Hey there everybody! I'm still alive and kickin' in case you were wondering if I'd been hit by a water buffalo or smashed in a meat grinder. Nope, still here.
I'm at the BYU Writing and Illustrators for Young Readers conference this whole week. It's a pretty well known shindig, and my editor, Krista Marino, is one of the main guests. So I'm here doing various things like driving people around, mingling, eating good food, etc. I also get to introduce Krista at her main speech today, and I teach a workshop tomorrow afternoon.
I had a very interesting encounter with another author on Monday that humbled me greatly. Maybe I needed it after MAZE got so much attention at BEA and on my prepub tour. :-) It wouldn't be appropriate for me to give details or names, but let's just say my poor wittle feewings were hurt. But don't worry. It's all good now.
Last Saturday's first annual Utah teen writer's conference was a mind-blowing success. Much kudos to Josi Kilpack and her committee for a wonderful event. We had over 110 teenagers attend. Over 110! Trust me - that is an amazing turnout, and I'm really proud of all of them for taking their craft and their dreams so seriously.
As for this week, I've been very fortunate to spend a lot of time with some amazing people from New York. Krista, of course, but also Edward Necarsulmer, an agent from McIntosh and Otis, Martha Mihalick from Greenwillow Books, and Margaret Miller from Bloomsbury. They are so cool and fun and knowledgeable! My favorite thing this week has been just listening in on them talking the biz. Awesome.
I've also been able to hang out with many of my author friends (way too many to name!) and attendees of the conference I've gotten to know over the years. It's been truly great.
And now, for my exciting announcement: right on the tail of selling Russian rights, we've now also sold French rights to THE MAZE RUNNER. The publisher is Pocket Jeunesse, and they do a lot of big Young Adult titles in French. So we now have two foreign rights sales, and both of them bought the entire trilogy, which is very cool.
Kudos to Lauren Abramo at my agency for her terrific work!!!
According to Google, here's the translation: Le Labyrinthe Coureur. Any French speakers out there? Does that sound right?
Hope everyone is well and happy and currently not in jail. Cheers!
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27 comments:
I think PJ did the French Harry Potter books. If not them, then Folio Junior. Either way, those big kids book publishers get their stuff in the front displays in the bookstores (in Spain, at least) so it'll get the publicity it deserves. Can't wait to own the hardcover! Keep it up, James.
bareria--the rebound from an emotional beatdown concerning your book
And on that French translation, it's literally "The Labyrinth Courier", a very elevated way of saying "Maze Runner".
varnetio--an elevatated way of saying "linguist" ;-)
I've only had french for a year and a half but.... Le is the masculine form of the...... Coureur is how you would say racer or runner ........ Labyrinthe is how you would say a garden maze......and I beleive im not sure scence its a title but runner should come before maze in french ...idk ......Also I hope your poor wittle feewings wernt hurt too bad......I guy in one of my classes signed my yearbook saying hey, your awwsome and cute from ____ ps Your right the 13th reality is one of the best book ever......whats your oppinion about me and AP Euro and English......tiki tiki.....
If I hadn't seen you in Provo, I totally would have totally gone with the water buffalo thing.
Thanks for finally getting back to me on the Teen Writers Conference, Dash. Over 110 teens? Many congrats.
(Is this just a Utah thing, or can anyone in the country come over, btw? Because I'd like to join next year.)
Cool that you got French rights to Maze. ^,^
Great words, Graham. They almost sound like something you would actually find in a dictionary. ^_^
Le Labyrinthe Coureur.
just by using english you can see that its maze runner ^.~
I have always loved the word courier
#1---
In French, "runner" would only go before "maze" if runner was an adjective, but since they're both nouns, the order is proper as is. At the very most you could change it to "Le coureur du labyrinthe" but that's unnecessary (French is one of the few Romance languages where you don't have to do that).
ex: in Spanish you'd have to say "corredor del laberinto" because the rules of the language don't allow for one noun to modify another without a linking article. One possible exception could be if you made a compound word with a verb and a noun (common in Spanish), in which case you'd have "El Correlaberintos". There's a mouthful for ya.
Language lesson for the day, everybody! :-D
Dang. I totally had my money on that water buffalo.
Seems all I say over here these days is congrats, but hey, unoriginal comment though it may be, congratulations!
Dashner glad to hear that you have avoided any charging African game animals while you hang out in Provo being super cool.
Graham aka Smart A.
I have a word for ya.
syingi [sye injee]-- an adorable smarty pants. Kind of like the student teacher [sensai] everyone has a crush on.
Usage: That new kid would be so annoying if he weren't such a syingi.
glosol- a pin used to prick the swollen head of an egotistical person.
Usage: Where's my glosol when I need it?
That's great news JD! =)
BTW loving maze runner...can't wait to finish it.
Nice to see you're alive and kicking.
Graham-nice rant. Although, when you put "Le coureur du labyrinthe" in the Google translator, it comes up with "The rider of the labyrinth". Weird.
Arlene--
Stupid foreign languages. On the Spanish version, "corredor" could mean runner but it could also mean hallway (corridor). This is why English is perfect. It follows no rules.
I too, am glad to see that you're still alive. Magnifique! German is next, I can feel it!
Funny you should mention the jail thing. I've been called for Jury Duty. Lived my whole life in Utah and never had to go. Five years in the South and...Voila.
Did anybody see the episode of 30 Rock where Tina Fey wore her Princess Leia costume to get out of Jury Duty? Anybody have an extra costume lying around...?
nkrell I do have A princess leia coustome but its a child large so idk if you will fit it...lol my dad got a jury duty letter in the mail today 2....word colamed def to cut, wound, grip, hold, or tear with the teeth usage I colamed my lip while eating dinner.....James when is the next time your going to be at the barnes and noble by our house....
Tres bien!
#1, I took AP Eng and Calc. You can do it! And I don't know about my fall schedule yet.
Magenta, we had people from outside Utah. The more the merrier. Definitely come next year.
nkrell, I love that episode!
Kim, I never tire of hearing congrats. Keep em coming. :)
Irish, can't wait to hear your verdict. Hope you like it.
Thanks for all the French discussions. It'll be cool to see the translation come to life.
Thanks for hangin' at the Dashner Dude.
I wasn't quite thinking water buffalo or meat grinder, more along the lines of a paper bag and plastic spoon...
congrats on french rights.
Aaron B.
I studied lots of French. I'd go for "Le coureur du labyrinthe" if I were translating, but I'm not, which is good because then lots of French people would be wondering why the text sounded like some non-native speaker was mangling their language. But speaking of French, lots of French texts I studied in school were published by Pocket Jeunesse. So kudos!
Aaron, that sounds terrifying!
Kaylie, thanks for your French interpretation. It'll be interesting to see what the title ends up being.
So I almost emailed this review to you, Dashner, but then I decided that the more people who know how cool Maze Runner is the better. So here is what I wrote for my review of Maze at:
run-donna-run.blogspot.com
3. Maze Runner--Another crazy adventure this week was reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner. The book will come out on October 6 from Random House and is definitely worth picking up.
Wow. It is an adventure story filled with satisfying puzzles and a fast paced story. On the DIVA rating it gets 9 out of 10 for characters filled with Determination, Vision, and Achievement. The 1 measly point is docked for making me want to cry at the end over and over. There is an eerie feeling of impending doom at the end of this first installment of the series and yet I am soooo glad I read it and got to know the awesome characters. I am hoping that by the end of the series, which will span years of reading, I will feel like my hope and patience are paid off with some version of happily ever after even in a bleak distopian world. That is the bar I'm setting for you, James, and I'm sure that you will have no problem reaching and surpassing it.
Congrats!
Wow, Donna, I am honored! THANK YOU. I'm glad you liked it.
No Problem =)
Now get Scorch Trials done so I can steal another contraband ARC.
ok ty James.
DARN IT! I didn't even feature! I guess I'll just wander out of the break-room to my downgraded not-cool-enough-to-be-named-by-J.D.-sideroom.
Lame-o.
Congrats on the French rights, James! The world is literally going to be your oyster, huh? Or escargot, as you will.
Great seeing you at BYU this week. And thank you again.
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