Ani live and in person

I wrote an article about my reading history for School Library Journal called "How Reader Girl Got Her Groove Back." I got such a kick out of this--there was a little illustration, and I think it's supposed to be me. I think they hired an artist to make an image of me with a dragon! That's a first. I think I look pretty cute. Maybe I should wear more orange. (Illustration by Maura Condrick)

I promised a cool story about the cover model for the new goose girl paperback...but it fell through. There's a wonderful young actress who was a fan of the book from years ago. Her mother and I were in contact and she was going to pose for the cover. Unfortunately, the publishing and Hollywood are such different beasts, we couldn't find a contract that would work for both sides. Alas. Her name is Brie Larson and she is such a darling to have been willing, but I totally understand why it didn't work out for both sides. An actress needs some control of her image and how its used, and a publisher needs complete control of the image so they can reprint at will and promote the book.

A different model was used, a lovely young girl. Here's the new cover, which I think turned out really beautifully. This is not my mental image of Ani, though I don't know that we could ever find just the right model. I think the purpose of these new photo covers is not to replace the characters in our minds. They're not meant to appeal to those of us who already read the book, but to draw in a new audience who don't already have a mental image of the characters.

And you can see the three new books now side-by-side:

Comments

[Melissa]

Even though I adore the original cover, I think this one is wonderful too!! I hope the cover does draw more reader to this great series.

[Anidori-Isilee]

EB's still my favorite (she looks like she could be Enna, and I actually like it more than the original), but I really do like the new GG. Not as much as the original, but it's really pretty and fairy-tale-ish. The model doesn't look like my idea of Ani (the model looks too young and too sweet, not quiet and shy but with a hidden strength or whatever like I imagine Ani) but it's still really pretty and I desperately want to rush out and buy it. I guess the thing that I would have changed about the cover is the model's position and expression. Like I wouldn't have her looking out from the cover. But I still really do like it, and this one didn't take me anytime to get used it. :-)

[Q]

I think it would be weird to be a model for a book--to go into a bookstore and by chance see your own face staring back at you.

[Chelsea]

That article made me cry. Literally. Thank you Shannon, you are fantastical.

[Jackee]

Just finished reading the SLJ article. Thank you, thank you for being so honest and validating what many young (and old) readers feel.

I admire your stamina in sticking with the English-thing even after feeling that way. If you hadn't, what kind of world would it have been without your wonderful books? (Not as bright, for sure.)

I felt the same way as a teen and that was one of the main reasons I dropped my double major in English as an undergrad and went full force into Biology--I didn't like someone telling me what to read and what to think of it.

Thanks for the link!

[calandria]

Awesome article, Shannon. And the illustration is adorable. I imagine you and the dragon doing the cha cha.

Shannon, I am so glad I picked up Goose Girl three years ago. I too thought the only books worth reading were the "classics." I do still love the classics, but Goose Girl opened a whole new world to me. Thank you!

[Rachel]

Shannon-
I'm adding my gratitude to everyone else's at that article! As an 18 year old student in AP English, everything you listed about books in high school I honestly believed to be true too. It gives me so much hope to know that if a successful and intelligent woman can appreciate and love YA literature, then I certainly can! Thanks for the glimmer of hope! (Gotta go do that homework now.)

[Cindy]

I just have to comment about the SLJ article - I laughed out loud at this:

"Steinbeck was like trudging through mud to get to an ice cream stand that exploded and burned just as I arrived."

That is EXACTLY how I feel about reading Steinbeck. Thank you. I too have always been a Reader Girl, and I too really like the classics, but... Steinbeck was one I had to force myself to finish in high school.

[Maribeth]

I like this one the best out of the three.

The model is really pretty. :D

[Shawn]

Thanks for the article, Shannon! It's been hard for me to realize that I haven't done any reading for the sheer joy of it like I used to, and I suppose I'm still trying to recover from that, in a way. Your author interviews help a lot--I've devoured more or less all of them (yes, both the books and the interviews)--and the SLJ article has encouraged me that the I'll-only-read-the-classics mindset can be overcome. Muchas gracias!

[Danielle]

The article was so wonderful I blogged about it a week or two back.... Truly inspiring. And the cartoon is amazing.

Ah, I like the EB cover and love how Dasha looks, but I'm not a very big fan of how Razo and Isi look. It's just not how I picture them. But I do understand that it's not supposed to draw in current fans, but new ones. :P

[Celes]

My first reaction to this cover, actually, was that I liked it! I think it's my favorite out of the three new ones. That's too bad about Brie Larson, though. Thanks for sharing!

[Faith]

She's not at all how I pictured the older Ani, but as a younger ani she's exactly right.

[Sycamore]

Well, I'm still a fan of the original covers. And I still think that, of the new covers, Enna's was done beautifully -- and that that model was the most true-to-character. BUT, I like the new Goose Girl cover! The image of Ani isn't what I had in my mind, but I like the picture all the same. I love the background!

[Frogster]

Thanks so much for that enlightening article! It's nice to know that there are others out there who feel the same way I do about the classics. Like Rachel, I'm an 18 year old AP English student, and the books we've read so far have all been tragedies. The last book I remember being assigned to read for school that I liked was Huck Finn, and that was last year. Lately, I've been having such a hard time not only finding the time to read, but when I do finally plop down with a book, I tend to analyze it. Too much. It's nice to be able to understand where the author's ideas might have come from, but I think it's much better to actually like the book one is reading than to just get the story. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm going to write an article against reading the classics for my school paper--and a couple of those books that I think people should read are Enna Burning and Kimberley Heuston's Dante's Daughter. My two favorite books need more attention, I think. Let's just hope that this future English major doesn't lose her love of reading when she goes to college next year.

Thanks Shannon!

[Demi]

Brie Larson? The same Brie Larson who sings and was in the movie Hoot? I remember really liking one of her songs when it first came out. It's too bad that it didn't work out with her because I think it would have been cool to see her on the cover.

[hwalk]

Love the new cover! Goose Girl and Enna Burning look great together--they did a good job on those two.

[Somnite]

I love the new covers. I don't have to re-imagine, because they are almost exactly what I pictured. Now I wonder is there a movie to be made? Pleeeeaaase!

[Dr. Sallie N. Cheinsteen]

I read your article. It was mesmerizing. I love English, I love the discussions, and I hate marking books. I also have a love hate relationship with analyzing. But the reason I want to write is because books have had an impact on me. I play the flute, piano, sing, dance. But books... books are the world where you experience what you miss out on in life. It's where you identify with what you've experienced. It's when you're confused with your own life, but you read about a character who finds their missing puzzle pieces, and it's like finding your own. I want to write to the world because I want them to experience. Maybe it will never happen. Maybe it will. But there is something truly incredible about an author. They help create our minds. And that is something I think is looked up to.

[Lessie]

Hi Shannon,
Just wanted to say I love reading your posts. My passion has always been reading and you have helped feed that craving with your stories. I read the SLJ article and completely agree with you. Since graduating college, I started reading fantasy fiction again and can't get enough. Thanks for all you do!

[Rachel Baird]

Shannon,

I just read your SLJ article and want to cry. I am 17 and I feel OLD! Why is it the world wants us to grow up so quickly? I am in an A.P. English class and it's wonderful, but so draining. I do love Hugo,and Shakespeare, and Bronte, and Tolstoy; their books are so beautiful. But they're also heartbreaking and and almost painful to read. If these are truly what we need to know maybe it's fitting that we read them. We are in purgatory now with nothing to look forward to. They're preparing us for the disappointment.
I'm sorry I'm being so dramatic and immature, but right now I feel really angry, and frustrated. I'm also very confused. I guess I'm proving the whole "teenage attitude" thing, but hey, that's what I am. And since I can't be a child and I can't be an adult what am I supposed to be?
Sorry about this blog :(

[cando]

Okay, this illustration of you and the dragon is so cute. I love it! And, I'm really excited to read these books.

[Ellenboro]

It is a such a pity that Brie Larson couldn't be the model! I love her as an actress and I liked the songs on her CD "Finally Out of P.E." My favorite song was Shoebox. She is so beautiful.

I agree with Anidori-Isilee. The model isn't bad but she looks too young and sweet, as well as too sure of herself. Ani was not like that at all; that happened at the end of the book. I really like the original covers the best. But you're right that they will reach out to different people, because from what I've seen, most of the girls in my classes tend to read books with people on the cover. I guess they need to see people because people means social life or something. Blah! I prefer covers without people. The ones that draw me in are the different ones. If it does have a person, that person is either facing away so you see their backs or dressed interistingly. I mean like on Luxe's cover, where the girl is wearing this gorgeous, majorly poofy pink satin dress. That, or they just don't seem to care what people think of the way they dress and throw on the first thing they see.

[kristi]

I love the first covers of your books. They fit the mood of the book perfectly. They were distinctive. They drew you in.I will definitely hang on to the original books.

[Ellenboro]

Oh! And I completely forgot about the drawing. I have to say it... IT'S ADORABLLLLLLLLLEEE!!
OK, I'm better now. It's so cute, though. The dragon looks like it's Shannon best friend, man! It seems to fit perfectly in with this crazy brilliant author we all know (well, in our minds anyway) and love! And orange really does look good on you, Shannon. Maybe you should wear it more often.

[shannon hale]

Bless your heart, Rachel. You're not alone. I hope you can be whatever you are at this moment of flux and possibilities and find the magic in it. You're right--you're not a child or an adult. But you are powerful. And whenever unsure of what to be, I might suggest, start with being kind, as you undoubtably are. A little kindness makes everything easier.

[Isabel]

Enna hates having her hair on her neck...

Anyway, in the midst of college essays and text books, I've taken some time to make a much needed trip into the world of Bayern... I'm reading River Secrets (the British paperback, much like the American hardcover) and I just want to say thank you for writing. This book is just the escape I need (and it's great with a cuppa).

Thank you again.
God bless.

[Isabel]

Also, I just read your article. It's beautiful: honest and funny. Thanks again.

[~Avery~]

The model, although she is pleasant and an eloquent representation of Ani, looks much more like Susena-Ofelienna than my image of Ani. Enna Burning's cover, though, captures the fire and spirit in Enna. River Secrets' cover did not make Razo's hair longer and unruly enough.

[Isabel]

Third comment... Sorry.

For my publishing course, I had to do a book cover redesign. I had to choose a cover I like and one I dislike, write an essay of appraisal for the former and redesign the latter along with an essay of justification for my redesign. I'm aware that you, as an author, have little say in the book cover world, but I'm telling you this for two reasons. One, for lack of luggage space, I only managed to bring three books with me. As books are friends to me, it was a difficult decision, but Enna made the suitcase. Two, it's the book cover I chose for appraisal (my professor enjoyed it also). So congrats for both!

[Brinnan]

Well.

She is definitely not how I imagined Ani... maybe when Ani was younger, yes, but I don't think the model should be looking out of the cover, she should be looking to the side or something. But it is gorgeous anyways! I love it! I can definitely see new readers being intrigued by the cover.
And, by the way, PLEASE do not make Goose Girl into a movie! Ahh! I would be devastated... I'm sorry, but I would... because I hate it when that happens. I mean, can't they let our imaginations be? I would hate hate hate hate hate to be disappointed with the movie, especially since it would be based upon such a great book!
Ahem. I apologize, but I just found out that some of my all time favorite books are going to be turned into movies (sniffle sniffle) so now the subject is a bit touchy for me.

Love the covers though, Shannon! And the article was amazing!

[annemarie]

i like this cover but i like the other one better...i think it actually fits the story u kno??? anyway this cover is still really good...will u ever make another book about ani and not of those other people??? i wud like 2 read more about her

[littlemissbookworm]

i loved the old covers, they somehow created what bayern was like in my mind, especially goose girl.
i'm not to keen on the new goose girl cover, she kind of reminds me of what i think selia looked like, sorry. i've read the story three times, (it's still as riveting as the first time i read it) and now my copy of the book looks utterly loved, i'll be hanging onto it forever.

[13dreamwriter]

What wonderful covers! I was fans of the first ones, but this gives a whole new feel to your books! By the way, I never liked to read until I read Princess Academy, fallowed by the Books of Baren. You are such a fantastic writer shannon and I hope to write something like you did in my later years.

[Jennifer]

I hope the new covers accomplish their purpose, and appreciate the reasoning. I do love the original covers. As I was reading Goose Girl I would frequently close the book and gaze with pleasure at the cover. I haven't yet read Enna Burning or River Secrets--after I read Goose Girl I knew I would love all three and that I wanted to add them to my home library collection. Alas, it is thus far been impossible to obtain the original Enna Burning cover in paperback. I have worked with Borders and with Barnes & Noble, and although their employees have attempted mightily to obtain my heart's desire, the distributors continue to send the reprints with the new covers. Also, I was informed that River Secrets was never published in paperback with the original cover. After nearly six weeks of wrestling with ubiquitous budget issues, I think I am near deciding that I will simply buy all three books in hardcover, so that I can have the beautiful original covers. *sigh* I do understand why marketing might recommend the new covers; one must compete with the Gossip Girl etcs. of the world, and if the new covers open the world of Bayern to otherwise recalcitrant readers, then godspeed. But please do wish me luck with the original covers. They are so very, very beautiful.

[Nicole]

Your article put into words what I have felt since high school (10 years ago)! No matter how well written the "classics" are, most of them make me feel horrible inside. I don't read to be depressed! I got A's in English, but it was a painful time. I missed hiding-out under a blanket with a book I loved. Now I am back to reading what I want, but I feel embarrassed to admit my tastes to my ward book club... The only book they have read that I was enthusiastic about was "Pride & Prejudice." All the rest are horribly depressing. Ugh.

[Stephanie]

Thank you for your article! I'm in an MFA program right now and have been so frustrated with the pretentious, anti-genre attitudes (If I have to hear another comment knocking the literary value of children's books...). I've become so anxious about writing something "literary" that it's hard to write anything anymore without being super critical. Your article made me feel so relieved. Thank you!

[Skyler Ann]

I love the new covers. Their magical and modern and will deffinetly draw in new readers. The characters are exactly as i imagined them. You are an amazing author. YOU and your marvelous books have drawn me from the modern day Twilight series and showed me that not all good books have to be like Twilight.the Bayern books are deep and breathtaking i can't put them down. My fav thing to do is sit down relaxed after the usual three hour homework or more with a good book.

[rachel]

i know you might think this is strange but i think talone is dreamy

[coach handbags]

Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.