Did you know I had a second Super Secret Project?
The press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLOOMSBURY CHILDREN’S BOOKS TO PUBLISH THE MUCH-ANTICIPATED SEQUEL TO THE NEWBERY HONOR WINNER AND BESTSELLING NOVEL PRINCESS ACADEMY
To be published August 2012
“Shannon Hale’s books blow me away. When I read them I get lost in the magic—her stories are magic.”
—Stephenie Meyer
Ever since the publication of Princess Academy in 2005, fans and booksellers have been clamoring for a sequel. Now, Bloomsbury is delighted to announce the Fall 2012 publication of the as-yet-untitled second Princess Academy book.
The new novel picks up where the 2006 Newbery Honor winner Princess Academy left off. Miri and a few of the academy girls travel to the capital city of Asland to help the princess-to-be. But while continuing her studies, Miri befriends some other students who seek to overthrow the crown. Torn between her friendship with the princess and her belief in her new friends’ daring ideas, as well as an old love and a new crush, Miri struggles to find her place in the larger world.
“We are thrilled to bring Shannon Hale’s fans this all-new story about Miri the mountain girl, her royal friends, and her dangerous new acquaintances,” says Victoria Wells Arms, Editor-at-Large at Bloomsbury, who has acquired all of Hale’s books, including Princess Academy and her 2003 debut The Goose Girl. “Shannon proves once more her talents for setting readers directly into a unique fairy-tale world, where a touch of lyrical magic and a hint of humor always shine through.”
Melanie Cecka, Children’s Publishing Director of Bloomsbury in the US, agrees: “Shannon Hale is that rare author whose books read like timeless classics but are always fresh and unique. She has been a part of our children’s books family from the very beginning, and we are especially proud to be publishing this sequel to one of her best-loved novels as we mark our ten-year anniversary in the US.”
Hale is just as pleased about the upcoming release of Princess Academy 2. “Initially I intended to write a sequel to Princess Academy,” she says. “But after a time, the reasons not to outweighed the urgency of the story in my mind. I had decided I never would when I got an idea—a new, shiny, irresistible idea, one that wouldn’t leave me be. I let it gestate for a year, two years, until I couldn’t bear to put it off any longer. It has been a pleasure to return to Miri’s story.”
Princess Academy 2 is Bloomsbury’s lead title for Fall 2012, which marks the ten-year anniversary for Bloomsbury Children’s Books in the US, and will be supported with an extensive marketing campaign including a multi-city tour, appearances at BEA, and national advertising. Bloomsbury holds World rights and will publish this simultaneously in the US, UK, and Australia. Film rights are held by agent Barry Goldblatt.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Since the publication of her first book, The Goose Girl, in 2003, Shannon Hale has become a beloved author to young readers as well as booksellers and educators. Her third novel, Princess Academy, earned her a Newbery Honor and is a New York Times, Book Sense, and Publishers Weekly bestseller. Hale has also written three books for adults—Austenland (now in post-production to be a major motion picture starring Keri Russell), Midnight in Austenland, and The Actor and the Housewife. She lives near Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, the author Dean Hale, and their four children.
For further information/interview requests, please contact:
Katy Hershberger, Publicity Manager, Tel: 646-438-6070, email: katy.hershberger@bloomsbury.com