March 3rd, 2010
It has taken a little time to finalize the details but I can now announce that I have sold what is currently titled The Olde Mirror Shoppe and a second (as yet unwritten) book in the same series to a major New York publishing house specializing in YA and middle grades fiction (which one will be announced in Publishers Weekly shortly). My agent and I got some very positive feedback from editors at a number of great houses but we feel that this is the right choice for us. The first book should be out in a beautiful, illustrated hardcover in the fall of 2011, with the second book following a year later. As readers of this page will already know, I've been working on this--my first book aimed at younger readers--for some time and spent the last six months gathering reader responses which helped me shape the "final" version.
This is a new direction for me, and one I'm extremely excited about, but it does not mean that I don't intend to write more of the kinds of book I'm already known for. Quite the contrary. I love what I do, and so long as there are readers interested in what I produce, I'll continue to produce more, be they mystery/thriller or fantasy aimed at adults. That said, this is a big deal for me and I'm thrilled to be able to introduce readers to the world, the characters and curious events I've been dreaming up around Darwen Arkwright and the Old Mirror Shoppe.
Feb 1st, 2010
The spat over e-book pricing between Amazon and Macmillan (which owns Tor) led to Amazon removing Act of Will from their site (and my Shakespearean Dramaturg book which, bizarrely, has been selling briskly of late). That dispute--or at least this stage of it--has been resolved and Will is now available again, as is Will Power which can be pre-ordered.
In other news, I'm doubling my participation in Magical Words and will be blogging there every other Friday on the craft and business of writing.
The Olde Mirror Shoppe has been in the hands of several major publishers of young adult fiction for exactly a week, so it will probably be some time before I can make any announcements on that front. I can say that the latest draft was given a real boost by a round of notes from no less a writer than R.L. Stine (of Goosebumps, among countless other things) who gave me a few very useful pointers about and said some very nice things about the book, some of which I hope will eventually finish up on its cover! Till then, fingers crossed. I'm excited about this book and want to see it in the hands of readers.
Jan 12th, 2010
My agency put out their seasonal newsletter yesterday and it features the pitch for my middle grades/YA novel The Olde Mirror Shoppe which can be read here. It seems to be generating some interest and I hope to be reporting a sale here soon. I amended the post below so that it contains the correct release date for the paperback version of Act of Will from Tor: it's July, not March.
Jan 5th, 2010
Happy New Year! I've already posted some of what that phrase means to me over at magicalwords.net so let me just say here that there's a good deal in the pipeline for 2010. Act of Will goes into paperback in July (with brand new cover art and a "recession-proof" price tag of just under 8 bucks!) and will be followed by Will Power in September (currently available for preorder on Amazon!). Later this month my agent will be sending The Olde Mirror Shoppe out to middle grades/YA editors and all evidence suggests there will be good news to report on that front fairly soon. The outcome of that is likely to determine what I spend the rest of the year writing. In the meantime, I'll be beatling away at my Julius Caesar performance history and a couple of other academic projects. I will continue to twitter (@willhawthorne) if you want to "follow" me (odious phrase) there: a good source for instant updates, spirited debate and moronic observations courtesy of yours truly. At least now the football season is over you won't have to put up with my whining about the Falcons.
Nov 18th, 2009
Well, there was a certain inevitability to this. Some time ago Tor opted to move the paperback release of Act of Will back to summer of next year, and I have just learned that this will also mean the delay of Will Power, which will come out in September instead of February. Things like this are, alas, completely out of my hands, but apologies to those who were looking forward to the 2nd book in the series coming out early in the new year.
April 24th, 2006
Mask of Atreus holds #6 slot in Barnes and Noble Massmarket
bestseller list for second straight week.
April 10th, 2006
Mask of Atreus enters USA Today bestseller list at #85. This covers
fiction and nonfiction, paperback and hardcover in the same list.
April 4th, 2006
Mask of Atreus released nationwide.
Feb 13th, 2006
Mask of Atreus gets stellar review in Publishers Weekly!
Feb 8th, 2006
Initial print run for The Mask of Atreus will be a staggering
202,000 copies for the US market alone!
Jan 1st, 2006
Countries where The Mask of Atreus will be published (so far):
USA, Greece, Brazil, Spain (world Spanish edition), Russia,
Bulgaria, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Israel, Italy, Australia, New
Zealand, Romania, Holland, Indonesia, Latvia, France