This is something very cool.

The Sky Village was nominated for the Wake County Public LIbraries Eva Perry Mock Newbery Award (that’s a mouthful).

And then it was shortlisted.

Book clubs like this are a real inspiration. Here’s a bit about the book club:

The Eva Perry Mock Newbery Club is a group of about 25 6th-9th graders who read newly written books, some of them donated to the club as advance reader copies. We read books from April through January, listing and discussing our favorites in our blog, and nominating the very best for our own Mock Newbery Awards. We select our winners just before the official winners are announced by the ALA each year. We have also traveled to ALA conferences and been visited by local authors.

Our club was started in 1998 by Teresa Young Brantley, an official member of the 1999 Newbery committee that chose Holes by Louis Sachar as its winner

The Sky Village received another review at the wonderful blog Bri Meets Books. Here’s an excerpt:

Monk and Nigel Ashland’s The Sky Village oscillates between pulse-raising action, and heartfelt takes on grief and loss. Both primary characters are richly written, and the emotional travails Rom and Mei face come across in sharp paragraphs and gripping situations. The depth of familial love is captured perfectly as Rom helps his sister construct puppets modeled after their parents, and Mei relishes her time with one of her mother’s pets.

Read the rest.

If you are in Chicago, stop by the Pilcrow Lit Fest. My panel is at 2pm.

Article in KidsScreen about the Kaimira / BBC Worldwide deal.

With the aim of cementing its North American operations and becoming more of a global property powerhouse, BBC Worldwide is taking a new approach to the high stakes business of property acquisition. “We are looking for properties that can be developed at the onset with cross-media elements, explains Susanna Pollock, the group’s SVP of TV sales, co-productions and children’s, who stepped into her new post on April 1.

Right about now, you might be thinking, “Sure, sure, you and everyone else.” But it’s not just empty rhetoric, in this case. BBCW has already put its money where its mouth is, signing a deal with Pollock’s old company Star Farm Productions to co-develop an animated series, website, MMOG and possibly a feature film based on a story arc called Kaimira.

The boy-skewing property’s website is already live on http://kaimiracode.com, and the next phase of rollout will take place this summer when Walker Books and Candlewick Press launch Book One: The Sky Village in the UK, the US, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

Kaimira is set on Earth in the distant future, and the central narrative thrust is that humans, animals and machines are locked in a battle for supremacy; only teenager Kaimira can restore harmony. Pollock was drawn to the property’s rich and deep mythology and environments because they have natural potential for exploitation on a number of platforms. “It’s a robust world,” she says.

Pollock will be keeping a close eye on the market for additional animation and live-action concepts for the pre-tween set, and her goal is to strike up new North American production partnerships to bring them to life. She will also be building up the Beeb’s New York-based office with a team that can handle a bigger property portfolio. “Once we get to the point [with the new properties] of L&M, marketing and home entertainment releases, we want to be able to run all of that activity out of the US office,” she says.

Read the rest..

Two corrections:

First, I’m hoping the property won’t be too “boy-skewing.” I can see how people would think that, but I’m trying pretty hard to keep it as gender neutral as I can, knowing that it might skew one way or the other depending on the medium.

Second, the line “only teenager Kaimira can restore harmony” makes it sound like there is a teenager named Kaimira. In fact, there are a few teenagers, none of them named Kaimira, but each has the potential of becoming a kaimira (a sort of biotech chimera).

From foxnews.com:

Imagine an attack by a swarm of armed micromachines … or a bioweapon small enough to fit in a suitcase and deadly enough to destroy the human race.

It’s the stuff of Hollywood storylines, but to the U.S. government such plots are potentially very real and very dangerous. So the government has turned to an unlikely source for help in identifying these threats: science-fiction writers. Read the rest here.

It’s a group of science fiction writers called SIGMA. They offer their services to government agencies, free of charge, to dream up potential threats to the United States. I wonder which one has dibs on writing the novel about a SIGMA-like group and the day one of their chimerical prophecies comes true.

Neal Stephenson’s Hugo-award winning masterpiece The Diamond Age is being made into a SciFi Channel miniseries. The Diamond Age tells the story of a group of neo-Victorians who’ve embraced strait-laced ethics and craftsmanship as a response to the infinite possibilities of nanotechnology. It features a stupendously imaginative interactive storybook, moments of convulsive hilarity, and a lovely explanation of Turing-complete computing. It’s my second-favorite Stephenson novel (after Cryptonomicon), so don’t screw it up, SciFi!

SCI FI Channel unveiled a new slate of programs in development, which includes shows from executive producers George Clooney, Darren Star and Mark Burnett. SCI FI made the announcement Jan. 12 at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour in Pasadena, Calif.

Diamond Age, based on Neal Stephenson’s best-selling novel The Diamond Age: Or a Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer, is a six-hour miniseries from Clooney and fellow executive producer Grant Heslov of Smokehouse Productions.

All I can say is please please please please please don’t mess this one up. It’s one of my all-time favorite books.

Update: I just read that Neal Stephenson is writing the screenplay, which gives me hope.

Two (free) papers have been published that I think are useful for those who work in the virtual community field.

First, from the Association of Virtual Worlds, The Blue Book: A Consumer’s Guide to Virtual Worlds. It’s basically a directory of social networks and virtual worlds, including some that are in development.

Next, Wave 3 of a report from Universal McCann on Social Media.

Some highlights:

• China has the largest blogging community in the world with 42 million bloggers, more than the US and Western Europe combined.
• While blog readership in the U.S. has decreased by 2% since September 2006, globally it has increased by 23%, with a 57% increase in the Philippines.
• Brazil leads in terms of frequency of reading blogs. 52% read them daily, compared to 23% in the U.S.
• Percentage-wise, South Korea is the top country for starting blogs, and Mexico is number 5 (and the U.S. is way the heck down on the list).
• 56% of Brazilians manage their social networking profiles daily, and France is at the bottom of the list for creating profiles.
• BRIC markets lead in adoption of RSS, all 50% plus adoption (BRIC = Brazil, Russia, India, China)

From Hollywood Reporter:

After protracted negotiations, Guillermo del Toro has closed his deal Wednesday to direct “The Hobbit” and its sequel for New Line and MGM.

The Mexican helmer will move to New Zealand for the next four years to work with “The Lord of the Rings” filmmaker Peter Jackson, who is exec producing, and his Wingnut and WETA production teams.

Del Toro will helm the two films back to back, telling the story of “The Hobbit,” and its sequel, which will deal with the 60-year period between “The Hobbit” and “The Fellowship of the Ring,” the first of the “Rings” trilogy.

Del Toro’s next movie is the upcoming Universal release “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.”

Ok, so I’m going to have plenty to say about this. But for the moment, I just want to know who is writing the film sequel to the Hobbit? That is one whopper of a writing gig.

In the next 2 or 3 months Candlewick will be setting up a blog tour for Kaimira: The Sky Village. I offered to provide some names of people who are interested in participating in the tour.

So, consider this an open invitation to participate. I don’t care if your blog gets a million hits a month or ten. If you want to participate, I’d be happy to have you.

What are you getting yourself into? If you participate, you’ll sign up for a day of the tour. On that day, you’ll post something relating to me and my book. It can be an interview, or you can just let me take over and write something, or you can post a review, or it can be something else that I haven’t even thought of. I’ll have plenty of suggestions, including interview questions you can use, but you are free to do your own thing.

If you are interested, just email me: r e t t s t a t t @ g m a i l . c o m

And if you don’t have a copy of the book, I’ll make sure you get one.

These days, the twins are speaking primarily in pterodactyl shrieks. I saw one of my neighbors the other day and she looked as if she hadn’t been getting much sleep. I should buy her some earplugs.

Or maybe I should lend the twins to George Lucas’ special effects studio.

There’s a new review of THE SKY VILLAGE by librarian and blogger Laura Baas.

An excerpt:

Mei is one of those who (reluctantly) takes to the sky when her father sends her off to live in the Sky Village. Hovering high above China, the Sky Village is a community tied together through a maze of interconnected hot-air balloons and a shared history; Mei is forced to do some serious adjusting–both in her balance and in her life outlook. Half a world away in what remains of Las Vegas Rom fights his own demons (literally). In an attempt to save his sister, he enters the Demon caves where he finds himself embroiled in a gladiator-style competition against demon hybrids for the entertainment of the masses.

Read the rest on Laura’s blog.

This press release is about a fantasy property I created for Star Farm Productions. It’s called Kaimira, and I am leading creative development on it across media as well as writing the books (with one other author). For the book series I use the pen name Monk Ashland.

BBC WORLDWIDE ANNOUNCES INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
DEAL WITH STAR FARM PRODUCTIONS

INVESTMENT IN NEW EPIC FANTASY KAIMIRA CONFIRMED

BBC Worldwide today confirmed a development deal with Star Farm Productions in an innovative new fantasy property set to capture the imaginations of children across the globe. The deal sees BBC Worldwide embark on an emerging strategy working with rights-owners to input in to 360 degree properties in the earliest stages of development.

BBC Worldwide’s development deal with Star Farm Productions’ Kaimira Multimedia encompasses investment in TV, MMOG and other media in a global media agreement.

Gill Pritchard, BBC Worldwide’s Director of Children’s said: “Kaimira represents everything we want to be part of in our growth strategy in the Children’s business here at Worldwide. The development deal we have agreed with Star Farm allows us to collaborate in a 360 degree approach to the creative and business strategy of Kaimira including the development of TV, web, gaming and feature film. Working with leading partners in this way gives us the opportunity to input on the commercial success from the outset and this 360 degree approach is key to tap in to the changing needs of our audience.”

THE KAIMIRA STORY
In a future in which humans, animals, and machines are locked in battle, a group of teens with strange “Kaimira” powers are the only ones who can restore harmony. Spanning generations and continents, from the dangerous Demon Caves to the breathtaking Sky Village, Kaimira is an epic adventure on a uniquely human scale

KAIMIRA GLOBAL ROLL-OUT
Kaimira’s launch in to the stratosphere will commence in summer ’08 with Walker Books and Candlewick Press releasing Book One – The Sky Village - in the UK, USA, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

Star Farm Productions has plans to develop a fully integrated website where fans will be able to decode mysteries highlighted in the book. There will also be an advanced capability for fans to become part of the Kaimira world by creating characters, building tribes, developing stories and working together to face challenges. The emerging Kaimira world can be seen at http://kaimiracode.com.

-Ends-

For more information, please contact Anna Kingsley on 02084333022 or at [email protected]

BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The company exists to maximise the value of the BBC’s assets for the benefit of the licence payer and invest in public service programming in return for rights. The company has seven core businesses: Global Channels, Global TV Sales, Magazines, Content & Production, Home Entertainment, Global Brands and Digital Media. In 2006/07 BBC Worldwide generated profits of £111 million on sales of £810 million.

Star Farm Productions
Star Farm Productions® creates entertainment the way today’s digital generation consumes it. Star Farm merges user-generated content with multiple media. Partners include Nickelodeon International, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Lions Gate Films® and other global leaders in the family market.

These days, the twins are speaking primarily in pterodactyl shrieks. I saw one of my neighbors the other day and she looked as if she hadn’t been getting much sleep. I should buy her some earplugs.

Or maybe I should lend the twins to George Lucas’ special effects studio.

From C21Media:

BBCWW hitches its wagon to Star Farm
7 Apr 2008 Subscriber content
MIP NEWS: BBC Worldwide has closed a 360-degree development deal with Chicago-based kids producer Star Farm Productions, which will see it roll out the producer’s pre-teen property Kaimira across multiple platforms.

more (subscription required)

The first review of Kaimira: The Sky Village is up, and it’s a good one!

The review is by Cloudscome, whose blog is highly worthy of reading regularly. She’s a librarian who is very much into multicultural kids books.

My favorite part of the review:

I found this novel to be fascinating and thought-provoking. After
reading how the beast and machine elements are blended with humanity in
Mei and Rom I began to see these elements in balance and in conflict
within myself. When I am trying to get my little ones organized and out
the door on time for work in the morning I feel the beast rage rising
in me and struggle to bring cool mek intelligence to bear.

Is it bad manners to name your favorite part of a review about your own book? If it is, blame it on deadline fatigue and I’ll delete this last part when my head clears.

I’m spreading the word about the March/April 2008 issue of Kelly H’s wonderful children’s literature monthly, The Edge of the Forest.

Here’s what’s in store:

• An interview with Peter Cameron, by Barbara Shoup
• Spring Book Recommendations from the Editorial Board.
• Fairytale in the Forest: A Friendship, by Candice Ransom.
• A YA Review Bonus Section.
• Barrie Summy is this month’s Blogging Writer, interviewed by Becky Levine
• Sounds from the Forest is back.
• Reviews in all categories—from Picture book to Young Adult

The other book I was pulling for in deliberations for this year’s Cybils award was Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale. For me, this book was all about the details: the grit of daily life in the tower, the details of Dashti’s previous life on the steppes, the relentless believability that ran from the first page to the last. It was a fantastic story, and I’m so glad it was one of the two winners in the fantasy / science fiction category. 

Shannon has two young children, and so I promised to keep the interview short.

Chris) How did you go about researching Mongolian culture for Book of a Thousand Days?

Shannon: My parents lived in Mongolia for a year and a half, so I had some great first hand knowledge, and I sent questions for their Mongolian friends. i also read books, especially the fantastic Ghengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.

Chris) In Book of a Thousand Days, how satisfying was it to heap so much hardship on a fairytale princess?

Shannon: Ha! Yes, there was some of that. I wanted to make sure I was being honest, and fairy tales sometimes slant things in favor of the well-born. One attraction of this story for me was its difference from Goose Girl–a chance to see a maid’s POV and hear her voice.

Chris) As a father of 7-month-old twin girls, I have to ask: how the heck do you get any writing done? (I’ve finally learned to hold one on my lap while I’m typing, but the problem is she starts typing too).

Shannon: I don’t actually write anymore. I bid on manuscripts on ebay and hope I win. No, it’s all a balancing act. I take a little time here and there. No waiting for a muse–grab whatever time I can! And I’ve slowed way down. I get into more detail about that on my site: http://www.squeetus.com/stage/mince_mother.html

Chris) What are you working on now?

Shannon: My husband and I co-wrote a graphic novel for young readers, Rapunzel’s Revenge, which will be out this fall (the illustrations are so freakin’ cool). I’m working on a fourth Bayern book and a new contemporary book for adults.

Boss #2 has a problem. She’s addicted to standing.

She’s youngest of my twin girls, approaching 8 months of age. A couple of weeks ago she learned how to pull herself up and stand. She hasn’t quite mastered sitting back down, and she usually just topples over. Or she’ll stand there and cry until someone comes to the rescue.

I mean, you have to learn to stand before you can walk, and so on. The problem is that she’s utterly addicted to standing. She stands every chance she gets. As soon as you put her down, she’s assuming a standing position. As soon as she gets up in the morning, she’s standing in the crib. And in the middle of the night, if she wakes up because of a noise or a bad dream, she’s immediately standing, even before her eyes are completely open.

I sometimes find her standing in the crib, staring into the mirror, crying, part of her wanting to let go and go back to sleep, the other part determined to stand no matter what. Just for the audacious sake of it.

When a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, it’s a philosophical issue as to whether it makes a sound. But when a baby topples like a stubby tree, foam mattress or not, she makes a sound that would make the deadest of philosophers beg for earplugs. And you’d think she’d learn.

I imagine if I tried to make her stand, she’d be a lot less interested in it. As long as I keep rescuing her once in a while, and the other times letting her topple (safely on a foam mattress), it will seem like the coolest possible thing she could ever be doing. And any day now Boss #1 (the other twin) will decide she wants in on the action.

I’m not convinced that any of this standing business is in my best interest. After all, the more mobile they become, the more they’ll reach for the things I’m not ready for them to have. The stapler. My coffee cup. Their freedom.

I was pondering what this standing addiction portends about her character, and it got me remembering something from my own high school days.

I was a bit of a pain in the butt in high school. I was a nice kid, and smart, in mostly the advanced classes, but I had absolutely no inclination to respect authority.

I didn’t care for school assemblies, and the part where we all stood up for the star spangled banner song rubbed me the wrong way. I always made a distinction between loving my country (which I do) and being militaristically patriotic (which has always scared me).

But mostly I was just a pain in the butt.

So I asked to be pardoned from the assemblies, to go instead to the lunch room and do homework.

Request denied.

So, in the assembly, when everyone else stood up for the rocket’s red glare, I sat, infuriating the Assistant Principal (whose nickname was Sarge) and earning me a ticket to the Principal’s office (not my first by a long shot).

The Principal did not have Sarge’s fury, and I successfully argued my case. I was allowed to skip the next assembly and instead go to the lunch room and read.

So there I was, sitting alone at the table, reading a book, minding my own business, and suddenly a small horde of punks and goths come through the lunchroom door, sheepdogged by Sarge, who was nearly purple-faced.

They were ushered into seats and I learned soon about their crime. Inspired by my act of rebellion in the previous assembly, this time they’d all stayed in their seats during the bombs bursting in air. And their punishment was a time out in the lunchroom. No talking. No reading. No looking at anyone funny.

I continued reading. I mean, that was the deal. But Sarge ordered me to stop reading. Apparently I was now one of the accused. I tried to explain that I was an exception, but he was in no frame of mind to deal with that sort of subtlety.

So, I sat there a while, looking around at the punks, their primary-colored mohawks reaching for the fluorescent bulbs like sun-thirsty grass, and the goths, their deflated expressions verging on annoyed. And Sarge, face still purplish, seething with the rage of someone who is faced with the knowledge that whatever they may have sacrificed for our star-spangled banner, teenagers are born to push boundaries for the sake of it.

So, my next reaction was to stand. I stood there, next to the table. Sarge’s face looked like it was going to erupt. So I started whistling.

That earned me another trip to the Principal’s office. And detention. For a while.

Oh, and the song I whistled. I should have chosen something political, but I just whistled the first thing that came into my head. It’s the song they’re all singing at the end of Life of Brian when they’re being crucified.

Last winter I worked for a while at an orphanage on a remote mountain in Brazil (down the dirt road from the Buddhist temple where I also stayed).

I was particularly impressed with Leo and Vanderson, two staffers at the orphanage, so I wanted to find out why they chose to dedicate their lives to working with kids. They both live full-time at the orphanage. In addition to taking care of the daily needs of the almost 60 kids, Leo teaches music, and Vanderson teaches capoeira.

A friend, Francine Assis, helped me translate them into English:

Leo: I like music too much. It’s very important to me. If it’s
important to me, it’s important to children too because I like to
teach them. And when I do, I know more too, I learn more. So I
love music, I love children too.

Vanderson: My objective is to rebuild the life that they (the children) didn’t
have outside, to change their way of thinking. Their way of thinking is very sad. It’s bad how they live on streets, and using capoeira I can modify this history, using the energy they have to do bad things so they use the same energy to do aerobatics, mortal jumps, to show some abilities they have.”

Interviewer: Who are these children?

Vanderson: They are children who have a lot of potential. I just encourage
them to know they are capable. There are many things they don’t know
they can do because there isn’t a qualified person to show them what
they can do. The energy and force they use to break a window or
the thoughts they have to steal something from someone, they have to
focus those and use their creativity to do good capoeira movements,
to do good aerobatics, using that same force they use to break a
window or something else in this cottage. This is the objective of
all capoeristas here in Brazil. The best capoeristas came from the low
and middle classes. It’s rare to see good capoeristas from rich
families.

There are a few people who are born with this gift. Generally they suffer in learning; they have difficulty in studies and their family relationships are difficult too. So with a sport like this, they are going to live side by side with good people. They’ll have a good capoeira family. Because the majority of capoeristas have
so many good things to teach, positive things, like to stop smoking if you are going to be a good capoerista because you need to have endurance and cigarettes cause tiredness. The fewer bad things you do with your body, the more you’ll be a good player and be able to have a better day. And when you wake up well, you can do such cool things. I believe the objective of capoeira is this.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update on my book series, Kaimira. Book one (The Sky Village) is pretty much done except for the illustrations and the back matter. There will be six full-spread (2 page) illustrations, which is rare for a YA book and which I’m terribly excited about. Don’t tell the illustrator, but I’m using one of the illustrations as my computer desktop. The back matter consists of several fun index-type world building pieces, some with sketches.

As for book two, Nigel and I are about 50,000 words into it. We’ve left behind the two settings from book one (the Sky Village and the Demon Caves) and it’s huge fun building out the new settings and cultures.

I love me some world building.

In related news, I was trying to create a Warcraft III custom map / scenario that showed one of the Kaimira battles. There are several different types of golems, and they make excellent meks, and there are a number of different types of animals. (The world of Kaimira is set in a future in which humans, animals, and robots are at war with one another.)

Once I’m done, I’ll have a fun little Warcraft game in which the robots are occupying the city, the beasts are surrounding the city ready to invade, and the humans are in one little corner trying to survive in this 3-way battle, and then ultimately pushing back the robots and beasts and taking back the city.

So, I drove out to Glen Ellyn, Illinois yesterday for the Sixth Annual Children’s Literature Breakfast. I got to Glen Ellyn by 8:10AM but Google Maps did me wrong and I didn’t get inside until 8:50, with the event starting at 9. They were very seriously at capacity in a room that held about one kabillion folks, and it took me a while to find a seat.

Once I found one, though, it was all good. The book talks were entertaining (and they aren’t always, to me). My favorite part was Richard Peck’s speech. He waxed wise and slightly smart-ass on everythng from the cycles in politics to what it means to be a writer.

And I finally got my signed copy of The Shadow Speaker and Zahrah the Windseeker, by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu. I can’t wait to dig in.

(this is a press release from Star Farm Productions, which is where I work)

Please contact:
Colleen Fahey, SVP Marketing
Star Farm Productions LLC
Phone: 312-226-7130
Mobile: 312-451-7150

A WORLD OF MISCHIEF FROM EDGAR & ELLEN

Chicago, IL (Feb. 11, 2008) Cartoon Network Latin America has just signed the Edgar & Ellen series in a deal brokered by Pi Distribution. In the meantime, Cake Distribution pulled together a English and Gaelic language agreement with TG4 in Ireland.

It’s no wonder Edgar & Ellen love Cake and Pi.

Susanna Pollack, SVP of International Sales and Licensing at Star Farm Productions, says, “Edgar & Ellen are going to have to learn a lot of languages this year, they’re on there way to 72 countries.”

To learn about more licensing opportunities with Edgar & Ellen, please contact North American Licensing Agency, Lisa Marks & Associates, Inc. (LMA) at [email protected]. For international opportunities contact Susanna Pollack at [email protected].

Background Information

Edgar & Ellen®, for ages 6 to 12, are pranksters extraordinaire who crave outrageous fun. The Edgar & Ellen animated series is produced by Star Farm Productions and Bardel Entertainment in association with YTV. It currently airs on Nicktoons Network US, Nickelodeon UK and ABC Kids Australia. This multiple media phenomenon also appears in a six-book series with Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and as a thriving online community at www.edgarandellen.com. Enjoy the ride and savor the inevitable consequences when each of Edgar & Ellen’s plan backfires!

Star Farm Productions® creates entertainment the way today’s digital generation consumes it. Star Farm merges user-generated content with mainstream multiple media. Partners include Nickelodeon International, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Activision®, Lions Gate Films® and other global leaders in the family market.

After a marathon reading session, the judges for the 2007 Cybils in the Fantasy / Science Fiction category have selected their winners. And I’m happy to say, both were at the top of my personal lists.

Elementary/Middle Grade:

The True Meaning of Smekday
by Adam Rex
Hyperion
Nothing has been the same since the Boov invaded Earth and re- named it Smekland. But things get even weirder when twelve-year-old Gratuity Tucci embarks on a journey to find her missing mother–accompanied by her cat (named Pig), a fugitive Boov (named J.Lo) and a slightly illegal hovercar–and realizes that there’s more at stake than just her mother’s whereabouts. A terrific satire with a touching ending and spot-on illustrations by the author, the novel is heartwarming and hilarious at the same time. Gratuity’s narrative voice as she struggles to define “the true meaning of Smekday” will draw readers in.
Nominated by jennifer, aka literaticat.

Young Adult:

Book of a Thousand Days
by Shannon Hale
Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books
On her first day as a Lady’s Maid, Dashti finds herself locked in a tower for seven years with her Lady, who is being punished for refusing to marry the Lord of a neighboring land. Thus begins a life-and-death battle against evil and time. Lyrically written and set in ancient central Asia, this novel retells a little-known Brother’s Grimm fairy tale with desperate, heart-wrenching emotion. Readers will be drawn in by the beautiful language and fighting spirit of Dashti, whose faith, spunk and ingenuity affect not only the darkness of her tower, but also the hearts and futures of kings.
Nominated by Sarah Miller.

We have a winner. Teenbookreview killed the poem with the final line, “Alone and buried in the snow.” I’ll be sending her the grand prize very shortly.

Update: it looks like I declared a winner a tad too early (I was having trouble converting from Greenwich time). Charlotte swooped in like a ninja at the last minute with a final line. The solution: Charlotte and Teenbookreview will each receive a copy of the book.

Here is the collaborative poem:

Kill This Poem

The name of this poem is its fate.
How quickly will it meet its death
Pushing forward to the end date
And quickly losing all its breath

It sheds its words onto the ground
Discarded there to rot
And ever more shall we discern
That our words are worth naught

But is the poem an empty shell?
Or does it have deep meaning that is sought?
My words may ring the final bell
Then deathly silence is their lot.

Alone and buried in the snow
The pages, blank, tell tales of woe.

And a big thank you to all the runner-up poets:

• Kelly Fineman
• E.L. Foster
• Izzy Neis
• Kelly
• cloudscome