Jennifer Donnelly's Blog, page 6
April 22, 2022
Poisoned is out in paperback!
I’m thrilled to announce that Poisoned — my award-winning retelling of Snow White — is now available in paperback! It’s available wherever you buy books — and if you want a signed copy, my local indie, Merrit Bookstore, can arrange that for you!
August 5, 2021
Stepsister Goes Global!
I just got the news that Stepsister is being published in North Macedonia– that brings the grand total of the book’s global markets to 22! Here’s a very official map of the Stepsister-verse: the red locations are where the novel is sold. Thank you so much to all of my wonderful worldwide publishers — and a huge, heartfelt hug to my amazing readers! You all are the reason Stepsister is so well-traveled!
Learn more about the book here!
The post Stepsister Goes Global! first appeared on Jennifer Donnelly.March 4, 2021
Fairytales Show Us Ourselves
Fairytales are like mirrors—they show us ourselves.
They tell us impossible tales about make-believe creatures, but look a bit closer, and it’s not a princess or a knight we see—it’s us. Straying from the path. Trusting the wrong person. Hopelessly lost in a strange, scary place.
Hundreds of years old, these tales were a form of talk therapy long before Freud existed. They allowed our ancestors to have their deepest fears expressed, and then happily resolved, by humankind’s first therapists—storytellers.
These ancient tales—with their hungry children abandoned to the forest, their lonely girls locked up in towers—convey a bitter truth: that the world is often a hard and heartbreaking place, one filled with beasts. But at the same time, they tell us another, more profound truth: we can beat them.
The world has changed since the likes of the Brothers Grimm wrote down their tales, but we human beings have not.
We still long for the promise of happiness and love. We still hope for a world where kindness wins. We still hunger for the light of the fire to push back at the darkness, for the old, wise voice to cast its spell over us, to tell us that we are all we need, that we have all we need, to walk out of those dark woods and find our way home.
The post Fairytales Show Us Ourselves first appeared on Jennifer Donnelly.February 9, 2021
Some Things Last Forever
The little stone barn was a wreck – a dusty shell, full of broken glass, dead leaves and angry squirrels.
So of course it was love at first sight.
I can’t seem to ever fall for shiny, perfect things. Whether it’s a dog, a horse, or a house, I’m drawn to creatures with a few chips and cracks, hard-luck cases with stories to tell.
The barn, just like my house, was built by an Italian mason for his family over a century ago, out of fieldstone, wood, and a few found things—like the old steel railroad tracks holding up the house’s first floor. Both buildings were neglected in recent years, and then abandoned.
I never met the builder, but he’s here. I feel him every time I run my hands over the huge, heavy stones he placed, one-by-one. I hear him whistling canzone as he worked. I see him looking up at the star he inlaid high up on an outer wall – a five-pointer, one point for each of his children.
Over the course of three years, my husband and I brought the house back, and now it’s time to tackle the barn. Its windows are shot and so is the roof. The street-side doors are about to fall off. Poison ivy has colonized an entire wall. But the stones are solid, and the mortar is sound.
The little barn is going to be my new office and I’m giddy at the thought of the books I’m going to write within its strong walls.
Nothing lasts forever, the saying goes. But maybe some things do. A hand-built house. A five-point star. Stories and memories and music and ghosts. And hard-luck, hard-won, stubborn-as-stone love.
The post Some Things Last Forever first appeared on Jennifer Donnelly.
January 4, 2021
February 2021 Event Calendar
My new book, Poisoned, is out, and I’ll be doing virtual visits with readers this month! I hope you’ll join me — wherever you are!
Thursday, February 18, 4:00pm ET
Jennifer joins the one and only John Schu for a live video chat on Scholastic Book Fairs’ Facebook page at 4:00 PM EST on Thursday, February 18. Jennifer and John will discuss Stepsister, Poisoned, school libraries, writing, and more.
The post February 2021 Event Calendar first appeared on Jennifer Donnelly.January 2021 Event Calendar
My new book, Poisoned, is out, and I’ll be doing virtual visits with readers this month! I hope you’ll join me — wherever you are!
Wednesday, December 9, 7:00pm ET
Jennifer rings in the new year with the one and only John Schu on Scholastic Book Fairs’ Facebook page at 4:00 PM EST on Thursday, January 7. We will discuss Stepsister, Poisoned, school libraries, writing, and more!
Thursday, January 21, 3:30pm ET
LIVE ZOOM EVENT hosted by Butterfield Library
New York Times bestselling and award-winning YA author Jennifer Donnelly will discuss her most recent book, Poisoned, a retelling of the fairytale classic, Snow White, that will forever change the way you think about strength, power, and the real meaning of “happily ever after”.
Attendance is free, but you must register in advance to receive an attendee link.
The post January 2021 Event Calendar first appeared on Jennifer Donnelly.
January 2, 2021
Now’s The Time
My family and I have an odd New Year’s tradition. We don’t make resolutions; instead, we come up with mottos that encapsulate hopes for the new year and attempt to set a course toward them.
They’re often revealing, inspiring, or touching; sometimes they’re completely absurd. In the hopes that you’ll share a motto, or a goal, or a resolution for 2021 with me, I’m sharing mine with you.
Here it is: Now’s the time.
Like many people, I tend to think I have control. Over time. Health. Life itself. But 2020 has shown me that I do not. So I’m stopping with the “someday” thinking. I’m not going to tell myself that I’ll call that old friend next week. Take a load of dog food to the SPCA next month. Get around to volunteering next year. What’s more, I’m using the good china. Burning the nice candles. Wearing the sparkly clothes. And as soon as I possibly can, I’ll be finding any excuse for a party – dinner, birthday, 4th of July, you name it. Because if I’ve learned anything during 2020, it’s that someday can so quickly turn to never.
Wishing you all health, happiness, hope, and a year of new beginnings…beginning now.
The post Now’s The Time first appeared on Jennifer Donnelly.
December 21, 2020
How I Made Mattie Gokey
As I was emptying out my old house last month, I came across material I used when writing A Northern Light. It was like bumping into an old friend after a long absence, and I just had to sit down and visit for a bit.
Writing historical fiction means knowing your way around a lot of names and dates, acts and treaties. But if you really want to reach back and clasp hands with the ghosts, you need more – you need to know the songs those ghosts sang, the jokes they told, the novels they loved and the math books they hated. (Looking at you, Ms. Gokey!) You need to see them not as we do – from a distance of centuries, blurred by assumptions and generalizations – but as they saw themselves.
Chasing those ghosts is the hardest, and the best, part of the job.
The post How I Made Mattie Gokey first appeared on Jennifer Donnelly.
December 16, 2020
Join me and Marissa Meyer LIVE tonight!
https://www.rjjulia.com/event/virtual...
December 9, 2020
Join me LIVE tonight!
https://www.facebook.com/events/27699...
