Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Indigo Teen Read Awards


I'm happy to announce that THE MAZE RUNNER is a nominee in the first ever Teen Read Awards presented by Indigo, the largest bookstore retail chain in Canada. I'm very honored!

There are several categories, and MAZE is nominated in the category of "Best Hero," along with some pretty good company: Holly Black, Scott Westerfeld, and Ally Carter. I'm a long shot against such established talent, but I'm just happy to be included. No, really! (I know, sounds like the pathetic rant of a guy about to lose.)

The hero is, of course, Thomas. Poor guy. Memory wipes, Griever stings, has to run all those miles and miles. I'm glad he gets something in return. Especially right before he has to go through all the crap in THE SCORCH TRIALS.

The part I'm most excited about: I get to go to Toronto for the awards gala in September! I've never been there and I can't wait to visit. See, I KNEW Canada was awesome.

To learn more about the awards, and to, ahem, vote, please CLICK HERE. If I win, I'll give 37 billion dollars to charity. (Like I said, I'm just happy to be nominated!)

34 comments:

Unknown said...

Congratulations!! I read half of it but got too busy & couldn't finish, but it's almost ready at the library again. Can't wait to finish.

Laura said...

Just promise you're not planning on wearing that dress.

Congratulations! Very cool.

Jackson Porter said...

Congrats! I'm going to vote as soon ASAP!

Magenta said...

It would be so awesome if you won the first annual award for anything! That's so nice of Canada. ^_^

This is my personal opinion, but Thomas is the one of the best heroes in literature ever. He's gonna win no problem, hands down. ^_~

Angie said...

Congrats! He is a terrific hero.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! That's awesome!!! :-)
By the way, I am SO excited for The Scorch Trials! I am definitely going to get an ARC!! :-) You rock, Mr. Dashner!!

Cheri Chesley said...

Yay! Congratulations! That's so cool :)

Brian said...

Congratulations!

Heather Moore said...

Congrats--You'll love Canada, esp in September.

Carolyn V. said...

Sweet! Congrats. =)

Shauna said...

Congratulations! The nomination is well deserved!

Taffy said...

WOW! That is totally awesome!
Go James!
Go James!
Go! Go!

Valerie Ipson said...

It just gets better and better, doesn't it? Well, you deserve it.

Dave said...

Congrats Dash! If it was up to us, you'd be a shoe in. Good luck and we will all be rooting for you!

Dave
TLGBRS

JennyGranola said...

I dunno.. I read through the other nominees and I think your only competition is the teenage flying chic. And what do they have against Quebec? I had to say I lived in Alberta to vote. BUT! I voted! Have a great time in Toronto!!!

Thankyou,formythoughtsareshared said...

Congrats!!

Sorry but where is the excitement in The 13th Reality The Journal of Curious Letters(have not finished reading)?
Hope The Maze Runner will be AWESOME!! :)

David C. said...

Hello, I found your blog a couple of days ago and just finished reading all the posts. First off congratulations for everything you have achieved in the last few years. Reading though them one at a time has shown just how astounding your work is. Simply amazing.

Now on to two questions I have about characters. First, after reading several of your early posts about how you developed your characters, including the suggestion you received about creating your own slag for Maze and creating back stories I feel my own have come along nicely. However I was wondering about any suggestions you have to help the characters feel more real, any tips or tricks you’ve come across?

Secondly. Any advice on how to get people to relate to the characters? How did you get people to relate to the characters in Maze?

P.S. I actually found your blog looking for information on Scorch, which I hadn’t realized was the second book to Maze. A pleasant surprise.

Anonymous said...

Thomas is gonna win.

bmann said...

Dear Mr. Dashner,
you have also been nominated for the North Carolina YA Book Award - I know, maybe not as prestigious - but we media specialists in NC think your book is one that will grab our middle school readers and keep them reading. As chairperson of this committe i wonder if we could get your permission to use your book cover art in our award promotion which may include a pamphlet and a student made video.
here is a link to the award site NCSLMA YA book award web page: http://sites.google.com/site/
ncslmayabookaward/


Thanks so much,
Bricmann@gmail.com

Leesie Jones said...

Dude!
Why was Thomas nominated?
I vote Newt!
I like love Newt.
If you haven't noticed that yet. He is amazing and I will marry him someday. And no. I'm not crazy. Wait...maybe I am. I just came back from Girl's camp. FUN! I'm a bit loopy.
Newt is a total winner. And if they don't cast him as an amazing guy in the movie, i'll be super mad.
Sorry, random thoughts from the one and only Leesie.
Lots of Luvs,
The Number One Voter

ChrisChetH said...

James Dashner...I picked up Maze Runner randomly, not knowing anything about it. I finished it in ONE DAY. I absolutley love it. My favorite book ever. I hope Scortch Trials is just as good...it would be epic if it was better. OH...one more thing...how long did it take you to finish your first book?

Marci said...

I just finished Maze Runner in 24 hours. Couldn't put it down even though I needed sleep more than chocolate. Loved the characters, plotline, and total ambiguity of the ending. WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT?!?!?!? I was happy to find out last night that there IS a sequel and that your fans don't have to wait too much longer.

I'll vote...!!!

Anonymous said...

congrats!!!! i LOVE ally carter's books and although i absolutely ADORE her character kat in Heist Society, i still say that Thomas is the better hero :D:D if only i lived in canada...sigh...
<3julie

Danyelle Ferguson said...

Congrats, James! That's such fabulous news!

Keara Christine said...

:O OH MY GOSH!

Maze Runner hasn't gotten very big in Utah yet, but anybody that I've recommended it to has loved it. :D I'm so glad this happened!

Matt Hayes said...

Go HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE88-0.

Noone said...

Go watch this AWESOME video for Bree Despain's novel The Dark Divine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxMy_TE88-0

Jackson Porter said...

Go watch an awesome book trailer at: www.readbree.com

Leesie Jones said...

Dashner? You still there?
OH NO! GUMMY WORMS ARE TAKING OVER THE WORLD!
Wait...wait...
Guess what! I'm going to Utah! Yeah! 3 days of friendly people!
IF you didn't read my last post, I'm still thinking that Newt shouldv'e been the hero. I mean, he's awesome!
(I'm a bit excited today... sorry...)
Anyways, I wanted to recommend a book to you. The Count of Monte Cristo. Have you read it? I'll be pleased if you have. It's AMAZING! Love, Envy, Revenge, Death Treasure...where can you go wrong?
Go check it out!
Random Post, I know.
Love,
Leesie Jones

Wayne Dahl said...

Congratulations on being recognized in Canada, one of the greatest countries in the world!

Jackson Porter said...

We're getting bored here Dashner. Post, post, post, post post, post.

Unknown said...

Remember that time when you actually posted on a regular basis? Remember? I remember.

Anonymous said...

Hey James!

Congrats on that, I am a HUGE fan of the Maze Runner. I cannot wait for the scorch trails to come out! :)

I was wondering if there was any way to meet you when you come to Toronto! I live here and would love to chat and get my copy signed! :)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!
but how can you be so modest??? i'm 18 and i read more than 300 books already- from german literature to nietzsche to harry potter-i just love books- and i never ever read something like the maze runner! it's just amazing, brilliant, exciting, gripping,... i don't even know how to describe it! and i live in vienna, austria and i told my friends and people from school about it and more than 30 people read it so far even though it's in english and they don't even like to read! as a teen in austria you go to clubs and dance and party a lot but you don't read books.now we all can't wait for the next book to be released and we all try to find books that are as good as yours but we haven't found anything so far! the maze runner is a master piece already so instead of beeing so modest you should be proud and arrogant and in love with yourself for creating such a story ;) and the other books really are no competiton at all! I hope my english isn't too bad and you understand what i'm trying to say.
greetings from your austrian fans!