I mentioned a while back that I went to Pittsburgh, PA, for the Young Adult Give Back. I’m a book signing junkie so it was well worth the trip. Plus I’ve admired Sarah J. Maas,
Susan Dennard, Erin Bowman, and Kat Zhang for a long time via Publishing Crawl. Though, I have to admit, seeing my brother (who goes to the University of Pitt) was another major factor. He just got a house with three of his friends.
As you might imagine, a house filled with four college boys … was very messy. My parents pay his portion of the rent (and the other’s boys parents pay theirs), so I didn’t feel bad bumming off them for a few days. Though I did take the poor starving college students out to eat a few times. I contemplated cleaning their kitchen as another Thank You gift, but that would’ve required a hazmat suite.
Anyway, the Young Authors Give Back tour was open to those from age of 13 to 22. I’m on the older end of the spectrum. At this meeting, I may have been the oldest — which was a little embarrassing, even though it shouldn’t have been. Until Elisa showed up, another girl also in her twenties — thank Godiva! All the others were probably between 14 and 16, which was fabulous. They were all so in love with writing and excited by the prospect of getting to meet published authors. I wish I was brave enough to go to events like this when I was their age. I’m pretty sure I met at least one or two future published writers.
The event comprised of a few things: two writing exercises, talk about how/when each other started writing (loved this part), and the importance of critique partners and how they prefer to critique (it’s called a critique sandwich, fyi, very interesting!). You should’ve read some of the younger kids free writing, it was very impressive.
Yeah, and I got all my books signed! Something Strange & Deadly was one of my all time favorite reads from last year. What’s Left of Me is so original. Personally, I like this new paperback cover better than the hardback for Throne of Glass. I think it conveys the tone and tension in the book better. And I haven’t read Taken yet … but I plan to remedy this with the Debut Read-a-Thon hosted by Amber.
As you can see, the authors got a good amount of press from the event. Which they totally deserve. They financed this trip themselves and put it all together. I don’t think I can fully express how amazing this workshop was. It was so amazing to learn Sarah J. Maas wrote the first draft of Throne of Glass at the age of 16 and never gave up on it. Now she’s sold it as a series and just sold a new NA fantasy. A retelling of Beauty & the Beast which will be amazing. That’s my all time favorite fairy tale (that Disney as done, at least).
Kat Zhang got a publishing deal at 19, how amazing is that? 19. Wow. The others were, of course, older than that when they sold, but if you sell a book before you’re 30, you’re considered young in the industry. Wich totally makes sense. It was great hearing how they never gave up and just kept writing and trying. Something Strange & Deadly was one of my favorite books of 2012, by the way, so Susan Dennard is definitely a super-star in my book.
They also gave us a mini-writing How To book. From how to plot a story, character arcs, and how to get published. I really wish I did something like this when I was younger. I’m still amazed by the teens I talked to at that event. They’re way ahead of where I was at their age, and now know the publishing business.
• Tags: author event•
Recently, I’ve developed a deep appreciate and love for short stories. It always amazes me when an author can pack so much emotion, tension, character development, world-building, and magic into so few words. Short Stories Review is a weekly post where I highlight short stories that I have recently read. For better or for worse.
The Vampire Box
Author: Tessa Gratton
Genre: Paranormal YA
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Source: The Curiosities Collection (Amazon) — one of my favorite short story collections ever.
Review:
This is the first short story to appear in The Curiosities, and a very intriguing and powerful one at that. In ten pages, Gratton is able to build a vivid relationship between Nicole (the MC) and Saxon (the vampire her father has trapped in the basement). You’re probably wondering why her dad trapped a vampire in their basement, but there is a reason — you’ll just have to read the story to figure it out.
What I love most about this story is the tension Gratton builds so effortlessly. She weaves in the present — where Nicole is faced with a rather daunting choice — and the past — where Nicole is getting to know Saxon — so perfectly. She breaks away from now when we want to know what’s going to happen to give us a glimpse into their relationship. And I wasn’t upset by this, I was always interested to find out more. The last page … oh, it gives me chills. The tension is just leaping off the pages.
Horror Level: None need, this is a straight-up paranormal story.
Death Song
Author: Anne Michaud
Genre: Paranormal YA
Publishers: DarkFuse
Source Girls & Monsters (Amazon)
Please note: I got this ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review. And an honest review I will give. For more information refer to my Review Policies & FTC Disclaimer.
Review:
This is the first short story to appear in Girls & Monsters. I would say it’s a fusion of YA & NA. The characters are seventeen, then later nineteen in the story. To be honest, I’ve never held an interest in mermaids before. They’ve always seemed cuties and whatever — just not my thing, this might have to do with the fact that the first (and only time) I saw the Little Mermaid, my aunt’s evil freakin’ Chihuahua bite the crap out of me. Since then, I’ve been pretty sour towards the idea of mermaid anything. When I saw the opening for this story: Limnade: Greek mythology, mermaid living in fresh water. My reaction was: uh-oh.
Luckily, I really enjoyed this short story. Mermaids are best like this, in my opinion. Evil, disgusting creatures. I loved the way the Limnade mythology warped the town of Lakeside View. Elizabeth, the MC, was a really relatable character that I felt for and I instantly got attached to the Jo/Liz relationship. There were authentically creepy moments in this story. I have never enjoyed open bodies of water, particularly lakes and rivers, and this just justifies that dislike all the more. Who’s to say the next lake someone begs me to go to doesn’t have a Limnade?
The ending broke my heart a bit.
Horror Level: I would say this is horror-esque. There are generally creepy things going on in this story and the atmosphere is set right for a horror story. There’s nothing gory or grotesque about this story though — so if you’re reluctant to pick up a gory horror, don’t worry.
• Tags: genre: horror, genre: paranormal, publisher: DarkFuse, publisher: lerner publishing group, short story review, ya•
GENRE: Marketed as YA, but I think it’s literary fiction
SERIES: First in the Light series
PUBLISHED: September 21st 2005 by Graphia
SOURCE: Bought (Ebook)
PAGES: 282 (Paperback)
AUTHORS: Laura Whitcomb
Recommended Read? Oh yes! I really think anyone could find something interesting in this book.
Goodread’s synopsis:
In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: for the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen–terrified, but intrigued–is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess.
It took me about a week to read this book, which is fairly long for me. That usually means one of two things: I love it too much or I’m forcing myself to finish it. In this case, I didn’t want it to end. The writing was brilliant, I really didn’t want anything bad to happen for Helen, James was so sweet that I feared what would happen to him (and Billy’s family), and so I read slower. I treated myself to a few chapters a day.
Yes, it was a little agonizing, but there’s nothing like reading a book for the first time. I enjoyed this book so much that either I could ramble on and on about all that I loved — and spoil it for you — or say very little. I’ll just point out some of things I loved and use quotes to show you how fabulous the writing is.
Review:
The. Writing. Is. Beautiful.
“This is the story of my journey back through the Quick. I would climb into flesh again for a chain of six days.”
Helen calls the living Quick and the dead Light. She’s spent 130 years clinging to a host to stay out of her hell, which she so elegant explains as:
“Icy water was burning down my throat, splintering my ribs, and my ears were filled with a sound like a demon howling, but I could hear her voice and reached for her.”
The plot, while interesting, is not what really shines in this book. It’s the characters. Mr. Brown is Helen’s host and. I swooned over this man. Why? Here’s Helen’s words:
“I chose him partly because he loved literature so very much, but I also chose him because he had a king heart, an honest tongue, and a clear honor and yet seemed totally unaware of the fact that he was virtuous.”
James is the other ghost Helen meets. I was suspicious of him and what his motives were — was it really out of love? But my heart did break a little when I learned his backstory. Helen — probably should’ve mentioned her first, huh? — is the main character. She was in her mid to late twenties when she died and can’t remember how it happened or why she was cursed to hell. I felt so bad for her, being stuck for 130 years without being able to do anything — to talk to anyone.
And now, let’s talk about the romance.
“He pressed hard as if he were lost at sea, drawing fresh water from my depths.”
Wow, right? The romance was so vibrant. I understand why Helen fell so hard, I understood why it was so sudden and important to everyone involved. I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure about James at the start. Whenever ghosts are involved, I instantly think something dark was going on.
Though this isn’t really YA, I loved it. It’s beautifully written, the romance is passionate and understanding, and the characters flawed but lovable.
Other Opinions:
Wendy Darling (The Midnight Garden) 4.5/5
Fiction for a New Age 4.5/5
Horror Warning? It’s mildly scary at times. Mostly, I was scared for Helen and what might happen.
• Tags: adult, genre: literary, publisher: graphia•
YA Asylum Updates:
Posts:
Review: In the Shadow of Blackbirds
Trouble With Toads Tour
Feature & Follow: Book Spine Poem
New Young Adult Book Deals:
Total reported to Publishers Marketplace: 8 New Book Deals
Total digital deals reported to Publishers Marketplace: 1 New Book Deals
Genres:
4: Contemporary
2: Horror (One’s Lexa’s!!)
1: Historical
1: Paranormal
1: Greek Mythology (Digital)
Total Multi-Book Deals:
2: Two-Book Deals
1: Three-Book Deal (Digital)
Debut YA Deals:
I’m so excited to announce Lexa Cain’s debut, SOUL CUTTER! It’s a fabulous YA Horror.
- Lexa Cain’s SOUL CUTTER, a teen who outs fake psychics on You Tube overcomes her epic skepticism when she confronts a legendary Soul Cutter while in Egypt tracking down her missing mother, to Lea Schizas at MuseItUp Publishing, for publication in December 2013, by Michelle Johnson at Inklings Literary Agency.
For more specific information check out the YA deals page at Publishers Marketplace (membership is required).
Please note that these are only the deals reported to Publishers Marketplace. There are quite a few literary agents that do not report their deals to Publishing Marketplace so there could be more deals than just this.
Publishing & Bookish News:
Publisher axes staff as distribution shifts to Oz
Jobs will be lost in New Zealand at book publishers HarperCollins and Pearson after the companies yesterday announced intentions to close some operations. Read more here.
New CIA #2 Pick Used to Read Anne Rice Aloud at Her Bookstore’s Erotica Night
The former host of “Erotica Night” at a Baltimore bookstore will be the first-ever female No. 2 official at the CIA. On Wednesday, Barack Obama nominated Avril Danica Haines to be the deputy director of the CIA, replacing Michael Morell, who twice served as acting director of the agency but took much of the blame for editing the highly controversial talking points around the 2012 attack on the consulate in Benghazi. As a lawyer in the White House Counsel’s office, Haines oversaw the approval process for the CIA’s covert actions, acting as a vital link between the CIA and the president. Read more here.
Grammar: The plucky punctuators fighting against apostrophe catastrophes
Ten years ago, Lynne Truss published Eats, Shoots and Leaves: the Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. It was doctrinaire about commas, semi-colons, dashes and other diacritical marks, and it seemed to signal the end of the line for the Grocer’s Apostrophe – you know the kind of thing: “Apple’s and Pear’s 75p a pound!”, “King Edwards Potatoe’s £1.99 a kilo”. Read more here.
James Joyce’s ‘last undiscovered’ collection to be published
A small Irish press is publishing what it is calling “almost certainly the last undiscovered title by James Joyce” – 10 short pieces by the author, written six months after he completed Ulysses – igniting a row over the author’s intentions. Read more here.
Neil Gaiman’s top 10 mythical characters
The author of Coraline and The Graveyard Book shares the characters from myths that haunt him, from Loki and Lilith to Coyote. Read more here.
Seattle Public Library Puts Books on Bikes
A small group of Seattle Public Library (SPL) staff will be pedaling—and peddling—books on the pavement this summer, thanks to the new Books on Bikes pilot program.
Librarians on bicycles are traveling to several outdoor events across the city with a custom-built book trailer that can carry 500 pounds of materials and display 75 books at a time. The bicycling librarians will hold book talks, pop-up story times, and information sessions at venues large and small in public parks, farmers markets, and at other community events, such as the Pride Parade and PrideFest, Cyclefest, Umoja Fest, and Fiesta Patrias. Read more here.
Philip Pullman: ‘Authors must be paid fairly for ebook library loans’
The writer of His Dark Materials leads a new campaign to address ‘underpayment’ of writers for digital loans. Read more here.
Fantasy/SF Publisher Rebellion Launches Children’s Imprint
Best known for the bone-crushing justice delivered by the iconic character Judge Dredd, U.K. publisher Rebellion is going after a somewhat younger crowd with its new children’s imprint, Ravenstone, which launched at BEA with the June release of its first book, Lupus Rex by singer-songwriter John Carter Cash. Read more here.
Macmillan’s Sargent, Apple’s Moerer Testify at the Apple Trial
Macmillan CEO John Sargent returned to the witness stand again on the sixth day of the Apple e-book price fixing trial to be followed by Apple executive Keith Moerer, a key figure in the negotiation of the agency pricing agreements in question. Questioning and witness testimony fell into a familiar pattern: detailed government accusations, witness denials and the presentation of extensive government evidence that appears to undermine those denials. Read more here.
Writing Tips:
10 Things Your Opening Chapter Should Do: A Check-List for Self-Editing
Let’s face it: first chapters are hard. When you’re writing your first draft, you’re writing for yourself—getting to know your characters and their world. You should let everything spill out on the page free of your inner editor’s censorship. Read more here.
Horror News:
I’m so excited to say that there’s a new horror deal! It was posted on Publisher’s Marketplace on the 12th of June.
Maria Toensmann writing as Martin Rose’s BRING ME FLESH, I’LL BRING HELL, unfolding like a classic film noir mixed with elements of a B-movie, in which a Pre-Deceased P. I. with a morbid sense of humor who keeps his undead body functioning with hourly meds and help from a bombshell mortician is horrified to discover the photo of his latest clients’ missing son is a picture-perfect reproduction of his own, long dead son and must figure out if this is an elaborate trap or if the wife and child he believed he killed ten years ago in a zombie-fugue survived after all, to Nicole Frail at Skyhorse, for publication in Fall 2014, by Sandy Lu at the L. Perkins Agency (World)
Literary Agents News:
Sarah E. Young recently joined Nancy Yost Literary Agency. Sarah was the eBook editor at Press 53 and graduated from the University of Denver’s graduate course in publishing. She is interested in representing all varieties of romance / women’s fiction: contemporary, historical, Western, sports, regency, inspirational, urban fantasy, paranormal, young adult and any combination thereof
• Tags: publishing news, publishing: book deals, publishing: lit agen, weekly round up•
Feature & Follow is hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read.
Feature Follow Preference: Since I don’t have the GFC option, if you’d like to follow YA Asylum through e-mail (in the side bar) or bloglovin then that would be great :)
FEATURE & FOLLOW
Q: Activity: Spine Poetry. Create a line of poetry with your book spines (take a picture). Not feeling creative? Tell us about your favorite poem.
You have been warned: I am no poet. But I thought this was fun and would give it a try.
If you’ve done one, please leave a link! I’d love to see it :)
• Tags: feature follow, meme•
Tour Schedule
The Trouble with Toads
Once upon a time a young girl wanted revenge. But first, she wanted to be beautiful.
Twelve-year-old Bettony has read enough stories that begin with ‘Once upon a time’ to know what happens to the ugly stepsisters at the end, and she’s determined to escape that fate by any means necessary—even by magic.
Unfortunately, when it comes to magic, there is no place for regret, refunds, or exchanges. Even if you accidentally turn your older sister into a toad.
If Bettony wants her Happily Ever After to end well, she’s going to have to find a way to turn her sister back into a person before their mother finds out she’s been dabbling with magic and grounds her for life.
Tracking down the family magic turns out to be surprisingly easy. Now, if only it came with directions . . .
THE TROUBLE WITH TOADS (45,000 words) is the first book in a new upper MG series The Secret Stepsister Society. The second book will be released Summer 2013.
Amazon
Top 10 Favorite Fairy Tales
1. East O’ the Sun, West O’ the Moon: I love the notion of both an arctic Beauty and the Beast as well as the idea of finding something as impossible as a place east of the sun and west of the moon. Also, I love the winds and how their personalities match their temperaments.
2. The Little Match Girl: Makes me cry every time I read it, but there’s something so beautiful and tragic and lifelike about it that makes me love it.
3. The Boy Who Drew Cats: A sweet tale with blood-thirsty little cats, but I love the idea of how one boy’s imagining of cats came to life. Power to the arts!
4. The Princess Who Never Laughed or The Golden Goose: One of my favorite themes in fairy tales is that the heroes are often ordinary people who are kind. Of course, it never hurts to own a goose that sticks to everyone who touches it. :D)
5. Cap o’ Rushes: I’ve always been intrigued with how much the father misunderstood what his daughter meant about the salt when she told him how much she loved him. And I loved the ending where he finally understands.
6. Diamonds and Toads: What could be more magical than diamonds or toads falling out of your mouth? I especially enjoyed Gail Carson Levine’s take on why having toads and snakes and bugs falling out of your mouth is preferable to diamonds and roses.)
7. Tam Lin: There’s something that I’ve always loved about this story. About holding on to what you love no matter what!
8. The Snow Queen: This is one of the first fairy tales I ever fell in love with. I loved the idea of a Snow Queen and always wondered what made her the way she was and where she came from. I also thought the idea of a garden where it was always summer was pretty neat.
9. The 12 Dancing Princesses: Pretty dresses, evil dance partners, and a curse. A perfect fairy tale!
10. Beauty and the Beast: One of my old favorites. I love the idea of the transformative power of love. :)
About the Author
Author Danyelle Leafty
Danyelle Leafty writes upper MG and YA fantasy, and is the author of THE FAIRY GODMOTHER DILEMMA series. Danyelle has always loved fairy tales, and prefers stories where someone gets eaten, or at the very least, transmogrified. Much of her inspiration has come from fairy tales, because as G.K. Chesterton so aptly states, “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
In her spare time, she collects dragons, talking frogs, and fairy godmothers. She also collects books, and one day hopes to make a house out of them. She enjoys learning languages, fiddling with her harp, and perfecting the fine art of mothering. (It’s a lot like trying to herd chickens during a lightning storm while a goat stampede is going on.)
One of her heroes is Albert Einstein, particularly for the following quote: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The most important thing is not to stop questioning.”
Website * Twitter * Facebook * Blog
Blog Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 6/28/13
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Prize value $25 US.
GENRE: Historical YA
SERIES: Sadly, it’s a standalone.
PUBLISHED: April 2nd 2013 by Amulet Books
SOURCE: Borrowed from local library. Once I was done I had to go buy a copy.
PAGES: 387 (Hardcover)
AUTHORS: Cat Winters
Recommended Read? Yes, yes, yes. Do you like natural and vivid world-building? A strong, savvy, smart heroine? Are you looking for something different than all the other YAs out there? Do you want a romance (no love triangle or insta-love!) that’s passionate, sad, and beautiful? If you answered yes to one of these, or all of these, read this book. It’s soooo good.
Goodread’s synopsis:
In 1918, the world seems on the verge of apocalypse. Americans roam the streets in gauze masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza, and the government ships young men to the front lines of a brutal war, creating an atmosphere of fear and confusion. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black watches as desperate mourners flock to séances and spirit photographers for comfort, but she herself has never believed in ghosts. During her bleakest moment, however, she’s forced to rethink her entire way of looking at life and death, for her first love—a boy who died in battle—returns in spirit form. But what does he want from her?
Featuring haunting archival early-twentieth-century photographs, this is a tense, romantic story set in a past that is eerily like our own time.
Review
From the start to the finish, I loved this book. I had checked it out from the library because I’d been hearing good things about it. When it came time to either return it or renew it, since I hadn’t had time to read it yet, I wanted to renew it. But there was a hold on it! So I either had to give it up in a day and check it out again later or read it in a night.
I read it in a night.
This book is almost 400 pages, and I’m a very slow reader, so it did take me pretty much all night (to 4 A.M.), but it was so worth it. Yeah, I only got two and a half hours of sleep, and I was exhausted the next day, but it was worth it.
I loved Mary Shelley. When I first saw that name, like most, I thought Frankenstein? And yeah, it turns out that’s where she got her name. The only thing that bothered me was how often her name was said. Her aunt was most guilty of this, always ending or starting a sentence that was directed at Mary Shelley (when no one else was there…) with her name. But from the start she was fierce and holding her head up when most would just want to curl up into a bawl and hide. Throughout the book, she’s faced was multiple situations like that, and she just keeps going.
The romance between Stephen and Mary shelley wasn’t something I instantly loved. I thought it was cute that they were childhood friends and wrote letters back and forth even after Stephen moved away. There is a lot of backstory in the first 100 pages, but it sets up for the rest of the story and I didn’t care. The flashbacks made me love Stephen. Stephen is swoon worthy. He’s dashing looks, his witty tongue, his passion, his love of literature, his bravery, his artistic talents — oh, what’s not to love? I wanted them together so badly.
So badly.
Then something bad happens and I wasn’t sure if they could be together. Sometimes I was thinking: It doesn’t matter. It didn’t really happen. They’ll be together. They will. They belong together. Other times Winters had me so worried: Oh no, oh no, oh no — it happened. It really did. They won’t be together. Nothing good will ever happen. I was so torn.
I had no idea what was going to happen in this book until 300 pages into this book. Really. I couldn’t figure out how it would end and who did what or why. I did guess how it ended, but I also guessed that it would end a dozen other ways. I loved how Winters kept me guessing.
And the way it ended? That’s exactly the way I like it. It was perfect.
Other Opinions:
Thoughts and Roses: 5 out of 5
Read, Rise, Repeat: 4 out of 5
Book Nerd Reviews 5 out of 5
Okay, I know what you’re thinking. Kim, why are any of the other opinions negative reviews? Because I searched and couldn’t find any! At least none that other book bloggers wrote. There are a couple on goodreads (you can find them here).
—
Horror Warning? I think this was marketed as a Paranormal Historical or something, but I give it honorary Horror status. It actually creeped me out at times, but not in a bad way. It’s nothing gory or disgusting, Winter’s just uses suspense and crazy nightmare so well.
• Tags: book review, debut, genre: historical, genre: paranormal, publisher: amulet books•
YA Asylum Updates:
As you probably noticed, this is late. But yesterday I spent the day (started at 5:00 AM) at various airports and on airplanes. Once I got home, I was too exhausted to put this post together. Just a quick note: all deals & news don’t include anything that happened today. I’ll include all of that in this Sunday’s post — which will be on time (hopefully)!
Posts:
Review of Insomnia
Young Author Give Back Tour
Calling All Readers: Recommendations for YA & MG Books?
Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon
New Young Adult Book Deals:
Total reported to Publishers Marketplace: 10 New Book Deals
Total digital deals reported to Publishers Marketplace: 2 New Book Deals
Genres:
1: Fantasy
2: Historical
5: Contemporary
2: Paranormal
1: Scifi
Total Multi-Book Deals:
2: Two-Book Deals
1: Three-Book Deal
Debut YA Deals:
- Sarah Tomp’s debut THE SHINE BETWEEN US, about a girl who will do anything to leave her small Appalachian town – including making and selling moonshine to finance her college education, but when she falls for a boy whose ties to the town run deep she must choose between him and the life she’s always dreamed of, at auction, to Bethany Strout at Little, Brown Children’s, for publication in Fall 2014, by Catherine Drayton at Inkwell Management
For more specific information check out the YA deals page at Publishers Marketplace (membership is required).
Please note that these are only the deals reported to Publishers Marketplace. There are quite a few literary agents that do not report their deals to Publishing Marketplace so there could be more deals than just this.
Publishing & Bookish News:
BEA 2013: The Humans of BEA, a Photo-Essay
Brandon Stanton, the photographer behind the immensely popular Humans of New York Website, has a book coming out in October from St. Martin’s press. His work has earned praise fromVogue, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal among others. At BookExpo America this year, he took some of his trademark candid photographs of show-goer. Read more here.
Bookstores in America, 2013: A State-by-State Guide
California and Texas may have been the states with the most bookstores in 2012, but the state with the most bookstores per capita was Montana. That was one of the findings of PW’s look at the health of bookselling around the country. PW collected figures on the number of bookstores in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, a total that includes every branch of bookselling: chain stores, big-box stores, independents, and the Association of Christian Retailers’ CBA stores. Read more here.
BEA 2013: Map of the Houses
At BookExpo America (BEA), the entire world of publishing seems to be jammed into New York’s cavernous Javits Center, a convention space puzzle that can prove tiring to navigate, difficult to master, and ever harder to leave (“Taxi!”). The Internet makes it easy for out-of-town visitors to think they know the lay of the land when it comes to New York City publishing-industry hotspots. But being in the Big Apple is a different story. Read more here.
The July 2013 Indie Next List Preview
Here’s a preview of the titles on the July Indie Next List flier, on its way to ABA member stores in the IndieBound movement. Read more here.
Yeh Named Publisher of Crown Books for Young Readers
Phoebe Yeh will join Random House Children’s Books in the newly created post of v-p, publisher, Crown Books for Young Readers, effective June 21. Currently editorial director at HarperCollins Children’s Books, Yeh will acquire and publish new books with a focus on middle-grade fiction and narrative nonfiction. She will report to Barbara Marcus, RHCB president and publisher. Read more here.
New Owner for Buttonwood Books
Betsey Detwiler, the 79-year-old owner of Buttonwood Books & Toys in Cohasset, Mass., is about to retire. After running the store for nearly two and a half decades, she will be leaving it in good hands: a family member and the mother of a former employee. Read more here.
If You Wish To Be A Writer, Have Sex With Someone Who Works In Publishing
I have so much sympathy for aspiring writers. Our profession is difficult to master, and the deluge of advice writers receive doesn’t make it any easier: “Write every day,” “Study the works of writers you admire,” “The essence of writing isrewriting,” etc. Such guidance isn’t wrong, exactly, but it certainly misses the big picture. Read more here (this is from the Onion, hence why it’s just for fun and can’t be taken seriously :) ).
Gersh Agency Partners With Diversion on New Imprint
Diversion Books is partnering with The Gersh Agency on a new imprint which will publish titles by the agency’s clients. The new branded line will release its first list this summer, and is going to do fiction and nonfiction, as well as backlist titles and originals, in both e-book and POD. Read more here.
Why Has The Fault in Our Stars Been So Successful?
The Fault in Our Stars is my fourth (4.5th?) novel, and it has found a very wide readership. I often get questions asking what my secret is, or why the book has been successful, and then of course there are also lots of people out there speculating about the reasons for the book’s success. Read more (from John Green himself!).
HP Lovecraft: the writer out of time
He had one of the bleakest worldviews ever committed to paper, was racist – and could be a terrible writer. So why is HP Lovecraft more popular than ever? Read more here.
How NOT to Self-Publish: 12 Things for New Indies to Avoid
Self-publishing has lost its stigma, and it’s the publishing path of choice for a lot of writers these days.
But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
Or that everybody who self-publishes will succeed. Read more here.
Literary Agents News:
New agent Amy Tannenbaum of the Jane Rotrosen Agency began her book publishing career with a brief stint at Harlequin before joining Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, where she worked for over eight years. She seeks: new adult, romance, high quality commercial fiction.
Bill Harris has joined BookEnds Literary Agency as director of digital content. Formerly a senior managing editor at Penguin, he has most recently been a freelance editorial and web development consultant. In addition, Beth Campbellhas been promoted to literary assistant and rights coordinator.
LITERARY AGENT INTERVIEW: LINDA EPSTEIN OF JENNIFER DE CHIARA LITERARY
“Agent Advice” (this installment featuring agent Linda Epstein of Jennifer De Chiara Literary) is a series of quick interviews with literary agents and script agents who talk with Guide to Literary Agents about their thoughts on writing, publishing, and just about anything else. This series has more than 170 interviews so far with reps from great literary agencies. This collection of interviews is a great place to start if you are just starting your research on literary agents. Read more here.
Guest Post: Literary Agent, Marietta Zacker
Read more here at Publishing Crawl.
• Tags: publishing news, publishing: book deals, publishing: lit agents, week round-up•
Wicked Wildfire Read-a-Thon
Wicked Wildfire is a Read-A-Thon hosted by April @ My Shelf Confessions. There’s no restraints on it aside from the timeframe (June 7 – 14). Here’s more info from the sign-up post:
The Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon is a time when we all get together to dedicate the days of June 7-14 to as much reading as possible. You read as much as you can in order to get yourself a little further through that huge to-read pile! We know real life gets in the way and even if you can’t participate more than one day, you’re welcome to join in on the fun!
In the meanwhile, we will be hosting book-related challenges where you can win some awesome prizes and have a Twitter party at the hashtag #WWReadathon! You can posts updates on your blog, Twitter, Goodreads or Facebook — as long as the profile is public and we all can enjoy your reading progress!
I’m going to devote myself to some ARCs that I really, really, really need to get through. I’m behind on those… Some of the books I might read are:
- The Immortal Rule by Julie Kagawa *
- The Eternal Cure by Julie Kagawa *
Sketchy by Olivia Samms * COMPLETED (Review to come)- Some Place Quite by Kelsey Sutton
True by Erin McCarthy *COMPLETED (Review to come)- Far Far Away by Tom McNeal
- Burning by Elana K. Arnold
- The Universe Versus Alex by Gavin Extence
- Demonic Dorai by Claire Chilton
- All Our Pretty Songs by Sarah McCarry
Books completed not on the list above:
Girls & Monsters by Anne Michaud COMPLETED (Review to come)
The Omen by David Seltzer COMPLETED (Review to come)
I won’t read all ten of these — though that’d be awesome – but I hope to read at least three or four of these for the read-a-thon.
4 of 4 Books Done!
Previous Post:
Calling All Readers: YA & MG Suggestions?
• Tags: book challenge, read-a-thon•
CALLING ALL READERS: RECOMMENDATIONS
Hello, lovelies! I’m still in Pittsburgh, so this’ll be a quick post.
I’ve been asked by a few friends to compile a list of MUST READ YAs & MGs and while I have a nice size list, I realize it’s completely subjective to my personal taste. This is a problem. Not everyone shares my love of the dark, whimsical, creepy, tear-jecker-y, and sometimes zombie infested books.
Thus, I turn to you for help! All my friends that asked for this list are writers — both MG & YA are in this group.
So here’s my question to you:
If you could recommend any book/s to someone who wants to write MG or YA, which book/s would it be?
I’m of the belief that to write YA or MG well, you really need to be an avid reader of it. Or at the very least, an avid reader (of any marketplace, except nonfiction won’t help your writing skills really). Any suggestions would be great, thanks!
• Tags: help, recommendations•
Welcome to YA ASYLUM! I'm Kim, a book enthusiasts/writer with a passion for anything creepy, weird, or sinister. I've lived on three different continents and dream about owning a haunted mansion in Scotland someday. On YA Asylum I'll be talking about my obsession with horror, YA books, the publishing world, Doctor Who, & more.
