The big YA book for spring this year looks to be Ruta Sepetys’s second historical novel for teens
January 22, 2013 In 2010, during the weeks leading up to the publication of Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys racked up a perfect set of starred reviews, one from each of the four pre-publication review sites used by the bookselling industry to make ordering decisions.
Read moreWith four new young-adult titles released this fall alone, Nashville authors are on the leading edge of the biggest news in publishing
December 19, 2012 This fall, four Nashville authors are no doubt hoping their new books will ride the current wave of YA popularity among adults as well as teens. Sci-fi author Myra McEntire’s Timepiece is the second installment of her “Hourglass” time-travel trilogy. In What’s Left of Me, debut novelist (and Vanderbilt undergraduate) Kat Zhang imagines an alternate reality in which “hybrid” humans suffer persecution. C. J. Redwine’s Defiance introduces fantasy-lovers to a land of dangerous creatures and bloody tyranny. And Kathryn Williams turns to the kitchen and the world of reality shows with the delightful Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff That Made Me Famous.
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Mother-daughter duo Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams talk with Chapter 16 about fairy tales, writing across generational lines, and their new children’s novel, The Diary of B.B. Bright, Possible Princess
December 13, 2012 The New York Times bestselling author Alice Randall and her daughter, Caroline Randall Williams, have joined forces to create the fairy-tale world of their first children’s novel, The Diary of B.B. Bright, Possible Princess. As a thirteen-year-old orphaned princess in hiding on fantastical Bee Isle, B.B. Bright faces a gamut of challenges: earning her godmommies’ good opinion, starting her own beeswax candle business, winning her way off the island by finding eight elusive princesses who hold the keys to her identity, and withstanding Bee Isle’s ultimate pass-fail: The Official Princess Test.
Read moreRuta Sepetys recounts the improbable discovery of her Lithuanian family’s “hidden history” in Siberia
November 27, 2012 In a blog post for The Huffington Post’s books section, Nashville YA novelist Ruta Sepetys describes the winding, unlikely path her family’s hidden stories took to reach her.
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Opposites attract in Lauren Morrill’s new YA novel
November 15, 2012 When brainy, uptight, rule-following Julia Lichtenstein sets out on her junior-year class trip to London, she can’t wait to soak up the old-world ambiance of historical sites associated with her literary heroes. But that’s before Mrs. Tennison, her teacher and chaperone, alphabetically assigns each student a buddy, and Julia is suddenly saddled with Jason Lippincott, a vulgar, arrogant, rule-breaking jerk. Of course, opposites attract and romance ensues, but as William Shakespeare himself once wrote, “The course of true love never did run smooth.” In Meant To Be, the new YA novel by Maryville native Lauren Morrill, Julia is in for a bumpy ride indeed. Lauren Morrill will discuss Meant to Be at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on November 16 at 6 p.m.
Read moreOn the sixtieth anniversary of its publication, Michael Sims talks with NPR about Charlotte’s Web
November 9, 2012 Crossville, Tennessee, native and author of such books as Adam’s Navel and Apollo’s Fire Michael Sims celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of the publication of E.B. White’s children’s classic Charlotte’s Web by sitting down with NPR to discuss White’s devotion to his beloved characters.
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