Buzz Worthy News

Welcome back to Buzz Worthy News where the stories are awesome and not at all well-written. Need your YA industry news? Never fear, Kat is here to give it all to you. Just, ya know, not in any kinda sophisticated sense or nothing. Basically, Rowling is still JK, guys. End gendered books, the Maze Runner trailer and illicit ARC sharing. All this and more is happening in this week’s Buzz Worthy News.

Buzz Worthy News is Cuddlebuggery’s weekly news post bringing you all the best information about the book and blogging world, particularly for the venn diagram of people who overlap between the two. For new releases and cover reveals of all the best Young Adult fiction, check out our Sunday post: Hot New Titles.

Do you need to know even more about Quidditch than you already do?

Are you on Pottermore? Good lord! Why not? You know what you’re missing out on, you giant, delicious, Harry Potter Nerd? You’re missing out on literally dozens of new words about the history of Quidditch. How can you survive without this? Answer: You can’t. Go check it out.

The rulebook concerning both on- and off-pitch magic is alleged to stretch to nineteen volumnes and to include such rules as ‘no dragon is to be introduced into the stadium for any purpose including, but not limited to, team mascot, coach or cup warmer’ and ‘modification of any part of the referee’s body, whether or not he or she has requested such modification, will lead to a lifetime ban from the tournament and possibly imprisonment.’

– Niko Nenad jinxed an entire frost after his team lost the game.

– in 1877, there was a mystery tournament that nobody remembers despite indisputable proof that it occurred.

Now you can run around with your friends on your broomstick, tossing balls at each other and impress the other Harry Potter Nerds with your newfound knowledge.

Quidditch: The best way to make every player, regardless of gender, appear to consistently have a giant boner.

More V.C. Andrews to be Had

Flowers in the Attic wasn’t enough for you people and the Lifetime channel knows it. Two sequels and a third V.C. Andrews books are in the works to fulfil any lingering gaps in the Andrew’s nostalgia.  It was Lifetime’s most successful time slot in a good while, so it’s understandable why the channel would want to capitalise on it despite the blah response from the audience.

Petals in the Wind has already begun production with others scheduled for release after 2015. The roles of the children have been recast for older actors whilst Heather Graham has signed on again for her role.

Read more here.

Little Mermaid: The Live Action Movie

I didn’t know I needed this in my life until now. But I do. Fancasting time? Who should hopeful director Sofia Coppola hire? More on the project:

“Caroline Thompson of Edward Scissorhandsfame is rewriting the script, about the mermaid willing to make a Faustian bargain to live on land after she falls in love. Previous drafts were done byFifty Shades Of Grey scribe Kelly Marcel and Shame scribe Abi Morgan, and Joe Wright was at one time eyeing this to direct.”

Apparently the studio wants to rush this through. Newsflash: so do I.

Two words. Emma. Stone.

Maze Runner Teaser Trailer

Dylan O’Brien, that dude from Teen Wolf, is starring as the main character, Thomas, in the new Maze Runner movie. God, didn’t this movie come out like a million years ago? I feel like I’ve been hearing about it forever! Still, he’s a great actor and it looks pretty exciting for a book I haven’t read. The video is only a teaser, with the trailer being shown in conjunction with next week’s Teen Wolf episode – a show that I have been told is really worth watch.

There’s a Terrifying Lack of Diversity in Kid’s Books

An article posted this week in the New York Times reflected on horrible lack of black kids present in children’s books and they have the research to back it up.

Of 3,200 children’s books published in 2013, just 93 were about black people, according to a study by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin.

Not having black kids in books is not just terrible for black kids, it’s terrible for all kids. We’re basically depriving all kids the opportunity to see themselves and other people in a wider range of human experiences. This article does a great job of highlighting how Black kids miss out doubly and the damaging effects of this whitewashing of children’s books.

Books transmit values. They explore our common humanity. What is the message when some children are not represented in those books? Where are the future white personnel managers going to get their ideas of people of color? Where are the future white loan officers and future white politicians going to get their knowledge of people of color? Where are black children going to get a sense of who they are and what they can be?

Gendered Kids Books Generally Terrible Idea

Let Books Be Books campaign is gaining traction to put pressure on publishers to stop promoting kids books in a gendered way. The campaign is an extension on the Let Toys Be Toys campaign because toy aisles are bullshit and so are library shelves stacked with pretty pink books opposing action-based blue and black books.

The campaign has already gained lots of traction and begun an important conversation about the way we market books to children. Is there anything awesome authors CAN’T do?

What You Need to Know About ARCs

This week, an ongoing saga unfolded. A blogger who had repeatedly requested copies of Netgalley eARCs over the last several months posted about her intention to quit. Another, bigger blogger admitted in the thread to giving out eARCs. At least one of those bloggers have been officially blocked by Netgalley though we know both have been reported.

We’re not going to wade into this drama too much, except to clarify for the good of community since there was some confusion in a couple of the threads about sharing eARCs and physical copies.

On Sharing ARCs:

-It is never okay to share an eARC. (The only instance I can think of is if it is self-published and the author approves you sharing with someone).

-Out of the fifty physical ARC copies I’ve just personally checked, not one of them prohibits sharing. All of them prohibit sale. We offer an ARC sharing service for physical copies here on our blog. Not a single publisher has ever complained. As far as we know, giving away or swapping arcs for review is okay.

However, please check every physical ARC you intend to giveaway in case a publisher doesn’t want you sharing it. If they state no sharing on the physical copy, please respect that.

Please keep this in mind, guys. 

Book Deals

All information about book deals comes from Publisher’s Weekly.

A Thousand Nights by Emily Kat Johnston
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication: Fall2015
Synopsis:

A YA fantasy set in the deserts of the Middle East. It tells the story of the unbreakable bond between sisters, and the dangerous magic that love and the will for survival can create.

Dove Rising by Karen Bao
Publisher: Viking Children’s Books
Publication: August 2014
Synopsis:

First in a sci-fi trilogy set on the Moon. Introverted Phaet Theta is a model citizen whose mettle, faith, and beliefs are tested when she’s forced to confront disturbing truths about her society and its government in order to save her family.

The Dragonrider Chronicles by Nicole Conway
Publisher: Month9Books
Publication: April 2014
Synopsis:

In which a half-human half-elf boy rises to fame after a dragon chooses him to be his rider

Wilful Machines by Tim Floreen
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication: Fall 2015
Synopsis:

Centered on Lee Fisher, the closeted son of an ultra-conservative president, who loves science, robots and possibly, the Shakespeare-obsessed new boy at school. But when a sentient computer program turns into a terrorist threat, Lee’s life and secrets are in danger.

Burning by Danielle Rollins
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s
Publication: January 2016
Synopsis:

Orange Is the New Black meets Carrie. Set within a juvenile detention facility, the book stars Angela, a girl just weeks from being released when she gets a new cellmate – a tiny yet dangerous 10-year-old who may be starting fires with her mind.

Romancing the Dark in the City of Light by Ann Jacobus
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Publication: 2015
Synopsis:

A troubled teen living in Paris is torn between one boy who encourages her to embrace life and another – dark, dangerous, and deadly attractive – who tempts her to succumb to her fatal flaws.

The Museum of Heartbreak by Meg Leder
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication: Summer 2016
Synopsis:

Eleanor & Park meets Why We Broke Up, the YA novel tells the story of 17-year-old Penelope Marx, whose first love ends their relationship unceremoniously. She decides to curate the artifacts of their time together to help tell her story and heal her broken heart.

Heartless Things by Lisa Maxwell
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication: 2016
Synopsis:

Gwen and her best friend are abducted to a dark world akin to Pan’s Labyrinth called Neverland, but it’s nothing like the fairy tale. To rescue her friend, Gwen must decide whether to trust a roguish young pirate or the boy who calls himself Pan.