Tag Archives: Penguin Books

Book review: The Fault in Our Stars

Posted on by

0

The Fault in Our Stars, by John GreenTitle: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
ISBN: 9780143567592
RRP: $19.95
Publisher: Penguin
Publication date: 11/1/2012

The shelf-talker at Readings in Hawthorn persuaded me to buy this book, and I’m so glad I did. It’s not often that you read a book so satisfying, in which you care so much about the characters. I felt such loss when it ended that I wanted to start reading it all over again.

The book’s protagonist is Hazel, a teenager with terminal cancer, depressed about her situation and with no desire to do anything but read and re-read her favourite book, An Imperial Affliction.

One of her few ventures outside, to a cancer support group, leads her to meet Augustus, who has lost his leg to the disease but is now in remission. The two quickly form a strong bond, Augustus persuading Hazel that life is to be lived, no matter how much time you have left.

Although the subject matter is obviously not cheerful, the amazing dialogue and the realistic, likable characters are uplifting (you’d swear Green must have been a teenaged girl in another life to be able to write a character this accurately), and there are many humorous moments. I became completely invested in the futures of these two characters.

Green manages to create a novel that is not soap-opera sad, but a study of the reality of a teenager with a terminal illness, dealing with questions like, ‘Will I be remembered?’ and ‘How will I leave a mark?’ And the ending … well, to me it was perfect.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough. I’ll definitely be searching out more John Green books – I just have to decide which one to read first!

Penguin’s ‘Monthly Catch’ puts children’s submissions on hold

Posted on by

0

As outlined in an earlier post, at the beginning of the year Penguin included children’s and YA submissions in their Monthly Catch, so that for the first week of every month authors of these books could submit their manuscripts.

Unfortunately, they have had to suspend the inclusion of children’s and YA manuscripts because of the number of submissions they received. Bad news for authors, but keep checking their website for updates, as they suggest they’ll reopen submissions soon.

Penguin and A & U accepting manuscripts

Posted on by

3

Many children’s book authors out there will know how difficult it is to find a children’s publisher willing to accept manuscript submissions. However, the good news is that two of our major publishers have announced that they are now accepting them.

Penguin recently began accepting submissions for their adult fiction and non-fiction lists through the newly created Monthly Catch, and now their Books for Children and Young Adults (BCYA) division is also accepting unsolicited manuscript submissions. Their submission guidelines are strict, so make sure you read through the requirements thoroughly; see their website for full details.

Allen and Unwin has a well-established ‘Friday Pitch’ program, in which authors can email submissions to the publisher on Fridays, and they’ve now added children’s and YA submissions to the program. See their website for information about the Friday Pitch and their books for children and teenagers.

Good luck!