TV rights to WONDROUS STRANGE series go to Shaftesbury

Apparently it's all TV/film deals, all the time! We've had a number of exciting TV/film deals announced recently (see The Clan of the Cave Bear and Olivia Kidney), and now we're delighted to announce another!

Leading producer Shaftesbury Films has acquired TV rights to Lesley Livingston's acclaimed Wondrous Strange trilogy, published by HarperCollins! The award-winning trilogy, which includes Wondrous Strange (2008), Darklight (2009), and Tempestuous (2010), follows the adventures of Kelly Winslow, a teenager whose life takes a dramatic turn when she learns she is the long-lost heir to the Faerie realm. 

Livingston will be part of the creative team behind the Wondrous Strange TV production, and as she says in Quill and Quire, "To say that I’m excited about this would be a galactic understatement. Galactic." Shaftesbury produced the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's long-running Murdoch Mysteries series, as well as the Canadian Television Network's paranormal police series The Listener.

The announcement was picked up by Deadline, Quill and Quire, and Publishers Weekly, among others.

Below is the full press release with additional details:

SHAFTESBURY SECURES TELEVISION RIGHTS TO AWARD-WINNING YOUNG ADULT BOOK SERIES WONDROUS STRANGE

“With a marvelously refreshing heroine, a genuinely lovable hero, and a swift-moving, fascinating plot, Ms. Livingston gives a modern twist to the age-old epic hero’s 'coming of age’ story. Wondrous Strange shows that the world of Faerie can be updated and yet retain its age-old charm - as well as its aura of deadly danger. This is my kind of fiction, and my kind of heroine!”

-LJ Smith, author of The Vampire Diaries

TORONTO/LOS ANGELES, July 14, 2014 – Leading producer Shaftesbury has acquired the television rights to Lesley Livingston’s acclaimed Wondrous Strange young adult trilogy, published by HarperCollins Canada as well as HarperCollins U.S. Including Wondrous Strange (2009), Darklight (2010) and Tempestuous (2011), the book series follows the adventures of a young woman who discovers she is the long-lost heir to the Faerie realm.

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Bitten and Orphan Black have shown us that television audiences are hungry for genre series featuring strong female protagonists who are dealing with extraordinary circumstances in the real world,” said Maggie Murphy, Head, Shaftesbury U.S. “By putting a refreshingly darker spin on classic fairy lore, Wondrous Strange offers an entirely new fantasy world that has never been seen before, with empowering, believable characters who speak directly to the young female demographic.”

“I could not be more thrilled to hand this world and these characters over to Shaftesbury,” said Livingston. “This kind of creative, dedicated, professional team is one that writers wait a long time for and I’m so excited to see this story getting the opportunity to grow beyond the pages of the books.”

Shaftesbury has a long-standing, successful track record in adapting the best of Canadian literature for film and television, including the works of Margaret Atwood, Carol Shields, Mordecai Richler, Timothy Findley, Morley Callaghan, Michael Ignatieff, Dr. Vincent Lam and Maureen Jennings.

In Wondrous Strange, when the invisible membrane dividing our world from an unknown, other dimension is punctured, a young woman named Kelly Winslow joins a small Guard determined to stop the tide of evil…but soon discovers she is born of the very thing she has sworn to destroy. With the mysterious Sonny Flannery by her side, Kelly learns Faeries are alive and well and that she is the missing heir to their throne. As she falls desperately for Sonny, she wonders if the two can ever truly be together. In New York City, just off Broadway - amongst never-ending roadwork, digital overload and street meat - lies the battleground. The evil in Wondrous Strange hides in plain sight, often disguised in seemingly benign human form - always present, awaiting that split-second opportunity when we lower our guard. Late at night the parasites come to call, to snatch our innocent sleeping children. Can Kelly embrace her heritage in time to save the imperfect world she calls home?

Released in Canada and the U.S. in 2009 and multiple international markets including Brazil, Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, Russia and Poland, Wondrous Strange was the 2010 Canadian Literary Association’s Young Adult Book of the Year and the 2010 White Pine Honor Book, and was also shortlisted for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Speculative Fiction.

Lesley Livingston is an acclaimed Toronto-based author whose Wondrous Strange series includes Darklight (2010) and Tempestuous (2011). Livingston’s second trilogy, published by Penguin Canada, includes Once Every Never (2011), Every Never After (2013) and Now and For Never (2014). A spin-off to the Wondrous Strange series, Starling, was released by HarperTeen in 2012 and includes Descendant (2013) and Transcendent (forthcoming December 2014). Livingston’s middle-grade series with Jonathan Llyr, The Wiggins Weird, was published by Penguin Canada in 2013 and includes How to Curse in Hieroglyphics and The Haunting of Heck House. A principal performer and founding member of the Toronto-based Tempest Theatre Group, Livingston also regularly appeared on the Space network series, Spacebar. Livingston is represented by the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc.

About Shaftesbury
With offices in Toronto and Los Angeles, Shaftesbury is an innovative creator and distributor of original content for television and digital platforms. Sold in 120 countries worldwide, Shaftesbury's programming slate includes five seasons of The Listener for CTV, Fox International Channels and ION Television; eight seasons of Murdoch Mysteries for CBC, UKTV and ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment; and the hit kids series Life with Derek. Shaftesbury's groundbreaking digital media division, Smokebomb Entertainment, creates convergent experiences for television and original digital content including the comedy series Backpackers for The CW and CTV Extend; tween series Totally Amp'd and Unlikely Heroes for YTV.com and Hulu; and 3D sci-fi series State of Syn for Hulu and Google Glass. Shaftesbury recently launched shift2, an innovative agency that creates, manages and markets digital content targeting Generation C on YouTube. Visit us online at http://shaftesbury.ca, http://smokebomb.ca and http://shift2.ca.

For more information:
Katherine Wolfgang
Shaftesbury
kwolfgang@shaftesbury.ca
416-363-1411 x163 or 416-669-2823

Celebrate Children's Book Week with some stellar recent releases!

Happy Children's Book Week!

Children's Book Week has been celebrated every year in May since 1919, making it the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. The movement is run by Every Child a Reader, an organization “dedicated to instilling a lifelong love of reading in children,” and is sponsored by the Children's Book Council (CBC), the association of children's book publishers. According to the CBC site, 2013 saw over 150 Children's Book Week events held in 58 cities across the US. This year, they've been aiming for even more!

In celebration of Children's Book Week, we decided to highlight some of our exciting recent (and some upcoming) kids' books!

This Is a Moose by Richard T. Morris, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld (Little Brown Books for Young Readers, May)  

In a recent Publishers Weekly podcast, Morris talks about how the picture book came to publishing light—with some coercion from Morris's wife and agent, Alice Tasman, along the way! Lichtenheld joins the podcast to discuss how he helped the surprise ending evolve, and more. Listen to it here!

Morris has also been doing a number of readings since the book's release, accompanied by none other than the book's star moose himself! Mum's the word on who's actually inside that moose suit, but feel free to take a guess... :)

Searching for Sky by Jillian Cantor (Bloomsbury, May)

A glowing review from Booklist noted, “In this 'reverse dystopian' novel, Cantor skillfully invites the reader to see our world and all its shortcomings and idiosyncrasies through Sky's questioning gaze.”

Count on the Subway by Paul DuBois Jacobs and Jennifer Swender, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino (Knopf Books for Young Readers, May)

Count on the Subway was spotlighted in The New York Times Book Review's Children's Books section! It was also named an Editors' Choice pick!

Now and for Never by Lesley Livingston (Penguin Canada, May)

This will be the third in Livingston's Once Every Never trilogy, which began with Once Every Never in 2011 and was followed by Every Never After in 2013. Livingston is hosting a fab launch party for anyone in the Toronto area! Details are below if you happen to live nearby.

Burn Out by Kristi Helvig (Egmont, April)

A rave from Kirkus said of Burn Out, "Helvig builds a rock-solid future world and provides enough staggering plot twists and turns to keep pages flying to the gut-wrenching cliffhanger. A scorching series opener not to be missed”!

Gabe and Izzy: Standing Up for America's Bullied by Gabrielle Ford with Sarah Thomson (Puffin, March)

Publishers Weekly praised this book in a big article on bullying several months ago. You can find out more about the book and the PW article via our blog piece about National Bullying Prevention Month here.

Otis Dooda: Downright Dangerous by Ellen Potter, illustrated by David Heatley (Feiwel and Friends, March)

This is the hilarious sequel to Otis Dooda: Strange but True (2013). Otis has his own website, which simply should not be missed by any kids' book lovers! There you can download original songs based on the books, as well as super fun activities--such as How to Make Fart Goop or How to Make a Ninja Mask. So go check it out!

The Tyrant's Daughter by J.C. Carleson (Knopf Books for Young Readers, February)

School Library Journal named this their top Recommended Summer Read! But it's also gotten heaps of accolades and praise since its release, which you should check out in our previous post on the book here!

Neverwas by Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, and Larkin Reed (Arthur A. Levine Books, January)

Kirkus named Neverwas to its "Smart Reads for Teens" list!  In a separate rave review, it said, “In this sequel to Amber House (2012), the creepy atmosphere of its predecessor segues into full-blown terror...A wild ride that leaves its readers breathless.”

So now go out and celebrate Children's Book Week with some great reads!

Discoverability, Part II: How to use Goodreads to solve the discoverability problem

As we discussed in our last post, one of the most pressing problems currently facing publishers, booksellers, and authors is that of book discovery. Given the advancement of eBooks and the increasing numbers of self-published authors, the market has become inundated with content, leaving readers in a daze of titles and authors from which to choose. This trend has forced the publishing industry to question how consumers can find books at all, let alone their next favorite read.

Cue Goodreads, a social media site for finding and sharing books:

Goodreads' mission is to “help people find and share books they love” and, at the same time, “improve the process of reading and learning throughout the world.” With a growing community of over 14 million users, Goodreads enables avid readers and writers to share what they are reading, show how they are rating books, and recommend books to others. The site is quickly becoming one of the most popular platforms for readers to discover new authors and for authors to connect with new readers. By bringing together three important but simple components--authors, readers, and books--Goodreads believes it has found the answer to “discoverabilty.”

With publishers relying more and more on authors to market their books online, knowing how to navigate sites like Goodreads is crucial for anyone hoping to make his or her book successful. At JVNLA, we've met with Goodreads representatives to learn the best ways our authors can take advantage of the opportunities available. Below, we've compiled information about which aspects of the site can be the most useful for authors, along with examples of how our authors have used Goodreads in the past.

Build Your Author Platform

One of the first things to do when joining Goodreads is to claim your author profile and join the Author Program. Joining the Author Program allows you to personalize your profile, list the books you've written, share your favorite books with fans, publicize upcoming events, and write a blog on the site.

It is important to personalize your author profile as much as possible. Don't forget to add an author photo and bio. According to Goodreads, an author profile with a photo attracts more viewers and reviewers than an author profile without an image! On their profiles, authors can also post videos, eBook excerpts, polls, etc., all of which end up on the feeds of friends and fans.

Some great examples of how to best utilize your author profile include the profiles of our authors Lesley Livingston (here) and Christopher Gortner (here).

Promote Your Books

Giveaways: These are one of the easiest ways to make your books discoverable on Goodreads. Not only does a giveaway lend exposure to your book being given away, it also increases interest for any other books you may have written. Plus, readers who receive giveaway books are highly likely to write reviews for them. And the more people who review and rate your books, the more visibility your books will have. According to Goodreads, over 40,000 people enter a giveaway every day, and, on average, each giveaway has 850 entries.

Goodreads recommends running a giveaway for at least two weeks but no longer than a month. The site also recommend running two giveaways for a book over time: one a few months before publication to build buzz and reviews, and a second after publication to increase awareness that your book is purchasable.

One of the advantages of doing a giveaway before publication or during the galley stage is that many people entering the contest will add your book to their “To-Read” shelves. And once your book publishes, those who have added your book to their “To-Read” shelves will receive an email from Goodreads. That email might be just the nudge they need to go out and buy your book!

JVNLA hosted a giveaway for DARK LIE by Nancy Springer in the beginning of January, which you can view here. The giveaway lasted for a little over two weeks and garnered 2,384 entries. As a direct result of the giveaway, the number of people with DARK LIE on their “To-Read” shelves skyrocketed to over 1,180 people. The green in the image below shows that "To-Read" increase over time.

Wendy Webb, another JVNLA author, held a giveaway for her new novel THE FATE OF MERCY ALBAN in January, too, viewable here. Over 1,460 people entered the giveaway. Currently, over 1,090 people have THE FATE OF MERCY ALBAN on their “To-Read” shelves. The increase in "To-Read" adds, from mid-December through the giveaway period and then after the book's publication (in February), is shown in green below.

Join and Host Groups: Goodreads has numerous groups that members can join, from groups for author Q and As, to groups for book swaps, to groups for genre discussions, to book club groups. To lend you and your books more visibility, join a group that discusses a topic or subject related to you or your work. Don't forget that when you first join a group, you should slowly make your way into the conversation before mentioning your own work.

One example of a book club group is “Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy." Included among the book club reading list is Lesley Livingston's STARLING. An example of a group for genre discussions, on the other hand, is “A History of Royals.” C.W. Gortner, author of THE QUEEN'S VOW and many other novels revolving around historical queens, is a member.

Nancy Springer took part in another group, a featured author group, on January 24th, in which she discussed her new book DARK LIE and her past books, including the well-known ENOLA HOLMES series. Over the course of a day, over 70 people joined the group to talk with Nancy about what made her want to become a writer and what inspired her books. You can view the group discussion here.

Be an Active Goodreads Member

With any social media platform, your effectiveness is related to how much you interact with others. Authors should be active when using Goodreads by frequently adding and rating books on their shelves, updating their author profile, and interacting with other members on the site.

Remember, Goodreads is a place for readers, not solely a place for marketing purposes. You should not constantly promote your work on the site. However, if you join Goodreads and begin engaging with readers and different groups, you may be surprised to find out how much work you've done, without realizing it, that has made your book discoverable.

A trailer and an audio recording for STARLING

Don't miss the trailer for Lesley Livingston's STARLING, the first in her newest trilogy, complete with sword fighting, a steamy kiss, and even a naked guy!  Of course the trailer is just a preview to the danger, romance, and endless adventure in the book itself.  After you view the trailer, don't forget to buy the book!  STARLING was just released from HarperTeen last week (we posted about it before the release here).



Livingston has a background in acting, and so when it came time to record the audio version of STARLING, she knew she wanted to be the one to put voice to her narrative.  In the video below, Livingston explains what it's like to record her book, including all the side-effects of speaking into a microphone all day. Who knew that audio recording could cause muscle twinges and pain in your toes? 

As Livingston says, she's not trying to sound exactly like the male, female, young, and old characters in her audio rendition of the book.  Instead, she is conveying "an impression of, or an idea of what they sound like in my head."  So if you've ever wondered how a book sounds to the author who is writing it, look no further than this video.

In the video, Livingston narrates an excerpt from the same sword fighting scene depicted in the above trailer.  See if you can spot the similarities!

The audio edition of STARLING is available through Audible.com.

HarperTeen, August 2012
Audible.com, August 2012

Where do you fit in the world of STARLING?

Lesley Livingston's new YA book, STARLING, will be released in only two weeks!  The first in a trilogy, STARLING blends Norse, Greek, and Egyptian mythologies in a paranormal showstopper.  As an award-winning author, Livingston excels in this realm.  She is also the author of the WONDROUS STRANGE trilogy, blending fairie lore and Shakespearean plays, and ONCE EVERY NEVER (the beginning of another trilogy), blending Celtic warriors and time travel.

To prepare for the release of her newest, Livingston created a quiz where readers can find out which STARLING character they are most like.  A few of us in the office took the quiz, and we uncovered an array of intriguing results: Two of us were the image-obsessed, handsome and talented fencer, Calum Aristarchos.  Another of us was the mega-popular Heather Palmerston, beautiful and intimidating and a bit of an ice queen, but with a wounded heart beneath the frost.  Meanwhile, Livingston herself took the test and came out as Rory Starling, Mason's rude, annoying older brother, who may have more of an evil streak than anyone gives him credit for.  It seems there's a dearth of heroines and heroes over here, as not one of us was one of the protagonists: the spunky fencer extraordinaire Mason Starling and the hunky and troubled Fennrys Wolf.  Find out which character you're most like--and whether you're one of the good ones, the bad ones, or the vain ones--by clicking here.

For more about the world of STARLING, visit Livingston's Pinterest page here.  For the latest news and updates, navigate to Livingston's Facebook fan page here and her Goodreads page here.

STARLING has already received several wonderful reviews before its release, including these below:

"Livingston's intense novel will be popular with readers across genres; its incorporation of romance, mystery, intrigue, and magic, as well as the strength of the main characters, will appeal to an audience beyond those dedicated to fantasy fiction." --VOYA

"Thrilling and intense; pulls you along like the inevitable rush toward Ragnarok." --Julie Kagawa, New York Times bestselling author of THE IRON FEY series

"A must read for all mythology fans!" --Josephine Agelini, internationally bestselling author of STARCROSSED

And last but not least, the following full, rave review from Publishers Weekly reveals a few more plot tidbits:

The Fennrys Wolf [who last appeared in the third of Livingston's WONDROUS STRANGE trilogy] is bigger and badder than Red Riding Hood ever imagined, and he's just landed in Manhattan--tumbling naked through a stained glass skylight, sword in hand.  Few recognize him as the harbinger of Ragnarok, the end of the world, but many of those in the know are connected with Gosforth Academy, where the privileged, beautiful scions of the super-rich are expensively educated.  Fennrys saves the fencing team from an inhuman onslaught with the timely assistance of Mason Starling, the team's Olympic hopeful.  Each goes away from the encounter feeling a strange connection with the other, but Fennrys doesn't know who or what he is, and Mason discovers that she doesn't know herself much better.  Livingston chooses action over introspection in this series launch, and lays out the plot in short scenes from various points of view that are kaleidoscopic without drawing readers too far into any one character.  Like a stylish TV pilot, there are special effects and eye candy galore, making for a quick, pulse-pounding read.

HarperTeen, August 2012

Trailer for TEMPESTUOUS by Lesley Livingston!

Book Trailer: DARKLIGHT (Wondrous Strange #2) by Lesley Livingston

Harper Teen December 2009