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This Publishers Weekly feature article entitled "Power in Numbers" spotlights the Class of 2k7 including quotes from Class President Greg R. Fishbone and Class Secretary Carrie Jones.

Barbara Fisch, associate director of publicity at Harcourt Children's Books, thinks the group and Web site are innovative. "By combining their talent and energy, these authors have generated buzz, the all-important word in publicity," she said. "And that buzz extends beyond just one book, but to what is new and exciting in middle grade and YA literature."

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The Edge of the Forest is a monthly online journal devoted to children's literature.

Our monthly audio segment is called Sounds from the Forest. This month, Mark talks to Greg Fishbone, the founder of Class of 2k7, a collective of Children’s/YA authors with debut novels due for release in 2007.

Expression OnLine is the SCBWI international online newsletter, available for free to all current members of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) anywhere in the world. It includes news and short feature items about children's books, the industry in general as it is practiced in different parts of the world, and the people involved - writers, illustrators, book designers, publishers, editors, booksellers, librarians, teachers, parents, educators, and more.

The Class of 2k7 launched a new website last month at (http://classof2k7.com). The 2k7ers are debut children's and young adult authors who have come together to co-promote their upcoming books. Class President Greg R. Fishbone explains, "We formed our group because publishers are expecting more from authors these days in terms of marketing and promotion, but as first-time authors we're already dazzled and overwhelmed by the whole process. By pooling our resources and sharing knowledge, we can accomplish more as a group than any of us could ever do alone." Greg's first book, THE PENGUINS OF DOOM, is scheduled for a July 2007 release from Blooming Tree Press (http://gfishbone.com).

SCBWI:NE News is the bi-monthly newsletter of three New England regions of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

We're only just getting started but already we're accomplishing things that none of us would be able to do on or own. Our website at Classof2k7.com is getting a lot of action, our story has attracted the interest of news outlets, and we're planning regional tours and panels. But perhaps most importantly, like any graduating class, we've formed friendships that should last deep into our respective publishing careers. With luck we'll continue helping each other for many years and passing our knowledge on to the Classes of 2k8, 2k9, and beyond.

Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market is published annually and includes a "yellow pages" of book, magazine, and other publishers, information about conferences and agents, basic how-to information, and interesting feature articles. The 2008 edition will include an article on the Class of 2k7 and "First Books" features for several Class members.

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This article appeared in School Library Journal, the print magazine, as well as its online counterpart, SLJ.com. Together these resources serve librarians who work with young people in schools and public libraries.

The Web site, whose name connotes the year 2007, offers a video of all the various books, which are aimed at kids age seven and up, and has multiple resources so librarians and other children's literature fans can find information about release dates, plot synopses, author Web sites, interviews, and biographies.