James Dashner's Blog, page 2
November 20, 2011
Announcement: The Maze Runner Prequel
I can't say it any better than the press release from Random House and Delacorte Books. So, here goes. Be sure and visit the official website for more information (and to play the new Scorch Trials game!): CLICK HERE .
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Delacorte Press Books
Announces Prequel to James Dashner's
New York Times Bestselling Maze Runner Trilogy
THE KILL ORDER to be published in August 2012
New York, NY, November 21, 2011— Fast on the heels of the publication of The Death Cure, the third novel in James Dashner's New York Times bestselling trilogy, comes the news that Dashner will be releasing a prequel to the series, entitled THE KILL ORDER on August 14, 2012. The announcement and acquisition was made by Beverly Horowitz, Vice President and Publisher of Delacorte Press Books from Michael Bourret of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. Krista Marino, Executive Editor with Delacorte Press Books, who worked with Dashner on The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure, is also the editor of THE KILL ORDER. Rights for the audiobook, which will be available on CD and as a digital download, were secured by Rebecca Waugh of Listening Library, a division of Random House, from Lauren Abramo of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.
Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares seared the earth and mankind fell to disease. THE KILL ORDER tells the story of that fall. "The prequel is something that has churned in my mind since before The Maze Runner was even complete. It's been hard to keep it a secret! I'm excited to finally share the news and I can't wait for my readers to see how it all began," shared Dashner. Since the inception of the series, fans have clamored to know more. THE KILL ORDER will answer their most burning questions.
There are currently one million copies of The Maze Runner books in print. All three volumes have been New York Times bestsellers. On October 11th the riveting conclusion, The Death Cure, was published and became an instant bestseller. In the novel, the truth behind WICKED was finally and thrillingly revealed. The first volume in the series, The Maze Runner, was published in October 2009 to both great anticipation and critical acclaim. Packed with intrigue and action, The Maze Runner was a hit upon publication, becoming a standout in the dystopian genre which has since exploded in popularity among young adult readers. The sequel, The Scorch Trials, followed in October 2010, with the story picking up a mere four hours after The Maze Runner left off. The heart-stopping sequel brought further acclaim and a widening fan base to the series.
James Dashner is also the author of the 13th Reality series. James was born and raised in Georgia, but now lives in the Rocky Mountains with his family. Visit him at www.jamesdashner.com or follow him on Twitter (@jamesdashner).
Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers is an imprint of Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is Bertelsmann AG, a leading international media company. Visit us on the Web at www.randomhouse.com/teens.
Visit TheMazeRunner.com & become a fan of The Maze Runner Trilogy on Facebook
November 7, 2011
Dave Wolverton - Dystopia
You can find out more about him and his book at the following website: CLICK HERE . You'll be amazed enough at the website.
Okay, here are the words of the man himself:
Writing in the Ruins
Dystopias sell, and they've been on a long run. Certainly, when H.G. Wells wrote the The Time Machine he was dealing with dystopias, but one can go back further than that. Consider Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist. Doesn't the story of a boy forced into a workhouse and then escaping to the mean streets of London during an unending depression qualify as a dystopia?
As a child, I recall that many of my fantasies revolved around horrifying scenarios. What if the Russians took over? What if aliens attacked? Wells beat us all to it. What if there was a nuclear war? What if we run out of food and have to start eating each other? What if some weird religious cult took over and tried to force women back into slavery?
You get the idea. There are a lot of ways that the world can end, and all of the scenarios above have been turned into very popular movies and books. So what's the attraction?
First, I think that we recognize that thinking about the "unthinkable" is a valuable activity. Simply by envisioning the consequences, say, a disaster, we can alter the course of history.
When I was a child, I recall having several school teachers who believed that a nuclear war between the US and Russia was inevitable. Certainly the rhetoric was all there, and Fidel Castro recounts how he begged the Soviet Union to let him launch missiles into the U.S. and start an all-out nuclear war. He says that he knew that Cuba would be wiped off the map in the resulting counter-attack, but he was willing to sacrifice his nation.
But that never gelled. Why?
Probably because a few world leaders understood the consequences all too well. They'd read books by geeky sci-fi writers like me, set a thousand years in the future, where radioactive clouds still swept across the face of a struggling earth, and generations of children, burned and scarred and cancerous, sought to eke out a miserable existence because of their ancestors' mistakes.
So we dodged a bullet. In fact, we've dodged a lot of them. I recall once that a newspaper pointed out during the 1970s that the Russians had enough nerve gas to kill every living creature on the planet 10,000 times over. The next day, President Nixon announced that the U.S. had enough nerve gas to kill everything on the planet 60,000 times over. My, wasn't that comforting.
It wasn't long until both countries began destroying their chemical weapons arsenals. In fact, within the next few months, the U.S. will have burned up all of its old munitions—a process that has taken twenty years.
We've dodged bullets with industrial pollution, viral outbreaks, and economic ruin over and over again, and much of that success I'm sure comes as a result of the forewarnings by storytellers.
That said, think that readers have other reasons for devouring dystopic fiction. The truth is that when we're reading fiction, we often enjoy thrusting ourselves into a world, into an imagined scenario, that would crush us in real life. Want to get captured as a child and sold into slavery? Want to die and find out what happens next? Want to see what happens when an asteroid the size of the moon strikes Chicago.
Catastrophes and dystopias make for good fiction in part because they're not real. No matter how well I write a scene, how well you experience it in fiction, you know that the story isn't real. (I did have a schizophrenic read one of my novels once, and months later he seemed to believe that he had actually been on another planet and lived through the adventures I had described. Don't you do that!)
The truth is that all entertainment does roughly the same thing: it puts us in danger, yet keeps us safe. If you watch a football game, you feel a sense of emotional jeopardy as your team is pitted against another. If you jump out of an airplane, you're putting yourself in physical danger as you wait to see if your parachute opens. Entertaining activities all put us in some sort of jeopardy.
Reading a story is much like any other form of entertainment. Part of our mind accepts the story as truth. Our heart might race when the hero is being chased by a monster. We might weep as the heroine finds her true love. When watching a movie, we scream when the killer leaps from the closet.
When we enjoy a story set in stark and horrifying dystopia, we're performing an emotional exercise, one that helps us cope with our own real-world problems just a little better. So in a very real sense, reading a story is like going to the gym, where you practice powerful emotional exercises. The setting, the dystopia, is just a part of the exercise equipment.
In short, we enjoy stories set in dystopias because on a subconscious level, we recognize that they're good for us.
In his latest novel, Nightingale, award-winning, New York Times Bestselling author David Farland imagines a dystopia unlike any that has ever been visited in fiction. Be among the first to discover this thrilling and powerful story. Go to www.nightingalenovel.com.
October 10, 2011
The Death Cure Trailer, Tour
To add to that excitement, check out this really cool book trailer that Random House commissioned. To avoid spoilers of the third book, it's a quick glimpse of Thomas in the white room, remembering the terror of The Scorch Trials. Watch it:
CLICK HERE
There's also a cool video game that they've developed that can be played on either your computer or your phone. Look for that soon.
Tomorrow is the day. I thought I'd have an amazing speech and all kinds of profound things to say. But really I just feel kind of surreal. This story has been bouncing around in my head for years, and everyone finally gets to read the ending. I really hope you like it.
I'm going to be on tour the next three weeks, and I want to stay connected with you guys. I'll be doing lots of updates via Twitter and Facebook, giving you a glimpse of what it's like to be out there. Don't follow me there yet? Well, then...
To follow me on Twitter: CLICK HERE
To friend me on Facebook: CLICK HERE
The official Facebook series page: CLICK HERE
The official Maze Runner website: CLICK HERE
And, finally, to check out all my tour dates and appearances, please CLICK HERE . I really want you guys to come out and meet me!!
Please let me know what you think of everything in the comments. The trailer, the book, the tour, whatever. I love to hear from you. Talk again soon, and happy reading!
September 12, 2011
New Podcast, and Winners!
Before I announce the winners (heehee), I want to make sure you know that today, as with every Monday, there is a new episode of Wordplay up for your listening pleasure. And this one is especially awesome because we have a guest, and his name is Michael Bourret, and he's my agent. And he knows SO MUCH about the industry. So be sure and tune in!
CLICK HERE to go to the website.
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...
I'm going to talk about football! Yes, my son had an interception in his game and was named the Defensive Player of the Game by his coaches. Huh? You couldn't care less? Okay.
Here are the winners. Be sure and get me your email address if you already haven't. Maybe you should again just to make sure I have the correct one. Congrats!!!
1. Melina, Reading Vacation2. Danyelle Ferguson3. Bethany4. Gabriela Villegas
THE DEATH CURE comes out 4 weeks from tomorrow! If you missed the official tour schedule, CLICK HERE .
September 7, 2011
Tour Dates for The Death Cure
So, here you go. Because we all know how to use Google and Maps, I'm not going to put addresses. Deal? Deal. Giving someone an address went out with the demise of the flip-phone.
Let us know in the comments if you're planning to make it out to one of these events! Can't wait:
Salt Lake City, UT
• October 11, 7:00 p.m. The King's English Bookshop
San Francisco, CA
• October 13, 7:00 p.m. Rakestraw Books, Danville
• October 14, 7:00 p.m. Kepler's Books, Menlo Park
Seattle, WA
• October 15, 4:00 p.m. Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park
• October 16, 2:00 p.m. Barnes & Noble, Lynwood
Phoenix, AZ
• October 18, 6:00 p.m. Barnes & Noble, Desert Ridge Marketplace
Austin, TX
• October 22-23, Texas Book Festival
Chicago, IL
• October 24, 7:00 p.m. Anderson's Bookshop, Naperville
Milwaukee, WI
• October 25, 6:30 p.m. Greenfield Public Library
Vancouver, BC
• October 26, 7:00 p.m. West Point United Church Sanctuary
Atlanta, GA
• October 30, 2:00 p.m. Barnes & Noble, Alpharetta
• Little Shop of Stories, TBD
Las Vegas, NV• November 3-5, Vegas Valley Book Festival
If I'm missing your area this time around, I'm sorry! Keep bugging Random House and maybe you'll get on the list next tour. But I'll be sure to stay well connected throughout my time on the road.
Note: Did you enter for a chance to win an advanced copy of THE DEATH CURE? No? Then CLICK HERE to do so. The winners will be announced on Monday the 12th. (Notice the plural usage of the word winner...)
September 5, 2011
Want a copy of THE DEATH CURE?
Our second episode ever of the Wordplay Podcast is now up and running. Our guest this week is Ally Condie, author of MATCHED, and you can actually win a signed copy of it if you go and listen.
I'm also, as promised, throwing in a chance to win an advanced copy of THE DEATH CURE just for fun. To enter for this chance, all you have to do is post a comment on this here blog and tell us something you liked, learned, hated, ANYTHING, about the podcast from either this week or last week.
Simple right?
To go to the official Wordplay website, CLICK HERE!!!
EDIT: For those of you looking for it on iTunes, CLICK HERE
September 1, 2011
New Podcast!!!
I know I've promised a contest or giveaway of some sort for an advance copy of THE DEATH CURE. Well, that is coming very, very soon. Like, Monday or Tuesday soon.
But, I wanted to make sure I got on here and announced a pretty exciting thing that I'm involved with. A podcast. A very cool podcast that I think you'll want to listen to every single week for the rest of your lives.
It's called Wordplay, and I'm doing it with two extraordinary (not just ordinary - they are EXTRA ordinary) people:
Jeff Scott Savage, author of FARWORLD and my mentor, who just sold a series to Harper Collins, tentatively titled THE GRIMVILLE CASE FILES. This guy knows more about writing than any other person I've ever spoken to or heard speak. And that's saying a lot.
Nathan Bransford, author of JACOB WONDERBAR AND THE COSMIC SPACE KAPOW. He also used to be a literary agent and is extremely respected in the industry for his vast wealth of knowledge. Plus, check out the title of his book. I mean, come on.
The podcast will be about anything and everything to do with books, reading, writing, agents, publishers, you name it. We're even going to have a special podcast once a month aimed for teachers and kids. Each one will be about 20 minutes long, once a week, so you don't have to quit your jobs or anything to listen.
Jeff has really taken this thing by the horns and organized it so well. You can learn everything there is to know about it at the website he set up: CLICK HERE . You might want to bookmark that and check back every Monday for the latest episode.
The first one is already up for your listening pleasure. By the way, it's free. And you can even get it on iTunes because we're cool that way. AND, check this out: We just started and yet look at the two AMAZING guests we're going to have in the next two or three weeks:
Michael Bourret, recently awarded the Best Agent Ever award (by me) and a Vice President with the incredible agency, Dystel & Goderich.
Ally Condie, the NYT Bestselling (mega bestselling) author of MATCHED and the upcoming sequel, CROSSED. We plan to have many, many awesome guests on this podcast, and what a way to start.
So there you have it. Check out the website and listen to the first episode ever. You'll quickly learn that I'm the dumbest and goofiest-sounding of the three, but I think you'll enjoy it and maybe even learn something.
Once again, here is the website: www.wordplaypodcast.com
Also, since I've shocked the world by blogging three times in the last week or two, be sure and read my last couple of posts if you missed them, including the great review we got from Kirkus. Talk to ya next week!
August 26, 2011
Kirkus Review of The Death Cure
I can't tell you how happy this makes me. I've been so scared at how this book would be received since the last in a series is always held up to huge standards with lots of expectations. But this is the strongest validation we could've hoped for at this early stage.
Non-spoiler line: "Dashner again displays his mastery of the action sequence, making readers turn pages even as they become further invested in the well-developed characters. Heart pounding to the very last moment."
The full review is below, but I'm giving you a major warning. This review is FULL of spoilers. Full of them. Big ones. So if you don't like to know that kind of stuff, please don't read it.
SPOILER ALERT
Full Kirkus Review:
An explosive ending to The Maze Runner trilogy.
Thomas and the rest of the survivors of the Maze and the Scorch Trials are being held at WICKED (World in Catastrophe, Killzone Experiment Department) headquarters. Subjected to even more tests, they've learned enough to know that they're all part of a massive experiment to find a cure for the pandemic Flare disease. But does any cure justify what they've been put through? Or the engineered deaths of their friends? It's hard to believe that "WICKED is good," even though that's the message they're bombarded with.
Discouraged, rebellious and definitely not trusting, Thomas, Newt, Minho, Brenda and Jorge break out and escape to Denver, now a walled city meant to be reserved for the uninfected and the immune. But it's all too clear that Newt has already been infected and is teetering on the verge of madness. It's equally clear that WICKED has put a bounty on their heads and won't rest until they have these survivors back in hand—especially Thomas, who may have been part of all the experiments from the very beginning and is now the Final Candidate. Dashner again displays his mastery of the action sequence, making readers turn pages even as they become further invested in the well-developed characters.
Heart pounding to the very last moment.
(Science fiction/thriller. 12 and up)
August 22, 2011
Fall Approaches
Over on twitter (follow me! CLICK HERE ), I promised I'd blog today, so here I am. Keeping my promise. The only problem is I have no idea what to talk about. Hmmm...
1. First, I've never really officially announced this, but many of you have asked about the fourth (and last) book in my series, The 13th Reality. Right now it's planned to come out next spring or early summer. I would've really had to rush it to come out this year, and I didn't want to do that. Hopefully, the wait will be worth it. The series is going to have quite an ending, I promise.
2. Lots of people have also asked about what comes after the Maze Runner trilogy is done. Well, for some reason, no one ever lets me talk about anything. But I'll just say this: we have a couple of big announcements coming soon. Really big. You guys aren't getting rid of me yet. Ever, actually.
3. The Death Cure is coming out on October 11th. In case you're calendarly challenged, that's really soon. I'll be touring for three weeks, and I now know which cities: Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, Billings, Austin, Chicago, Milwaukee, Vancouver (Yay Canada!), Lexington, Atlanta, and Las Vegas.
4. Until then, I'm just at home, working hard, writing. For my breaks, I've been watching the show called Breaking Bad, now up to Season 2. Holy crap. I love this show. My favorite since Lost.
5. The paperback for The Scorch Trials comes out three weeks from tomorrow, on Sept. 13. Random House has started a new imprint called Ember, and this will be one of the first releases under that imprint. Why? I honestly don't know.
6. How would one or two of you like to read The Death Cure early? Really? Okay, I'll ask my publisher if we can do a contest and send a couple out for the blog. Stay tuned...
7. My eleven year old son is playing quarterback. How cool is that?
8. I thought it was really cool that Elizabeth Banks, who will be playing Effie in the upcoming Hunger Games movie, mentioned my book in her interview for New York Magazine. If you want to read it, CLICK HERE .
9. We also got our first "official" review for Death Cure, by Jason Kennedy from the Boswell Book Company in Milwaukee. It made my day, and they said I could share it with you guys. Slight spoiler warning:
"I was hesitant to start The Death Cure, what more could WICKED put Thomas through? What horrible, what torturous, what painful journey would Thomas have to complete? Would it be enough? In the clutches of WICKED and infected with the Flare, the outlook does not look promising. James Dashner does not disappoint in this bleak and exhilarating finale--I can't wait to see what he comes up with next."
Thanks, Jason!!!
10. Has anyone else out there gotten their hands on an ARC? I'd love to hear what you think.
Okay, more soon. A lot sooner than later. I promise.
June 2, 2011
BEA Report (with pics!)
Hi, Duders! Did you miss me? You did? I missed you, too. But there's no reason for that because you can totally hang with me every day over on Twitter, where you can join the new #dashnerarmy. The awesome @verbvixen is helping sign up soldiers. CLICK HERE to follow me.
Anyway, on to BEA, where I saw cool things like this:
BEA (Book Expo America) was an amazing week. This is the biggest event in publishing where the publishers present and promote what they have coming. I honestly don't even know where to start. But I know you guys love a glimpse into the mad world of my industry, so here you go. It'll be brief...
Monday: I arrived in NYC. It took an hour and a half to get to my hotel, which was stinky. But then I walked over to Random House HQ and had a lovely meeting with my editor, Krista Marino and the Delacorte publisher, Beverly Horowitz. Much strategizing and laughing occurred. Then there was a yummy dinner where more of this kind of thing went on.
Actually, I just realized this was the WEEK BEFORE when I also went to NYC for the Random House Fall preview event. Haha. I'll leave it. I mean, it WAS a Monday.
Tuesday: I met up with my AWESOME publicist, Emily Pourciau, who would so kindly escort me throughout the week's events. First up: ABC Speed Dating, where I took 3 minute turns at about 35 tables with booksellers and librarians. Quite the whirlwind! Then I had lunch and good times with my superhuman agents, Michael Bourret and Lauren Abramo. Much strategizing and laughing ensued.
That evening was the Random House Children's Books party, where I was incredibly honored to be one of 10 authors among hundreds of book people. It was very swanky and was held on an aircraft carrier. Yep, first time for me, too. It was so fun!
Here are two pictures of me, one with Christopher Paolini (ERAGON) and one with Tyra Banks (the upcoming MODEL LAND). You can guess which is which.
Afterward, Michael and I had a very fun, long dinner where much strategizing and laughing occurred. He's seriously one of my favorite people on planet Earth, and I love hanging out with him.
Wednesday: I did a video shoot at the Barnes and Noble headquarters for some things you'll see on BN.com this fall when the book comes out. Then we headed back to the Javits center for my signing (the chapter samplers). I met lots of cool people! Afterward I did an interview with Justine Magazine.
That evening, I was honored to be part of a panel at the Mulbery Library that included some amazing authors: Lauren Kate, Scott Westerfeld, Maureen Johnson, Ally Condie, and Ellen Hopkins. We spent an hour or so answering questions and telling stories and laughing. Then we signed and met MORE cool people.
Afterward, another great dinner out with Krista and a few others from Random House.
Thursday: I had a meeting with the good people at Simon & Schuster, including the hilarious and Batman-loving Liesa Abrams, the editor for THE 13TH REALITY. I also got to meet fellow client of Michael's and superstar Lisa McMann, who has a big series debuting this fall called THE UNWANTEDS.
I saw the Buzz Panel for middle grade where Lisa and my good friend Matthew Kirby were honored. Matt's book ICEFALL also comes out this summer.
Then I walked the floor a bit with Michael, went back to my hotel, and wrote over 4,000 words before crashing. BEA inspires you to do such things. (both the writing and the crashing.)
Friday: Flew home!
I'll post again soon about what's going on in the Dashner world. In the meantime, here is a picture of me with the three most important people in my author career: Krista, Michael, and Emily.
