SO PUNK ROCK (And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother), the graphic novel hybrid and story of the little Jewish indie rock band that could, we are doing a super-charged book giveaway on our Facebook Fan Page. Micol and David Ostow, the author and illustrator, respectively, of this amazing new book have teamed up to offer a bevy of wonderful prizes for the best responses to our contest question.
SO PUNK ROCK (And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) is the story of Ari Abramson's band, the Tribe, and their dreams of hipster rock glory-which after a brilliant ska cover of "Hava Nagilah," may be within reach! When the Tribe's popularity erupts overnight, Ari is forced to navigate a minefield of inflated egos, misplaced romance, and the shallowness of indie-rock elitism. The graphic illustrations by David Ostow meld perfectly with Micol Ostow's witty and sharp story. This book should make you laugh and will definitely make you happy, so we are all pretty psyched about this wonderful story.
Here is the deal: On our Facebook discussion board, submit a 100-word answer to the following question and you could some cool prizes!
Ari's big epiphany at the end of the book has to do with the fact that the strict definition of "mench" is "man." But that colloquially it has been taken to mean "good people." Ari talks about how on the road to becoming a mensch in the colloquial sense, he has had to learn what he stands for. What does being a "mensch" mean to you?
1st Place: A copy of So Punk Rock Book and original artwork by David Ostow, plus the new CD by PunkTorah/CAN CAN 2nd Place: A copy of So Punk Rock and $25 iTunes Gift card, plus the new CD by PunkTorah/CAN CAN 3rd Place: A copy of So Punk Rock, plus the new CD by PunkTorah/CAN CAN
First ten people to submit their answers receive the new CD by PunkTorah/CAN CAN (For more info on the real band, PunkTorah, go to www.myspace.com/cancanband) The top ten submissions will also receive a free copy of SO PUNK ROCK!
Judging will be based on creativity, humor, general awesomeness of response!
Last day to submit is July 15, 2009 by 1pm CT.
Good luck!
STARRED REVIEW FOR SO PUNK ROCK IN BOOKLIST!
Here is the full text of the amazing STARRED review for So Punk Rock from Booklist!
So Punk Rock (And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) by Micol Ostow, with illustrations by David Ostow
Fact: most dudes start bands to get girls, and Ari is no exception. Another fact: Ari is a Jewish-day-school junior, and not exactly a likely candidate for indie-rock stardom. But with aid from Jonas (the alpha to his beta on bass), Yossi (the very observant klezmer drummer), and Reena (Yossi’s sister, backup vocals), they form The Tribe and earn modest fame after their first performance. But with great popularity comes great ego. Jonas becomes insufferable, Yossi increasingly withdrawn, and Ari resents Jonas stealing both the spotlight and the girl. Sister-and-brother team Micol and David Ostow hilariously deliver insight into the small world of teen Jewish punk-rock bands in tones dripping with sarcasm and music snobbery. David’s comic-strip-style illustrations are true show-stoppers: amusing, ironic, and helpful, whether expanding on Ari’s school schedule or defining Jewish, musical, or “otherwise esoteric terms” in the glossary. Teens involved in faith-based communities will recognize Ari’s mild resentment toward his faith, and breathe a sigh of relief when he reconciles his musical ambitions with his beliefs. A rollicking, witty, and ultra-contemporary book that drums on the funny bone and reverberates through the heart.— Courtney Jones
Posted by: Tricia O'Reilly, Marketing and Publicity Coordinator
June 2009 Eye on Flux Podcast, Plus Flux Gears Up for ALA Annual Conference
The June edition of our Eye on Flux podcast is available for your listening pleasure now on fluxnow.blogspot.com or right here, via the Quicktime feed below. This month, Brian Farrey, acquisitions editor and host, introduces one of our July titles, the wonderful So Punk Rock. Micol Ostow and David Ostow, author and illustrator, respectively, of this graphic novel hybrid stop by for a quick chat. Micol Ostow is also the author of the very popular Bradford Novels (Simon Pulse) and talks about branching out into new territory with this humorous story about a Jewish rock band and their flirtation with stardom. The book trailer for this book is GREAT and if you haven't checked it out, please do. It is on YouTube on the Flux channel and it is embedded below as well. The music, artwork and stylish humor of the novel are already apparant in this short trailer. Keep looking on the Flux fan page on Facebook, as well right here on fluxnow.com for more on the illustrations in So Punk Rock, the music behind it and the characters that you will surely grow to love.
Also in the June podcast, Brian sits down with Liz Burns, blogger extraordinaire on the site A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy, as well as recent committee member for YALSA's Michael C. Printz Award. Brian will also sample from the Flux mailbag to answer your burning questions. Lots going on this month, so check it out!
Upcoming Events: American Library Association's (ALA) Annual Conference July 9th-15th, 2009 Chicago, IL
The 2009 ALA Annual Conference will take place in Chicago, IL July 9- July 15, 2009 at McCormick Place West located at 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60616. Of course, Flux will be represented there as we introduce some new titles and show off our topsellers and fan favorites to library professionals and readers like YOU!
There are some big Flux celebs attending this year and they will be on hand to sign copies of their fantastic creations.
Here is the schedule for Flux author signings at ALA. We are featurning some of our exciting Fall releases!
Saturday, July 11th @ 1pm Maggie Stiefvater will be signing ARCs of her breakthtaking sequel to Lament—Ballad!
Saturday, July 11th @ 2pm Susan Fine will be signing copies of Iniation, our summer beach read about boys in a Manhattan prep school.
Sunday, July 12th @ 1pm The brilliant Simone Elkeles will be signing ARCs of the next installment in our bestselling YA series—How to Ruin Your Boyfriend's Reputation!
All of these signings will be taking place at the Flux booth - #2658! SEE YOU THERE!
Posted by: Tricia O'Reilly, Marketing and Publicity Coordinator
All the people who went to BEA 2009 in New York City during the last weekend in May are back in the office and have shared their stories of the show, passed around pictures and generally gushed about the awe-inspiring thrill that is BEA: the greatest show on earth. While I stalked #bea on Twitter, publicist Marissa and Flux publicity manager Steven were busily escorting some of our authors to book signings and panels, and we now have some pictures to share with you all!
For those of you who do not know, BEA stands for BookExpo America and it is the book industry's largest and most important trade show, where authors, booksellers, publishers and the media meet to preview the coming fall's exciting lineup. For Flux, that meant Black is for Beginnings, Ballad, a new Simone Elkeles as well as bevy of other titles that I have yet to gush about here on the Fluxnow blog, but whose covers alone incite a deep intake of breath—whoosh!—every time they pop up around the office. (The Sky Always Hears Me, I'm looking at you).
Maggie Stiefvater, brilliant and adorable author of Ballad (October 2009)—the follow-up to Lament, which was just a fabulous book, read it in one night—was on hand to sign advanced copies and chat with fans about the fate of characters Deirdre and James. She was also promoting her other upcoming book Shiver (Scholastic, August 2009) so she was a pretty busy gal at BEA. The picture to the left is Maggie with Flux publicist Marissa.
Laurie Stolarz, the author of the bestselling Blue is for Nightmares series was also at BEA 2009 and it was all about Black is For Beginnings—the next big thing you're going to be talking about, people. Black... is the fifth installment in the series, taking you behind the nightmares and into the spectacular backstory of Stacey and Jacob, plus what's in store for these young, spellcasting lovers. Black is for Beginnings is also a graphic novel, which is pretty new territory for Flux, plus fans of the series are waiting to get some resolution from the ending in Book 4—all in all, Black is for Beginnings is a source of a lot of excitement around here and especially at BEA. Laurie signed preview editions during the 'YA Graphic Novel Salute,' and I am told that they were very hot commodities. The first picture below is a picture of our booth, with a blowup of the cover of Black is For Beginnings (plus our cheerful sales rep Brenda!) The next picture is of Laurie Stolarz, signing Black Is For Beginnings for a lucky fan.
Also present at BEA was lovely author A.S. King, who wrote the sensational The Dust of 100 Dogs,a February release that is still going strong. The Dust of 100 Dogs was named a Notable Book for Teens by the IndieBound community, so the buzz for this swasbuckling hit is still resounding. The picture to the right is of A.S. King with Flux publicist Marissa. Amy is holding a copy of her book, which has one of the best Flux covers I have seen so far. Ominous and adorable, all at the same time. For more on what The Dust of 100 Dogs is all about, go here.
Well, that's it, folks. To sum it all up, I present to you the fall 2009 lineup for Flux, which is really what BEA celebrates. There are some amazing offerings coming down the pipe and there is something for everyone, we think. Drum roll, please....
Click on a book cover for more information!
Posted by: Tricia O'Reilly, Marketing and Publicity Coordinator
