The Thursday Book Beat: Black Widow Is Starring In Her Very Own YA Book!

Photograph by Ardo Omer. Books. Reading. Thursday Book Beat.

Black Widow Is Making Her YA Debut In 2015

It was alluded to at San Diego Comic Con that Margaret Stohl (Beautiful Creatures, Icons) would write a secret young adult title for Disney but it was finally announced at New York Comic Con this past weekend that Stohl is writing about an Avenger. The Black Widow young adult book will be coming out in 2015 and I think it’s awesome! As someone who loves comics but reads young adult novels way more, I can say that this is a great move for not only the character but for Marvel as well. Natasha’s youth won’t be all sunshine and roses but it’ll also give us – hopefully – a look at the vulnerable side of the character as well. This’ll bring a lot of eyes to the world of comics since Stohl has a big following for her books. I you add her readers with those who are fans of the character, this book can easily be a success.

This is the second young adult novel based on a comic book character to be announced this year for a 2015 release with Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond being the second.

Maggie Stiefvater and Jackson Pearce To Team Up For Middle Grade Series

Scholastic Press has acquired the world rights to Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures which is a middle grade series to be written by Jackson Pearce (Sisters Red) and illustrated by Maggie Stiefvater (The Raven Boys). This will be Stiefvater’s first time working as an illustrator. I love Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle series and wish them both congratulations.

Awards

The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Richard Flanagan. August 12th 2014. Knopf. Penguin Random House.Winner of The Man Booker Prize is…

Australian writer Richard Flanagan has won the 2014 Man Booker Prize for his novel, The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Knopf, Aug.). The award was announced in a ceremony at London’s Guildhall on Tuesday evening. Flanagan will receive £50,000 (in addition to the £2,500 he was awarded for being shortlisted).

Congrats to Flanagan on the win. The prize this year has opened up to writers outside of the UK and the Commonwealth so congrats to those who’ve been nominated as well! FYI: Australian author, Peter Carey, criticizes the Man Booker Prize for opening its doors to American writers.

Naomi Klein Wins Major Non-Fiction Prize in Canada

The Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize, Canada’s biggest in terms of dough the winner will be raking in: $60,000. Klein won it for her book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate.  This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate. Naomi Klein. September 16th 2014. Allen Lane. Penguin Books.

The book’s warm reception in Canada may reflect the fact that “there is a real divide between what our government is doing on climate and what Canadians want,” she said. In contrast to the U.S. where the Obama administration’s statements on climate change at least “seem to take climate change seriously,” Klein said people in Canada and Australia may be drawn to her book because those countries have “governments that just openly say we’re choosing the economy over the environment…So in a way [Canadian Prime Minister] Stephen Harper sort of made this all possible by being so incredibly explicit about the fact that he’s throwing the planet under the bus in the name of something called economic growth.”

Sounds like an important book and congrats to Klein on the win!

National Book Finalists Are Named for 2014

The announcements of have been made and the trigger finger for the confetti cannon is itching to go. You can check out the full list here. What I love about this list is that Jacqueline Woodson’s book, Brown Girl Dreaming, is nominated! Congrats to all and may the Hunger Games- oops. Wrong time.

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Ardo Omer

Ardo Omer

Former WWAC editor. Current curmudgeon and Batman's personal assistant. Icon art by Diana Sim.

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