Y2K and Drag Race All Stars: Latest episodes and upcoming events for First Draft and Sarah Enni
Back again with the latest for First Draft and TELL ME EVERYTHING (my debut novel, out Feb. 26 with Scholastic)!
🥂Things to look forward to in the New Year
🗣Blurbs!!
🎧Recent can't-miss First Draft episodes
👯Fun upcoming events
📻Podcast recs
📚Book recs
💎Plenty of links for you to pre-order TELL ME EVERYTHING!
🥂 Happy New Year! 🥂
Welcome to the new year! I love markers of time: fresh beginnings, chances to start anew. In that spirit, First Draft will be making some (fun! exciting!) changes. But 2019 holds something else for me, too -- my first published book. A physical manifestation of 10 years of imagination and perseverance. I've spent a lot of time celebrating the new, the nascent, the feeling of being right on the edge of something. I've put my faith in optimism and hard work. This year I look forward to goals achieved, boxes checked, cultivation and harvest.
First of all: TELL ME EVERYTHING, my debut young adult novel, will come out on February 26 from Scholastic! Booklist said, "This engaging debut novel tackles the issues of friendship and support, as well as significant matters, such as the collision of anonymity and freedom of expression; respect for individual privacy; and the blurred lines between First Amendment rights and hate speech, particularly on social media."
Stay tuned here, on Twitter, and Instagram for news about pre-order giveaways I'll be running in February in the lead-up to release day!
And, more immediately, First Draft got freshened up! Starting today we have new music, composed by the amazing Dan Bailey. And I've revised the First Draft mission statement to broaden the scope of the podcast to storytellers more broadly. I hope to host a more eclectic range of conversations with creatives across many mediums, to learn the ways in which we're all the same.
Thanks to everyone who has made my journey so fun and worth taking. 💝
🎉Blurbs! 🎉
Blurbs are quick supportive shouts from published authors to show their love for new books. I'm lucky enough that several incredible authors gave my debut book, TELL ME EVERYTHING, some love with a blurb. Here are two of them, from Maurene Goo and Aminah Mae Safi!
“Clever and sparkling, this debut takes a deep dive into social media, good intentions, and what it means to love someone. Sarah Enni’s a gifted writer and a fresh new voice in contemporary YA—I absolutely loved this book.” —Maurene Goo, author of I Believe in a Thing Called Love and The Way You Make Me Feel
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“A story about friendship and first love with the internet kid inside all of us. Delightfully brimming with pop culture, Enni’s debut is equal parts humor and heart—I couldn’t stop grinning as I read this!” —Aminah Mae Safi, author of Not the Girls You’re Looking For
🎧 Recent First Draft Episodes 🎧
Melissa Albert
Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood and its forthcoming sequel, as well as Tales from the Hinterlands, talks about stuffing her debut book with secret book recommendations, the borderlessness of being a young reader, and loving angry girls in fiction.
Listen to our interview here, on iTunes, or on Spotify!
Sarah Dessen
Sarah Dessen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of ONCE AND FOR ALL, JUST LISTEN, THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER and many more. Her newest novel, THE REST OF THE STORY, will come out in June 2019.
Listen to our interview here, on iTunes, or on Spotify!
Elana K. Arnold
Elana K. Arnold, author of YA books Damsel, What Girls Are Made Of, Infandous, and Middle Grade series A Boy Called Bat, and many more, talks about working until the book feels worthy, reusing structure, and uncovering a deep well of rage in her writing.
Listen to our interview here, on iTunes, or on Spotify!
Nina LaCour
Nina LaCour, author of We Are Okay, winner of the 2018 Printz Award, and other contemporary YA titles like Everything Leads to You and Hold Still, joins me to talk about how she’s expanding her teaching role with The Slow Novel Lab, and an exciting new podcast venture called Keeping a Notebook.
Listen to our interview here, on iTunes, or on Spotify!
🚀 Upcoming Events 🚀
I am so excited to be in-conversation with Robin LaFevers to help celebrate the release of COURTING DARKNESS, the latest in her HIS DARK ASSASSINS series!
I'll also be talking about TELL ME EVERYTHING, because it will be a mere 2 weeks before its release day(!!!!).
I love the North Texas Teen Book Festival! I've been there a few times as a moderator, and am thrilled to be going this year as an author. Check out their website to check out the dozens of other amazing authors who will be attending!
📻 Podcast Recommendations 📻
Surviving Y2K Headlong's other podcast, Missing Richard Simmons, may have had some strange ethical questions at its core (though I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway), their new look at the Y2K panic is completely fantastic. A fascinating interplay of several stories from people who prepared for living through Y2K in extraordinary ways, including host Dan Taberski once again putting himself in the hot seat for scrutiny. I loved it.
What the Tuck If you're a fan of RuPaul's Drag Race (and if you aren't, please remedy that immediately, it is a show packed with intersectional representation and frothy soapy joy), then double your pleasure by listening to comedians Joel Kim Booster and Nicole Byer recap every episode as they happen! I've already recommended Nicole's podcast, Why Won't You Date Me, but seriously check that out, too. More laughter in 2019, everyone! And more wig snatching, too.
📚 Book Recommendations 📚
I've been reading lots of dense, classic fantasy lately---Arthurian legends and the kinds of stories that built the foundation for today's High Fantasy Epics. And the forthcoming book THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE by Samantha Shannon is absolutely an instant classic. It is massive and there's tons of characters, and I've had to reference the map of her world many times. BUT THAT'S WHAT I LOVE ABOUT IT! The characters are breaking my heart and there's talking dragons and a prophecy and secret court intrigue and a Queendom at stake?! Hello!! This book is a must-read if you love the grand tradition of high fantasy.
💅 ICYMI 💅
