James Dashner's Blog, page 9

Updates...

Here's what's on my mind the day before ghouls and goblins and Hannah Montanas invade my home:

1. We've sold THE MAZE RUNNER into two more territories: Germany and Spain. I'm very excited, as always! I can't wait to have my very own shelf where I display the book in different languages. I may even force my kids to learn them all so they can read them to me when I'm an old geezer.

2. We had a very nice review today in Newsday: CLICK HERE . Contains perhaps my favorite quote from any review I've e...

Are you there, Judy? It's me, James.

That right there is me and Judy Blume. Me. Judy Blume. In the same picture. As Sherman Alexie once put it so eloquently (at the 2008 BEA Children's Breakfast): that's Judy f***ing Blume!
I've been thinking a lot about my 3-week, 8-city tour since coming home, and nothing seems to sum it up better than that picture. I met a lot of great booksellers, librarians, teachers, students, readers, bloggers, fans - and many amazing people at Random House itself - and I had so many incredible...

Maze in Publisher's Weekly - Twice

I was so excited to see that The Maze Runner had not one but two articles in Publisher's Weekly today! And the writeups are so cool - really made my day.

Here is the first one: CLICK HERE.

And the second one: CLICK HERE.

If you missed my writeup about the new book trailer/video for Maze, please CLICK HERE . Go watch it, go vote!

The three week coast to coast tour is almost over - I have mixed feelings. I'm pretty exhausted and excited to be back at home for awhile with my family, but I've also enj...

Book Trailer for The Maze Runner

I've been tweeting about this like crazy, but in case you haven't heard: the official book trailer for The Maze Runner is now available online. It's part of the Kirkus Reviews 2009 Book Video Awards, sponsored by Random House and shown exclusively on the Barnes and Noble website.
To see the trailer, CLICK HERE , then select the one by filmmaker Brighton Linge. And I won't try to sway your vote, but be sure and vote for the video you like the most. For example, if you thought the trailer for...

Discover Great New Writers

That is the name of the Barnes and Noble program for which I'm honored to say THE MAZE RUNNER is a winter selection! I've known this for awhile but couldn't announce it until now.

I'm incredibly excited about this. Last night we had dinner with some awesome BN folks (hi Kathryn, Jill, Matt, Ben!) and they told me all about the program. I'm sure you guys have seen the section in their stores - every season they select about 14 books by up-and-coming writers to display and promote nationwide. Ji...

Maze Runner Tour Update

Well hi there. I know I've been relatively quiet on the blog, but I've tried my hardest to give regular updates over on twitter, so CLICK HERE to catch up if you missed it. You can actually read my posts without signing up if you want.

I thought I'd just hit a couple of highlights. For all the wonderful students, teachers, librarians, bookstore folks, escorts, etc. I've had the privilege of meeting - THANK YOU. I wish there were time to mention everyone.

Sidenote: Diane, Lili, Bill - I love you...

TMR Tour: Day 3

I have a weensie bit of time (is weensie a word or did I just make that up?), so I thought I'd pop in and update the blog.

I'm not going to give you guys many details, because I'm doing my best to do that on Twitter and it's way too overwhelming to think about doing that on here as well. Much easier in short doses. So you guys were right - Twitter is good! It's easy to sign up and follow me: CLICK HERE .

Yesterday was Seattle, today through Saturday is the San Francisco/Oakland area. I've had to...

THE MAZE RUNNER: Now Available!

October 6th. I just looked at my cell phone, and it definitely says October 6th.

It actually came. This day actually came! I'm pretty sure I don't have to say this, but I will: I'm very excited.

So I've been thinking all morning about clever things I could say - especially considering that (hopefully) we'll be getting a lot of new visitors to the Dashner Dude. I began this blog 2 years ago, offering a glimpse into the life of a struggling author. At that time, if you would've told me where I'd ...

Launch Party at TKE and etc.

The latest:

1. We're just five days away from the release of THE MAZE RUNNER! I'd like to personally invite everyone on Earth to the official launch party, to be held at 5:00 pm at the very excellent indie store, The King's English in Salt Lake City, Utah. The address is 1511 South 1500 East, just north of the Starbucks.

Please come! It'll be the first chance to get a signed copy of the book. Also, since it's kind of early in the day, I'm a little worried about the turnout (that's called neuros...

Banned Books Week

We all know about the battle against censorship. We all know the importance of free speech. My publisher supports this battle all year long, but this is a special week in which to shout from the rooftops and draw lines in the sand.
Imagine if the censors had their way throughout the years. There'd be no ARE YOU THERE GOD, IT'S ME MARGARET by Judy Blume, or THE GIVER, by Lois Lowry, or THE CHOCOLATE WAR by Robert Cormier or A DAY NO PIGS WOULD DIE by Robert Peck. Countless others. Some people ...