July Events Recap

Melina Marchetta at the Books of Wonder event (Image source)

During the past month Melina Marchetta has been busy with author events in Australia and the United States. Some bloggers who were able to attend these events have posted awesome recap posts on their blogs. There are some very interesting info about Melina's novels, and her views on certain book-related subjects. Be sure to check out these great posts!

Balmain Library in Sydney on July 12:

• VeganYANerds

Comic-Con in San Deigo on July 15 at the What's Hot in YA panel with 8 other authors:

• Lytherus
• whatchYAreading?

Books of Wonder in New York City on July 17 with authors Kristin Cashore & Gayle Forman:

• Bunbury in the Stacks
• Janicu's Book Blog
• The Readventurer

Melina Marchetta also had an event at the LA Public Library in Los Angeles, California on July 26 with authors Rachel Cohn, Josephine Angelini, and Jessica Brody. So yes, she was all over the place in July! More tidbits and pictures from each event can be found retweeted on the @MMarchettaFans Twitter feed. If I happened to miss your event recap post, let me know and I'll add it to the list asap.

Melina Marchetta a finalist in NPR's Best-Ever Teen Novels

NPR is creating a list of the top 100 young adult novels and allowing readers to nominate and vote for their favorite titles. NPR states:

"[...] we considered both a book's popularity — as represented by the number of nominations it received — and the question of how well it fits the YA category. [...] The judges looked at qualities such as a book's themes, the age of its main characters, its reading level. But in the end, the most important test was often whether a given book is one that teens themselves have claimed — whether they do, in fact, voluntarily read it. The resulting list is an interesting mix of classics and new titles."

Melina Marchetta is included FOUR times in the finalist list! With Jellicoe Road, the Lumatere Chronicles, The Piper's Son, and Saving Francesca. Not sure when voting will end; however, if you can, please vote for Melina Marchetta and her wonderful novels! You can vote for up to 10 titles. To vote, check out NPR's article Best-Ever Teen Novels? Vote For Your Favorites.

Blog Tour Sign-up for Quintana of Charyn

We here at 132 Minutes would love to host a Quintana of Charyn blog tour! Of course, the only way this will work out is if there are other blogs participating in the tour. So, we're hoping there is some interest from fellow Melina Marchetta/Lumatere Chronicles fans and bloggers.

Not sure what a book blog tour is? Basically, a number of blogs have posts scheduled during a particular date or time-frame where they talk about a certain book. A list of all the blogs participating will be made so that readers can find the posts.

In order to participate in this blog tour, you must have a blog (or a blog you can guest post** at) and be a fan of the Lumatere Chronicles. We know not everyone will be able to obtain a copy of Quintana of Charyn from Australia or read an early copy from the US, but whatever the reason, don't worry! We're not going to make reading Quintana of Charyn a requirement to participate in the tour. Just be a fan of the series!

Your post should be about Quintana of Charyn or the Lumatere Chronicles. Some examples: a review of QoC or the series, music that reminds you of the series, your dream cast... Anything! The point is to support the series and have fun while doing it.

**Guest posting on someone's blog is fine as long as that blogger knows and you keep them up-to-date about the schedule, which will be decided later. 

Fill out the form below if you would like to participate. Click here to access the direct link to the form. Sign-ups will most likely be open for awhile (as long as it's necessary, really). Edit: Signing up guarantees you a spot on the tour. No one will be left out!

Giveaway Winners Announcement

Time to announce the winners of the two giveaways that ended this week at 132 Minutes!

Froi of the Exiles hardcover:

Kate (@ECFantasy)

Set of Melina Marchetta novels:

Laura C. (@Loopy_Lu_)

Congratulations, Kate and Laura! Enjoy the books! If you didn't win, no worries. Melina Marchetta's novels can be ordered at Book Depository or Fishpond (both sites have free worldwide shipping!) or you might find them at your local library if they're published in your country.

It's really great reading the enthusiastic comments from fellow Melina Marchetta fans and from those who are curious about her novels on the giveaways and other recent posts. Hopefully you all decide to stick around because we will continue to keep everyone up-to-date on Melina Marchetta news and maybe we'll host more contests in the future. So, thank you to everyone who spread the word about 132 Minutes! This fan page just wouldn't be possible without the support of all the awesome Melina Marchetta fans. :)

US Cover Reveal: The Piper's Son

The US version of The Piper's Son had a cover change for the paperback and here it is!

It looks so good. Must have it! Also, want to point out that this version is slightly different from the one appearing on Amazon (there's no red behind the bottom text). Thinking that one is the final cover, but couldn't find a high quality picture. (Replaced with final cover!) Either way, awesome job, Candlewick Press! And guess we'll find out for sure when it's released on August 14, 2012! For international readers, it can be pre-ordered at Book Depository or Fishpond.