Two weeks worth!
Publishing:
Rights Report 1, 2, 3:
Book Trailers: A music video inspired by The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre. We All Looked Up - Tommy Wallach
Authors: Skandal - Lindsay Smith, None of the Above - IW Gregorio, Kissing Ted Callahan (And Other Guys) - Amy Spalding, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli, The Wicked Will Rise - Danielle Paige, Everything That Makes You - Moriah McStay, Leaves - Samantha Mabry, Blackbird Fly - Erin Entrada Kelly, Zeroboxer - Fonda Lee, Under a Painted Sky - Stacey Lee, A Study in Charlotte - Brittany Cavallaro, Duplicity - N. K. Traver, The Wrath and the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh, Rita Williams-Garcia
Awards/Lists: Best Books of April from Amazon, Best children’s books from April: Poetry edition from Washington Post. The Lambda literary award finalists were announced. So were the CCBC choices for 2015. And the Indie’s Choice nominees for 2015. And the International Thriller Award Finalists for 2015. And iBooks Best books of April. And the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize Winners. And PopSugar’s best books of April too.
Don’t forget to vote for the teen book of the year from CCBC! Lasts until May 3rd.
A cool feature now on YABC: Diversify your shelves. Tea Time last week also discussed diverse books. Matt de la Peña wrote a brilliant piece on how we do & don’t talk about diversity when we read with our kids. Huge congrats, too, to We Need Diverse Books, which is now officially a non-profit / public entity with tax exempt status.
Courtney Summers is hosting a Thunderclap campaign called #ToTheGirls on 04/14. Tell girls that they are seen, heard, and loved.
Curious about the Bologna Children’s Book fair that agents were mentioning? Here’s an agent’s blog post recap, and a post from Publisher’s Weekly, including photos since the attendance rate has increased. SSN picked eight standouts from the fair, and look at some of the authors who were there.
Those of you attending YALLWEST this weekend, have fun!!
People who live in Boston, you’ll have a new kids book festival.
If you missed out on last month’s Andrew Smith controversy, here is a neutral recap of what happened.
There’s a lot of speculation going on right now since HarperCollins refused to sign a deal with Amazon, and that harkens back to the Hachette dispute.
Promoting literacy via audiobooks sounds like a good plan. As does adding books to shelters. Don’t forget that audiobooksync starts on May 7th!
A Dubai theme park has The Hunger Games inspired attractions. Don’t know about you… but my thoughts are something like: what?? WHY. So we’re making light of the fact that the book is about CHILDREN killing CHILDREN on reality tv?
Penguin Random House is doing really well since its merger. One of its best books is The Girl on the Train, which has become the fastest selling hardback adult debut of all time.
A Spanish-language bookstore has finally opened in Los Angeles.
Buzzfeed is launching a writer’s fellowship with its new literary editor. How cool.
There are a few articles this week that are too technical for me, so I’ll just link to them here: 'Special Delivery' Promotion Has Readers Putting Their Own Stamp on Things, Penguin and Smithsonian Team Up for New Series, Capstone Sponsors Residency for Children's Authors and Illustrators, Mattel Takes More Control of Storytelling, Forms Vertical Publishing Team, & Edda USA Teams with DreamWorks for Nonfiction.
Cover Reveals:
Discussion/Other Blogger Posts:
Ah, as is usual when I don’t do bookish rounds and need to do 2 weeks worth, I’ve got a ton of recommendations posts for y’all: Vegas-set YAs, Books recc’d by other YA authors, books for young feminists, books for X-philes, April YA contemporary romance, books with otherworldly settings, funny zombie YA books, paranormal historical YA books, weird paranormal YA books, west coast set YA, alien invasion YA, 5 books to spook you in the springtime.
Also common to posts after a long time: quizzes! Which YA BFF are you? A quiz on what you should read next this spring. And a quiz that guesses your age based on your taste in books. I got 28. Almost accurate??? 5.5 years off.
Lol, hey, a quiz on which Hogwarts professor is your soulmate…. You got: Minerva McGonagall. Well, aren’t you the lucky one? Minerva’s strong, powerful, smart, and incredibly brave. She’ll teach you some magic tricks, and together you’ll keep the Wizarding world at peace. Which is a nice way of saying, I’m an old soul with an old soulmate.
And fancasting / characters in specific roles. YA books with characters fit to a presidential cabinet.
Ha, if you’ve ever been afraid of buying e-books because they don’t take up space on your shelves, and your vanity is pricked, look, you can create origami based off the e-books you own.
Ah, this is kind of cool. An infographic on how millennials in the US and UK read. Finally an article with stats rather than accusations against my generation and how we’re so “lazy.”
And hey, an infographic on the world’s most translated books. Definitely was surprised by some of these - and thought Harry Potter would be ALL the way at the top o.O.
And since we’re on cultural divisions… can you guess what was voted the best children’s book in the UK? How about in Australia?
Yo, book bloggers. A TBR calculator. That’s right. How long will it take you to get through your TBR? If you’re intimidated by the amount of time, here are 10 tips to get more reading in.
A LIBRARY WITH WALLS LITERALLY MADE OUT OF BOOKS. How cool does that sound?!
Fascinating: why modern fiction has turned its back on friendship (Without our friendships, life would be thin. On the other hand, from a certain, instrumental point of view, they are inessential, eccentric luxuries, difficult to justify in the common currencies of money, duty and procreation. The comfort of enduring witness and voluntary intimacy that friendships provide, the sense of conducting a two-way experiment in knowing: such benefits are less tangible than those of spouses, children or parents. Friendships derive their value from the ways in which they supplant or compensate for these primary kinships… That friendships between adults are harder to rationalise than other close relationships may be one reason they are underrepresented in modern fiction, considering their importance in most people’s lives.). But then again, by this reasoning, shouldn’t we see friendships taking greater precedence in teen literature, the argument being that in growing up, our primary kinships take over? Maybe that’s the effect of adults writing for teens, seeing a greater emphasis placed on those primary kinships.
Insurgent and why Young Adult Novels make for box office hits. (“Luckily for Hollywood, there is no shortage of fast-moving and dialogue driven YA books out there. After Green’s Paper Towns, R.L. Stine’s creepy Goosebumps will hit screens later this year, while the Tim Burton-directed adaptation of Ransom Rigg’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is due in 2016.”)
Ahhh, a list of the top 10 twins in children’s literature -- and another sign I definitely haven’t read enough if I’m familiar with only the Weasleys o.O.
Pets in bookstores. AKA: adorable.
You can always turn to JK Rowling for life advice.
Weetzie Bat is not a manic pixie dream girl -- and more on the book from Francesca Lia Block, often considered one of the founders of YA contemporary.
Which modern day children’s books will become classics? How is it, when they’re looking at the last 20 years, that His Dark Materials gets mentioned more often than Harry Potter? The sheer popularity of HP will ensure its status.
Okay, I can get on board with most book nerd problems, but I dog-ear my books and I’m not a problem :P. I also have definitely read books while walking.
Well, there are some books I’ve read for school that were awesome and I definitely reread them later for fun (well - depending on ‘fun’ because THT is not “fun” so much as stunning), like Jane Eyre and The Handmaid’s Tale, though I do understand this distinction.
Catching Fire was one of my favorite sequels too.
Have you ever thought about YA sci-fi / dystopias and government regulation - how unlikely some of these portrayals are? And do you like Startalk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson? Here’s my post for you ;).
Blogging:
Tips/Advice/Support:
** Rita at Blog Genie: Ask Yourself This One Question Before Writing Your Blog Post
** Rita at Blog Genie: Design Your Site On Purpose: Content Mapping
** Stephanie at These Paper Hearts: How to Add CSS to Your Blog
** Ashley at Nose Graze: Tips for Choosing the Perfect Blog Name + a Free Worksheet
** Ashley at Nose Graze: How to Choose a Blogging Platform That’s Right for You
** Ashley at Nose Graze: Where to Find Images to Use in Web Design
** Ashley at Nose Graze: How to Customize the WordPress Emoticons
** Ashley at Nose Graze: How to Override Old CSS with New CSS
** Ashley at Nose Graze: Creating an Author Website Just Got Easier
** Ashley at Nose Graze: Add a Jetpack Subscription Form Below Your Blog Post
** Ashley at Nose Graze: Rock That Effing About Page
** Ashley at Nose Graze: What Is a “Slug” in Wordpress + Tips for a Great Post URL
** Ashley at Nose Graze: Add Bootstrap Styles to the Comment Moderation Message in WordPress
Blogging & Bloggers:
** Carmel at Rabid Reads: How Do You Fight Blogging Slumps?
** Lili at Lili’s Reflections: A Revamp & Being Thankful
** Amber at The Mile Long Bookshelf: Should Book Bloggers Get Paid?
** Chiara at Books for a Delicate Eternity: If I Could Turn Back Time
** Cait at Paper Fury: How to Get More Comments On Your Blog
** Mitchii at Aeropapers: Breaking Some Stereotypes
Recommendations, Ratings, Reviews, Authors, ARCs:
** Shannon at It Starts At Midnight: The Art of OverARCing
** Anne at Lovely Literature: What Should I Pick Next?
** Kayla at The Thousand Lives: It’s spring break yet I’m already craving summer
** Alexa at Alexa Loves Books: Time Travel to: Regency England
** Jamie at the Perpetual Page-Turner: Fear Not
** Jamie at the Perpetual Page-Turner: Whatcha in the Mood For?
** Anya at On Starships & Dragonwings: When Should We Send Publicists Reviews?
** Trish at Between My Lines: The Benefits of Book Reviews
** Hannah at the Irish Banana Review: ARC Essentials with Candlewick
** Christina at A Reader of Fictions: Time to Shake It Up (If Not Off)
** Cait at Paper Fury: Disgustingly Talented Teen Authors
** Mitchii at Aeropapers: A Little Dent on My Book Buying Habit
** Nova at Out of Time: How Should an Author Respond to Negative Reviews?
Reading:
The Experience:
** Kat at My Shelf Confessions: Lost in the World of Fanfiction
** Carmel at Rabid Reads: Do You Notice Easter Eggs?
** Rebecca at The Library Canary: Road Trips and Reading
** Kara at Great Imaginations: Mood Reading by the Seasons
** Lisa at Read. Breathe. Relax.: When Do You Call It Quits/DNF a Book?
** Guest Post at Oh, The Books!: What Makes a Fantastic Story?
** Ana at Read Me Away: Tell Me the Twist… Not!
Hey YA & girls!:
** Kelly at Stacked Books: Where do we go from here? Wrapping up “about the girls”
** Kimberly at Stacked Books: On (Not) Reading Science Fiction as a Teenage Girl
** Guest Post at Stacked Books: On Curiosity
** Guest Post at Stacked Books: Staking Our Claim in the Science Fiction Universe
** Guest Post at Stacked Books: What about Intersectionality and Female Friendships in YA?
** Guest Post at Stacked Books: Abortion, Girls, Choice, and Agency
** Guest Post at Stacked Books: On Being a Feminist YA Author and Daring to Write “Unlikable”
** Bekka at Great Imaginations: The Boys of YA: Realistic & Nonfiction
Genre & trends:
** Julie at Chapter Break: Dystopian Genre
** Timon at YA Asylum: On Atmosphere: Don’t Pull the Trigger
** Timon at YA Asylum: The Rules: Bleed Like You Mean It
** Kimberly at Stacked Books: Get Genrified: Westerns
** Cayce at Fighting Dreamer: LGBT Is the New Black
** Emz at Paging Serenity: Can Romance Make or Break a Novel?
** Gillian at Writer of Wrongs: When the Last Book Ruins Everything
** Genevieve at The Reading Shelf: We Need Books for the In-Betweeners
** Cait at Paper Fury: Why Is There So Much Sexism in Epic Fantasy? WHY
** Amanda at On a Book Bender: Why I Love Historical Romance
** Asti at Oh, The Books!: My Love of Villains
Dat TBR Pile & Spring Cleaning:
** Shannon at It Starts At Midnight: My Bookshelf Needs Your Help
** Bec at Readers in Wonderland: Have I Learnt Self-Restraint?
** Stormy at Book. Blog. Bake.: Tackle the TBR
** Jessica at Literary Etc: Culling Your Bookshelf: A How-to Guide
** Emz at Paging Serenity: How Do You Organize Your Shelves?
** Rachel at Parajunkee: Blogger Spring Cleaning
** Ana at Read Me Away: Try “Again” Later Shelf
** Kelley at Oh, The Books!: I Joined the TBR Jar Club
Books, Books, Books:
** Ceilidhann at Bibliodaze: The Hugos, Sad Puppies, and the Fallacy of the Apolitical
** Amy at Ten Penny Dreams: If Jane Austen Was Your Pen Pal
** Julie at Chapter Break: Did the Movie Prompt You to Read the Book?
** Chyna at Lite-Rate-Ture: Bookstagram Lov’in
** Kara at Diary of a Teen Writer: Paperback vs Hardback
** Bieke at Istyria Book Blog: Cinderella
** Anne at Lovely Literature: Why Aren’t There Reverse Adaptations?
** Sam at Sharing Inspired Kreations: Why Are 5 Star Books So Hard to Come By?
** Sarah at Workaday Reads: Ebooks and Young Children
** Asti at Oh, The Books!: Reuniting with Books
** Josephine at Word Revel: What’s the Point of Abridged Audiobooks?
Movies/TV Shows:
A small video with Chloe Moretz about the 5th Wave movie. A still too from the set.
The winners of the Twilight storytellers contest were announced.
The Mortal Instruments is being turned into a television show, Shadowhunters, on ABC Family.
Canyon Creek Films optioned The Glory by Lauren St. John.
The Girl with All the Gifts has been optioned with Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine, and Glenn Close as stars. Not a YA novel, but definitely seemed to have crossover between fanbases.
Fox Searchlight acquired a documentary on Malala Yousafzai’s life.
Julie Andrews and Emma Walton will be producing a Very Princess TV Show.
Hey, this is cool. I had no idea Francesca Lia Block was actively searching for directors for Weetzie Bat, or that she was hoping to make it into a small film.
Apparently we’ll be getting a new Paper Towns clip soon.
Disney is developing a live action Mulan.
Steven Spielberg has signed onto the Ready Player One adaptation.
Giveaways:
Adventures in Children's Publishing giveaways: 04/13
Giveaways listed at Saturday Situation by Lori of Pure Imagination and Candace of Candace's Book Blog.
Don't forget to enter YABC's giveaways for the month.
Sci-fi and Fantasy Friday {SF/F Reviews and Giveaways}.
Annotated ARC of Made You Up by Francesca Zappia, INT, ends 04/30.
4 Year Blogoversary giveaway, INT & US, ends 04/15.
If you have a giveaway, you should let me know. NGL, this is the least important section to me.
Other:
New Releases:
March 29th to April 4th: Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein, The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord, Otherworld (Elusion #2) by Cheryl Klam and Claudia Gabel, The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige, Sisters of Blood and Spirit by Kady Cross, King (Prophecy #3) by Ellen Oh, The World Within by Jane Eagland, Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman, What Waits in the Woods by Kieran Scott, Instinct (Chronicles of Nick #6) by Sherrilyn Kenyon, The Cemetery Boys by Heather Brewer, The Kidney Hypothetical by Lisa Yee, Twist (Loop #2) by Karen Akins, Solitaire by Alice Osman, The Conformity (Incarcerate #3) by John Hornor Jacobs, Playing a Part by Daria Wilke.
April 5th to April 11th: Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre, Empire of Night (Age of Legends #2) by Kelley Armstrong, Lies I Told by Michelle Zink, Skandal (Sekret #2) by Lindsay Smith, Miss Mayhem (Rebel Belle #2) by Rachel Hawkins, One Thing Stolen by Beth Kephart, Don't Stay Up Late (Fear Street Relaunch #2) by R.L. Stein, The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler, I Am Her Revenge by Meredith Moore, Palace of Lies (Just Ella #3) by Margaret Peterson Haddix, Ask the Dark by Henry Turner, Fig by Sarah Elizabeth Schnoz, Summer by Summer by Heather Burch, Anastasia and her Sisters by Carolyn Meyer, Awakening by Shannon Duffy, Miles from Nowhere by Amy Clipston.
Recent Recommended Reads: You can read my review of The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey or my review of Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge or both ;).
Also, major formal apology for being so behind. I thought that I would catch up last week while I was at home, but being with family was just too good :P. I’ll try again this weekend! I promise, I haven’t forgotten!
Also also, I’m going to BEA. Let’s meet up?
Also also also, I made a post about how I make these posts if you’re interested.
Also also also also, here's an interview with Francesca Zappia, author of MADE YOU UP, and the chance to win an annotated ARC!
Which articles did you like best? Did I miss any news? Did you host a cover reveal or discussion that I should have posted about? A giveaway? Leave the links, and I'll either edit this post or post about 'em next week.
Publishing:
Rights Report 1, 2, 3:
- The Shepherd's Crown - Terry Pratchett (the fifth and final Discworld novel featuring young witch Tiffany Aching. Pratchett died on March 12 at age 66. Publication is set for September 15, 2015; HarperCollins).
- This May Sound Crazy - Abigail Breslin (a memoir and essay collection; Part autobiography, part lifestyle guide, the book is aimed at teenagers and is slated to publish in fall 2015. HarperCollins).
- The Explorers Club - Adrienne Kress (first in a middle-grade series. The story follows a precocious boy whose life is sent spiraling into adventure after he discovers a pig in a small hat and returns it to its home at the mysterious Explorers Club. Publication is scheduled for fall 2016; Delacorte).
- The Raven's Prophecy Tarot - Maggie Stiefvater (tarot card deck and accompanying book; part guide to the cards, part meditation on the creative life. Publication is planned for fall 2015; Llewellyn Worldwide).
- The Thrifty Time Traveler's Guide - Jonathan Stokes (new series in which a future time travel agency puts together affordable vacation packages to history's biggest events. The first books will span Ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, and WWII, and will include illustrations, maps, and infographics. The series will launch in 2017; Viking).
- Untitled - Brian Conaghan (The first book will tackle the subject of mercy killing, and is scheduled for spring 2017. Bloomsbury).
- See You in the Cosmos, Carl Sagan - Jack Cheng (MG: When 11-year-old Alex Petroski, along with his dog, Carl Sagan, sets out to launch his iPod into outer space, his three days away from home turn into a longer, unexpected road trip. Publication is planned for fall 2016 or spring 2017; Dial & Puffin).
- I Am Drums - Mike Grosso (debut about 12-year-old Samantha Morris, whose dreams of playing the drums run up against the hard reality of school budget cuts and her own family's financial woes. The book was originally set to be published by Egmont. Publication is slated for fall 2016; Clarion).
- When the World Became White - Dalia Betolin-Sherman (debut YA short story collection about an Ethiopian girl's immigration to Israel and the new life she finds there, inspired by the author's life story. Publication is slated for spring 2017; Philomel).
- 26 Kisses - Anna Michels (Debut YA novel; When Veda's boyfriend dumps her right after graduation, she embarks on a summer love quest: to kiss 26 boys, one with a name for each letter of the alphabet. Publication is scheduled for summer 2016; Simon Pulse).
- Safe at Home - Jenn Barnes (writing as Jenn Bishop) (MG debut which alternates between two baseball-filled summers – last summer, when Quinnen was struggling to repair her relationship with her older sister, and this summer, when Quinnen is reeling from her sister's death. Publication is scheduled for summer 2016; Knopf).
- The Kindness Club - Courtney Sheinmel (New MG series; Pitched as The Baby-sitters Club with an altruistic twist, three fifth graders form a Kindness Club and look for proactive ways to do nice things for others, but things don’t always work out the way they intend. Bloomsbury).
- The Pragmatist - Stephanie Kuehn (In the first book, 17-year-old Arman is grasping for any distraction from his terrible health and his disastrous family, and follows charismatic spiritual advisor Beauregard to his wilderness retreat. But things go from strange to bizarre once they arrive at the compound, and Armen's focus switches from self-actualization to self-preservation. It's scheduled for publication in summer 2016; Dutton).
- Chasing Secrets - Gennifer Choldenko (a middle-grade novel set in the Gilded Age in San Francisco just before the outbreak of the plague, where 13-year-old Lizzie Kennedy must race to save the people she loves. Also acquired is the fourth book in the Al Capone series, Al Capone Does My Dishes, as well as one untitled middle-grade novel. Publication for Chasing Secrets is August 2015 and the Al Capone book is slated for fall 2017; Wendy Lamb Books).
- The Weight of Zero - Karen Fortunati (The debut YA story follows Cath, a teenager with bipolar disorder who is contemplating suicide, and her march towards – and struggle to recognize – better mental health, supported by a network of family, doctors, and friends. Publication is planned for fall 2016; Delacorte).
- Justice High - Kimberly Reid (contemporary YA inspired by an actual high school for at-risk students in Colorado. It tells of an overachieving prep school girl from a successful con artist family who gets a tutoring job at a transition school for juvenile delinquents and becomes the leader of a teen crew after she convinces them to use their criminal skills for good. Publication is scheduled for early 2016; Tu Books).
- Bad Blood - Demitria Lunetta (about a 16-year-old girl haunted by dreams and compelled to cut herself until she discovers a family secret and a past full of magic that could save her or put her in mortal danger. Publication is set for spring 2017; Delacorte).
- Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee - Mary G. Thompson (in which a 16-year-old girl escapes her captor six years after being kidnapped with her cousin. She is too traumatized to say what happened or lead anyone to the scene, but realizes that she might have to go back to go forward. It is slated for publication in spring 2017; Putnam).
- Of Jenny and the Aliens - Ryan Gebhart (debut YA; a girl-meets-boy-meets-alien tale about love, sex, and friendship. Publication is scheduled for spring 2017; Candlewick).
- Two Truths and a Lie - Ammi-Joan Paquette (l.) and Laurie Ann Thompson (a middle-grade nonfiction series which combines made-up entries with wacky-but-true stories from science, history, and more. Publication is slated for winter 2017; HarperCollins/Walden Pond Press).
- Feminism for the Real World - Kelly Jensen (a YA anthology of essays, lists, poems, photos, and illustrations about feminism from a diverse range of well-known voices. Publication is planned for spring 2017; Algonquin Young Readers).
- Untitled - Akilah Hughes (The personal essay collection explore Hughes's unique journey to adulthood, from entering college as a 16-year-old freshman, to her summer job as a princess in a theme park, to her current starring role on laptop screens everywhere. Publication is scheduled for fall 2016; Razorbill).
- Saving Hamlet - Molly Booth (YA debut featuring a 15-year-old stage manager running her high school's production of Hamlet, who falls through the stage trapdoor and lands in the basement of the Globe Theatre in 1601, during Shakespeare's original debut of the play. Publication of the first book is set for winter 2016, with the second to follow in winter 2017. Disney-Hyperion).
- Cherry - Lindsey Rosin (YA debut pitched as American Pie for girls. It's a funny look at sex, love, and friendship during four best girlfriends' last year of high school. Publication is scheduled for spring 2016; Simon Pulse).
- Kill the Boy Band - Goldy Moldavsky (The debut book follows a group of girls who accidentally kidnap their least-favorite member of their most favorite boy band and then have to deal with the aftermath when he winds up dead. Publication is planned for spring 2016; Scholastic).
- Drawing on Hope - Alexandra Diaz (In this contemporary middle-grade novel about illegal immigration, a boy flees his home in Guatemala to seek a new, safer life in the U.S. Publication is set for fall 2016; Simon & Schuster's Paula Wiseman Books).
- The Ministry of S.U.I.T.S - Paul Gamble (debut. After joining the Ministry of Strange, Unusual and Impossible Things, 12-year-olds Jack Pearce and Trudy Emerson discover that the world is not only stranger than they thought, but it also contains a lot more dinosaurs and pirates. Publication is set for April 2016; Feiwel and Friends).
- The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora - Pablo Cartaya (MG novel tells the story of a seventh-grader trying to save his late abuela's restaurant and win the affection of the beautiful Carmen using arroz con pollo and a little Jose Martí poetry. Epic Fail is slated for spring 2017; Viking).
- Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish - Pablo Cartaya (MG novel follows a school bully and his special needs brother as they head to Puerto Rico over spring break to find their estranged father. Marcus Vega... to follow in spring 2018; Viking).
- A sequel to the middle-grade adventure Loot - Judy Blundell under the name Jude Watson (It's a heist novel about a group of the world's youngest criminal masterminds. Loot was recently optioned by Will Smith's production company and is in development as a feature film. Publication of the untitled sequel is scheduled for spring 2016; Scholastic).
- Weaving a Net is Better Than Praying for Fish - Ki-Wing Merlin (about a first-generation Chinese-American girl navigating school and classmates while concealing secrets from friends and family, who must learn to rely on others to catch the thief when her father's store is robbed. Publication is scheduled for fall 2016; Balzer + Bray).
- The Boy Who Knew Too Much - Romily Bernard, to be written under a pseudonym (The middle-grade story follows a boy who steals a train and is sent to reform school, only to discover that a machine in the basement is cloning students to become model citizens. Publication is slated for winter 2017; Disney-Hyperion).
- Standard Operating Procedures - Erin Teagan (Debut MG in which genius-scientist-in-the-making Madeline Little starts middle school and soon learns science doesn't have all the answers – and that it's now up to her to discover the cure for her newly messed-up life. Publication is scheduled for fall 2016; HMH).
Book Trailers: A music video inspired by The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre. We All Looked Up - Tommy Wallach
Authors: Skandal - Lindsay Smith, None of the Above - IW Gregorio, Kissing Ted Callahan (And Other Guys) - Amy Spalding, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli, The Wicked Will Rise - Danielle Paige, Everything That Makes You - Moriah McStay, Leaves - Samantha Mabry, Blackbird Fly - Erin Entrada Kelly, Zeroboxer - Fonda Lee, Under a Painted Sky - Stacey Lee, A Study in Charlotte - Brittany Cavallaro, Duplicity - N. K. Traver, The Wrath and the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh, Rita Williams-Garcia
Awards/Lists: Best Books of April from Amazon, Best children’s books from April: Poetry edition from Washington Post. The Lambda literary award finalists were announced. So were the CCBC choices for 2015. And the Indie’s Choice nominees for 2015. And the International Thriller Award Finalists for 2015. And iBooks Best books of April. And the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize Winners. And PopSugar’s best books of April too.
Don’t forget to vote for the teen book of the year from CCBC! Lasts until May 3rd.
A cool feature now on YABC: Diversify your shelves. Tea Time last week also discussed diverse books. Matt de la Peña wrote a brilliant piece on how we do & don’t talk about diversity when we read with our kids. Huge congrats, too, to We Need Diverse Books, which is now officially a non-profit / public entity with tax exempt status.
Courtney Summers is hosting a Thunderclap campaign called #ToTheGirls on 04/14. Tell girls that they are seen, heard, and loved.
Curious about the Bologna Children’s Book fair that agents were mentioning? Here’s an agent’s blog post recap, and a post from Publisher’s Weekly, including photos since the attendance rate has increased. SSN picked eight standouts from the fair, and look at some of the authors who were there.
Those of you attending YALLWEST this weekend, have fun!!
People who live in Boston, you’ll have a new kids book festival.
If you missed out on last month’s Andrew Smith controversy, here is a neutral recap of what happened.
There’s a lot of speculation going on right now since HarperCollins refused to sign a deal with Amazon, and that harkens back to the Hachette dispute.
Promoting literacy via audiobooks sounds like a good plan. As does adding books to shelters. Don’t forget that audiobooksync starts on May 7th!
A Dubai theme park has The Hunger Games inspired attractions. Don’t know about you… but my thoughts are something like: what?? WHY. So we’re making light of the fact that the book is about CHILDREN killing CHILDREN on reality tv?
Penguin Random House is doing really well since its merger. One of its best books is The Girl on the Train, which has become the fastest selling hardback adult debut of all time.
A Spanish-language bookstore has finally opened in Los Angeles.
Buzzfeed is launching a writer’s fellowship with its new literary editor. How cool.
There are a few articles this week that are too technical for me, so I’ll just link to them here: 'Special Delivery' Promotion Has Readers Putting Their Own Stamp on Things, Penguin and Smithsonian Team Up for New Series, Capstone Sponsors Residency for Children's Authors and Illustrators, Mattel Takes More Control of Storytelling, Forms Vertical Publishing Team, & Edda USA Teams with DreamWorks for Nonfiction.
Cover Reveals:
The Inventor's Secret - Andrea Cremer, redesign
Fully illustrated (by Jim Kay) book, cover reveal for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
The Girl from the Well - Rin Chupeco, pb redesign
Vain - Fisher Amelie, redesign, NA
Greed - Fisher Amelie, redesign, NA
Aflame - Penelope Douglas, NA (UK cover)
Vote for the cover of Libba Bray’s new short story!
The cover for Truthwitch by Susan Dennard will be revealed today. The cover for We Own the Night by Ashley Poston will be revealed later this month.
Discussion/Other Blogger Posts:
Ah, as is usual when I don’t do bookish rounds and need to do 2 weeks worth, I’ve got a ton of recommendations posts for y’all: Vegas-set YAs, Books recc’d by other YA authors, books for young feminists, books for X-philes, April YA contemporary romance, books with otherworldly settings, funny zombie YA books, paranormal historical YA books, weird paranormal YA books, west coast set YA, alien invasion YA, 5 books to spook you in the springtime.
Also common to posts after a long time: quizzes! Which YA BFF are you? A quiz on what you should read next this spring. And a quiz that guesses your age based on your taste in books. I got 28. Almost accurate??? 5.5 years off.
Lol, hey, a quiz on which Hogwarts professor is your soulmate…. You got: Minerva McGonagall. Well, aren’t you the lucky one? Minerva’s strong, powerful, smart, and incredibly brave. She’ll teach you some magic tricks, and together you’ll keep the Wizarding world at peace. Which is a nice way of saying, I’m an old soul with an old soulmate.
And fancasting / characters in specific roles. YA books with characters fit to a presidential cabinet.
Ha, if you’ve ever been afraid of buying e-books because they don’t take up space on your shelves, and your vanity is pricked, look, you can create origami based off the e-books you own.
Ah, this is kind of cool. An infographic on how millennials in the US and UK read. Finally an article with stats rather than accusations against my generation and how we’re so “lazy.”
And hey, an infographic on the world’s most translated books. Definitely was surprised by some of these - and thought Harry Potter would be ALL the way at the top o.O.
And since we’re on cultural divisions… can you guess what was voted the best children’s book in the UK? How about in Australia?
Yo, book bloggers. A TBR calculator. That’s right. How long will it take you to get through your TBR? If you’re intimidated by the amount of time, here are 10 tips to get more reading in.
A LIBRARY WITH WALLS LITERALLY MADE OUT OF BOOKS. How cool does that sound?!
Fascinating: why modern fiction has turned its back on friendship (Without our friendships, life would be thin. On the other hand, from a certain, instrumental point of view, they are inessential, eccentric luxuries, difficult to justify in the common currencies of money, duty and procreation. The comfort of enduring witness and voluntary intimacy that friendships provide, the sense of conducting a two-way experiment in knowing: such benefits are less tangible than those of spouses, children or parents. Friendships derive their value from the ways in which they supplant or compensate for these primary kinships… That friendships between adults are harder to rationalise than other close relationships may be one reason they are underrepresented in modern fiction, considering their importance in most people’s lives.). But then again, by this reasoning, shouldn’t we see friendships taking greater precedence in teen literature, the argument being that in growing up, our primary kinships take over? Maybe that’s the effect of adults writing for teens, seeing a greater emphasis placed on those primary kinships.
Insurgent and why Young Adult Novels make for box office hits. (“Luckily for Hollywood, there is no shortage of fast-moving and dialogue driven YA books out there. After Green’s Paper Towns, R.L. Stine’s creepy Goosebumps will hit screens later this year, while the Tim Burton-directed adaptation of Ransom Rigg’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is due in 2016.”)
Ahhh, a list of the top 10 twins in children’s literature -- and another sign I definitely haven’t read enough if I’m familiar with only the Weasleys o.O.
Pets in bookstores. AKA: adorable.
You can always turn to JK Rowling for life advice.
Weetzie Bat is not a manic pixie dream girl -- and more on the book from Francesca Lia Block, often considered one of the founders of YA contemporary.
Which modern day children’s books will become classics? How is it, when they’re looking at the last 20 years, that His Dark Materials gets mentioned more often than Harry Potter? The sheer popularity of HP will ensure its status.
Okay, I can get on board with most book nerd problems, but I dog-ear my books and I’m not a problem :P. I also have definitely read books while walking.
Well, there are some books I’ve read for school that were awesome and I definitely reread them later for fun (well - depending on ‘fun’ because THT is not “fun” so much as stunning), like Jane Eyre and The Handmaid’s Tale, though I do understand this distinction.
Catching Fire was one of my favorite sequels too.
Have you ever thought about YA sci-fi / dystopias and government regulation - how unlikely some of these portrayals are? And do you like Startalk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson? Here’s my post for you ;).
Blogging:
Tips/Advice/Support:
** Rita at Blog Genie: Ask Yourself This One Question Before Writing Your Blog Post
** Rita at Blog Genie: Design Your Site On Purpose: Content Mapping
** Stephanie at These Paper Hearts: How to Add CSS to Your Blog
** Ashley at Nose Graze: Tips for Choosing the Perfect Blog Name + a Free Worksheet
** Ashley at Nose Graze: How to Choose a Blogging Platform That’s Right for You
** Ashley at Nose Graze: Where to Find Images to Use in Web Design
** Ashley at Nose Graze: How to Customize the WordPress Emoticons
** Ashley at Nose Graze: How to Override Old CSS with New CSS
** Ashley at Nose Graze: Creating an Author Website Just Got Easier
** Ashley at Nose Graze: Add a Jetpack Subscription Form Below Your Blog Post
** Ashley at Nose Graze: Rock That Effing About Page
** Ashley at Nose Graze: What Is a “Slug” in Wordpress + Tips for a Great Post URL
** Ashley at Nose Graze: Add Bootstrap Styles to the Comment Moderation Message in WordPress
Blogging & Bloggers:
** Carmel at Rabid Reads: How Do You Fight Blogging Slumps?
** Lili at Lili’s Reflections: A Revamp & Being Thankful
** Amber at The Mile Long Bookshelf: Should Book Bloggers Get Paid?
** Chiara at Books for a Delicate Eternity: If I Could Turn Back Time
** Cait at Paper Fury: How to Get More Comments On Your Blog
** Mitchii at Aeropapers: Breaking Some Stereotypes
Recommendations, Ratings, Reviews, Authors, ARCs:
** Shannon at It Starts At Midnight: The Art of OverARCing
** Anne at Lovely Literature: What Should I Pick Next?
** Kayla at The Thousand Lives: It’s spring break yet I’m already craving summer
** Alexa at Alexa Loves Books: Time Travel to: Regency England
** Jamie at the Perpetual Page-Turner: Fear Not
** Jamie at the Perpetual Page-Turner: Whatcha in the Mood For?
** Anya at On Starships & Dragonwings: When Should We Send Publicists Reviews?
** Trish at Between My Lines: The Benefits of Book Reviews
** Hannah at the Irish Banana Review: ARC Essentials with Candlewick
** Christina at A Reader of Fictions: Time to Shake It Up (If Not Off)
** Cait at Paper Fury: Disgustingly Talented Teen Authors
** Mitchii at Aeropapers: A Little Dent on My Book Buying Habit
** Nova at Out of Time: How Should an Author Respond to Negative Reviews?
Reading:
The Experience:
** Kat at My Shelf Confessions: Lost in the World of Fanfiction
** Carmel at Rabid Reads: Do You Notice Easter Eggs?
** Rebecca at The Library Canary: Road Trips and Reading
** Kara at Great Imaginations: Mood Reading by the Seasons
** Lisa at Read. Breathe. Relax.: When Do You Call It Quits/DNF a Book?
** Guest Post at Oh, The Books!: What Makes a Fantastic Story?
** Ana at Read Me Away: Tell Me the Twist… Not!
Hey YA & girls!:
** Kelly at Stacked Books: Where do we go from here? Wrapping up “about the girls”
** Kimberly at Stacked Books: On (Not) Reading Science Fiction as a Teenage Girl
** Guest Post at Stacked Books: On Curiosity
** Guest Post at Stacked Books: Staking Our Claim in the Science Fiction Universe
** Guest Post at Stacked Books: What about Intersectionality and Female Friendships in YA?
** Guest Post at Stacked Books: Abortion, Girls, Choice, and Agency
** Guest Post at Stacked Books: On Being a Feminist YA Author and Daring to Write “Unlikable”
** Bekka at Great Imaginations: The Boys of YA: Realistic & Nonfiction
Genre & trends:
** Julie at Chapter Break: Dystopian Genre
** Timon at YA Asylum: On Atmosphere: Don’t Pull the Trigger
** Timon at YA Asylum: The Rules: Bleed Like You Mean It
** Kimberly at Stacked Books: Get Genrified: Westerns
** Cayce at Fighting Dreamer: LGBT Is the New Black
** Emz at Paging Serenity: Can Romance Make or Break a Novel?
** Gillian at Writer of Wrongs: When the Last Book Ruins Everything
** Genevieve at The Reading Shelf: We Need Books for the In-Betweeners
** Cait at Paper Fury: Why Is There So Much Sexism in Epic Fantasy? WHY
** Amanda at On a Book Bender: Why I Love Historical Romance
** Asti at Oh, The Books!: My Love of Villains
Dat TBR Pile & Spring Cleaning:
** Shannon at It Starts At Midnight: My Bookshelf Needs Your Help
** Bec at Readers in Wonderland: Have I Learnt Self-Restraint?
** Stormy at Book. Blog. Bake.: Tackle the TBR
** Jessica at Literary Etc: Culling Your Bookshelf: A How-to Guide
** Emz at Paging Serenity: How Do You Organize Your Shelves?
** Rachel at Parajunkee: Blogger Spring Cleaning
** Ana at Read Me Away: Try “Again” Later Shelf
** Kelley at Oh, The Books!: I Joined the TBR Jar Club
Books, Books, Books:
** Ceilidhann at Bibliodaze: The Hugos, Sad Puppies, and the Fallacy of the Apolitical
** Amy at Ten Penny Dreams: If Jane Austen Was Your Pen Pal
** Julie at Chapter Break: Did the Movie Prompt You to Read the Book?
** Chyna at Lite-Rate-Ture: Bookstagram Lov’in
** Kara at Diary of a Teen Writer: Paperback vs Hardback
** Bieke at Istyria Book Blog: Cinderella
** Anne at Lovely Literature: Why Aren’t There Reverse Adaptations?
** Sam at Sharing Inspired Kreations: Why Are 5 Star Books So Hard to Come By?
** Sarah at Workaday Reads: Ebooks and Young Children
** Asti at Oh, The Books!: Reuniting with Books
** Josephine at Word Revel: What’s the Point of Abridged Audiobooks?
Movies/TV Shows:
A small video with Chloe Moretz about the 5th Wave movie. A still too from the set.
The winners of the Twilight storytellers contest were announced.
The Mortal Instruments is being turned into a television show, Shadowhunters, on ABC Family.
Canyon Creek Films optioned The Glory by Lauren St. John.
The Girl with All the Gifts has been optioned with Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine, and Glenn Close as stars. Not a YA novel, but definitely seemed to have crossover between fanbases.
Fox Searchlight acquired a documentary on Malala Yousafzai’s life.
Julie Andrews and Emma Walton will be producing a Very Princess TV Show.
Hey, this is cool. I had no idea Francesca Lia Block was actively searching for directors for Weetzie Bat, or that she was hoping to make it into a small film.
Apparently we’ll be getting a new Paper Towns clip soon.
Disney is developing a live action Mulan.
Steven Spielberg has signed onto the Ready Player One adaptation.
Giveaways:
Adventures in Children's Publishing giveaways: 04/13
Giveaways listed at Saturday Situation by Lori of Pure Imagination and Candace of Candace's Book Blog.
Don't forget to enter YABC's giveaways for the month.
Sci-fi and Fantasy Friday {SF/F Reviews and Giveaways}.
Annotated ARC of Made You Up by Francesca Zappia, INT, ends 04/30.
4 Year Blogoversary giveaway, INT & US, ends 04/15.
If you have a giveaway, you should let me know. NGL, this is the least important section to me.
Other:
New Releases:
March 29th to April 4th: Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein, The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord, Otherworld (Elusion #2) by Cheryl Klam and Claudia Gabel, The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige, Sisters of Blood and Spirit by Kady Cross, King (Prophecy #3) by Ellen Oh, The World Within by Jane Eagland, Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman, What Waits in the Woods by Kieran Scott, Instinct (Chronicles of Nick #6) by Sherrilyn Kenyon, The Cemetery Boys by Heather Brewer, The Kidney Hypothetical by Lisa Yee, Twist (Loop #2) by Karen Akins, Solitaire by Alice Osman, The Conformity (Incarcerate #3) by John Hornor Jacobs, Playing a Part by Daria Wilke.
April 5th to April 11th: Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre, Empire of Night (Age of Legends #2) by Kelley Armstrong, Lies I Told by Michelle Zink, Skandal (Sekret #2) by Lindsay Smith, Miss Mayhem (Rebel Belle #2) by Rachel Hawkins, One Thing Stolen by Beth Kephart, Don't Stay Up Late (Fear Street Relaunch #2) by R.L. Stein, The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler, I Am Her Revenge by Meredith Moore, Palace of Lies (Just Ella #3) by Margaret Peterson Haddix, Ask the Dark by Henry Turner, Fig by Sarah Elizabeth Schnoz, Summer by Summer by Heather Burch, Anastasia and her Sisters by Carolyn Meyer, Awakening by Shannon Duffy, Miles from Nowhere by Amy Clipston.
Recent Recommended Reads: You can read my review of The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey or my review of Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge or both ;).
Also, major formal apology for being so behind. I thought that I would catch up last week while I was at home, but being with family was just too good :P. I’ll try again this weekend! I promise, I haven’t forgotten!
Also also, I’m going to BEA. Let’s meet up?
Also also also, I made a post about how I make these posts if you’re interested.
Also also also also, here's an interview with Francesca Zappia, author of MADE YOU UP, and the chance to win an annotated ARC!
Which articles did you like best? Did I miss any news? Did you host a cover reveal or discussion that I should have posted about? A giveaway? Leave the links, and I'll either edit this post or post about 'em next week.
I'm pretty stoked for the Raven Prophecy's tarot. I have seen her artwork and she is amazing. I am also interested in the Feminism for the real world. The quiz thinks I'm 18, I'm flattered :p The books for young feminists are good. I'm impressed that they picked Hook's revenge and Breadcrumbs - I love both books. J.K Rowling is such an inspiring person :)
ReplyDeleteI still have not watched the Mortal Instruments movie. I also haven't seen the Cinderella movie. If you haven't guessed it, I'm not a huge movie person. However, Mulan is one of my top 5 Disney movies so I may have to make an exception for it. ;)
ReplyDeleteLovely post, as usual. I can't stop ogling at all the pretty new covers.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for the Jim Kay illustrated Harry Potter books to hit the shelves! The previews have been nothing but stunning. Also, thank you for reminding about Audiobook SYNC starting soon. I almost forgot that it'll be up again come May.
ReplyDeleteYowza this is quite the list!
ReplyDeleteAlways happy for more Stephanie Kuehn, and Kelly Jensen's book should be awesome - I follow her on twitter and really admire her insights. Abigail Breslin, on the other hand, seems to have turned into a bit of a hot mess.
Ha, thanks. I hope the list proved useful to you. I'm always happy for more Stephanie Kuehn too - and I love that she's moving to Dutton too. Kelly Jensen's thoughts are indeed often insightful - I link to her blog, Stacked Books, frequently.
ReplyDeleteI KNOW I WAS SO TEMPTED BY THE OTHER COVERS... but this is BEYOND temptation. An ILLUSTRATED HARRY POTTER? What is the world doing to us?!
ReplyDeleteAnd NP, I keep forgetting myself. I think I might go put a little reminder note in my calendar now...
Thanks! I'm real far behind now & just starting to catch up...
ReplyDeleteThere's always a pretty cover or two here ;P.
Hahaha neither am I. I only recently watched Insurgent. I wanted to watch THE DUFF and THE MAZE RUNNER and so many other adaptations, and this Cinderella one (now that people are talking about it too), but I just... haven't. Ha. And ooooh, you'll have to let me know then how the live Mulan goes - at this rate/with this track record, I probably won't end up watching it :O
ReplyDeleteME TOO.I was excited by the idea of winning one of those tarot cards just for the awesome drawings - now there's an entire BOOK? Heck yes. And Feminism in the Real World, books for young feminists - I'm glad lists and books like this are appearing. :)
ReplyDelete