Source: variety

After vying with two other studios, Fox 2000 has acquired the film rights for British author Catherine Fisher’s young-adult novel “Incarceron.” John Palermo will produce via Seed Productions, Palermo and Hugh Jackman’s Fox-based company. Incarceron was published just three weeks ago in the U.S., and immediately inserted itself in a spot on the New York Times children’s bestsellers list.

Novel synopsis:

Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells, but also metal forests, dilapidated cities, and vast wilderness. Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from Outside Incarceron. Very few prisoners believe that there is an Outside, however, which makes escape seems impossible.

And then Finn finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl named Claudia. She claims to live Outside- she is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and doomed to an arranged marriage. Finn is determined to escape the prison, and Claudia believes she can help him. But they don’t realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost more than they know.

Have you read Incarceron? Are you a fan of Catherine Fisher’s work?

via Book Trade: Two-Book World Rights Deal For YA Fantasy Novelist
Puffin are very excited to announce that we have acquired two fantasy novels in a new series entitled Wereworld by British author and artist Curtis Jobling. Shannon Park, Executive Editor at Puffin secured world rights for the series from the John Jarrold Literary Agency, for an undisclosed five-figure sum. The Wereworld novels are due for publication in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

WEREWORLD follows the story of fifteen-year-old Drew, a shepherd’s son, as he comes of age and discovers he’s the last of the long line of Werewolves, and rightful (yet reluctant) ruler of the land of Lyssia, where lycanthrope ‘Werelords’ reign. Before long he’s hurtling headlong into an epic journey of fantasy and horror, from one deadly encounter to the next, meeting exotic Werelords at every turn as he’s drawn inexorably towards his destiny.

More Details here

Cover Exclusive: FULL STEAM AHEAD by Nathalie Gray

by Heather Massey at The Galaxy Express
Regarding the cover for Nathalie Gray’s forthcoming erotic steampunk romance novel, FULL STEAM AHEAD, nothing can express my reaction better than OMG!* Feast your eyes on this striking cover, an exclusive made possible for you by the combined generosity of the author and Red Sage Managing Editor Theresa Stevens.

This cover is a super science fiction romance cover for a number of reasons. First, the airship is eye-catching and prominent. Sleek. It’s above the clouds so I’m anticipating the story will promise loads of adventure and airship battles. There’s not just one, either—two of them grace the cover. Those convey the science fictional aspects with aplomb. But what about the romance?

Read More here

Over Fifteen Pounds of Book!!–Knowing Darkness: Artists Inspired by Stephen King

by Jeff VanderMeer at Omnivoracious
Some books make you feel like Captain Ahab pursuing the white whale. They come smashing through the door, so heavy that because it’s a book and you’ve forgotten books can be huge, you almost hurt yourself lugging it through the house to the livingroom. Knowing Darkness: Artists Inspired by Stephen King is one of those books. It’s the brainchild of Centipede Press and its founder Jerad Walters, who has established a reputation for doing the impossible, with such juggernauts as A Lovecraft Retrospective: Artists Inspired by Lovecraft (which my wife and I covered for io9 in this feature).

Covering King’s entire career, this oversized monster features over 500 illustrations in almost every artistic medium imaginable, including 30 double-page foldouts. Not only have obscure reprints been included, but the 11 x 15 book also features commissioned works that will never appear anywhere else.

Read More here

Source: sfscope

Great news for young adult fans of science fiction. Renovation, the 2011 World Science Fiction Convention, has announced that it will be the first WorldCon to offer a reduced membership rate for young adults, “enabling many more young people to participate in this unique event.”

Attending membership rates for WorldCons have usually been discounted for children under 17, but Renovation Chair Patty Wells said “I strongly believe that we need to do more to attract young people, especially when so many of them are discovering the genre through writers such as J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer. Our YA rate will allow these new fans to be part of the WorldCon experience: meeting and listening to writers; exploring our art show, dealers’ room, and exhibits; and attending the Hugo Award Ceremony, Masquerade, and other special events.”

Read more about YA membership rates for WorldCon here…

If your interested in attending you can visit the Revonation, the World Science Convention site.

Will you be attending the WorldCon? If you do, please come back to the OBS forum and tell us all about it.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margie Stohl
9.15 A Fork in the Road
Written by Dawn
Edited by Krystal

On the way back to Ethan’s house not much is said between him and Lena. Ethan deliberately passes his street, not wanting to go home; he needed answers. He pulled over on Dove Street where he demands answers, but Lena feigns ignorance. Ethan refuses to give up and pushes her further as he gets angrier; how had her house redecorate in days, the food appeared and disappeared at will, and what about everything her Uncle said? Lena becomes upset and starts to cry and as he goes to comfort her a tap on the window from Fatty disturbs them.

When they arrive at Ethan’s house he gets out and says his goodbyes, knowing that if she chooses to leave now she wasn’t choosing him and things would never be the same. It was a fork in the road and she had to pick one; she didn’t choose him.

Read the rest of the summary HERE.

Memorable Quotes:

Lena: “You think my uncle is crazy, like everyone else. Just say it. Old Man Ravenwood.” (Page 133)

Lena: “You think you know crazy. You have no idea.” (Page 138)

Ethan: We sat out on the front step. I was in my jeans, because I didn’t sleep in pajamas, and if Amma had walked out and found me with a girl in my boxers, I would’ve been buried under the back lawn by morning. (Page 138)

Lena: “Casters,” she said quietly.
Ethan: “Casters?”
Lena: She nodded.
Ethan: “Like, spell casters?”
Lena: She nodded again.
Ethan: I started at her. Maybe she was crazy. “Like, witches?”
Lena: “Ethan. Don’t be ridiculous.” (Page 139)

Questions for discussion:

What do you think of Lena’s explanation as to what her family is?

Read and discuss more HERE.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margie Stohl
9.24 The Last Three Rows
Written by Dawn
Edited by Krystal

Ethan contemplates his feelings for Lena and hers feelings for him. He couldn’t really ask Savannah to find out and it wasn’t the kind of things guys talk about.

One day at Greenbrier Ethan asks Lena out on a date Friday and a discussion about his mother occurs. Lena mentions that she the raven on her necklace belonged to her mother and in the Caster world they are extremely powerful. He asks about the rest of the charms and she says that although it looks like a bunch of junk, everything means something to her, and then agrees to Friday night at the movies.

The more he thought about Friday the more nervous he got. It wasn’t a date, but he wanted it to be, and he wondered what you do when you realize you might have feelings for a girl. He spent most of his time thinking about Lena these days and everything that was boring before was brighter now.

Read the rest of the summary HERE.

Memorable Quotes:

Ethan: You know that expression, “It hit me like a ton of bricks”? It’s true. The minute she turned the car around and ended up on my doorstep in her purple pajamas, that’s how I felt about Lena. (Page 143)

Ethan: “That’s cute.”
Lena: “If by cute you mean tragic.”
Ethan: “I mean, that you kept it.” (Page 146-147)

Lena: Why didn’t you say something?
Ethan: I didn’t know.
Lena: Liar.
Ethan: I’ll be a perfect gentleman. Honest. (Page 152)

Questions for discussion:

What do you think happened to Ethan Carter Wate and why do you think they are seeing these visions?

Read and discuss more HERE.

Source: io9

IS THE GOLDEN AGE OF YA SCIENCE FICTION OVER?

We thought we were living in a golden age of young-adult science fiction, with authors like Cory Doctorow turning to YA protagonists and authors like Scott Westerfeld and Suzanne Collins hitting big. But two bloggers say YA SF is scarce.

There’s been a lot of talk in science-fiction circles over the past year or two about how the biggest growth in SF publishing was over in the YA world. But now a couple of YA bloggers say actual YA science-fiction is hard to find.

Read more here…

Source: entertainmentweekly

BLOOMSBURY WITHDRAWS ‘MAGIC UNDER GLASS’ COVER AFTER WHITEWASHING

Ready for the FAIL news of the day? Here it is: Publisher Bloomsbury has come under fire for whitewashing the cover of one of its titles — for the second time in a year.

The controversy began less than a year ago, when readers discovered that Justine Larbalestier’s Liar — a book about a biracial high school student — had a white girl pictured on its jacket. Now, the publisher is facing ire once again for its cover of Jaclyn Dolamore’s Magic Under Glass, a fantasy novel with an African-American protagonist, which features a white woman on its jacket. Oof.

Read more here…

Source: timesonline

WILL SELF REVEALS WHY HIS ULTIMATE MODERN BOOK IS WELL’S ‘WAR OF THE WORLDS’

H G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds is one of those books that demonstrates our culture’s surprising ability to continue the manufacture of myth. I say surprising, because one would think, with all the technological reproducibility of art now at our disposal — from raw print, to film, to digitisation — that there would be no room left for that hazy instability within which myth thrives.

I first properly noticed the existence of these modern myths when working on my adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray — almost everyone knows the story of the beautiful young man who wishes his portrait would age rather than his looks fade, but only a small proportion have actually read the book.

It’s as if the centrality of narcissism to our culture had somehow been inseminated by the myriad versions of Wilde’s tale to produce this polymorphous myth; one so commanding that there are undoubtedly quite a lot of people who believe the story to be true.

Read more here…

Source: nytimes

THE BOOK CLUB WITH JUST ONE MEMBER

Early in the novel “When You Reach Me,” which last week won the John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature, the narrator, Miranda, falls into an uncomfortable conversation with a schoolmate about her favorite book, “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle.

Miranda, who is 11, doesn’t want to have the discussion. “The truth is that I hate to think about other people reading my book,” she thinks. “It’s like watching someone go through the box of private stuff that I keep under my bed.”

Clearly, “When You Reach Me,” which the author Rebecca Stead set in 1970s New York City, does not take place in the era of Facebook, Goodreads, Shelfari or book clubs.

Read more here…

What are your thoughts about today’s Book News?

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margie Stohl
9.14 The Real Boo Radley
Written by Krystal

It was Sunday night and Ethan was rereading The Catcher in the Rye, but unable to do so. His mind was cluttered with the locket, fire, and voices. He called out to Lena and she answered him. They discussed what’s going on and who they could talk to before wishing each other goodnight. One thing was for sure, Ethan needed to focus on other things if she could jump into his head whenever.

Ethan was drowning and Lena was calling out to him; it was her birthday and whatever that meant was happening. He awoke to find himself covered in water and Amma calling his name. He headed down for breakfast where Amma gave him some spiteful words; she was still mad at him, that was obvious. He apologizes and she warns him once again to stay away from Lena before he heads off for school.

Read the rest of the summary HERE.

Memorable Quotes:

Lena: Guys. You think everything is about you. Maybe I just like that book. (Page 103)

Ethan: I hoped she couldn’t read all my thoughts.
Basketball. I was definitely going to have to spend more time thinking about basketball. (Page 104)

Link: “Well? Is it true? Did she?”
Ethan: “Did she what?”
Link: “You know. Fall outta the crazy tree and hit every branch on the way down?” (Page 108)

Ethan: The Gatlin County head librarian, Marian Ashcroft, was my mom’s oldest friend, the second smartest historian in Gatlin next to my mom, and until last year, her research partner. (Page 117-118)

Macon: “Well, that’s one I don’t hear often. And I do hate to disappoint, as I am nothing if not a Southern gentleman.” (Page 120)

Macon: “Speaking of hospitality, Lena, your cousins are coming out for the Gathering Days. Let’s remember to tell House and Kitchen we will be five more.”
Lena: Lena look irritated. “I will tell the kitchen staff and the house keepers. if that’s what you mean, Uncle M.” (Page 125)

Macon: “Five months. Do you know what lengths I will go to, to keep her safe for five months? What it will cost me? How it will drain me, perhaps, destroy me?” (Page 131)

Questions for discussion:

Were you surprised to learn that Ethan has a great-great-great uncle that was married to the girl Genevieve?

Read and discuss more HERE.