New Release: Believe Me: The True Story of How a Trafficked Teen and Her Advocate Changed the Justice System and Found True Freedom

23 July 2024

BELIEVE ME By Andrea Powell

The True Story of How a Trafficked Teen and Her Advocate Changed the Justice System and Found True Freedom. When Andrea Powell, a longtime advocate for victims of sexual exploitation, received a letter from a desperate female inmate in Georgia’s Pulaski State Prison, she had no idea that her life was about to radically change.

A harrowing memoir of how a trafficked teenage girl and her advocate worked to change the Justice System.

The True Story of How a Trafficked Teen and Her Advocate Changed the Justice System and Found True Freedom.

When Andrea Powell, a longtime advocate for victims of sexual exploitation, received a letter from a desperate female inmate in Georgia’s Pulaski State Prison, she had no idea that her life was about to radically change.

Tiffany Simpson, a teenage mother who’d been sex trafficked by a man twice her age, was arrested after her trafficker sold another teen girl and sentenced to thirty years for the crime. Her handwritten letter to Andrea asked, “Am I a victim of sex trafficking, or am I a prostitute?”

As their relationship grew, it became Andrea’s mission to correct this miscarriage of justice and help Tiffany win her freedom. But, as she soon learned, some cases aren’t so simple – and, far too often, the systems we count on to protect victims of trafficking and violence silence them instead. As Andrea found, this was far bigger than just one young woman.

This poignant and harrowing memoir brings to light the truth of what survivors endure, and how often those we villainize are themselves victims and casualties. However, the ultimate message is one of hope and love, because when compassion and truth take center stage, two people really can change the world.

Sneak Peek: The Fabled Earth by Kimberly Brock

Jocie McKade

23 July 2024

The Fabled Earth by Kimberly Brock

Sometimes the truth is found in a folktale.

1932. Cumberland Island off the coast of Southern Georgia is a strange place to encounter the opulence of the Gilded Age, but the last vestiges of the famed philanthropic Carnegie family still take up brief seasonal residence in their grand mansions there. This year’s party at Plum Orchard is a lively group: young men from some of America’s finest families who come to experience the area’s hunting beside a local guide, a beautiful debutante expecting to be engaged by the week’s end, and a promising female artist who believes she has meaningful ties to her wealthy hosts. But when temptations arise and passions flare, an evening of revelry and storytelling goes horribly awry. Lives are both lost and ruined.

1959. Reclusive painter Cleo Woodbine has lived alone for decades on Kingdom Come, a tiny strip of land once occupied by the servants for the great houses on nearby Cumberland. When she is visited by the man who saved her life nearly thirty years earlier, a tempest is unleashed as the stories of the past gather and begin to regain their strength. Frances Flood is a folklorist come to Cumberland Island seeking the source of a legend—and also information about her mother, who was among the guests at a long-ago hunting party. Audrey Howell, briefly a newlywed and now newly widowed, is running a local inn. When she develops an eerie double exposure photograph, some believe she’s raised a ghost—someone who hasn’t been seen since that fateful night in 1932.

Southern mythology and personal reckoning collide in this sweeping story inspired by the little-known history of Cumberland Island when a once-in-a-century storm threatens the natural landscape. Faced with a changing world, two timelines and the perspectives of three women intersect where a folktale meets the truth to reveal what Cumberland Island has hidden all along.

Behind The Words With Juno Dawson

Jocie McKade

23 July 2024

We welcome Juno Dawson to the blog. She’s the author of the historical fantasy series Her Majesty’s Royal Coven. Today, we’ll be talking about her latest release QUEEN B.

QUEEN B is a novel within the universe of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven that reveals the coven’s origins. What made you want to delve deeper into the backstory and lore of HMRC?

I first wrote that Anne Boleyn was part of the coven as an aside because it was funny! The more I thought about it, the more I became curious about her. A lot of effort has gone into proving that Boleyn was NOT a witch, and that she was a victim of a smear campaign, but I thought it was interesting to consider her as a witch. Would that make her bad? As soon as Ciara found the ‘lost’ portrait of Boleyn in The Shadow Cabinet I knew I wanted to explore who’d protected it.

Can you read QUEEN B without having read Her Majesty’s Royal Coven and The Shadow Cabinet?

I wanted to give readers a ‘Get On’ point. There’s nothing like the feeling that a book series has passed you by and it’s too late to join the party! You can start with QUEEN B or read it after HMRC!

We learn the coven began in Tudor England, during the rise of Anne Boleyn. Why did you choose this point in history?

I think people are fascinated by British royalty (and remain so to this day) because it’s so soapy. The Tudor court has it all; betrayal, romance, death and sex!

QUEEN B is historical fiction, which introduces certain parameters of fact that you have to incorporate into the plot. Did that effect how you approached your writing compared HMRC and TSC?

I didn’t want to lose myself in period detail, but I did have to do some very enjoyable research. I’d never been to Hampton Court or the Tower of London. I can’t recommend them enough. What a fascinating way to spend a day if you’re visiting London.

Who are your favorite writers of historical fiction? Who were your influences when writing QUEEN B?

I was very intimidated going in because of the legacy of Hilary Mantel. Wolf Hall is a masterpiece. No-one writes like she did. What a phenomenal talent.

Are there other parts of the coven’s history you would want to explore in another standalone novel?

There’s always the temptation to focus on the young characters of Theo and Holly and their teenage life. Her Majesty’s Royal Coven officially began in 1869 so it’d be cool to look at the first formal coven in the foggy streets of Ripper London.

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller – making you the first trans author to have a #1 hit in the U.K. Can you talk about what that means to you?

I cried! I really did! I never imagined I’d have the #1 book in the UK. It means a lot as a trans author because our wins are never ever celebrated. When we read about trans people in the press, it’s always a negative story, or a story of struggle. When I went to #1, the Sunday Times couldn’t ignore it, however transphobic most of their coverage is. It felt like a personal victory. Moreover, HMRC isn’t a sad story of trans suffering, it celebrates trans lives, so that was a double win.

Witches continue to be immensely popular, whether we’re talking about Netflix’s hit show Wednesday, the long-awaited Hocus Pocus sequel, or the 36+ billion views on #WitchTok. What draws you to writing in this space? Why do you think witches are more popular now than ever?

In the UK and in the US, we’re in the grip of a moral panic around trans rights. I wanted to write around the issues, but in a way that would appeal to me as an author and fan of fantasy and witchcraft. Women from minority groups have always faced persecution: poor women, Black women, sex workers. We are currently seeing a new witch hunt on both sides of the Atlantic. Trans women and trans youth in particular are under intense speculation. It made sense to me to turn a very real witch hunt into a fictional one with actual witches.

I think women and queer people know how it feels to be ‘the witch’. We are often made to feel monstrous by the patriarchy and the media. I think modern women also know sisterhood is magical. When we come together in solidarity it is magic. Perhaps the difference is we’re no longer scared to call ourselves witches. We are proud of it.

In your role as an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, you have campaigned against censorship and book bans. In 2022, your YA nonfiction, This Book Is Gay—a bestselling guide to sexuality and gender for teens—was the ninth most challenged book in the United States, per the American Library Association. What are your thoughts on this?

I wrote This Book Is Gay because I wanted young queer people to be able to enter adulthood armed with better knowledge than I had at their age, and ways of being smart about sex and dating. This felt like a good thing to me, and it still does. But I’m not surprised that it’s become one of the most frequently banned books in public schools – disappointed, but not surprised. It didn’t happen overnight; it’s because the people advocating for book bans in the U.S. have become a much more organized campaign over the last 10 years.

The complaints about this book are not about keeping kids safe. Because if we really wanted to keep kids in the United States safe, we wouldn’t be talking about books. We would be talking about guns.

I think it’s a shame, like a real crying shame, that in 2023 queer teenagers are still seeing that there’s something controversial about them. At the same time, they’re getting to hear about a bunch of really good books. As unpleasant as this discourse is, hopefully, the right reader might be connected to the right book at the right time when they need it the most.

What can you tell us about the final book in the HMRC trilogy?

Human Rites is due to come out in 2025! I will say it’s epic and heartbreaking. Leviathan will rise!

Fascinating series! Thank you so much for joining us today. Readers, QUEEN B release today! Here’s a quick look::::

This next spellbinding installment of Juno’s “irresistible” fantasy series Her Majesty’s Royal Coven (Lana Harper) takes us back to the reign of Henry VIII and the origins of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven under the beautiful, the bewitching, Anne Boleyn.

It’s 1536 and the Queen has been beheaded.

Lady Grace Fairfax, witch, knows that something foul is at play—that someone had betrayed Anne Boleyn and her coven. Wild with the loss of their leader—and her lover, a secret that if spilled could spell Grace’s own end— she will do anything in her power to track down the traitor. But there’s more at stake than revenge: it was one of their own, a witch, that betrayed them, and Grace isn’t the only one looking for her. King Henry VIII has sent witchfinders after them, and they’re organized like they’ve never been before under his new advisor, the impassioned Sir Ambrose Fulke, a cold man blinded by his faith. His cruel reign could mean the end of witchkind itself. If Grace wants to find her revenge and live, she will have to do more than disappear.

She will have to be reborn.

In this gripping, propulsive, sultry short novel, Juno Dawson takes us back to the bloody beginnings of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven to show us the strength, steel and sacrifice it takes to make a sisterhood.

There’s a Book for That: National Parks Month!

Jocie McKade

22 July 2024

Did you know/remember that July is National Park and Recreation Month? “Since 1985, people in the United States have celebrated Park and Recreation Month in July to promote building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation. This year’s theme — “Where You Belong” —celebrates the many ways park and recreation professionals across the country foster a sense of belonging in their community by providing welcoming and inclusive programs, essential services for all ages and abilities, and safe, accessible spaces to build meaningful connections.” (NRPA)

The grandeur of nature is so good for all of us to behold and experience. The following books take you there, with classic and acclaimed stories, histories, memoirs, and travelogues set in our National Parks for all ages.

USA National Parks by DK Eyewitness USA NATIONAL PARKS: LANDS OF WONDER (DK Eyewitness)

Celebrate the beauty, history, and cultural importance of America’s 63 national parks.

Revised and updated, and featuring the newest national park, New River Gorge, USA National Parks: Lands of Wonder is a celebration of these magnificent spaces. Between its pages you’ll discover beautiful photography and inspiring ideas – perfect for planning your next adventure, whether you want to be alone amid the vast and haunting wilderness of Alaska’s Denali Park or get up close to the teeming tropical wildlife of Florida’s Everglades. All 63 national parks are covered in order of designation, showcasing what makes each one unique, with the help of maps, facts and figures, things to do, and when and where to experience it at its best.

The Last Ranger by Peter Heller THE LAST RANGER: A NOVEL by Peter Heller

The best-selling author of The River returns with a vibrant, lyrical novel about an enforcement ranger in Yellowstone National Park who likes wolves better than most people. When a clandestine range war threatens his closest friend, he must shake off his own losses and act swiftly to discover the truth and stay alive. Populated by a cast of extraordinary characters—famous scientists, tattooed bartenders, wildlife guides in slick Airstreams—and bursting with unexpected humor and grace, Peter Heller masterfully unveils a portrait of the American west where our very human impulses—for greed, love, family, and community—play out amidst the stunning beauty of the natural world.

The Chair and the Valley by Banning Lyon THE CHAIR AND THE VALLEY: A MEMOIR OF TRAUMA, HEALING, AND THE OUTDOORS by Banning Lyon, Jonathan Eig

AN OPEN FIELD PUBLICATION FROM MARIA SHRIVER

Banning Lyon was an average 15-year-old, living in Dallas, TX, but in January 1987 his life quickly changed after a school guidance counselor falsely believed he was suicidal after giving away his skateboard. Days later he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, and what he was told would be a two-week stay turned into 353 days that would change his life forever.

After years of highs and lows that include being adopted by his attorney and mentor, falling in love and grieving the death of his fiancée, and being sued by the same doctors who mistreated him, Banning decides to take control of his life and finds hope in the backcountry of Yosemite National Park, where he discovers new purpose in being a backpacking guide. Through friendship, nature, and eventually giving therapy another chance, Banning summons the courage to keep moving forward.

Leave Only Footprints by Conor Knighton LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS: MY ACADIA-TO-ZION JOURNEY THROUGH EVERY NATIONAL PARK by Conor Knighton

From CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Conor Knighton shares informative and entertaining dispatches from what turned out to be the road trip of a lifetime. Whether he’s waking up early for a naked scrub in a historic bathhouse in Arkansas or staying up late to stargaze along our loneliest highway in Nevada, Knighton weaves together the type of stories you’re not likely to find in any guidebook. Through his unique lens, America the Beautiful becomes America the Captivating, the Hilarious, and the Inspiring.

MY FIRST SUMMER IN THE SIERRA by John Muir; Foreword Mike Davis, Herbert W. Gleason

My First Summer in the Sierra, whose heart is the diary Muir kept while tending sheep in Yosemite country, enticed thousands of Americans to visit this magical place, and resounds with Muir’s regard for the “divine, enduring, unwasteable wealth” of the natural world.

Subpar Parks by Amber Share SUBPAR PARKS: AMERICA’S MOST EXTRAORDINARY NATIONAL PARKS AND THEIR LEAST IMPRESSED VISITORS by Amber Share

Based on the wildly popular Instagram account, Subpar Parks features both the greatest hits and brand-new content, all celebrating the incredible beauty and variety of America’s national parks juxtaposed with the clueless and hilarious one-star reviews posted by visitors.

FOR YOUNGER READERS

Earth's Incredible Places: Grand Canyon by Susan Lamb EARTH’S INCREDIBLE PLACES: GRAND CANYON by Susan Lamb

Stretching across a rocky plateau in America, carved deep into the rocks by the rushing Colorado River, lies the Grand Canyon. Its bands of rock tell us about millions of years of our planet’s history and the indigenous Hopi, Havasupai, and Navajo tribes amongst others that have ties to the land. Today at least five million people visit Grand Canyon National Park every year. This stunning illustrated guide is packed with incredible facts about this natural wonders’ wildlife, people, geography, and history. The Grand Canyon has captured humankind’s imagination since the Ice Age. Now it is your turn to explore!

Cactus Queen by Lori Alexander CACTUS QUEEN: MINERVA HOYT ESTABLISHES JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK by Lori Alexander, Jenn Ely

How did the Joshua Tree National Park in California come to be? in this STEAM picture book, meet Minerva Hamilton Hoyt, an artist, activist, and environmentalist, whose determination saved the desert and helped to create the park.

I Am Made of Mountains by Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs I AM MADE OF MOUNTAINS by Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs, Vivian Mineker

From the volcanos of Haleakalā National Park in Hawai’i to waterfalls of Yosemite to the churning ocean at Acadia National Park in Maine, I Am Made of Mountains takes readers on a tour to honor America’s great outdoors. Sixteen parks are highlighted, and the story follows a different child visiting each park and exploring the natural wonders of each location. The lyrical text paired with the expansive illustrations is an ode to the outdoors that will inspire nature lovers and National Park visitors of all ages.

For more information on these and related titles visit: National Park and Recreation Month

Penguin Random House

Sneak Peek: Guide Me Home by Attica Locke

Jocie McKade

22 July 2024

Guide Me Home by Attica Locke

In this stunning culmination of the award-winning Highway 59 trilogy, Detective Darren Mathews is pulled out of an early retirement to investigate the case of a missing black college student from an all-white sorority and soon finds a town that will stop at nothing to keep its secrets hidden.

Texas Ranger Darren Mathews isn’t sure he’s been a good cop, but believes he’s got a shot at being a good man—if he manages to dodge the potential indictment hanging over his head and if he, from here on out, pledges allegiance to the truth. It’s a virtue the country appears to have wholly lost its grip on, but one Darren sees as his salvation. He is in the midst of remaking his life with the woman he loves, hoping for the peace of country living at his beloved farmhouse, when he is visited by someone who couldn’t hold the truth on her tongue if it was dipped in sugar, a woman who’s always been bent of tearing his life apart. His mother. Armed with a tall tale about a missing Black college student, Sera (whose white sorority sisters insist she isn’t missing at all). Darren must decide if his can trust his mother is telling the truth—and what her ulterior motive may be, and what if that motive has to do with a grand jury deciding his fate.

Darren gets his hooks into the investigation, along the way discovering things about Sera’s family and her hometown that are odd at best, vaguely sinister at worst. Hamstrung by local law enforcement and the Texas Rangers who likewise doubt the account of a missing girl, if Darren wants answers, he’ll need help from the person whom he swore to never trust again—his mother.

In this emotionally stirring conclusion to the singular Highway 59 series, set three years after the events of Heaven, My Home, Darren reckons with his life’s purpose as he’s forced to choose between his own peace and the higher call to do good.

HIP DEEP IN BAD COMPANY! From Authors Ann Charles and Sam Lucky

Jocie McKade

22 July 2024

HIP DEEP IN BAD COMPANY!
Book 5 of the Deadwood Undertaker Series
Brought to you by All-Star Duo of USA TODAY Bestselling Author Ann Charles and Sam Lucky!

“I’m a ghost. A specter, some would say. A spirit. A shade, the hallucination of a compromised mind. Whatever moniker you prefer, that’s me. Excepting that last one.” ~Uncle Morton

I ran freight and wagon trains for years from Missouri to Santa Fe. Courted death from arrows to snake bites, drowning to dysentery, each and every trip. Came through all that only to be dealt a bad hand in Deadwood. Got myself killed.

Now the Grim Reaper is swinging for my boys, too. They’re men, actually, and I won’t let them end up dead like me. Same goes for their friends, Clementine the Amazon and Hank Varney.

First thing, we need to reckon with that smokey Egyptian devil. His no-good henchmen are searching for something underneath the streets of Deadwood. One thing’s for sure—it’s not gold.

Second, the Pinkertons tracked my boys all the way to the Black Hills. I figured they would, but hoped they wouldn’t. My boys will end up in jail yet.

Not so long ago, Deadwood seemed like a good place to set up a freight office, but now the Hills are hip deep in bad company. Sooner or later, the devils around here are going to kill us all. Well, not all, unless you can kill a fella twice.

Deadwood Undertaker | Ann Charles

“A Fantastic new series you will Love’” _Enchanted

“I wasn’t sure what to expect from a visit to the past world of the Deadwood Violet Parker lives in. I am amazed at how real it feels!. Will definitely read more!!!,” _ LisaReadsALot

“My only problem with this book is it is just too short! Love the prequel, so to speak, of Ann Charles’ earlier Deadwood series.”, _Not Reinventing The Wheel

“Like Paranormal, Western, Mysteries or a mix containing all of them, you’ll like this book. Western comes first with 2 guys riding into old Deadwood circa early mining days. Supernatural strikes next with a nasty critter. Mystery unfolds as the expected person is missing. You will like this book is read alone, but you will love it if you read the series in order! Start with “Life at the Coffin Joint”, written by 2 of my favorite authors.” _ Morgue Rabbit

“This was such a compelling blend of old-west tales meeting chilling occult horror novels. The fact that this book serves as a prequel to the author’s original Deadwood Humorous Mysteries series set in the modern day and a first in a brand-new series made this even more compelling and had me eager to get into the true history of this infamous town. The powerful imagery helped bring the elements that the characters were forced to survive in and the town itself to life beautifully, underscoring the horror lurking just below the surface.” _ Anthony Avina, Top Reviewer on Book Sirens

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Ann Charles is a USA Today Best-Selling author who writes spicy, award-winning mysteries full of

Junction Mystery Series, Dig Site Mystery Series, Deadwood Undertaker Series (with her husband, Sam Lucky), and AC Silly Circus Mystery Series. Her Deadwood Mystery Series has won multiple national awards, including the Daphne du Maurier for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. Ann has a B.A. in English with an emphasis on creative writing from the University of Washington and is a member of Sisters in Crime and Western Writers of America.

Ann Charles’s Website: http://www.anncharles.com

Sam Lucky likes to build things—from Jeep engines to Old West buildings to fun stories. When he is not writing, feeding his kids, attempting to seduce his wife, or attending the goldurn cats, he is planning food-based book signing/road trips with his wife and working on one of his many home-improvement projects.

Sam Lucky’s Website: http://www.samlucky.com

Sneak Peek: Death and the Visitors by Heather Redmond

Jocie McKade

21 July 2024

Death and the Visitors by Heather Redmond

The ties between a young Mary Shelley, her stepsister Jane “Claire” Clairmont, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the already-infamous Lord Byron grow increasingly tangled as they’re drawn into a dangerous investigation in this vivid historical mystery exploring the birth of teenaged Mary’s creative genius and the roots of a real-life trio who would later scandalize 19th century England even as they transformed the literary world.

1814, London: Foreign diplomats are descending on London in advance of the Congress of Vienna meetings to formulate a new peace plan for Europe following Napoleon’s downfall. Mary and Jane’s father, political philosopher William Godwin, is hosting a gathering with an advance party of Russian royal staff. The Russians are enthusiastic followers of Mary’s late mother, philosopher and women’s rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft, which leads to a lively dinner discussion.

Following their visit, Jane overhears her father reassuring his pushiest creditor that the Russians have pledged diamonds to support his publishing venture, the Juvenile Library, relieving his financial burden. But when Godwin is told the man who promised the diamonds was pulled from the River Thames, his dire financial problems are further complicated by the suspicion that the family may have been involved in the murder.Stepsisters Mary and Jane resolve to find the real killer to clear the family name. Coming to their aid is Godwin’s disciple, the dashing poet Percy Shelley, who seems increasingly devoted to Mary, despite the fact that he is married. And a young woman Jane befriends turns out to be the mistress of the celebrated poet—and infamous lover—Lord Byron.

As both sisters find themselves perhaps dangerously captivated by the poets, their proximity to the truth of the Russian’s murder puts them in far greater peril . . .

New Release: I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

Jocie McKade

20 July 2024

I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

From New York Times bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones comes a classic slasher story with a twist—perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Grady Hendrix.

1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton—and a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, the unfairness of being on the outside, through the slasher horror he lives but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Stephen Graham Jones is the NYT bestselling author of some thirty novels and collections, and there’s some novellas and comic books in there as well. Most recent are The Angel of Indian Lake and the ongoing Earthdivers. Up before too long are I Was a Teenage Slasher, True Believers, and The Buffalo Hunter Hunter. Stephen lives and teaches in Boulder, Colorado.

MARVEL’S GREATEST HEROES AND VILLAINS IN “THE ART OF MARVEL SNAP”

Jocie McKade

20 July 2024

A behind-the-scenes look at the award-winning digital card game

In collaboration with Marvel Games, Nuverse, and Second Dinner, Dark Horse Books presents The Art of Marvel Snap. This full-color, hardcover art book celebrates Marvel’s hit digital collectible card battler game and is bursting with art from over 300 in-game cards selected by the developers of Marvel SNAP.

In Marvel SNAP, players assemble powerful teams of fan-favorite heroes and villains across varied Marvel Universe locations. Now, fans can pore over every detail of the game’s elaborate, original artwork from many of the world’s most talented artists. This captivating gallery is further explored through commentary that offers fans exclusive insights from the game developer Second Dinner.

Including over one hundred characters and locations across Marvel’s bustling Multiverse, The Art of Marvel SNAP is a fabulous way to indulge in the artistry that brings Marvel SNAP to life!

The Art of Marvel Snap (256 pages, 9 x 12″, hardcover) will be available on January 7, 2025 in bookstores and on January 8, 2025 in comic shops. It is available for pre-order now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, TFAW, and wherever books and comics are sold. The art book will retail for $49.99.

Be sure to follow Dark Horse Comics on social media and check our website, www.darkhorse.com, for more news, announcements, and updates!

SCHOLASTIC TO RELEASE “RUN AWAY WITH ME” A POWERFUL LOVE STORY BY #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR AND ARTIST BRIAN SELZNICK

Jocie McKade

20 July 2024

Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, announced today that it will publish Run Away With Me on April 1, 2025, an unforgettable coming-of-age love story for young adults by #1 New York Times bestselling author and Caldecott Medalist Brian Selznick. Releasing simultaneously in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats, this profoundly romantic and moving novel set in Rome, written by one of today’s most innovative storytellers, will be published in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand.

In Run Away With Me, Selznick makes his triumphant first foray into young adult literature with a cinematic tour de force, transporting readers to the Eternal City as he tells the story of American teenager Danny and Italian teenager Angelo, who find each other and fall in love over one summer in Rome. The book includes over a hundred pages of awe-inspiring illustrations, along with twice as many pages of prose.

In making the announcement, David Levithan, VP/Publisher and Editorial Director, Scholastic Press, said, “This is an astonishing novel not just for teen readers, but for anyone who remembers the intensity, romance, and insecurity of falling in love for the first time. Brian has an unparalleled ability to marry wide-spread scope to the most intimate of details, and the result is a breathtaking love story for the ages.”

Brian Selznick said, “I lived in Rome for nine months with my husband during the pandemic, where new friends introduced me to their favorite parts of the ancient city. I marked everything on a map, and quickly imagined two boys connecting the locations while falling in love. Soon, stories about other young men, in other eras, started to appear to me, making a tapestry of love that has been present throughout all of time. I wanted Danny and Angelo – and my readers – to remember that we’ve always existed, and loved, and found moments of joy.”

About Run Away With Me:

Run Away With Me is a stunning creation, weaving words and illustration to tell the story of a transformative love. Danny is sixteen and spending his summer in Rome. As his mother works all day in a mysterious museum, he wanders the city’s ancient, streets. Then one day a voice calls to him, and a strange, beautiful boy steps into his life. Angelo. Soon Danny is in love for the first time, but he’s also painfully aware that when the summer ends, he’ll have to return to America. Angelo seems to know all of Rome’s twisting corners and hidden histories . . . even as he holds his own secrets just out of Danny’s reach.

About Brian Selznick

Brian Selznick’s books have sold millions of copies, garnered countless awards worldwide, and have been translated into more than 35 languages. He broke open the novel form with his genre-breaking thematic trilogy, beginning with the Caldecott Medal-winning #1 New York Times bestseller The Invention of Hugo Cabret, adapted into Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning movie Hugo. He followed that with the #1 New York Times bestseller, Wonderstruck, adapted by celebrated filmmaker Todd Haynes, with a screenplay by Selznick, and then the New York Times bestseller, The Marvels. In praising his body of work, The Washington Post said, “Brian Selznick proves to be that rare creator capable of following one masterpiece with another.” The Associated Press called Selznick “one of publishing’s most imaginative storytellers.” Selznick’s most recent novels, Big Tree (inspired by an idea from Steven Spielberg) and Kaleidoscope, were both national bestsellers and were named New York Times Notable Children’s Books. He also illustrated the 20th anniversary edition covers of J.K. Rowling’s globally bestselling Harry Potter series. Selznick has appeared on Good Morning America, NBC’s Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, and has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Guardian, Le Monde, la Repubblica, among many other renowned publications worldwide. He and his husband Dr. David Serlin divide their time between Brooklyn, New York and La Jolla, California. For more information about Brian Selznick and his books, visit http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/brianselznick and http://www.thebrianselznick.com.

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