squeetus

The elusive BEA unicorn

I was at BEA in NYC last weekend, and I forgot to take photos. So I have three scrounged up ones.

With two of my favorite boys: Michael Buckley (Sisters Grimm) and Tom Angleberger (Origami Yoda). What's that on my head? A My Little Pony party hat/unicorn horn I picked up. Someone said, "You're not going to wear that," and so...

With Alaya Johnson (The Summer Prince), showing off my magical horn madness. I was the elusive BEA unicorn. Catch me among the book stacks and I grant you a wish.

Hanging out with my (obviously) very good friend, Kate di Camillo, completely with her knowledge and approval.

I haven't shown you the (not so) wee ones in a bit. They're pretty awesome.

As for BEA news, I had two books announced. The press release hasn't gone out for one, so that will come later this week I think. But I can tell you that I'll be writing the 4th book in the SPIRIT ANIMALS series, Scholastic's new multiplatform middle grade series (like 39 CLUES and INFINITY RING). The first book, by Brandon Mull, comes out this fall. My book will be published in July 2014.

Announcing new Princess Academy books!

Eight years ago Princess Academy was published. Once it won a Newbery Honor, its success overwhelmed me. I'd considered writing a sequel before but decided against it, sure that it could never match up.

So I resisted until my idea for what happens next overwhelmed me more than the overwhelmingness of the previous success. Just generally overwhelmed, I still had to write that story.

I'm so glad I got to write Palace of Stone. I love that book. While working Palace of Stone, another burning question haunted me. And the only way to answer it was to write a third book in the series. Which I am doing now, most likely for early 2015 publication. Working title: Dragonfly Sisters.

Since it's going so well, I see no reason to stop. Here are some more Princess Academy titles that you can absolutely expect to see in the near future.*

*this isn't true. the third book will be the last. but what would you give to read princess academy: doug? *sigh*

EDIT: Faithful reader Laura adds this brilliant idea to the Princess Academy genre family:

Winners from our photo contest

Winner winner chicken dinner! My children and husband all chimed in and picked their two favorites. The first was no surprise:

I know the marvelous manipulator of the Batman image and she has been justly rewarded. I wanted to honor a second winner so I gave my family three votes on another one. They all chose different pictures (so many great ones!), overlapping on one:

Awesome! Marvelous-photo-taker, please email me your address and who you'd like the books personalized to at squeetus (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks, guys, for caring about this! I love that so many of you care too. Hopefully by spreading awareness we'll give our boys a chance to grow up reading lots of great stories and embracing female characters as well as male.

To continue the ongoing posts featuring bits from the Palace of Stone area on my website, I list dozens of titles we tried on for size. Here are a few that I thought would be the final title at one time:

Lady Miri

The Queen's Castle

Lady of the Princess

The Robber Princess

Crown Breaker

Miri of Mount Eskel

Some news I've been aching to share!

We have news! (no, not Austenland movie news yet...)

Presenting the illustrator for The Princess in Black! As we announced earlier this year, The Princess in Black will be a series of early chapter books, written by me and my husband, published by Candlewick. The first is looking at a fall 2014 release. And I'm elated, ecstatic, and overjoyed to get to crow about the illustrator:

LEUYEN PHAM!

I met LeUyen (pronounced Le Win, or just call her Uyen/Win) many years ago when on tour in California. We kept in touch, and all the while I had secret, fervent wishes to one day work with her. I had no idea she might have felt the same about me! Dean and I are thrilled she's agreed to go on this adventure with us. She's a gorgeous, silly, thoughtful, imaginative, and obscenely skilled artist, mother, and human being. She's going to blow these books OUT OF THE WATER.

Here's her bio:

LeUyen Pham is the prolific and bestselling illustrator of many books for children, including Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio and Freckleface Strawberry by Julianne Moore. Pham has also written and illustrated her own works, including All the Things I Love About You and Big Sister, Little Sister. She lives with her husband and two sons in San Francisco.

But really the best way to get to know an illustrator is through her art, no? Feast.

All image copyrights LeUyen Pham. See her website for even more lovelies.  She's ridiculously versitile. I can't wait to see what she comes up with for Princess Magnolia--princess by day, monster hunter by night! (or by day too, really, depending on what time they crawl up out of Monster Land and into her kingdom.)

Guys Read Princess Academy

You guys! You guys you guys you guys! Princess Academy: Palace of Stone will debut on the New York Times Bestseller list next week. I feel like I'm walking on air...and any second I'll trip and come down and it won't be true. But for now, it's true! YAY!

I'm in Georgia at the moment, will be at the Decatur Book Festival tomorrow. I've met so many great people and done crazy amounts of travel. Tired. But good tired. More later.

Keep sending in entries for the Guys Read "Girl" Books contest. Jon Scieszka, our former esteemed ambassador of chidren's literature and founder of the awesome Guys Read campaign, sent me a photo to add to the collection:

"Rooting for Miri and the Revolution all the way!"

What did you learn at the princess academy?

Winners! Winners! Wow, the 2nd guesser got it all right only 9 minutes after I posted. And I thought it would be so hard.

SORA!

1. English-UK
2. Indonesian
3. English-UK
4. Japanese
5. Dutch
6. Hungarian
7. Korean
8. Spanish
9. French
10. fan art by CrownJewel
11. Indonesian
12. Turkish
13. Vietnamese
14. Korean

Here's where things get freaky. Using the random number generator, the random winner was: Q. Yes that's right, the same gal who correctly guessed the last contest and already won an ARC. I don't think she meant to enter. She wasn't guessing, just wishing everyone luck. So I'm going to send you some foreign edition, Q, and save the other ARC for someone else. Second time, the winner was:

TAIGER!

Sora and Taiger, email me: squeetus (at) g mail (dot) com.

Still more opportunities to win an ARC of PALACE OF STONE. On Twitter, my publisher (@bwkids) is running a contest. Tweet something you learned from Princess Academy with the hashtag(#PrincessAcademy) and you're entered into a contest. I believe one person each week is chosen. Here are some of the entries they sent me. Just lovely. And I can't take credit. Of course when I write, I'm not thinking, "What can I teach people?" I'm just thinking about making the best story I can. These lovely readers found their own messages in the story, part of the magic of reading.

@jessung #PrincessAcademy taught me that it's okay to feel vulnerable, and that being brave--even if I may feel quite the opposite--is okay, too.
 
@domisimone At #PrincessAcademy I learned that I can do or be anything, and that I don't have to end up with the prince to be happy.
 
@JayaLaw I learned from #PrincessAcademy that education can heighten your awareness of the world and improve your community's standard of living.
 
@sherryberrett #PrincessAcademy I learned to communicate through stone, but I must not be soon it right because it isn't working. (ßhahaha J)
 
@moltenbook Learning and friendship are worth more than any crown or gown. #PrincessAcademy
 
@broadwayforever Reading #PrincessAcademy taught me that everyone has talents that make them special, even if it takes a while to figure them out.
 
@abackwardsstory #PrincessAcademy from @bwkids teaches girls that it's okay to love and be YOURSELF, and not rely on boys to save them!
 
@chelserbug What I learned from #PrincessAcademy? I learned that everyone is a princess :) (And also, I found a new appreciation for my home mountains!)
 
@Robin_Weeks #PrincessAcademy by @haleshannon taught me that we don't like people who can't make us respect them. And that I want my own linder house.
 
@rebeccamherman I learned that there are much more important things than being beautiful or rich or a princess! #PrincessAcademy
 
@LauraLyle #PrincessAcademy taught me knowledge is power. And that appearances are deceiving. Cliche because they are true!
 
@BookSnatch I learned that no matter who you are, you can become the type of person you want to be if you work hard. #PrincessAcademy
 
@Kiirs I learned that even a girl who thinks she's insignificant can change the world. #PrincessAcademy

 

And don't forget about entering the sweepstakes! It's over at Bloomsbury's Shannon Hale Facebook page.

Two of my favorite covers ever + winners

Thanks for playing! I just have to reinsert these two lovely images: Spanish Enna Burning and Korean Forest Born. Mmm. (click to enbiggen) At TLA last week, I noticed how rare painted covers are now for YA. It's all photos.

So many of you were SO close. But the first correct answer was from Q!

1. Enna Burning, German
2. Forest Born, UK
3. River Secrets, Korean
4. Austenland, Korean
5. Enna Burning, Spanish
6. Enna Burning, Korean
7. The Goose Girl, Hungary
8. The Goose Girl, Japanese
9. Forest Born, Korean
10. Enna Burning, Japanese
11. Enna Burning, French
12. River Secrets, UK

And as some of you suggested, I'm giving away another ARC to a randomly selected commenter. The winner is...

S Blackburn!

Okay you two winners, email me your address and who you want the ARC signed to! squeetus (at) g mail (dot) com.

ONE MORE CONTEST: On Tuesday evening 7pm MDT (6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern), I'll post all the Goose Girl covers, first correct guesser wins an ARC. I think that one will be tougher. See, I'm doing it in the evening for the sake of students! I do listen to you! There will be 15 covers to guess. Some of them you already know. Some will be really tough. May the force be with you.

Without further ado...my newest Super Secret Project

She wears glass slippers.
She sleeps in a tower.
She sings to birds.
She is the perfect princess.
And for a monster-fighting heroine, that is the perfect disguise.
Princess Magnolia is...

The Princess in Black!

The Publisher's Lunch announcement:

"From Newbery Honor winner and Eisner nominated authors Shannon and Dean Hale, a young chapter book series following the brave and exciting adventures of Princess Magnolia, a perfectly proper princess by day, but when trouble raises its ugly, monster-shaped head, she ditches her flouncy dresses and glass slippers and becomes THE PRINCESS IN BLACK! Sold at auction to Sarah Ketchersid at Candlewick Press."

These things take time to publish. They'll be full of illustrations, so I imagine a couple of years before we'll see the first one? I'm so excited about this series. We love writing them. They make me laugh. Can't wait to share!

Did you know I had a second Super Secret Project?

The press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BLOOMSBURY CHILDREN’S BOOKS TO PUBLISH THE MUCH-ANTICIPATED SEQUEL TO THE NEWBERY HONOR WINNER AND BESTSELLING NOVEL PRINCESS ACADEMY
To be published August 2012

“Shannon Hale’s books blow me away. When I read them I get lost in the magic—her stories are magic.”
—Stephenie Meyer

Ever since the publication of Princess Academy in 2005, fans and booksellers have been clamoring for a sequel. Now, Bloomsbury is delighted to announce the Fall 2012 publication of the as-yet-untitled second Princess Academy book.

The new novel picks up where the 2006 Newbery Honor winner Princess Academy left off. Miri and a few of the academy girls travel to the capital city of Asland to help the princess-to-be. But while continuing her studies, Miri befriends some other students who seek to overthrow the crown. Torn between her friendship with the princess and her belief in her new friends’ daring ideas, as well as an old love and a new crush, Miri struggles to find her place in the larger world.

“We are thrilled to bring Shannon Hale’s fans this all-new story about Miri the mountain girl, her royal friends, and her dangerous new acquaintances,” says Victoria Wells Arms, Editor-at-Large at Bloomsbury, who has acquired all of Hale’s books, including Princess Academy and her 2003 debut The Goose Girl. “Shannon proves once more her talents for setting readers directly into a unique fairy-tale world, where a touch of lyrical magic and a hint of humor always shine through.”

Melanie Cecka, Children’s Publishing Director of Bloomsbury in the US, agrees: “Shannon Hale is that rare author whose books read like timeless classics but are always fresh and unique. She has been a part of our children’s books family from the very beginning, and we are especially proud to be publishing this sequel to one of her best-loved novels as we mark our ten-year anniversary in the US.”

Hale is just as pleased about the upcoming release of Princess Academy 2. “Initially I intended to write a sequel to Princess Academy,” she says. “But after a time, the reasons not to outweighed the urgency of the story in my mind. I had decided I never would when I got an idea—a new, shiny, irresistible idea, one that wouldn’t leave me be. I let it gestate for a year, two years, until I couldn’t bear to put it off any longer. It has been a pleasure to return to Miri’s story.”

Princess Academy 2 is Bloomsbury’s lead title for Fall 2012, which marks the ten-year anniversary for Bloomsbury Children’s Books in the US, and will be supported with an extensive marketing campaign including a multi-city tour, appearances at BEA, and national advertising. Bloomsbury holds World rights and will publish this simultaneously in the US, UK, and Australia. Film rights are held by agent Barry Goldblatt.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Since the publication of her first book, The Goose Girl, in 2003, Shannon Hale has become a beloved author to young readers as well as booksellers and educators. Her third novel, Princess Academy, earned her a Newbery Honor and is a New York Times, Book Sense, and Publishers Weekly bestseller. Hale has also written three books for adults—Austenland (now in post-production to be a major motion picture starring Keri Russell), Midnight in Austenland, and The Actor and the Housewife. She lives near Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, the author Dean Hale, and their four children.

For further information/interview requests, please contact:
Katy Hershberger, Publicity Manager, Tel: 646-438-6070, email: katy.hershberger@bloomsbury.com

And the winner is...

Carly! She who wrote: "Oh my gosh! So exciting! I hope I win! I can't wait to read this! OF COURSE I would go to Austenland if it really existed. I am a super obsessed Austen fan and actually have my own entire wardrobe already since I do historic costuming. The idea of three weeks in the actual "period" just sounds like heaven!"

Congrats, Carly! I put in the numbers into a random number generator and I was crossing my fingers that it was a smaller number so I didn't have to count up to 600+. Yay. Carly, send me an email at squeetus (at) gmail (dot) com.

I'm so pumped by the exciting response to this giveaway! So many of you wanted a copy. That's just awesome. I'm getting really excited to share.

By the way, I'm on twitter too. I don't tweet much, but more often than I blog. My tweets also go to facebook. Just in case you're like, "I just cannot get enough of that sparkly Shannon Hale! If only I could roll around in her sparkliness more often." Problem solved! You're welcome.

A juicy Midnight in Austenland copy is calling your name

Here's the new Midnight in Austenland cover. The jacket spine you see left. It's much the same as the previous one I showed you, just zoomed and juggled a bit. There are often many versions of a cover before a final is selected. While I am consulted, the book cover is chosen by my publisher, as is the case with 99% of books. (Many authors don't even get consulted, so I'm lucky!) I hope you love it.

And I have (or will shortly, postal service willing) an ARC to give away! You have till Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 10 pm to make a comment on this post to enter the contest. One comment per person. I'll use a random number generator to select a winner. And to give you something to talk about, if there was a real Austenland (i.e. immersive Austen vacation), would you go and why?

The simple beauty of a perfect cast

Whew! It's so nice to be able to talk about this at last! If you're not interested in movie making or screenwriting or Austenland, then avert your eyes from this blog for the next couple of months. I will tell all that I can! I will NOT be revealing things I shouldn't, such as exact locations of the filming, etc. But I got the go ahead to say who is playing which character.

Jane - Keri Russell
Nobley - JJ Feild
Martin - Bret Mckenzie
Miss Charming - Jennifer Coolidge
Colonel Andrews - James Callis
Mrs. Wattlesbrook - Jane Seymour
Mr. Wattlesbrook - Rupert Vansittart

EDIT: I forgot to add Rupert Vansittart and have corrected that. There is no Sir John and Aunt Saffronia, Mr & Mrs. Wattlesbrook merging those roles. It was the right choice for the adaptation to screen.

Isn't that a gorgeous cast? I'm so thrilled! If there is anyone you aren't familiar with and you read my blog, then you shortly will be. I'll devote a post to each of them over the next few weeks. The actors playing George East and Lady Heartwright (she got bumped up to "lady" in the screenplay) weren't mentioned in the official announcement, so I'll wait to drop their names.

More info to come, but to sum up: I've spent the past two years writing a screenplay from my book Austenland with Jerusha Hess. This is not to announce my book has been optioned for a movie. This is to announce that IT IS ON. We're making an indie movie from our screenplay and filming starts NOW.

I gotta go pack for England. Crap. I still don't fit into any of my pre-pregnancy clothes. Thanks for all the congrats. I'm so happy that you're happy too. This is a fantasy for sure. Don't pinch me. I'll leave you with this: only one time in my writing career have I written a character with a specific actor in mind. They were able to cast that very actor for that very part. The name appears in the above list. Can you guess?

By the way, if you were thinking of buying a copy of Austenland on ebook to prepare for the movie, did you know that you can still support your local indie bookstore and buy an ebook? Follow this link to purchase it from my local bookstore, The King's English. (through Google ebooks, for all readers except Kindle) Indie movies, indie bookstores, all good things!