Articles tagged "Jo Walton"

Monday Fun Day! (5/21/2012 Edition)

Now wait just a minute... it's Monday? Again?! For some reason I thought we were all out of Mondays... Guess not!

- AMONG OTHERS won the Nebula Award for Best Novel!! If you've been ignoring my unreasonably incessant affection (see right) for this title, now's the time to give in and just read it already!

- Talia's slides for the Boston Book Buzz are available to view now (link to Adult deck) (link to Teen deck), so if you're not going to make it to the event, you can still take a look at the lineup. And, more importantly, if you are going to make it to the event, you can fool your co-workers into thinking you're psychic by "guessing" all of the books before she reveals them.

- ATTN: Teen Librarians! Did you see that we're running not one, but TWO(!) delightful signed-series contests? One of them includes the necklace from the Midnight Dragonfly covers! Enter now!

- We have an even to plug for ALA Annual... please don't miss The Great Non-Fiction Read-Alike: If You Like This, You’ll LOVE That!.

All-star panelists Alene Moroni (Manager, Selection & Order, King County), Anna Mickelsen (Reference Librarian, Springfield City), Kaite Stover (Manager, Readers’ Services, Kansas City), Robin Nesbitt (Technical Services Director, Columbus Metropolitan), and Stephanie Chase (Head, Reference, Adult Services, & Programming, Multnomah County) will cover major trends in popular non-fiction and recommend upcoming titles with pre-publication buzz as well as titles from your backlist will satisfy your patrons while the best-selling titles are on hold. Add it to your conference schedule now!

- THE SEVEN PEARLS OF FINANCIAL WISDOM received a great review from The Wall Street Journal.

They note that in most financial self-help books "the target reader is a man who has a job, is happily married and has 2½ kids. Some books target specific needs, such as caring and providing for an elderly relative, but they still make certain assumptions. A pioneering new book titled THE SEVEN PEARLS OF FINANCIAL WISDOM aims to fill the gap. Written by Forbes columnist Camilla Webster and financial planner Carol Pepper, the book is aimed at women. [...]
"What really sets 'The Seven Pearls' apart are the assumptions it makes about readers. If you know, love or support an alcoholic in your life, have an aging parent suffering from Alzheimer's disease, are worried about having children and considering or paying for expensive fertilization procedures, hate your job, are dependent on another income earner, or are responsible for someone who is sick, then this the book is for you."

- And finally...

Let me see your war face! twitter.com/EmergencyPuppy…
— Emergency Cute Stuff (@EmergencyPuppy) May 14, 2012

Reviews and Publicity

Library Journal's Spring Adult Book Buzz!

This afternoon during Library Journal's Spring Adult Book Buzz (3pm Eastern, #ljadultbuzz), I'll be discussing all of the super fabulous upcoming titles listed below!

Join me, Virginia from HarperCollins, Kelly and Erica from Random House, Elenita from Perseus, and moderator Barbara Hoffert from Library Journal for an hour-long book buzz webinar party today! Register now!

A LADY CYCLIST'S GUIDE TO KASHGAR | Suzanna Joinson | 978-1-60819-811-5

SHINE SHINE SHINE | Lydia Netzer | 978-1-250-00707-0

BENEATH THE SHADOWS | Sara Foster | 978-0-312-64336-2

THE LAND OF DECORATION | Grace McCleen | 978-0-8050-9494-7

A SIMPLE MURDER | Eleanor Kuhns | 978-1-250-00553-3

DEAD SCARED | S. J. Bolton | 978-0-312-60053-2

KILL YOU TWICE | Chelsea Cain | 978-0-312-61978-7

THE OTHER WOMAN | Hank Phillippi Ryan | 978-0-7653-3257-8

BRING UP THE BODIES | Hilary Mantel | 978-0-8050-9003-1

WHERE WE BELONG | Emily Giffin | 978-0-312-55419-4

MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND | Matthew Dicks | 978-1-250-00621-9

THIS IS NOT A TEST | Courtney Summers | 978-0-312-65674-4

REDSHIRTS | John Scalzi | 978-0-7653-1699-8

GLAMOUR IN GLASS | Mary Robinette Kowal | 978-0-7653-2557-0

THE WITCH'S DAUGHTER | Paula Brackston | 978-0-312-62168-1

AMONG OTHERS | Jo Walton | 978-0-7653-2153-4

CHINESE WHISKERS | Pallavi Aiyar | 978-1-250-01448-1

PAW PRINTS IN THE MOONLIGHT | Denis O'Connor | 978-0-312-66829-7

Deep Thoughts

Book Club Picks with a Touch of Magic

I'm going to do things a little bit differently today. Normally we're all, "Frontlist! Frontlist! Frontlist!" up in here, but I want to make sure that you hear about two of my favorite gems from last year straight from the horse’s mouth (me being the horse, in this case). Paula Brackston’s enchanting debut, THE WITCH’S DAUGHTER, and Jo Walton’s magical semi-memoir, AMONG OTHERS, are both captivating character-driven historicals that celebrate outcast women with a knack for magic.

I read both of these books late in the marketing game (they’re both already out in paperback!), but I’m so glad I did.

On THE WITCH’S DAUGHTER

From 17th century Wessex to Victorian London to the battlefields of World War I, immortal witch Bess Hawksmith attempts to redeem her soul by saving lives all the while pursued by the evil sorcerer who transformed her from mortal to witch.

Booklist said, “Brackston’s first novel offers well-crafted characters in an absorbing plot and an altogether delicious blend of historical fiction and fantasy.”

And we’ve made it oh-so-easy on book clubs! There’s an excellent reading guide in the paperback version including an interview, an essay, recommended reading, and discussion questions! See the Reading Group Gold guide here.

Read an excerpt from the beginning here on Tor.com!

On AMONG OTHERS

This book is at once the story of a young boarding school student struggling to escape a troubled childhood, her journey of first encounters with great novels, and the tale of conquering an ancient enchantment.

You know this one’s going to be good because it was just nominated for the 2011 Nebula Award for Best Novel! Nebulas not your thing? Well, in a starred review Publishers Weekly said, “World Fantasy Award–winner Walton turns the magical boarding school story inside out in this compelling coming-of-age tale.” Still not convinced? What if I told you that Nancy Pearl said it’s a gem? Now, we’re talking!

Deep Thoughts

Fat Tuesday Fun Day! (2/21/2012 Edition)

Happy Fat Tuesday, librarians!

We wish you many pancakes and much mischief on this day.

- If you're Philadelphia-bound next month for the Public Library Association Conference (PLA), we posted our full schedule of events under Conference Info. RSVP to the author events now!

- Malice Domestic has announced the 2011 Agatha Award nominees and there are some excellent titles that made their list. Take a look!

- The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America have also announced a list of nominees, in their case for the 2011 Nebula Awards! I am particularly excited to see Jo Walton's AMONG OTHERS nominated for Best Novel. See the full list here!

- Finally, there's still time to enter our creative contest for THE LOVER'S DICTIONARY here on the blog! Enter here.

Reviews and Publicity

School Library Journal's Best Books of 2011

We're proud to see two of our SFF titles amongst School Library Journal's Best Books of 2011!

Best Books 2011: Fiction

GLOW
Amy Kathleen Ryan

"Weighty issues of power and leadership, compassion and religion fuel this high-stakes, jet-propelled dystopian space opera."

Best Adult Books 4 Teens

AMONG OTHERS
Jo Walton

"As she recovers from the confrontation with her mother that killed her twin sister, Mori keeps a journal permeated by a love of reading in this mesmerizing fantasy novel."

Reviews and Publicity

10 Can't-Miss SFF Books from Kirkus Reviews

This week Kirkus Reviews highlighted 10 Can't-Miss Science Fiction and Fantasy Books for 2011 including a few of our in-house favorites!

They selected Jo Walton's AMONG OTHERS because, "All SF fans will get what Morwenna is about, particularly the joy she experiences discovering new books and other people to talk to about them."

Richard Matheson's OTHER KINGDOMS caught their eye for the "accomplished and tragic" story: a "star-crossed romance between two lovers from different worlds."

Finally, THE QUANTUM THIEF made the list because author Hannu Rajaniemi, "is clearly one of those disgustingly brilliant people whom you could hate if you didn't admire him so much."

Free Stuff

Geek Week Event Recap & Trade of Queens GIVEAWAY!

You guys remember Ben, right? Oh, you know, Ben! From waaay back when (a month ago)?

He's agreed to be my unofficial Tor liaison: slipping me galleys hot off the press and passing on whispers about upcoming Tor excitement, so I can pass it on to you! Last night Ben was gentleman enough to escort the new girl (me) to that super awesome Tor reading and concert at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe I told you all about.

It's beyond me how Jo Walton and Charles Stross have escaped reading in New York for this long since they were both eloquent and hilarious readers. If you get the chance to see either of them read, do it.

I also managed to scrounge up two copies of Stross' latest, THE TRADE OF QUEENS, for you librarians! If you would like to be entered into the drawing, send an email this week to: library at macmillanusa dot com (subject: Stross Giveaway!).

Free Stuff

Geek Week at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe

Tonight I'll be at the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in NYC with a slew of my fellow Tor fanatics chatting up authors Jo Walton (AMONG OTHERS) and Charles Stross (THE TRADE OF QUEENS), scoping out the giveaways, jammin to Ninja Sex Party, and wearing a pair of wicked red galaxy leggings. If you're in the area, stop on by!