What am I reading now? The Lemonman by Natasha Ferrill
Razorbill
On Monday, October 17, 2011, I was fortunate enough to interview Lynne Missen, Penguin’s newly appointed Publishing Director for Young Readers, regarding the launch of Razorbill in Canada. Our interview touched on what both Canadian and international readers can expect from Razorbill. And now, without further ado:
The Pen Stroke: When is the official launch date of Razorbill?
Lynne Missen: The launch of Razorbill is two-fold: Firstly, it will be marked with the paperback release of
Cathy Ostlere‘s
Karma. It’s a book about fifteen-year-old Maya who returns to her homeland of India after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Secondly, at the end of January 2012 a social media platform will be unveiled.
TPS: How many books will be published under the imprint annually?
LM: There will be half a dozen original content books. In addition, there will also be the release of second editions.
TPS: What types of books will be published under the imprint?
LM: Razorbill will be mainly comprised of young adult fiction for ages 12 and up.
TPS: How did the decision to launch Razorbill come about?
LM: It came from the desire to have an authentic and compelling voice. For that reason, readers will see a wide range of books being published under the imprint.
TPS: How does Razorbill plan to set itself apart from other imprints?
LM: We plan on making Razorbill the go to list. The aim is to foster a logo that will be recognized and respected by both teens and adults.
TPS: I’ve heard that Razorbill will be publishing Joseph Boyden’s latest novel. Can you speak about that?
LM: We are really excited about this. Boyden’s book will be based on his short story
Turtle Island published in
The Globe and Mail in July 2011.
Turtle Island is about a young boy caught between the contemporary life of gangs and the struggle to come to terms with his Native heritage.
TPS: Can you shed light on some of the other authors you’ll be publishing?
LM: Scot Gardener, Hiromi Goto, Charles de Lint, Carrie Mac, Mariko Tamaki and Emily Pohl-Weary, to name a few.
TPS: With the increasing popularity of eReaders, will Razorbill books be made available as eBooks?
LM: Absolutely.
TPS: Earlier you mentioned a social media platform. Can you elaborate on what shape that will take?
LM: Razorbill.ca, a virtual community, will be a forum for readers and writers to discuss books as well as a platform that will allow them to share content and videos.
I would like to once again thank Lynne Missen for taking the time out of her
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By:
Lucy Coats,
on 7/6/2010
Blog:
An Awfully Big Blog Adventure
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What a delight these second ABBA anniversary posts are turning out to be. I'm having such fun reading them. And now it's my turn to celebrate with my own five fabulous forays into faeryland....
Lately--usually deep into the night when the world is still and silent apart from the cries of hunting owls--I have found myself led astray. I have walked down strange paths and met beauty and horror and humour and cruelty and bravery and sadness and romance all mixed up together. In short, I have been lured into YA faeryland. Don't be fooled by the word faery (or fairy). These are not some cutesie, flowery, pink-dressed tiny beings out of picture-books and Disney. No--they are the Sidhe, the Fair Folk, the Seelie and Unseelie Courts--faeries from the older and darker side of legend. I've been familiar with those original ancient legends for most of my life--I've retold some of them myself, and of course I had my own green version of faeries--the Fey--in
Hootcat Hill. Tam Linn, Thomas the Rhymer, the fairy smiths of Skye, the fairy cattle of the sea, the children of Danu--all these and more I know and love. But these new faeries I've discovered live in this modern world of ours (the USA being a current favoured setting for most but not all), and I stumbled across some of them quite by chance--via recommendations on Twitter, in fact. So first, I will introduce you to:
Melissa Marr Melissa's
Wicked Lovely series was recommended by someone whose opinion I value, and as soon as I read the three Rules which her heroine, Aislinn, must follow, I was hooked in at once.
Rule 3: Never stare at invisible faeries. Rule 2: Never speak to invisible faeries. Rule 1: Don't ever attract the attention of invisible faeries. But the Summer King, Keenan is determined that mortal Aislinn will be his Summer Queen, and her rules become increasingly hard to keep. There are four books so far in the series, with one more to come. They're a kind of edgy, "urban faerie' genre I hadn't come across before. Once I'd read and loved that first book I bought the others at once, being a reader who has to 'know what happened next'. Melissa writes a fabulous strong, feisty heroine--and her heroes are never just handsome cyphers, but are equally strong individuals. I particularly like the railway-carriage dwelling Seth. I found myself loathing the old Winter Queen with a passion--and yet being fascinated by the way her mind works and her Machiavellian schemes. Having finished the second book,
Ink Exchange, I was also left with a strong desire for a tattoo. There aren't many books which would make me contemplate needles on my skin (I
hate needles). This one did--and I'
Kathryn Greenhill has a great sensible post on why learning emerging techologies is part of every librarian’s job. Kathryn worked with other Australian librarians on Library2.0 on the loose, an unofficial unconference for Western Australian library folks (and a few from other places). Kathryn is one of the many international librarians that I feel comfortable calling a colleague because even though we’ve only met in person once, I see her “around” many of the online places that I frequent and keep up with her via blog, twitter, flickr etc. I know this is sort of old news online, but I found it again via Manage This which is quickly becoming one of my favorite library blogs.
blogs,
kathryngreenhill,
l2,
library2.0,
managethis,
unconference
LibCamp was an unconference held at Boston Public Library last week. I didn’t go, but Brian did and made a great list of notes from his wrap-up so that libraries who might be curious about things like gaming, twitter and printing from the wifi network can check out a short list of links and get some good information.
brianh,
libcamp,
unconference
By: Jessamyn West,
on 9/9/2007
Oh my paws and whiskers! More books to prowl through when I should be writing!
faeries have come a long way since I was a kid and they used to just buy your old teeth. :-)
LOVELY post, Lucy! And nice to see Charles de Lint mentioned. There's a lot of US faerie fantasy that doesn't seem so well known over here. I'd also highly recommend Delia Sherman and Kelly Link.
(ooh, and for tasters, you could try one of Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow's collections of modern faerie tales such as 'The Coyote Road')
Lucy, thank you SO much! And I'm hungry for the other four books you recommend. I adore faeries - especially the wicked ones.
Love Melissa Marr's faeries - love her take on them, the urban realism blended with magic. Totally brilliant. Enjoyed Herbie Brennan's Faerie Wars too - off to look out for the others now - and in particular the inimitable Ms Philip's Firebrand!
Can I add to your list one historical example - Elizabeth Marie Pope's The Perilous Gard? Another excellent Tam Lin take.
Too hard - I'd have to have Sally Gardner's I,Coriander!
I was reading down your list and thinking; wait until you get a chance to read Firebrand - and you did! Wonderful book from Ms Philip, it's going to be SO popular
Ooh! Thank you all so much for the recommendations. Off to investigate right now. Yes, Sally Gardner's I, Coriander is certainly one of my favourites too--but not really urban faerie. Mind, Ms Philip's isn't urban either--but I had to mention anyway because of utter brillness and marvellosity. Not out till August, Nicky, so you will have to possess your wolfy soul in patience.