BEA Report (with pics!)

Warning: There is a picture of me with Tyra Banks in this blog post...

Hi, Duders! Did you miss me? You did? I missed you, too. But there's no reason for that because you can totally hang with me every day over on Twitter, where you can join the new #dashnerarmy. The awesome @verbvixen is helping sign up soldiers. CLICK HERE to follow me.

Anyway, on to BEA, where I saw cool things like this:

BEA (Book Expo America) was an amazing week. This is the biggest event in publishing where the publishers present and promote what they have coming. I honestly don't even know where to start. But I know you guys love a glimpse into the mad world of my industry, so here you go. It'll be brief...

Monday: I arrived in NYC. It took an hour and a half to get to my hotel, which was stinky. But then I walked over to Random House HQ and had a lovely meeting with my editor, Krista Marino and the Delacorte publisher, Beverly Horowitz. Much strategizing and laughing occurred. Then there was a yummy dinner where more of this kind of thing went on.

Actually, I just realized this was the WEEK BEFORE when I also went to NYC for the Random House Fall preview event. Haha. I'll leave it. I mean, it WAS a Monday.

Tuesday: I met up with my AWESOME publicist, Emily Pourciau, who would so kindly escort me throughout the week's events. First up: ABC Speed Dating, where I took 3 minute turns at about 35 tables with booksellers and librarians. Quite the whirlwind! Then I had lunch and good times with my superhuman agents, Michael Bourret and Lauren Abramo. Much strategizing and laughing ensued.

That evening was the Random House Children's Books party, where I was incredibly honored to be one of 10 authors among hundreds of book people. It was very swanky and was held on an aircraft carrier. Yep, first time for me, too. It was so fun!

Here are two pictures of me, one with Christopher Paolini (ERAGON) and one with Tyra Banks (the upcoming MODEL LAND). You can guess which is which.

Afterward, Michael and I had a very fun, long dinner where much strategizing and laughing occurred. He's seriously one of my favorite people on planet Earth, and I love hanging out with him.

Wednesday: I did a video shoot at the Barnes and Noble headquarters for some things you'll see on BN.com this fall when the book comes out. Then we headed back to the Javits center for my signing (the chapter samplers). I met lots of cool people! Afterward I did an interview with Justine Magazine.

That evening, I was honored to be part of a panel at the Mulbery Library that included some amazing authors: Lauren Kate, Scott Westerfeld, Maureen Johnson, Ally Condie, and Ellen Hopkins. We spent an hour or so answering questions and telling stories and laughing. Then we signed and met MORE cool people.

Afterward, another great dinner out with Krista and a few others from Random House.

Thursday: I had a meeting with the good people at Simon & Schuster, including the hilarious and Batman-loving Liesa Abrams, the editor for THE 13TH REALITY. I also got to meet fellow client of Michael's and superstar Lisa McMann, who has a big series debuting this fall called THE UNWANTEDS.

I saw the Buzz Panel for middle grade where Lisa and my good friend Matthew Kirby were honored. Matt's book ICEFALL also comes out this fall.

Then I walked the floor a bit with Michael, went back to my hotel, and wrote over 4,000 words before crashing. BEA inspires you to do such things. (both the writing and the crashing.)

Friday: Flew home!

I'll post again soon about what's going on in the Dashner world. In the meantime, here is a picture of me with the three most important people in my author career: Krista, Michael, and Emily.

The Death Cure cover

I present to you the amazingly awesome combined talents of artist Philip Straub and the Random House CB design team (click on the picture below to see it nice and big). I want EVERYONE to tell me what they think in the comments.

Here is my opinion: I love it!!! It's easily my favorite of the three books, and I loved all of them (hence the three exclamation marks).

Now, what do you think? I've also included the nifty 3D version for your viewing pleasure (no glasses needed).

Please spread the word and link all your friends and family to come and have a look. Also, you can now preorder it at your preferred location: CLICK HERE. This is the third and final book of The Maze Runner trilogy and will be available on October 11th.

Three Days.... And a Story

Just making sure that everyone knows we'll be revealing the cover for THE DEATH CURE in three days. On Thursday, the 28th, at 7:00 am EST.

Any predictions on what the cover art may look like?

See you then......

EDIT: Oh, and also, Shannon Hale is hosting an event today where a bunch of authors share an embarrassing or humiliating experience at an event. CLICK HERE.

Here's mine:

I'll never forget one of my very first booksignings. It was my first book, A Door in the Woods, which was done with a small indie publisher. I had grand expectations, of course. I mean, I was a freaking published AUTHOR now!

It was the first of many, many signings which taught me that I wasn't all that, or even close to it. In fact, I was pretty much none of that. I sold one book. I basically accosted this person, begging them to take a look at my newest bestest book. It was a pity sale, no doubt.

One lady asked me where the bathroom is. Another asked me where the cookbooks are. One of the employees stood about five feet from me at one point and kept trying to sell ANOTHER AUTHOR'S BOOK to people as they walked by. I watched as many people studiously examined the store for a way to walk by me without possibility of being engaged in conversation. You would've thought I had leprosy.

I felt about 2 inches tall when it was over. And I swore to always buy a book if I ever saw someone else in the same predicament! Which is why I own some very.... odd books. But they're signed!

See you Thursday.....

Awards, Movies, Events, Announcement

Hey guys! I have a few things to tell you about. You'll wanna make sure you make it all the way to #10.

1. I'm very honored that my book, The Maze Runner, just won the 2011 Kentucky Bluegrass Award for grades 9-12. I especially love this because it was voted on by the actual students. That means more than anything. Thanks, Kentucky!

2. For all you movie and Hunger Games fans, I did a guest blog today for the website, wordandfilm.com. It's my thoughts on five kinda obscure but awesome films you can watch while you wait: CLICK HERE.

3. Looking for a good book while you wait, too? Check out the latest from my good friend Frank Cole. It's called "The Guardians of the Hidden Scepter" and anyone who likes fantasy, adventure, and humor will enjoy it. CLICK HERE.

4. I know this drives my readers who don't live in Utah crazy, but I have another big event coming up here. (Don't worry, I'll be heading all over the country here and there throughout the year, especially when Book 3 comes out in October.) This one will be in Logan, UT, at the main library, at 6:00 pm, on April 22.

Oh, and it's not just me. Some other little authors you may have heard of: Shannon Hale, Ally Condie, Brandon Mull, Jessica Day George and the illustrator Nathan Hale. Lots of NYT Bestselling authors on that there list. And one Newbery Honor winner. And one guy who's owed me dinner for over a year (Initials BM, which also happens to stand for bowel movement).

5. Other upcoming events: TLA in Austin, TX (April 13-14), Signing at The King's English in SLC (May 4, 5:00 pm), Storymakers Conference in SLC (May 6-7), Battle of the Books in St. Louis (May 10), and Book Expo America in NYC (May 24-26). I sure hope to see a lot of you!

6. I just noticed this a little after the fact, but I wanted to thank all the fans who voted for me as one of their favorite Random House authors. Quite the group! CLICK HERE.

7. You guys really need to "Like" the official Facebook page for the Maze Runner trilogy. There is some really cool stuff on there. Check out the recent youtube videos with dreamcasts for the movies, done by Shay Cohen. CLICK HERE. And friend me if you haven't yet, too.

8. Following me on twitter yet? No?!?!? Do: CLICK HERE.

9. You all need to see the movie, Insidious. Unless you're scared of haunted houses, demons, or faces of creepy old ladies reflected back at you in the window. I loved the music in this film. I also really liked The Source Code and Limitless recently.

10. Announcement: we will officially be revealing the cover for The Death Cure (coming October 11) on Thursday, April 28th, first thing in the morning. That's three weeks from today! You guys are gonna LOVE it.

Oh, and thanks again, Kentucky.

Carrie Ryan in Utah! Greek Cover.

Calling all Duders in the Utah area: my good friend and fellow author, Carrie Ryan, will be in the Salt Lake City area today (Tues the 29th) and tomorrow (Wed the 30th). Please come out and meet her and get a signed copy of her newest book, THE DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES, the third in her series that began with THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH and THE DEAD TOSSED WAVES.

I happen to know a lot of you are already fans because I've talked about her book before and some have thanked me for the recommendation. So come out!!!! If you're new to the series, I kind of envy you because you won't have to wait a year between books. They are creeptastic and unputdownable.

Here is the schedule:

Tuesday the 29th

Salt Lake City Library

7:00 pm

210 East 400 South

Salt Lake City

Wednesday the 30th

Barnes and Noble

7:00 pm

Jordan Landing off Bangerter

West Jordan

I'll be at one or both, so see you there!

In the meantime, check out Carrie's blog, which has a cool little trailer for the new book and more info about the series:

CLICK HERE

EDIT: I forgot to mention, Carrie and I are both blessed to work with the same editor at Random House, the genius otherwise known as Krista Marino, and we also share the same agency, Dystel & Goderich, which has changed both of our lives. So come out and meet her!

EDIT #2: I also just received the cover for THE SCORCH TRIALS in Greece, which comes out there on April 4th. I LOVE it!!!! What do you think:

The Greek cover for THE MAZE RUNNER:

EDIT #3: I also have another good friend with a book out today. Dan Wells, I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU. (No, that's the name of his book, not me restraining myself.) You can see him tonight at Sam Weller's bookstore at 6:00 pm in downtown SLC. It's perfect, you can go there at 6 then head over to see Carrie at 7...

Happy March Madness

With basketball in the air, I figured it was high time I get back on here and blog. I don't really have a whole lot to say because not much has happened other than working my hiney off to write and edit these here books.

I want to say that my heart goes out to Japan, especially any of my readers there. I actually lived there for awhile, and so this has been especially numbing and heartbreaking for me. I love the people there so much - they are kind and intelligent and grounded like no others I've met. And they'd do anything for those in need. Which is why I know they'll pull through this.

As for me, like I said, I'm basically just in a time of working. I have a whole month before I travel again, when I'll be heading out to Austin for the huge Texas Library Association's conference. And then a few scattered things after that.

We've had some recent sales of rights in foreign lands, which always gets me really excited. The latest places soon to be subjected to the rigors of the Glade are:

Italy

Vietnam

Korea

Romania

I would make a joke about that last one, something about Dracula and Thomas kickin' it with a Griever, but that'd be stupid and way too obvious. And an insult to our new friends in Romania, who I'm sure get very sick of that sort of thing.

Hmmm. What else has been happening. Not much.

Well, I did go on a cruise for the first time. And that was pretty cool. And I did have an incredible time at LTUE, where I got to hang out with many of you. And I did make a ridiculously silly appearance during Brandon Mull's launch party presentation for BEYONDERS. And I did save this old lady from getting hit by the Oscar Meyer Wiener truck. Ok, that last one isn't true.

Other than that, I'm just working, on lots of fun things. Stay tuned, because we ARE getting very close to revealing the cover for Book 3, THE DEATH CURE (release date, October 11). As well as some other announcements.

And a quick shout out for a friend: A very happy happy birthday on Saturday to Sam Van Hoose!!!!!

Talk again soon....

Stephen King, Judy Blume, LTUE Schedule

Before I tell you my detailed schedule this weekend (come see me!!!) at the symposium at BYU, I want to throw out something very random.

I really want to have dinner with Stephen King, my writing idol.

I know there has to be someone who can make this happen for me. Please help. I'm just throwing this out there for now, but I'm actually contemplating and scheming on what I can do to push it along. I'm thinking a charity may need to be involved. Stay tuned.

One of the shining moments of my life was when I had cupcakes and tea with Judy Blume. If you missed my embarrassing write-up on that, CLICK HERE (where there is also a picture to prove I'm not lying). As you can clearly see, this experience can only be topped by dinner with Abraham Lincoln or Stephen King.

Anyway, here is my schedule. Don't miss my reading from The Death Cure on Friday morning!!! All events are in the Harman Building over by the Marriott Center.

THURSDAY the 17th:

3:00 pm Panel: Slush Piles and what not to do when submitting your writing.

4:00 pm Panel: Dystopias and Utopias.

6:00 pm Panel: Marketing - what can you do?

FRIDAY the 18th:

10:00 am READING: First 2 chapters of The Death Cure.

12:00 pm Panel: What is an agent and what can they do for you?

2:00 pm Panel: Character's morals/theology vs. the author's.

6:00 pm Panel: How not to talk down to your YA audience.

SATURDAY the 19th:

11:00 am MAIN ADDRESS: That's me, giving the main address. There will be a Top Ten list!!!

1:00 pm: Signing books in room 1188

2:00 pm: Signing books again in room 1188

4:00 pm: Why write about worlds that don't actually exist?

7:00 pm: LTUE Banquet. (You MUST buy tickets to this before the actual conference. Even though the website says you can't anymore, tickets WILL be available through tomorrow. CLICK HERE to order them.)

I can't wait to hang out with those who come! See ya soon....

Upcoming Events and Etc.

I wish this post had all the many things I want to tell you about regarding what's coming down the pipeline in my career. Ya know, things like the cover for The Death Cure, what projects might come after that, other... stuff...

But, you'll have to be patient, I'm sorry. Patience is a virtue, ya know. Stay close, though. I don't want you to miss anything. There'll be lots to talk about. Soon.

At the end of this post I give you some absolutely free pop culture recommendations. But first...

There ARE a few events on the horizon, however, and I thought I'd pop in here and make sure they're all laid out. I hope I get to meet some of you...

Saturday, Feb. 5, 1:00 pm

Um, that's TOMORROW

Barnes and Noble, Southtown Mall

Sandy UT, 1:00 pm

This is an Authorpalooza, with over 40 authors, none of whom I'll name because I'd certainly leave out a friend!

Thursday through Saturday

Feb. 17 - 19

LTUE, a symposium at BYU (Harman Bldg)

I'm the Guest of Honor (hey, quit snickering!), so I'll be on lots of panels and will be giving the keynote address on Saturday at 11:00 am.

I'll also be doing a reading (first chapter or two from The Death Cure) at 10:00 am on Friday.

For more details and a full schedule, CLICK HERE.

April 12- 15

TLA (Texas Library Association)

Austin, TX

I'm not sure yet of my schedule, but I DO know I'm going!

May 6-7

Storymakers Conference

Salt Lake City, UT

For details, CLICK HERE.

May 9-10

Battle of the Books

St. Louis, MO

Sorry, I don't know many details, but I'll be there.

June 4

Festival of Books

BYU

Those are the only events that are solid on the schedule, but other things will happen, especially as we get closer to the release of Book 3 this fall.

Absolutely free pop culture advice:

Anyone else watch Downton Abbey on PBS? I am officially an old person, because I loved it. Blame my mother.

I'm reading an incredible book. Matterhorn, by Karl Marlantes. I've always been interested in the Vietnam War, and this is about as authentic as you can get. Not for the faint of heart.

If you want a funny, leave-your-brain-behind movie to watch, go see The Green Hornet. I was pleasantly surprised (but I wouldn't call it a kid's movie) and laughed a lot.

If you'd rather be creeped out and see Anthony Hopkins channel Hannibal Lecter one last time, go see The Rite.

And I can't say this enough: go see The King's Speech. One of the best movies ever. I'm not lying. Ever. Unless you're eight, and then you might be bored.

Finally, I'm officially the last person on earth to join Netflix. I usually see movies in theaters, so I never got around to it. But... what? This is for real? 10 bucks a month? Unlimited streaming of bazillions of movies and TV shows? For real? Way too good to be true. I may have to stop writing books.....

(No, I'm not fishing for "you better NOT quit writing!!!" comments. Don't be silly.)

Have a great day and a great weekend.

LTUE, German Cover, The King's Speech

Three really cool things today:

1. Any aspiring writer or fan of fantasy and science fiction in the Rocky Mountain area is very aware of the annual conference held at BYU called LTUE (Life, the Universe, and Everything). Each year it seems to get bigger, and I've been attending since my very first book came out from a small publisher back in 2003. (Lo, those many years ago.)

Imagine the blow-me-away honor I felt when they invited me to be their Guest of Honor this year! I almost thought they were kidding. I'm extremely excited about it, and it means I'll be on lots of panels and will be giving the main keynote address (on Friday, I think).

It's a very surreal thing since this conference has been such a part of my writing career, both before and after any kind of success. Feel free to refer to me as GOH Dashner if you'd like. Just don't shorten it to GOHD because that sounds like who they worship in the south. (Hey, I'm from Georgia, I can say that.)

Anyway, if you live anywhere in the area, I hope you can make it. The conference goes for three days (Feb 17-19) and I'll be there the whole time. You can find out all you need to know at their website: CLICK HERE.

2. My book is coming out in Germany (April) from Chicken House (same publisher as UK), and I'm amazed at all the things they're doing to promote it. They are selling one of those metal-ball-in-a-wooden-labyrinth games and this is the coolest: an online game where the book itself is a joystick (using a webcam). It's really awesome.

You can check out the website, but you can't play the game unless you get the book: CLICK HERE. Of course, I don't read German, so I'm not sure. But I played the game and so far I suck at it. Yeah!

Anyway, here is the cover, which is so different from any of the other foreign versions. I absolutely love it:

3. I saw an amazing film last week, and I can't shut up about it (ask my mom and my wife). The King's Speech. One of the best ever in terms of writing, acting, emotional pull, etc. The Dashner Dude may have gotten a little choked up, especially when I came home and listened to the real speech on YouTube. Long live King George VI!!! And Colin Firth. And Geoffrey Rush. And everyone else involved in that film.

Please go see it. Even mature kids (there's only a really short burst of swearing that his speech therapist makes him do) if your parents approve.

4. Bonus item: I bought 57 books that are 80-100 years old for 57 dollars. Luckiest find of my life. They look so good on my bookshelves!

Have a great day!

Well Hi There...

Where in the world has all the time gone since I last posted? I blame the holidays! One of our faithful Duders, Jackson, pointed out on Twitter that it's almost been a month, so we better get back on track.

Welcome to all of our new readers here at the Dude!!! A lot of people must've gotten my books for Christmas because the stats here on the blog have gone up quite a bit. Glad to have you. Please leave a comment and say hello!

So. What to talk about? Hmmmm. Better keep it random.

1. I almost soiled my armor with excitement when I saw that it's finally official: Ian McKellan is reprising his role as Gandalf (and Andy Serkis as Gollum) in The Hobbit movies. Never that it was much in doubt, but you never know. Christmas 2012 can't come soon enough.

2. Speaking of Christmas 2012, it's now more important than ever for the Mayans to be wrong about the world ending that month. I can't miss that second Hobbit movie the next year.

3. Speaking of movies, I'm getting asked by many people about the Maze Runner movie, and I don't feel good about simply ignoring all of you. But my official position still has to be "no comment" because nothing is, well, official. However, anyone with a finger (at least one), a keyboard, and Google can find plenty about it that's a matter of public record. Happy searching...

4. And, just for the record, if such a movie were to be made, I'd be so happy I'd probably soil my armor again. (Is anyone getting the reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail here? Please say yes.)

5. I want to thank you all again for making this trilogy such a huge success so far (several months now on the NYT Bestseller list). I'm ecstatic beyond words (no, I'm done with the soiled armor bit), and I'm so thankful to all of you. Thank you.

6. I LOVE the comments/tweets you guys leave about how excited you are for the third and final book (The Death Cure). Especially the ones where you threaten bodily harm to me or yourself (or to cats) because you can't wait. Well, I'm just about done with the first round of revisions, which is always the hardest part for me. The book is well on schedule to come out this fall. Hopefully we'll reveal the cover soon, because it's AWESOME.

7. I'm also getting asked a lot about the fourth book in The 13th Reality series. I promise there'll be an announcement on that coming soon, but you may have to wait a bit longer than you expected. I'll explain why, so don't worry. It's coming...

8. The NFL needs to be spanked. I'm thrilled to see my Falcons in the playoffs, counting down the minutes to Saturday night. But they had the best record in the NFC. Their reward? They have to play the extremely hot Packers while the SECOND seed, the Bears, get to play the weaklings otherwise known as the Seattle Seahawks. All because they won their division (with a losing record!!!). Which is even worse than it sounds, because they had a losing record in a division which is obviously very weak.

I'm fine with rewarding them with a trip to the playoffs. But that should be good enough! Don't give them an undeserved higher seed as well. Thanks for listening.

9. Some great news: The Maze Runner was chosen for the Best Fiction for Young Adults list for 2010 by the American Library Association, as well as the Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list. We are very honored!!! Thank you, ALA!

10. I can't remember the last time I watched a scripted television show. Seriously. It's been months, except for maybe one or two Modern Family episodes. Lost, you've left a void in me that will never be filled. Unless....

11. I'm really hoping that HBO's production of A Game of Thrones, the dark and delicious fantasy series by George R. R. Martin, is good. It can't possibly be LOTR good, but maybe kinda sorta maybe? I hope so.

12. It's cold.

13. Have I mentioned how much I love movies? I need to start reviewing them more on this blog. The last one I saw was How Do You Know with Reese Witherspoon. (hey, my wife chose, so back off!) It was actually unique and entertaining. (I'm not a harsh movie critic. I can enjoy almost any movie on some level. It's a talent I have.)

14. Before that was True Grit, which was amazing and one of my favorites of the year. Coen brothers, I love you.

15. That's all for now. More soon. I hope everyone is having a fabulous week, filled with good food and good books.