This issue was announced by the USPS on December 13th:
This stamp honors prolific children’s book author and illustrator Tomie dePaola (1934-2020), whose extraordinarily varied body of work encompasses folktales and legends, informational books, religious and holiday stories, and touching autobiographical tales. The stamp art features a detail from the cover of “Strega Nona” (1975), the Caldecott Honor winning first book in the series. Set in southern Italy, the gently humorous story focuses on Strega Nona, “Grandma Witch,” who uses magic to help with matters of the heart and to cure her neighbors’ ills. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp with Tomie dePaola’s original art.
We will post additional information as we get it below the line, with the most recent information at the top.
Updated June 6th:
The Scott catalogue number for this issue is 5797 and 5797a for the imperforate version.
Updated March 24th from the Postal Bulletin:
On May 5, 2023, in Manchester, NH, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Tomie dePaola stamp (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 483600). This stamp will go on sale nationwide May 5, 2023, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.
This stamp honors prolific children’s book author and illustrator Tomie dePaola (1934–2020), whose extraordinarily varied body of work encompasses folktales and legends, informational books, religious and holiday stories, and touching autobiographical tales. The stamp art features a detail from the cover of Strega Nona (1975), the Caldecott Honor-winning first book in the series. The story focuses on Strega Nona, “Grandma Witch,” who uses magic to help with matters of the heart and to cure her neighbors’ ills. The cover shows Strega Nona carrying her magic pasta pot. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp with Tomie dePaola‘s original art.
No automatic distribution.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at store.usps.com/store/home. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
FDOI – Tomie dePaola Stamp
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by September 5, 2023.
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Tomie dePaola Stamp
Item Number: 483600
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: May 5, 2023, Manchester, NH, 03103
Art Director: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Designer: Derry Noyes, Washington, DC
Existing Art: Tomie dePaola
Modeler: Ty Schroeder
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd (APU)
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 22,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tagged
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Pantone 7584C, Pantone 624C
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.42 x 1.085 in / 36.068 x 27.559 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.56 x 1.225 in / 39.624 x 31.115 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 7.24 x 7.90 in / 183.896 x 200.66 mm
Press Sheets Size (w x h): 22.75 x 27 in / 577.85 x 685.80 mm
Plate Size: 180 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “P” followed by six (6) single digits in two corners
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: Tomie • Plate number in bottom 2 corners
Back: ©2022 USPS • USPS logo • Two barcodes (483600) • Plate position diagram (9) • Promotional text
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue: 
The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.87″ x 1.48″ 
The pictorial postmark measures 2.53″ x 1.48″
Updated March 22nd:
[ceremony details] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
USPS Celebrates Award-Winning Children’s Book Author and Illustrator Tomie dePaola
What: The U.S. Postal Service will honor prolific children’s book author and illustrator Tomie dePaola with the issuance of a Forever stamp.
The first-day-of-issue event for the stamp is free and open to the public. News of the release is being shared with the hashtag #TomiedePaolastamp.
Who: Steve Monteith, chief customer and marketing officer and executive vice president, U.S. Postal Service, will serve as dedicating official.
Alan Chong, director and chief executive officer, Currier Museum of Art
Dr. Susan Lynch, former first lady of New Hampshire
Jon Anderson, president, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and
publisher of Strega Nona
Erin Fehlau, WMUR-TV anchor
Sarah Mackenzie, founder, Read Aloud Revival
When: Friday, May 5, 2023, at 11 a.m. ET
Where:
Currier Museum of Art
150 Ash St.
Manchester, NH 03104
RSVP: Dedication ceremony attendees are encouraged to RSVP at usps.com/tomiedepaola
Background: This stamp honors Tomie dePaola (1934–2020), whose extraordinarily varied body of work encompasses folk tales and legends, informational books, religious and holiday stories, and touching autobiographical accounts. His illustrations are immediately recognizable by their clean, bold lines and uncomplicated shapes. Deceptively simple, dePaola’s stories contain layers of emotional meaning and appeal to readers of all ages.
The stamp art features a detail from the cover of “Strega Nona” (1975), a Caldecott Honor Book and the first in a popular series. The title character, “Grandma Witch” in Italian, uses magic to cure her neighbors’ ills and to help with matters of the heart. The stamp image shows her carrying her magic pasta pot.
Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp with dePaola’s original art.
Updated January 10th:
This stamp will be issued Friday, May 5, in Manchester, NH. The Currier Museum of Art here has a number of his works in its collection and has established The Tomie dePaola Art Education Fund to support art education for young people.
Wonderful choice to honor beloved Tomie dePaola. I may buy out the entire supply at my PO. When will they debut?
No date has been announced yet.
05 MAY 2023, Manchester NH. Please be sure to tell your local Postmaster you want to buy some. More than Likely this stamp, like many others, Will Not be on Automatic Distribution, and MUST be Special-Ordered by the Postmaster if they want them available for local sale. If Not, USPS.COM may have them available for Pre-Order about Two Weeks before the go On Sale. ( + S/H )
From Post Bull 23 March: FDoI 05 May 2023 ( Cinco de Mayo ) Manchester NH, USPS# 4836xx, No Automatic Distribution, DCP, PIC, and Any City cancels.
I thought Tomi’s stamp was coming out in January. What happened. I’ve asked at my post office and the girl behind the counter said Tomi Who? Hope they are out soon. He was a beloved children’s author.
It was never expected for release in January. The USPS announced it on December 13th without a date of issue. The date (May 5th) was announced earlier this week.
Don’t expect USPS employees to even know what stamps they have. When I go to the local post office, I just point on the stand. In some cases, I’ll ask if they have Black Heritage series, those they understand. But trust me, ask them about August Wilson stamp and they will have no clue of who he is.😂