David Macinnis Gill's Blog: Thunderchikin Reads, page 30

2010 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award

The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) of the National Council of Teachers of English
(NCTE) is pleased and proud to announce the winner of the inaugural Amelia Elizabeth Walden
Book Award for Young Adult Fiction. Established in 2008 to honor the wishes of young adult
author, Amelia Elizabeth Walden, the award allows for the sum of $5,000 to be presented annually
to the author of a young adult title selected by the ALAN Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award
Committee as demonstrating a...

"Fast-paced, intense

"Black Hole Sun grabbed me by the throat and didn't let go until the last page. In the best tradition of Heinlein and Firefly, Black Hole Sun is for readers who like their books fast-paced, intense, and relentless. Buy it, read it, pass it on!"

- Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Wintergirls and Speak

Fast-paced, intense

"Black Hole Sun grabbed me by the throat and didn't let go until the last page. In the best tradition of Heinlein and Firefly, Black Hole Sun is for readers who like their books fast-paced, intense, and relentless. Buy it, read it, pass it on!"

- Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Wintergirls and Speak

"Fast-paced, intense, and relentless"

Laurie Halse Anderson, National Book Award and Margaret Edwards Award author and chicken rancher extraordinaire, has written a blurb for Black Hole Sun! "Black Hole Sun grabbed me by the throat and didn't let go until the last page. In the best tradition of Heinlein and Firefly, Black Hole Sun is for readers who like their books fast-paced, intense, and relentless. Buy it, read it, pass it on!"


- Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Wintergirls and Speak

The Final, Final Cover of Black Hole Sun

For months, I've been posting the evolving covers of Black Hole Sun. We started out with a few ideas, one of which I especially adored. Set against a speckled red background, it featured the silhouette of a soldier carrying another. The 800 pound gorilla of book buying (AKA Barnes and Noble) didn't share my love for the cover, so it was changed to somehting like the current version, with the words Black Hole Sun as the only graphics. There was a tagline at the bottom "The End of the World As ...

Book Trailer for Black Hole Sun

After months and months a couple of days of hard work and dedication, playing with my camera, I'm happy to reveal the first book trailer for Black Hole Sun:

Hope you like it.

Five for Friday

1. Thanks to a kind friend who ended up with two ARCs and sent one of them to me, I'm giving away a signed ARC of Black Hole Sun on Goodreads. There are only 5 days left to enter. Here's a link to the contest: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...

2. Summer has settled in for a long, hot July in which I find myself spending more time chasing down the elusive cause of the evil check engine on our Honda van than spending time writing the next novel. I'm this makes my...

2010 ALAN Workshop Authors

If you're attending the ALAN Workshop at NCTE in Orlando–or just considering attending the workshop–you may be interested in the list of authors who will be participating in the Greatest YA Show on Earth:

Session: AL.01 – 8:00 am to 2:00 pm 11/22/2010 Format: Day-Long Workshop
Room: Unassigned Topic: Literature
Level(s): General (proposals of interest at all instructional levels)
Title: LOOKING FOR THE REAL ME: THE SEARCH FOR SELF IN YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE
(Sponsoring Group: Assembly on...

ALAN Workshop Authors at NCTE 2010 Convention

If you're attending the ALAN Workshop at NCTE in Orlando–or just considering attending the workshop–you may be interested in the list of authors who will be participating in the Greatest YA Show on Earth:

Session: AL.01 – 8:00 am to 2:00 pm 11/22/2010 Format: Day-Long Workshop
Room: Unassigned Topic: Literature
Level(s): General (proposals of interest at all instructional levels)
Title: LOOKING FOR THE REAL ME: THE SEARCH FOR SELF IN YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE
(Sponsoring Group: Assembly on...

Booklist Review of the Day

Black Hole Sun is today's Review of the Day on Booklist Online W00t! "Durango is the 16-year-old chief of a team of mercenaries who eke out a living on Mars by earning meager commissions for their dangerous work." Read the full review here http://www.booklistonline.com/Product...