New Short Stories

If I needed to think of a slogan for this post it would probably be something like “Short stories: not just for English class anymore!”   You might associate short stories with assigned reading, but some amazing authors are putting their stamp on short fiction.  We have two new collections in now at the library: 

The first is, “Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd.”  Do I even have to say anything after that title?  Fandom, RPGs, Buffy, Jedis, Rocky Horror…this book has all that and more.  There are 29 short stories from authors including Libba Bray, Scott Westerfeld, Garth Nix, John Green, and Wendy Mass.   

“The Restless Dead: Ten Original Stories of the Supernatural” is perfect for all you horror fans, especially with Halloween right around the corner.  Authors including M.T. Anderson, Annette Kurtis Clause, Holly Black, and Marcus Sedgwick bring to life tales of grave-robbing, poison, vampires, necromancers and more.

If you could get your favorite authors together to write a collection of short stories, who would the authors be, and what would you want them to write about?

She is seriously going bovine

Libba Bray’s new book “Going Bovine” is now available at the library.  Normally I’d give you a little about the book, but why not here it directly from the fabulous Libba herself?

Are you Libba Bray’s number one fan?

Do the words “A great and terrible beauty” make you swoon?  Are you the first person on hold to get “Going bovine” when it comes out next month? 

If so…what would you do to get an autographed copy of one of those two books?

Lucky you, all you have to do is enter our Libba Bray autographed book contest, going on now until September 15.  Tell us in 200 words or less why you love her books and you could win a book autographed by the author herself!   Entries must be received by September 15.  Pick up an entry form in the YA section of the library and bring your entry to the main desk, or email your entry to me.   Please include your name, grade and phone number if you email me your entry.

I will take names off the entries in order for them to be anonymously judged by library staff.  Two winners will be chosen; the first place winner will get first choice of book. 

Good luck!

TV, Fever Dreams, and D&D

I was recently at an event about teen lit that was packed with authors I know you all love, so I’m now reporting back to you.  Ready?

Remember this post about The Comet’s Curse by Dom Testa, where I said I could see the book as a TV series?  Well I heard straight from the author’s mouth that the book has in fact been optioned!  Not everything that is optioned is made into a series, but it’s still cool.  I am apparently totally in tune with the TV powers that be.

Libba Bray described her own Gemma Doyle trilogy as “a Victorian fever dream glam rock-opera with beasties.”  I LOVE this description!

Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi met when she interviewed him for a gaming magazine.  They both played Dungeons and Dragons and were rival dungeonmasters.  Wouldn’t have guessed THAT one, would you?

Katie

Meeting of the minds in a book signing line

So in my continuing saga featuring the American Library Association conference, here’s the story of my most surreal experience…

I was in line to pick up an advance copy of Libba Bray’s new book Going Bovine and get her autograph.  FYI, Libba Bray is awesome, you guys.  They weren’t quite ready for her to start the book signing, so what did she do?  Started going down the line of fans, shaking hands and chatting with us. 

She’s standing RIGHT in front of me when who should show up?  Annette Curtis Klause!  Author of books like the awesome The Silver Kiss.  The two of them got to talking and the librarian behind me in line even took a pic of the two of them for Libba on Libba’s camera phone.   See, even authors get excited meeting authors!

And what’s happening to the two books Libba Bray signed for me, you ask?  They could soon be YOURS!  Look for an announcement soon in the YA corner for details of our Libba Bray #1 Fan Contest.

Geeking out just a little

So you may have noticed I haven’t posted in a few days.  Well, I’ve been busy at the American Library Association conference.  Which is NOT as boring as you probably think it is! 

Over the past few days I have been THISCLOSE to authors including Libba Bray, Annette Curtis Klause, Neil Gaiman, Dom Testa, and Holly Black!  So, yeah, it’s fun, and I admit to geeking out just a little. 

I also came back with loads of advance reader copies of soon-to-be-published books, so be on the lookout for ways you can get your hands on one.  I’ll be posting more about what happened, so come back tomorrow!

Katie

Watch Neil Gaiman Read “The Graveyard Book”

If you haven’t yet read “The Graveyard Book,” the story of a boy who is raised by ghosts and the denizens of a graveyard, try watching this video by author Neil Gaiman. 

During Gaiman’s recent book tour, he recorded part of the book at each stop, and you can now watch all the videos on his website.  Just click here to watch and listen to Gaiman read the entire book chapter by chapter.

New science fiction

Daylight Runner by Oisin McGann

Outside the domed city of Ash Harbor, an Ice Age has transformed Earth into an Arctic desert.  Inside, the Machine has become the source of city’s energy as well as a way for industrial leaders to wield enormous power.  

When Sol Wheat begins to uncover the city’s deepest secrets, a police organization called the Clockworkers start targeting him, forcing him to go on the run in the city’s underground.  Only the truth can save Ash Harbor and help Sol escape the darkness. 

Read the first part at Oisin McGann’s website.  
Check out some sketches of the characters and scenes from the book.  

 

The Starry Rift: Tales of New Tomorrows 

New short stories from authors including:
* Scott Westerfeld, author of Uglies
* Neil Gaiman, author of Interworld
* Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother
* Garth Nix, author of the Keys to the Kingdom series

Who’s your favorite scifi author?  Comment me and let me know what new scifi the library has to have.

Chat with your favorite authors

This month, http://www.readergirlz.com is sponsoring a series of chats with some great authors.  Just log in to groups.myspace.com/readergirlz at 7:00 p.m.  Check out the lineup

Week One
October 1st: Meg Cabot
October 2nd: Tiffany Trent
October 3rd: Brent Hartinger
October 4th: Lorie Ann Grover
October 5th: K.L. Going
October 6th: Nikki Grimes

Week Two
October 7th: Ellen Hopkins
October 8th: Justina Chen Headley
October 9th: Chris Crutcher
October 10th: Ann Brashares
October 11th: Sarah Mlynowski
October 12th: Cecil Castellucci
October 13th: Kirby Larson

Week Three
October 14th: Tanya Lee Stone
October 15th: John Green
October 16th: Sara Zarr
October 17th: Deb Caletti
October 18th: Rachel Cohn
October 19th: Kirsten Miller
October 20th: Mitali Perkins

Week Four
October 21st: Sonya Sones
October 22nd: Lisa Yee
October 23rd: Carolyn Mackler
October 24th: E. Lockhart
October 25th: Janet Lee Carey
October 26th: Gaby Triana
October 27th: Lauren Myracle

Week Five
October 28th: Holly Black
October 29th: Cynthia Leitich Smith
October 30th: Dia Calhoun
October 31st: Stephenie Meyer

If you could chat with any author, who would it be?
Katie