By: Kimberly Pauley,
on 3/22/2012
I'm participating in a booksigning this Sunday at the LoneTree Barnes and Noble to benefit Pikes Peak Writers, and I'd love for you to stop by between 3:00-5:00 PM!
Pikes Peak Writers is a national nonprofit that helps writers learn, connect and grow through workshops, resources, contests, scholarships, and one of the best writer's conferences in the country. Membership in PPW is now completely free, as are many of their programs. To help PPW continue in their support of writers, Barnes & Noble is hosting this benefit bookfair and signing. If you shop at B&N --in a store or online-- during the benefit period, a portion of what you spend goes to PPW. It costs you nothing extra, and you can even use your B&N member discount. I hope you'll join me at the signing, but if you can't make it I invite you to shop BN.com/bookfairs between November 12th and 17th, and reference bookfair number #10553048.
For more info about this bookfair and the list of 30+ authors who will be signing at five Colorado Barnes & Noble locations, please visit here.
I'll be signing Sleepless, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do and The Girl Who Was On Fire. Hope to see you there!
By: Sarah Darer Littman,
on 3/30/2011
I thought it ever so appropriate that I was chosen to represent District 10 in Smart Pop Book's Panem-Style Reaping Giveaway for the new anthology THE GIRL WHO WAS ON FIRE - Your Favorite Authors On Suzanne Collins'Hunger Games Trilogy.
After all, I'm a former farmer's wife who spent 10 years in South West England amongst the cows in the beautiful Bride Valley in Dorset. 
Cows grazing in the Bride Valley, Dorset (Photo: Ben Pentreath)
I was thrilled when I was asked to be a part of this anthology, because it gave me a chance to expand upon a blog post I'd written about my take on the political undertones in MOCKINGJAY just after I'd finished reading it. Politics and YA fiction. It doesn't really get a whole lot better than that. You can read an excerpt of my essay, The Politics of Mockingjay, here.
And now I get to give away TWO COPIES of the anthology to YOU! And that means ALL of you, wherever in the world you might reside. No ethnocentrism here!
Here's what you do to enter: The BookPage blog asked Suzanne Collins: What do you hope these books will encourage in readers?
Her answer: I hope they encourage debate and questions. Katniss is in a position where she has to question everything she sees. And like Katniss herself, young readers are coming of age politically.
In the comments, tell me if a book has ever inspired you to think about and even challenge the status quo.
Have at it, Rabble Rousers!
Edited:I realized it's unfair of me to ask you without telling you about a book that have made me think. Probably my biggest influence was ANIMAL FARM, by George Orwell. My son just played Old Major in a brilliant production at his school, and I still get goosebumps when I hear that final sentence, which is so simple yet one of the most memorable lines ever.
I also think Orwell's essay POLITICS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE should be mandatory reading for every high school student in a democracy.
Winners will be picked by Random.org, and will be announced on April 5th.
Praised by writers from Stephen King to Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins’ New York Times bestselling Hunger Games trilogy is dark, captivating, and deeply thought-provoking. Part straight-up survivalist adventure, part rich allegory, and part political thriller, the series has become a new YA favorite. A film version of the first book, The Hunger Games, is currently in development.
The Girl Who Was On Fire offers even more to think about for teen readers already engrossed by the Hunger Games. From the trilogy's darker themes of violence and social control to reality television, fashion, and weaponry, the collection's exploration of the Hunger Games by other YA writers reveals exactly how rich, and how perilous, protagonist Katniss’ world really is.
The Girl Who Was On Fire covers all three books in the Hunger Games trilogy. Contributors are: Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Mary Borsellino, Sarah Rees Brennan, Terri Clark, Bree Despain, Adrienne Kress, Cara Lockwood, Elizabeth M. Rees, Carrie Ryan, Ned Vizzini, Lili Wilkinson, Blythe Woolston, Sarah Darer Littman.
You can pre-order it now (on sale!). But the book releases April 2011
