Pelican Publishing Company

Del G. Connell

• Married 61 years, 3 children, 4 grandchildren.

• Walt Disney Studios story man, artist, and newspaper strip writer.

• Comic book writer and editor.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Del spent 92 of his 93 years in Southern California, the last 23 in Tehachapi, CA, where he passed away peacefully on Aug 12.  Son of George Connell and Flora Kroetzch, and younger brother to Marvin Connell, Loraine Clarke, and Verna Browning, Del is survived by his devoted wife of 61 years, Ruth Connell, his three children Kelly Connell, Casey Noll, and Brady Connell, and his 4 grandchildren Alex Noll, Russell Noll, Kylie Chryss-Connell and Quinn Chryss-Connell.  Del attended South Pasadena High School and graduated from Pasadena Junior College as an art student.

Del joined Walt Disney Studios in 1939 when the studio was located on Hyperion Avenue in Glendale.  He started in the Character Model Department where he sculpted animation models for “Dumbo,” “Lady and the Tramp,” “Fantasia,” and “The Reluctant Dragon.”  He also wrote shorts for the studio, including “The Pelican and the Snipe,” “The Cold-Blooded Penguin” (seen in the feature film “The Three Caballeros”), and “Ben and Me,” a classic animated short about a mouse that helped Benjamin Franklin.

Del entered the Army in March 1941 and served in Panama, where he drew detailed maps of the Panama Canal.  When he returned from his 4 years of service to his country, he continued at Walt Disney Studios.  He was one of the original writers assigned to the “Alice and Wonderland” animated feature.  He also wrote and sketched the earliest drafts of Disneyland’s first guest brochures.

In 1950, Del fell in love with and married Ruth Gipe of Long Beach, CA – they spent the next 61 years together.  Del also joined Western Publishing Company around that time, first as a freelancer, then full time, where he spent 35 years writing and editing thousands of comic book stories for various studios including Disney, Warner Bros., Walter Lantz, Hanna-Barbera, and MGM.  During that time, he originated dozens of original characters, stories, and comic book series, including Supergoof (Goofy’s superhero alter-ego), April, May, and June (Daisy Duck’s nieces), Mighty Knight, The Close Shaves of Pauline Peril, and Wacky Witch.

Pelican Publishing Company - USA Book Publisher

Biography:

Pelican Publishing Company enjoys national recognition as a rapidly growing medium-sized company with a backlist of more than1,500 titles and 80-90 new titles produced in 2009. As a general trade and children's publisher, Pelican produces travel guides, art and architecture books, Christmas books, local and international cookbooks, motivational and inspirational works, and children’s picture books, as well as a growing number of social commentary, history, and fiction titles.

Pelican Publishing Company’s catalog and history may be viewed online at this web site. The book’s title must be clearly stated at the top of the query letter or in the first sentence. The letter should then discuss the following: the book's content, its anticipated length (in double-spaced pages or in words), its intended audience, the author's writing and professional background, and any promotional ideas and contacts the author may have. If the author has previously been published by another firm, please specify why a change is being sought. A formal synopsis, chapter outline, and/or one or two sample chapters may be sent with a query letter, but these are not required. Never send the original copy of any material. Be advised that we have certain expectations in the length of a proposed manuscript. Our young children's books (ages 5-8, 32 illustrated pages when published) cannot exceed 1,100 words. Proposed books for middle readers (ages 8 and up) should be at least 25,000 words. Adult books should be more than this. For cookbooks, we require at least 200 proposed recipes. A phone call to the editor or secretary or an in-person drop off of unrequested material does not automatically imply that a project has been solicited. For this and other obvious reasons, we discourage phone inquiries and in-person drop offs. If an author we have requested additional material from is unclear as to what we're asking for, a phone call to clarify the matter is acceptable. Solicited manuscripts are carefully scrutinized by the editor(s). On occasion, they may be examined by our sales and/or promotions departments to gauge their marketability. They are then passed on to the publisher for preliminary and final consideration. The submissions are reported on as soon as possible, but this process may take up to three months (12 weeks). If acceptance is recommended, the author(s) will be asked to sign a contract with Pelican Publishing Company. If the three-month period for solicited manuscripts passes without the author being informed of a decision, a polite note of reminder from the author is not out of order. Phone calls on the status of manuscripts are very strongly discouraged. Never badger the editor for an instant decision or make demands or threats; this can only hurt the author's chances of acceptance. Authors who feel unsatisfied with our procedures or the amount of time being taken to reach a decision are free to request the manuscript's return at any time. We also ask that authors who have solicited works under consideration please refrain from sending us other works or proposals during this time unless they are specifically requested to do so. Agreement on our part to look at a particular work does not imply blanket authorization to send unrelated materials and doing so could hurt, rather than help, an author. Materials related to the requested submission, such as favorable newspaper clippings, endorsements by qualified professionals in the field the author is writing about, or other amended data may be sent and added to the material already on file. Use careful judgment in selecting these items and be certain that they enhance the material and its chances of being accepted. Sending in later data that refutes or calls into question points made in the earlier submission may cast doubts on the whole project's veracity and damage its chances of acceptance. Always be certain to refer to the work's title, the author name under which it was submitted, and the date the original query was mailed. We require all submissions, including outlines, resumes, sample chapters, etc., be neatly printed out on 8½ by 11 inch paper and double-spaced with sufficient margins (1 inch on all sides). Query letters are customarily single-spaced. Submissions with numerous misspellings, typographical errors, and handwritten corrections reflect unfavorably on the author and may contribute heavily toward a rejection. Writers are cautioned not to rely on editors to clean up after them or interpret unclear information, regardless of how good they think their material may be. A sloppy submission is often indicative of worse problems--the type editors and publishers prefer not to deal with. Handwritten submissions and/or queries, unless neatly printed in the absence of a computer printer or typewriter, do not make favorable impressions on editors and could jeopardize your chances of acceptance. Electronic submissions (discs) are not accepted. These would only be needed once a contract was signed. Never send discs, videotapes, or audio tapes without inquiring beforehand. Authors should avoid undue "hype-ing" of their work. Materials submitted with author projections of it being a "blockbuster" or "the next Gone With the Wind" rarely live up to these pretensions. The publisher and editor(s) are professionals who can make up their own minds on the quality and potential of a proposal without the "self-hype." Comments and/or reviews from qualified professionals or publications, as stated earlier, can be desirable in many cases. Likewise for rejection letters from other publishing companies that acknowledge a project's potential value and which base their rejections on other factors unrelated to quality of author workmanship. We look for clarity and conciseness of expression and presentation in a synopsis/outline and we ask to see those that will most likely yield proposals fitting our list and that we feel we can market successfully. We turn down thousands of adequate proposals every year just because they have no clear "hooks" or well-defined audiences. The author should present a strong case as to why we should take on the book and who would buy it. Saying that "all children would love it" is very vague, but saying "libraries and schools in Tennessee would like this" is more informative. If an author seeking to publish an illustrated work plans to use artwork copyrighted by an author, illustrator, publication, or syndicate, permission must be obtained in writing from that source. Permission in writing must also be obtained by any author seeking to use quotes or other materials from previously copyrighted publications. We will not publish illustrations or portions of another copyrighted work without written authorization to do so. We seek writers on the cutting edge of ideas who do not write in cliches, or take the old, tired, unimaginative way of foul language and sex scenes to pad a poor writing effort. We strongly urge writers to be aware of ideas gaining currency. We believe ideas have consequences. One of the consequences is that they lead to best-selling books. Finally, we would ask you to study Pelican's books and lists. Aside from being posted on www.pelicanpub.com, our latest catalog is available for free on request, and a look through it will help you understand where our interests lie. We have been called "innovative" by The New York Times. We will consider almost any well-written work by an author who understands promotion.

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