I’m excited to finally be able to announce the author list for DEFY THE DARK, the anthology I’m editing for HarperTeen.
I’m wicked thrilled to have stories from all of these extraordinary authors. It’s a collection that’s already kept me up nights reading, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
Or maybe you can’t wait to share with me– you could be the 18th author in this anthology! More on that in a moment. First, fantastic authors ahoy!
Sarah Rees Brennan is the author of the The Demon’s Lexicon trilogy, a series about demons, magicians and two very troubled brothers. The first book was an ALA Top Ten Best Book and received three starred reviews. Most recently she is the author of Unspoken, the first in The Lynburn Legacy trilogy, a Gothic mystery with imaginary friends who turn out not to be so imaginary, and co-author with Justine Larbalestier of the Team Human duology, about a girl who isn’t very impressed by vampires. She lives in Dublin, Ireland, which she uses as a base for her adventures, and she blames Diana Wynne Jones for her incurable fantasy addiction.
Tessa Gratton has wanted to be a paleontologist or a wizard since she was seven. She was too impatient to hunt dinosaurs but is still searching for someone to teach her magic. After traveling the world with her military family, she acquired a BA (and the important parts of an MA) in gender studies, then settled down in Kansas with her partner, her cats, and her mutant dog. Visit her at tessagratton.com.
Rachel Hawkins is the author of the NYT Bestselling Hex Hall series from Hyperion, and Rebel Belle (Putnam 2013). She was born in Virginia and raised in Alabama. This means she uses words like “y’all” and “fixin’” a lot, and considers anything under 60 degrees to be borderline Arctic. Before deciding to write books about kissing and fire (and sometimes kissing while on fire), Rachel taught high school English for 3 years, and is still capable of teaching you The Canterbury Tales if you’re into that kind of thing.
Christine Johnson grew up in, moved away from and eventually came home to Indianapolis, Indiana. She lives there with her husband and two kids in a creaky old house that is disappointingly un-haunted. Christine is the author of Claire de Lune, Nocturne and the forthcoming The Gathering Dark. You can find her on the Internet at www.christinejohnsonbooks.com.
Valerie Kemp is an award-winning independent filmmaker from Michigan. She has been writing stories ever since she first learned how to write. After challenging herself to turn a too complex screenplay idea into a novel she fell head over heels in love with writing YA. Valerie loves to travel and when not writing screenplays or novels, she can be found shooting music videos, reading voraciously, and possibly hanging out in foreign country. You can visit her online at www.valeriekemp.com.
Malinda Lo is the author of several young adult fantasy and science fiction novels, most recently the forthcoming Adaptation. Her debut novel, Ash, a retelling of Cinderella with a lesbian twist, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, the Andre Norton Award for YA Fantasy and Science Fiction, and the Lambda Literary Award. She lives in Northern California with her partner and their dog. Visit her website at www.malindalo.com.
Myra McEntire is the author of timeslip novels Hourglass and Timepiece. She lives in Nashville with her husband and two sons. She likes to make stuff up.
Sarah Ockler is the bestselling author of young adult novels Twenty Boy Summer, Fixing Delilah, and Bittersweet. She loves to defy the dark by staying up all night in her Colorado home writing, reading, and/or thinking about cupcakes. When she’s not busy defying any darkness or licking chocolate batter from a spoon, she enjoys taking pictures, hugging trees, and road-tripping through the country with her husband, Alex. Sarah loves hearing from readers and invites you to connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and at www.sarahockler.com.
Jackson Pearce is the author of multiple books for teens, including Sisters Red, Sweetly, Fathomless and Purity. She currently lives in Atlanta, GA, and– despite what she writes–admits she is sometimes afraid of the dark. You can find her online at www.jacksonpearce.com.
Critically-acclaimed, internationally best-selling author Aprilynne Pike has been spinning tales since she was a child with a hyper-active imagination. At the age of twenty she received her BA in Creative Writing from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. When not writing, Aprilynne can usually be found out running; she also enjoys singing, acting, reading, and working with pregnant moms as a childbirth educator and doula. Aprilynne lives in Arizona with her husband and four kids; she is enjoying the sunshine.
Dia Reeves, author of Bleeding Violet and A Slice of Cherry, is a librarian and lives in a suburb of Dallas, TX. Her family, however, grew up in East Texas and has inspired her with many tales of the area. The fact that she writes gory, psychotic, romantic, surreal books about happily maladjusted teens who live in East Texas is in no way a reflection on her family. Or is it?
Beth Revis is the New York Times bestselling author of the young adult science fiction novel, Across the Universe, as well as several other short stories set on the spaceship Godspeed. A former high-school English teacher, Beth drew inspiration for her novels from her students and their lives—although she took the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in a small town and enclosed her characters on a spaceship instead. Beth currently lives in rural North Carolina with her husband and dogs, and she believes space is nowhere near the final frontier. You can find out more about her at www.bethrevis.com.
Carrie Ryan is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Forest of Hands and Teeth series as well as several short stories. Her first novel was chosen as a Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association, named to the 2010 New York Public Library Stuff for the Teen Age List and selected as a Best of the Best Books by the Chicago Public Library. A former litigator, Carrie now writes full time and lives with her husband, two fat cats and one large dog in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can find her online at www.carrieryan.com.
Jon Skovron is the author of Struts & Frets and Misfit, both published by Amulet Books. He lives with his two sons outside Washington, DC. You can visit him at jonskovron.com.
Courtney Summers lives and writes in Canada. She is the author of This Is Not a Test, Fall for Anything, Some Girls Are and Cracked Up to Be. Visit her online at courtneysummers.ca.
And of course, I’m in there too, but that’s sort of the ultimate expression in nepotism. I know the editor, I am the editor, I know the editor, I am the editor! /end Chinatown reference.
Finally, you could be the author of the 18th story in this collection! We’re teaming up with Figment, and while the details are still top-secret, I can tell you this: we’re having a writing contest to fill that last slot.
One of the best things about my job as a screenwriter for Fresh Films was the chance to bring new, teen filmmakers into the fold. I wanted to do that in fiction too. HarperTeen and Figment are up for the challenge, and I can’t wait to share the rest of the details.
If you want to be one of the first to know, you can sign up here to get info the second it’s available. And in the meantime, feel free to poke around the Defy the Dark website. There are excerpts from all the stories already available, but I do apologize in advance. No more tastes until next summer!
