibrary, or Archive.org, or Project Gutenberg, PLEASE DO MENTION IT! :)

Hi, thanks for the invite.

As an independent publisher I have already republished two books, but I added substantial content to create a new copyright. Some republishers just publish the original content. They distinguish the work from Project Gutenberg by explaining that it is well produced, without errors, and may appear in different formats.

For a book to be republished, both the author(s) and the artist(s) have to be deceased for more than 60 years. Otherwise the estates will still be able to make copyright claims. The length of time may vary in different parts of the world.

Excellent - thanks for this insider insight, Clare!

I have seen those disclaimers. As a Project Gutenberg fan, I must admit to not encountering more errors there than I typically find in printed books. And some of my older hardcopies of children's books in particular are positively riddled with typos.

That said, I appreciate books such as those you republished - I like the additional content and introductions, and I know Girls Gone By also adds in portions of unfinished sequels, or short stories by the same author that would probably disappear into the ether if they hadn't reprinted them. I know that the GGBP books I have are virtually typo-free, too. It's nice to know that an interested party lovingly and carefully breathed new life into them. It's far nicer than knowing a big publisher hired a lackey to do a good job of typing up an existing manuscript and running it through spell-check. That's not nearly so magical. :)

Thank you, for having perserved those works. :)

(Clare is also a Goodreads Author - a link to her page is here: Clare O'Beara).

Another nice way to revive work is to go through books of poetry or stories in the public domain, and select those on a particular topic. For instance, Kipling's dog stories.
Dog Stories

For those not sure, a book called a collection is works by one author, and an anthology is works by more than one author.

On the other hand, some out-of-print books have been resurrected. For example, Jane Louise Curry's Abaloc series which is in e-book format from CandleWood, a sister imprint of Anamchara books. Several of Curry's other books have been made available again.

Capn wrote: "Thanks for visiting!

Here's the place to laud your favourite forgotten childhood books.

Why aren't they available as ebooks?! That's a good question, and one we'd like publishers to consider loo..."

Thank you for the invitation. There are a few authors that spring to mind: Geoffrey Trease (the pre-1945 titles), Peter Dawlish's Dauntless series, Kathleen Fidler's Brydon family stories (I'm pretty sure it was Kathleen Fidler). I know you're keen on Mabel Esther Allan, she lived just over the River Mersey from me. Stephen Mogridge's New Forest stories, Mary Elwyn Patchett's science fiction stories. I'll think of much more given time.

I fear you've tapped into a well that's ready to overflow.

When I'm back on my computer, I'll look into Kathleen Fidler and the Brydon Family stories! Might be a perfect fit for my Lesser-known Vintage Family Series list! :)

Sem wrote: "On the other hand, some out-of-print books have been resurrected. For example, Jane Louise Curry's Abaloc series which is in e-book format from CandleWood, a sister imprint of Anamchara books. Seve..."

This is an important point - thanks, Sem! I'll start a thread for "BACK IN PRINT NOW!" :) And I'll definitely look into Abaloc for myself.

ALSO - If anyone has a gorgeous bookshelf they'd like to see as the Masthead for this group, or a nice grouped shot that would make a better profile photo than what I've got, please do upload it to GR and share the link with me (assuming that works). :)

All I have is my rather paltry collection. ;)

Capn wrote: "Oh, I forgot to mention (but it should be said!) - if your book of interest (or author of interest) can be read on OpenLibrary, or Archive.org, or Project Gutenberg, PLEASE DO MENTION IT! :)"

Seconding this request. Someone just posted what looks to me like a wall of text, difficult for me to read, difficult for me to see if *Virginia Pye* has anything on openlibrary. Thanks in advance to all who mention availability. :)

And thank you for the invite. I hope to get caught up in my other groups soonish and then to be able to make time to look at my GR shelves for candidates for all of you readers and other new friends.

Cheryl struggles to catch up wrote: "And thank you for the invite. I hope to get caught up in my other groups soonish and then to be able to make time to look at my GR shelves for candidates for all of you readers and other new friends."

We look forward to your imput, Cheryl! :) And thanks for coming!

Thank you to Saffron Moon for alerting me to this group, and to you, Capn, for creating it! As someone who reads and collects vintage children's books of all kinds, and who has a keen interest in the history of children's literature, this looks right up my alley.

I was very active on Goodreads a number of years ago, left for a time, and then returned a few years back. I haven't really returned to groups, and don't know how much time I'll have to participate, but I really look forward to learning more from all of you, and hopefully to contributing some, as I can.

Abigail wrote: "Thank you to Saffron Moon for alerting me to this group, and to you, Capn, for creating it! As someone who reads and collects vintage children's books of all kinds, and who has a keen interest in t..."

Hey, welcome, Abigail! I'm sorry I missed the notification on this post - sorry to be replying so late!

I'm hoping we'll get enough members for people in the publishing field to take notice! Some great suggestions here that I'm sure would be lucrative. Glad that SaffronMoon spread the word! :)

Hello. Is there a specific genre, or age-range of children’s literature we are discussing in this space? My interests are diverse and range from picture books to YA fiction with a primary focus in myths/folklore, supernatural themes, female protagonists, female authors and children’s illustrators. Before posting I want to make sure that I am posting topics that meet the discussion criteria. Thanks. I’m excited to be here!

Saffron Moon wrote: "Hello. Is there a specific genre, or age-range of children’s literature we are discussing in this space? My interests are diverse and range from picture books to YA fiction with a primary focus in ..."

Well that checks ALL of my personal interest boxes rather neatly! XD Ha ha!

No, no constraints! :) If it's out of print (or was/nearly, etc.) or scarce or simply totally overlooked, it's fair to discuss it here!

Frankly, I don't even mind if people want to discuss adult books as well, but I started the group with vintage 'juvenile' (pre-YA designation) fiction in mind.

:)