Now this is a cool idea
February 16, 2008
You might have already come across this since it’s been Boing Boinged and bounced about the blogopshere, but I think it’s cool enough to repost here:
A convention for middle-grade and YA sci-fi and fantasy only. Tamora Pierce and Julie Holderman are trying to get just such a convention off the ground, and they are looking for volunteers.
Conventions are the one place where strict genre labeling doesn’t bother me - it’s a shorthand way of people of like-interests to get together. Science Fiction and Fantasy aren’t just emerging in the young adult market - they are flourishing, and I think it would be a terrific opportunity for readers and writers alike.
So if you’re interested, click on the above link and offer to help out. I did.
A Short Rant (the best kind!)
February 3, 2008
An article in today’s New York Times book review got me thinking. Alright, it got me hopping mad. Dave Itzkoff was reviewing China Mieville’s Un Lun Dun as well as Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves’ collaboration Interworld, and both reviews were mostly good.
Basically, Itzkoff’s praise focused on the daring, genre-defying boldness of the books. Itzkoff’ applauds the subversion of expectations and can’t help but aim swipe at what he sees as the Potter franchise’s predictable formula. He even goes so far as to ask, “I sometimes wonder what self-respecting author of speculative fiction can find fulfillment in writing novels for young readers.”
Them’s fighting words! To say that speculative fiction writers are somehow above YA writing, is like the band geek throwing spit wads at the mathlete. Just sad.
The truth is that writers of YA are working in all genres - literary, sci-fi, fantasy, crime, romance - and the only difference is that we are trying to create a product that will excite the youth of today. We are building readers by building good, fun stories. We want them to like our books, sure, because we want them to LOVE reading (something that Itzkoff leaves out of his critique - whether the kids will actually like the stories).
Don’t get me wrong - I’m not commenting on either of the books being reviewed. Both are on my bookshelf. And I’m thrilled that the Times is giving ink to genre titles these days, but Mr. Itzkoff’s offhand slam against the entire YA genre made me nearly spit coffee.
Young Adult writing is a net good. End of debate.
Speaking of Bone
February 2, 2008
There’s a nice little piece in today’s Wall Street Journal about how Scholastic is hoping that Bone will become the next Potter-esque franchise. I usually roll my eyes at the constant scramble to find the next Harry Potter, since the next Harry Potter will look nothing like Harry Potter, smell nothing like Harry Potter and it certainly won’t read like Harry Potter. It will be something completely different.
But I do think it’s interesting that the market is doing a little out-of-the-box thinking and looking to the comics medium as a good place to start searching. And who knows? After all, Bone has already passed the million copy mark. Maybe they’re on to something . . .
Boning up on Bone
January 26, 2008
Jeff Smith’s Bone is one of those rare treats in fiction whose personal story of success is almost as good as the story between the pages. Smith’s smart, all-ages fantasy comic went from self-published indie darling to Scholastic’s marketing powerhouse. I don’t think that it would be an overstatement to say that Bone legitimized the graphic novel form for a lot of Young Adult publishing houses.
Which is why I’m thrilled to be moderating a discussion with Jeff at New York’s Symphony Space in a couple of weeks. Besides being a venue for live performances, Symphony Space is the home of NPR’s literary program Selected Shorts. Jeff will be appearing as part of their Thalia Kid’s Bookclub series to discuss his latest full-color Bone graphic novel - Ghost Circles. I’ll be onstage with him doing my best Charlie Rose.
If you’re going to be in the New York area on February 10th, check out program and ticket pricing info HERE:
Wish fulfillment and boys and girls . . .
January 21, 2008
I’m deep into the first set of Powerless revisions and something’s been nagging me during my tea and biscuit breaks (actually they usually turn out to be Coca-cola and cookie breaks, but I’m trying to sound writerly).
Why do folks like to read? What is it about one story that ignites the imagination over another? What makes such a ripping good yarn that little Jimmy will put down the Sony and crack open the dog-eared pages of a 300 page-plus tome?
Well, beats me.
But I suspect that it has something to do with truth, with the ability to get swept up in a grand adventure while all the while feeling that you can understand the characters. When a reader says, “yeah, I feel like that sometimes too.” That’s when the story is working.
I believe this so strongly that I’m banking on it. See Powerless is not about Wish-Fulfillment. It’s not about imagining that you can cast spells, or have the power to slay dragons (not that there is anything wrong with either of those things. They are perfectly acceptable professions.)
Powerless is a very fast-paced adventure story, to be sure, full of wondrous things. I took my inspiration from the pacing of the comics I loved so much as a kid - complete with superheroes, cliff-hangers, mysteries, twists and turns. But the hero of this story is not the Chosen One. Or the Destined Something-or-Other. Or the most powerful blah, blah, blah in the wherever.
He’s powerless. And I just hope that kids and adults will read it and say, “Yeah, I feel like that sometimes too.”
Politics, Schmolitics! Kate Schafer is the REAL Agent of Change!
January 16, 2008
Ok so I maybe shouldn’t be a slogan writer, but I do want to take a quick moment to mention that my superstar agent is leaving Janklow and Nesbit to open her own boutique agency - KT Literary. After 10 good years at Janklow, she’s moving out on her own and I’m going with her. I’m really excited to be on her client list along with some really talented folks.
Check it out here. Seriously folks, this lady’s got moxie.
Yeah, but he’d be so much cooler if . . .
September 7, 2007
I have this friend who is eleven years old. He’s a great kid. Really, he’s one of those kids you meet that make you want to have kids of your own. He’s that cool.
A few weeks ago I was bouncing some plot points off of him for my next novel, the Powerless sequel and when it came time to describe one of the characters and what his powers were this kid looks at me for a second and says, “Huh. Bet I could come up with someone cooler.”
Being one who is easily goaded and particularly susceptible to the taunts of eleven-year-olds I answered, “Bet you can’t!”
So he decided that he was up to the challenge and came up with the character Flame Lord (not the real name, I don’t want to steal his thunder in case the precocious and internet-savvy little tot has already trademarked the guy).
Whereas my character has the ability to manipulate small fires, Flame Lord has the power to control all fire everywhere. Also he can create fire. And nuclear blasts. Big ones. That could burn the earth to a crisp. I lose, story over.
In short, Flame Lord was cooler than my guy cause he was tougher. Infinity-plus-one tougher, to be exact.
If it were only so easy.
Babies are excuses for buying yourself stuff. Really.
September 1, 2007
So while The Wife-All-Powerful has been buying little thumb-sized shoes and teeny-weeny plaid shorts for our expected baby boy, I’ve been quietly up to my own shopping - for books. I’ve been telling myself that I am assembling a library of children’s classics both new and old for the little tot, but as I type this and look at the ever increasing stack of tomes, yes tomes, that I feel compelled to buy, I think it’s time I came clean and admitted that I’m shopping for me.
Honestly, how many years is it going to be before he can enjoy a lavishly illustrated edition of Peter Pan or Treasure Island? And how will I react when he takes his little crayon set and draws his OWN treasure map on top of John Silver’s? Or when he gives the pan a mustache in red marker?
But I can’t help it. Those books are just so freaking cool, and try as I might, I cannot get up the enthusiasm to buy Baby’s First Book of Kittens and Colorful Geometric Shapes Produced on Sturdy Nibble-Friendly Cardboard or some such.
Sigh.
These are some darn fine kid’s books, but the movie looks . . .
August 24, 2007
So I was over at a friend’s house the other day and saw this battered, beaten up old copy of a children’s novel from seventies. The cover was this great, frightening mural of scratchy illustrations depicting charging horses and cloaked ghost-men. The title on the cover was The Dark is Rising.
Now for those of you who’ve seen the trailer for the new movie of the same name - stop a moment and take a breath. This book is actually part of a fantastic series of books by Susan Cooper that have little to no resemblance to the teeny-angst shown in the trailer. Granted, the movie seems to have beefed up its credentials by casting Ian McShane (the brit we love to hate from Deadwood) and Christopher Eccleston (Dr. Who!), but still the whole MTV opening makes me a wee bit queasy.
But back to the books and that great cover. Here’s the thing - that cover is spooky. Genuinely spooky. If I were a young adult I’d totally pick it up and proudly brandish it as antidote to all those Gossip Girl pink and baby blue books that are littering sis’s desktop. In fact, I was so impressed by the sheer presentation I ran out to the local bookseller and bought me a copy. Only, the modern cover is nowhere near as cool. It’s slick, sure. But scary, nah.
Bring back the scary says I. And go read these books.
