Buzz Worthy News: December 14, 2015

Welcome to Buzz Worthy News where the stories are awesome and not at all well-written. Need your YA industry news? Never fear, Kate Copeseeley is here to give it to you straight.

In this week’s Buzz Worthy News: BFG Teaser Trailer, Hunger Games Prequels, Plagiarism Afoot, Cover Change Controversy, and We Need Diverse Books Makes A Large Error.

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 Tuesday post: Hot New Titles.

BFG Trailer

The Teaser Trailer for the Big Friendly Giant is out.  I think Disney make a couple of changes to the plot, though, because wasn’t the protagonist a boy?  Anyway, enjoy.

Announcement Trailer for the Fantastic Beasts Trailer

And if you thought THAT teaser trailer was short, Pottermore posted an announcement for their own trailer, to be released December 15, apparently. 😀

The countdown to the first #FantasticBeasts trailer has begun – @FantasticBeasts pic.twitter.com/ybIsQn9MyA

— Wizarding World (@wizardingworld) December 10, 2015

Hunger Games Prequels

Every time I think it’s over, they pull me back in.  First they made Mockingjay a two part film.  And now they’re gonna do what?

It was only a matter of time before someone figured out a way to keep the money flowing with more movies, and now Lionsgate may have finally hit upon a solution: prequels. Specifically, prequels that involve a lot more arena action. More about the possible Hunger Games prequels after the jump.

Speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York, Burns compared The Hunger Games to Harry Potter, and promised the franchise would “live on and on and on.” Which apparently means taking a page out of the Harry Potter playbook. Just as Warner Bros. plans to keep raking in those box office Galleons with the 1920s-set prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Burns wants to dig back into the history of Panem.

Among other things, Burns wants to see more of the Games themselves. Or rather, he believes that’s what younger fans want. “The one thing that kids say they missed (from the early Hunger Games films) was there was no arenas,” he said. “If we went backwards there would obviously be arenas.” The first Hunger Games chronicled the 74th annual Games, and Catching Fire depicted the 75th Games, but the two Mockingjay movies contained no arena action whatsoever.

UGH WHAT?  Really?  You want to make endless movies that greatly feature arena action, deaths, and children fighting each other?  Who are you, President Snow in disguise?  Oh, and by the way, Mockingjay part 2 was basically ONE GIANT ARENA—as pointed out by the film itself.

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Margaret Atwood To Write Graphic Novel Trilogy

I think Dark Horse Comics has officially become THE source of everything comic or graphic that I want to read.  Now they’re teaming up with Margaret Atwood.

She plans to write the story for her first graphic novel which will star a character named Angel Catbird.

“I have concocted a superhero who is part cat, part bird. Due to some spilled genetic Super-Splicer, our hero got tangled up with both a cat and an owl; hence his fur and feathers, and his identity problems.”

The series will be illustrated by Johnnie Christmas and the first volume is slated for a Fall 2016 release.

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Changes To Winner’s Series Covers

Written by Kat Kennedy and Kate Copseeley

Stop what you’re doing. Just stop. Because something truly horrible happened this week. Fierce Reads announced the cover change for The Winner’s series…

Now I have a vested interest in this cover change because I own the Hardbacks for the first two novels and I was REALLY looking forward to completing my set with the original Winner’s Kiss Cover that was revealed earlier this year:

I was obviously not alone in my imminent distress. Plenty of people took to twitter in outrage.

https://twitter.com/brainsandbooks/status/675395799778533377?refsrc=email&s=11

@jodimeadows and has there ever been a time when fans have said, "Thank you so much for changing this on the third book!"

— Andye Reads (@AndyeReads) December 11, 2015

These, of course, are the mildest of versions.  There were tweets attacking everything from the publishers, the superstores that demand book series get repackaged, and the author herself.  That’s when it got ugly.  Thankfully, the voice of reason quickly answered back.

Book covers, casting, film adaptations, titles: things authors have little to no control over but get tons of flak for. Please be kind!

— Jessica Khoury 🇵🇸 UPDATES ONLY (@jkbibliophile) December 11, 2015

You can be critical AND disappointed without being cruel. 2. You don't have to buy a book, ever. That IS okay. Your money is yours to use.

— Mary (@knoxdiver) December 11, 2015

Ready for comparison shots?

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I’m super curious though as to where they got their inspiration…

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We would like to take this opportunity to point out that we’re huge fans of this series and of Marie Rutkoski. So, of course, Kat will still be buying the Winner’s Kiss hardcover and reading it the first second she gets.

Lastly, some sage advice:

How to make cover changes: Keep hardcovers matching, repackage with the paperbacks. Readers who get hardcovers are PASSIONATE about matchy.

— Jodi Meadows (@jodimeadows) December 11, 2015

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Plagiarism of Pop! Goes The Reader

In the never ending plague of plagiarism we seem to be experiencing these days, we have another case to bring to you.  Check your blog spaces ladies and gentlemen.

When Jen of Pop! Goes The Reader noticed some eerily similar words and phrases on a blog that she happened across on the internet, she wasn’t sure what to do.

This plagiarism was insidious in its subtlety. It was never word-for-word. It was a sentence here, a sentence there. Small enough to allow for plausible deniability should it ever come to light. Large enough that friends began to notice the similarity between our two blogs, each of my posts having been written days, weeks, or even months prior to hers. My words. My voice. No longer mine alone.

At first, I told no-one, save for a few close friends. Each time this happened, I consulted with them, sharing my original post and Talina’s subsequent one, double-checking to see whether this was all in my head. Self-doubt is the lovely parting gift of the plagiarist. Am I imagining things? Am I overreacting? Am I being too sensitive? Is this really happening? In retrospect, I think I wanted to believe that it was all a mistake or a misunderstanding because were this true I wouldn’t have to acknowledge that it was happening or confront the problem head-on.

Here are some of the portions that were too similar to be coincidence (Jen’s is first):

After she was confronted, Talina of Sexy and Dangerous books was all apologies:

But very soon Jen caught her plagiarizing AGAIN, and this time, Talina had no fucks to give:

And in fact, she actually started badmouthing Jen in the community.  This is a quote from an email she sent an author on book tour:

“…A few bad apples tends to spoil the barrel. That’s a saying my mother taught me. If you’ve been a part of the YA blogging community for any time you’ll understand when I say that it comes with a negative side of envy, jealousy and hate. I try not to let it bother me and I pay 100% of no attention to anyone that thinks I copy them. Why? Because I have nothing to prove…(I) have no time to worry about the negative people trying to throw boulder in my path.”

I don’t understand plagiarism in the world of the internet.  There are too many readers and too many screenshots for you to get away with it, and yet it keeps happening again and again and again.   Thank goodness for a supportive bookish community when these things happen.  It sounds like Jen had a lot of friends to turn to in her time of need.

I’d like to end with a quote from Pop! Goes The Reader:

“…It makes me sad that you don’t seem to believe that your own voice is good enough, valuable enough, to stand on its own.  You are an enthusiastic member of the community and you don’t need to rely on another person’s words, features, or ideas to contribute.”

Words to remember.

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We Need Diverse Books Makes a Misstep

During the early days of Hanukkah celebration, the charity organization known as We Need Diverse Books posted the following tweet:

Note, in particular, the use of the #8daysofWNDB hashtag which coopts Hanukkah with WNDB.  The response was immediate and emphatic.

https://twitter.com/Bibliogato/status/674013114992496640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/mgnwrites/status/674014940827553792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

If you aren't advocating for Jews, if you aren't part of the Jewish community, our holidays are not your fundraising theme. Period.

— Aleksei Ilídio Valentín (he/they) ✡️♿🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ (@ai_valentin) December 8, 2015

This is WNDB’s official response:

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Interesting Links

Buzzfeed’s Top 25 SciFi Books of 2015

The Secret History of One Hundred Years Of Solitude

Harry Potter Christmas Traditions

Amazon’s Bestselling Books of 2015

Apple’s Bestselling Books of 2015