1. When
you close your eyes and imagine your readers, who do you see?
This.
Or this.
Maybe this.
2. One of the most exciting things about World Book Day – apart from the
release of The Boy in the Smoke, of course! – will be finding out which books
are the nation’s top 50 for Young Adults, thanks to the brilliant Writes of
Passage initiative. What books would you vote for?
I REFUSE TO COMMIT TO ONLY A FEW BOOKS.
3. How did you get involved in writing a novella for World Book Day?
My publisher, Hot Key
Books, put it all together. I was totally and utterly thrilled.
4. Your
books are really varied, with the contemporary standalones and series, the
Shades of London paranormal series, and the Bane Chronicles fantasy short
stories. Is there anything different in the way you approach writing them?
They require different
types of plotting, different kinds of research. The Shades of London is very
research-heavy and requires knowing how everything works and how everything
ends. And the Bane Chronicles was completely different. To work in the Mortal
Instrument world, first I had to reread all the books and mark them up and make
a set of master documents—I had to know everything about Magnus that was
written down, and get more info from Cassie to make sure my understanding
matched her plans for the characters. (The Codex was hugely helpful.) Luckily,
Cassie is very good at making logical rule sets, and they’re always consistent.
Fantasy is all about making the rules and keeping to them, and subverting them
only for the most critical reasons.
5. The
Bane Chronicles are co-written with Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan,
while Let It Snow was written with Lauren Myracle and John Green. How did you
get involved in these collaborations, and what’s the best
thing about working with other authors?
Writing is something you
have to do on your own, almost all of the time, so it’s nice to have someone
else to build the story with. And someone to run off with when you get stuck.
6. As well
as being a much-loved author, you’re well-known for having a huge presence on
social media – I think that yourself and John Green are the two most active YA
authors I know on the internet. How important do you think it is for a YA
author today to be confident in using social media?
I think it helps, but I
don’t think it’s necessary. You just have to do what feels natural and right. I
make it all up as I go along. I’m not into “branding” and “platform building”
and all that jargon. No one needs that.
7. You are
the currently reigning Queen of Teen in the UK! If asked to put together a
Royal Court of six YA authors, who would you pick?
I can’t do this. I know
WAY more than six. My court would be huge.
8. I was
lucky enough to see you with James Dawson last year at Waterstones Piccadilly.
You’re an amazing public speaker – do you get nervous?
OH THANK YOU. And . . .
not really? Because, as with social media, I just make it up as I go along. I
just assume the audience is not going to attack me. I just talk and answer
questions and sometimes do impressions of seagulls.
9. You
wrote the “genre-defining John Green/Hank Green/Katherine Green/Sherlock
fanfic” A Study In Sink for the Harry Potter Alliance. How did you get involved
with the Alliance? And could you give those of us yet to read it (I will soon!)
a tiny clue as to why Benedict Cumberbatch loves Doritos?
I’m the chair of Lit
Track with LeakyCon, which is tied in very strongly with the HPA. I’m in the
family. As for Benedict Cumberbatch and the Doritos—it is an understood tenant
of medicine that when an actor believes they have taken on the persona of the
character they are playing, you just need to feed them Doritos and get them
into a submarine. I thought everyone knew this?
10. What’s
next for Maureen Johnson?
Lunch!
Wait, did you mean
book-wise? Book-wise, I am now finishing the third book in the Shades of London
series, The Shadow Cabinet. And then I write the fourth book. And then there is
SOMETHING ELSE that hasn’t been announced yet, but EXCITING! Also, I am writing
the third book in the Suite Scarlett series. So, lots of writing!
But first, lunch.
WRITES OF PASSAGE – LIFE-CHANGING
BOOKS FOR TEENS REVEALED
- Top Teen Tome list announced for World Book Day
The nation has voted for the books that help shape and inspire
teenage lives the most, with the results announced to mark World Book Day today
(6th March).
The results of the Writes of Passage initiative, run by the
organisers of World Book Day, create the ultimate list of 50 recommended reads
for teens. It includes a plethora of
genres from the critically acclaimed to unworldly fantasy.
Thousands of adults and teenagers in the UK voted for
different categories. From the
awkwardness of the first time (Judy Blume’s Forever) to the brutality
of war (Joseph Heller’s Catch 22), the tender (Jodi
Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper), the terrifying (Stephen King’s The
Shining) and fantastical (J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series) the
list shows how books can inspire and entertain young adults at a time of
transition and, more importantly, keep them reading.
The Top 10, led by Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games,
includes nine recommendations that have also been adapted for the big screen:
- The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
- The Fault in Our Stars, John Green
- To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
- Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling
- 1984, George Orwell
- The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank
- A Streetcat Named Bob, James Bowen
- The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
- Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
Malorie Blackman, the award-winning author of bestselling
teenage series Noughts and Crosses, which
also makes the top 50, helped launch the initiative back in November. Speaking of the results, Blackman says, “This
is a brilliant and varied list proving there is no one genre or definition
which exactly describes an ultimate story which may inspire and fire the
imagination of teenagers - we have everything, from established classics to
modern blockbusters to genuine surprises. This exciting list provides
inspiration for great reads.”
The full list of 50 is split into the following categories:
- Books that will change the way you think
- Books that will help you understand you
- Books that will make you cry
- Books that will make you laugh
- Books that will scare you
- Books that will teach you about love
- Books that will thrill you
- Books that will transport you
World Book Day is celebrated in more than 100 countries
worldwide with a main aim in UK and Ireland to encourage children to explore
the pleasures of books and reading.
All children in full-time education are entitled to receive a
£1 World Book Day Book Token (or equivalent €1.50 Book Token in Ireland) which can
be exchanged for one of eleven specially published £1 World Book Day books. In
2014 these include two young adult titles: Rock
War: The Audition by author of number one smash CHERUB, Robert Muchamore, and The
Boy in the Smoke, by New York Times
bestselling ‘Queen of Teen’ Maureen Johnson.
Visit
www.worldbookday.com for
more information, the latest news and to subscribe to the free monthly World
Book Day e-newsletter.
Notes
to Editors
The £1 World Book Day 2014 books
for Young Adult readers are:
·
Rock War:
The Audition, Robert Muchamore (Hodder)
·
The Boy
in the Smoke, Maureen Johnson (Hot Key Books)
The
Full List
Title
|
Author
|
Category
|
Publisher
|
To Kill a Mockingbird
|
Harper Lee
|
Change the Way You Think
|
Random House
|
A Streetcat Named Bob
|
James Bowen
|
Change the Way You Think
|
Hodder
|
The Book Thief
|
Markus Zusak
|
Change the Way You Think
|
Random House
|
Noughts and Crosses
|
Malorie Blackman
|
Change the Way You Think
|
Random House
|
Wonder
|
R. J. Palacio
|
Change the Way You Think
|
Random House
|
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night - Time
|
Mark Haddon
|
Change the Way You Think
|
Vintage
|
The Perks of Being A Wallflower
|
Stephen Chbosky
|
Change the Way You Think
|
Simon & Schuster
|
The Fault in Our Stars
|
John Green
|
Help You Understand You
|
Penguin
|
The Catcher in the Rye
|
J. D. Salinger
|
Help You Understand You
|
Penguin
|
The Knife of Never Letting Go
|
Patrick Ness
|
Help You Understand You
|
Walker
|
I Capture the Castle
|
Dodie Smith
|
Help You Understand You
|
Vintage
|
The Outsiders
|
S.E. Hinton
|
Help You Understand You
|
Puffin
|
The Color Purple
|
Alice Walker
|
Make You Cry
|
Phoenix
|
Of Mice and Men
|
John Steinbeck
|
Make You Cry
|
Penguin
|
The Time Traveller's Wife
|
Audrey Niffeneger
|
Make You Cry
|
Random House
|
The Kite Runner
|
Khaled Hosseini
|
Make You Cry
|
Bloomsbury
|
War Horse
|
Michael Morpurgo
|
Make You Cry
|
Egmont
|
Before I Die
|
Jenny Downham
|
Make You Cry
|
Random House
|
My Sister's Keeper
|
Jodi Picoult
|
Make You Cry
|
Hodder
|
Catch 22
|
Joseph Heller
|
Make You Laugh
|
Vintage
|
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
|
Douglas Adams
|
Make You Laugh
|
Picador
|
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13
3/4
|
Sue Townsend
|
Make You Laugh
|
Puffin
|
Geek Girl
|
Holly Smale
|
Make You Laugh
|
Harper Collins
|
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
|
Jeff Kinney
|
Make You Laugh
|
Puffin
|
Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging
|
Louise Rennison
|
Make You Laugh
|
Harper Collins
|
1984
|
George Orwell
|
Scare you
|
Penguin
|
Lord Loss
|
Darren Shan
|
Scare you
|
Harper Collins
|
The Rats
|
James Herbert
|
Scare you
|
Pan Macmillan
|
The Shining
|
Stephen King
|
Scare you
|
Hodder
|
The Wasp Factory
|
Iain Banks
|
Scare You
|
Abacus
|
The Diary of a Young Girl
|
Anne Frank
|
Teach You About Love
|
Puffin
|
Pride and Prejudice
|
Jane Austen
|
Teach You About Love
|
Penguin
|
Forever
|
Judy Blume
|
Teach You About Love
|
Macmillan
|
Twilight
|
Stephenie Meyer
|
Teach You About Love
|
Atom
|
How I Live Now
|
Meg Rosoff
|
Teach You About Love
|
Penguin
|
Wuthering Heights
|
Emily Bronte
|
Teach You About Love
|
Penguin
|
Jane Eyre
|
Charlotte Bronte
|
Teach You About Love
|
Puffin
|
The Hunger Games
|
Suzanne Collins
|
Thrill You
|
Scholastic
|
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
|
Cassandra Clare
|
Thrill You
|
Walker
|
Divergent
|
Veronica Roth
|
Thrill You
|
Harper Collins
|
Gone
|
Michael Grant
|
Thrill You
|
Electric Monkey
|
Rebecca
|
Daphne du Maurier
|
Thrill You
|
Virago
|
Skulduggery Pleasant
|
Derek Landy
|
Thrill You
|
Harper Collins
|
A Clockwork Orange
|
Anthony Burgess
|
Thrill You
|
Penguin
|
Harry Potter series
|
J. K. Rowling
|
Transport You
|
Bloomsbury
|
The Lord of the Rings
|
J.R.R. Tolkien
|
Transport You
|
Harper Collins
|
Percy Jackson series
|
Rick Riordan
|
Transport You
|
Puffin
|
Life of Pi
|
Yann Martel
|
Transport You
|
Canongate
|
Northern Lights
|
Philip Pullman
|
Transport You
|
Scholastic
|
The Great Gatsby
|
F. Scott Fitzgerald
|
Transport You
|
Penguin
|
About
World Book Day
World
Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and
reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe.
World Book Day is a partnership of publishers,
booksellers and interested parties who work together to promote books and
reading for the personal enrichment and enjoyment of all. A main aim of World Book Day in the UK and
Ireland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading
by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own.
To mark the day, school children are entitled to
receive a £1 World Book Day Book Token (or equivalent €1.50 Book Token in
Ireland) supplied by National Book Tokens Ltd. The £1 Book Token can be
exchanged for one of eleven specially published £1 World Book Day Books, or is
redeemable against any book or audio book of their choice costing £2.99 or more
at a participating bookshop or book club. The World Book Day £1 Book Token will
be valid from 3 to 30 March 2014.
National Book Tokens are the
perfect gift for book lovers everywhere and are the only gift cards sold and
accepted in bookshops across the UK and Ireland, including all the major chains
and local independents. As proud sponsors of World Book Day, National Book
Tokens supports lifelong learning and improving literacy and access to reading
for everyone. Visit www.nationalbooktokens.com for more
information.
No comments:
Post a Comment