Norton Win + Paris!

Posted on by scott

No, not me. Justine just won the second annual Andre Norton Award for Magic or Madness!

We weren’t in NYC at the time, so thanks to Eloise Flood (dear friend and editor to us both) for picking it up, and to fellow nominee Maureen Johnson for being the first to text us.

Amusing Story 1: The actual Norton Award object was somehow melted in transit. They had to give Eloise an old Grandmaster Award as a stand-in.

Amusing Story 2: Holly Black won the first one last year for Valiant, which we’d bet her she would. So she had to take us out for a hugely expensive meal. Absurdly expensive, it turned out. But now we owe her one. (drat)

Speaking of good food, the reason I haven’t been posting is that we’ve been here:

Amusing Story 3: I was trying to get my cool new camera (b’day pressie from Justine) on the right setting to shoot the Eiffel Tower. And it turned out that the setting for Big Buildings was indicated by an icon of the Eiffel Tower!

Ah, Paris. What an iconic city.

We were there to do press for Uglies, which came out last week in French. My adult sf is much more popular in France than the US, so I had tons of big papers inteviewing me: L’Express, Le Monde, Figaro, and a bunch of teen weeklies and monthlies.

Apparently, I am the Jerry Lewis of sf.

French interviewers are different from their English-language counterparts. More . . . philosophical. My favorite example:

What utopia would you fight for?

Gotta love the French. I said something like, “A chaotic utopia, with a thousand voices in tumult.” Because that’s what happens when I’m jetlagged and philosophical in France.

Especially enjoyable was being translated for six of the eleven interviews. It worked like this: The interviewer would ask something in French, Christian (my translator) would repeat it to me in English. Then I would waffle for a while, and Christian would translate my waffling back to the interviewer in French.

How Christian did this without head explodage is beyond me. A lot of my answers (and some of the questions) were a couple of minutes long. I can’t even repeat something of that length back in the same language, much less another one.

But it was way cool listening to my answers in French, trying to catch recognizable words flashing by. Christian and I got to know each other in a really interesting way. (That is, he saw me answer the same questions six different ways in some cases. This is something only Justine normally gets to do.)

I have a lengthy video of the process, which I’ll try to cut into uploadable form soon.

All in all, Paris was awesome. Great food, perfect weather, bars named after me, and everyone was supremely wonderful to us. A jolly birthday. (I’m 44! Ancient!)

Thanks to Christian, all the journalistes, and my Pocket publicist Christine.

More photos, etc., to come.

P.S. You can buy the Norton Award-winning Magic or Madness in fine bookshops everywhere or here.

116 thoughts on “Norton Win + Paris!”

  3. it is pretty late but i had a question for scott but just totaly forgot it

  4. oh and i was reading some of tehblogs from last yeaer adn it said that there migth be a midnighters movie… im fine with htat but the uglies trilogy/series is mine!!!
    if allowed that is lol

    btw scott do you have any thing against JK Rowling??

  5. ok first off, major congrats to Justine! that is amazing! secondly, im soo happy you had a good time in france, sounds tres amazing! thirdly, you dont look forty four so chill scott, you are amazingly awsome. and fourthly… im not sure.. i just really wanted to have a fourthly because i have never said that before… oh ive got one! w00t for le scott bar, that is crazy amazing! notice how all of my numbered comments and congrats had the word amazing all in different ways! haha. ok i think i am done. i am really happy you had a good trip, but please dont leave us again for that long, we missed you!

  6. i just read about the norton on justine’s blog…that’s fabby!! i loved the whole magic or madness trilogy…a few weeks ago i read the whole thing one after the other. and as soon as i finished i re-read the uglies trilogy one after the other. i just finished specials this morning….can’t wait for extras!!

    glad to hear you had a good time in paris. i was there the summer before i turned 16, with a whole group of my friends. one of them actually celebrated her 16th birthday in paris!! how fun is that??! anyway, now we’re living in germany, and paris is only about four hours away. my husband’s never been there, so i hope we can visit sometime soon. (not until after the baby though!! i’m due in less than 5 weeks…) we’re actually hoping to go to the paris airshow in summer 2009… 🙂

    okay, enough rambling. yay for awards and beautiful paris!!

  8. thats awsome i still need to buy her books, but my mom wont take me to the bookstore until school is out because she thinks it distracts me or something

  10. Happy belated birthday! Paris certainly seemed like a good way to celebrate.

    And the whole melted thing? There’s a story there, I just know it! Give your lovely wife a big hug from Libba and I.

  12. yeah for jutine! *does congratulatory happy dance* (>^^)> i tried to get magic’s child at borders yesterday but they didnt have it *tear* the first two were wicked awsome though.

  14. go jutine!!!! its your birthday not really hehe 🙂

    well anyway i posted a REALLY REALLY long comment on the last blog entry and i want every one to read it it is to long for me to re type it and i dont want to cuz it is really long but let me just say i have 2 blisters on my toes because of it!! 🙁 well anyway happy late b-day scott

    o and i was in the car driving and i saw this street sign and the name of the rode was scott lane.. i tryied ot get a pic but my camra wasnt working and we were holding up traffic!! 🙂

    happy mothers day for all the mothers out their!!!!! i love you all!!!

  16. That’s so fawesome!! Congrats to Justine for her award! I wanna go to Paris! I wanna go to Le Scott Bar!!!

  17. Yay Justine!!!! I read Magic or Madness about a month ago and it was awsome. I really need to read Magic Lessons. It sounds like you guys had fun. Next time pack me in your suitcase!

  18. Pack me in there too!!! (the suitcase i mean) ur gonna need a lot of suitcases for everyone who claims they’re your biggest fans…*coughcoughmecough* That sounds totally fawsome!!!! ^_^

  19. AHHHH!! i love pictures and cameras..i have i cool one but i would like like the $1000 ones haha yeah right..mine only cost $350…my landscape (big building) button is 2 mountains..haha just thought i should let you know that

    im happy your back! can’t wait for more pics!

  21. Yay for magic or madness. I finished reading it a week or so ago and I think it totally deserved whatever prize that was that I’ve never actually hear of before. Whatever. Awards are good.
    Congrats on French Uglies.

  22. Has anybody else noticed that on the Amazon French-Uglies profile, it claims to have been written by Scott WesterFIELD?

    Glad you had a good time in Paris. Oh, and congrats, Justine!

  23. Hi Scott,
    My sister (Aussie) married a French journo & their wedding speeches were much like your interviews. Except, the mc/translator (being journos most of them spoke 2-4 languages) was a little erm, imbued & well he forgot to switch languages at one point & was trying to ‘translate’ from French to French or English to English ….. so it can become fuddled.

    Funnily enough they are now in the process of moving across to NY (their mecca) him as a foreign correspondent/journo & her – well she’s currently holding the fort in Paris.

    Glad you had a good time over there. Will go & congratulate Justine 🙂

    Nicky

  25. Happy birthday! And congratulations to Justine. I’ve always wanted to go to Paris, and I’m finally getting to go next summer (!!) but I hope you had a good time. I’m sure you did, what with the philosophical questions and bars named after you, but still…

  26. Hey glad you had a good time!! I’ve been trying to post forever… but my computer just comes up with this weird WARNING sign at the bottom, I hope this one works!! If any one knows y please tell me!!

  27. “i loved the whole magic or madness trilogy…a few weeks ago i read the whole thing one after the other. and as soon as i finished i re-read the uglies trilogy one after the other.”

    hehe. orangedragonfly, that’s one of my projects for this summer! gah, only five weeks to go. that’s so exciting. 😀 i hope all goes well for you!

    woohoo for morm winning the norton. MAGIC! MAGIC! MAGIC! OI! OI! OI!

    oh yeah, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTT!! pfft, you’re not ancient, just ask my parents…. 😉

    i want a le rebecca bar. maybe i could open one. all the drinks would involve limes in some way. yes, that sounds like heaven.

  28. Yay! Super chouette for Justine! Well, super for both of you, I guess, seeing as how you got to go to France.
    Are those French kids playing soccer? They should be reading Uglies!

  30. Peyton-la or wa, way back from comment four, why would Scott have anything against JK Rowling?

  33. Congrats to both you and Justine! I think you both deserve the awesome time you’re having in Le Paris. Good luck with the rest of your interviews and safe travels!

  35. i still need to read the magic books. and paris is really cool. the last time i went there was to be an Exchange Student for a week.

    Actually,(for the Le Paris two comments up) its la Paris, hey, Paris-la (that would translate really badly into French, because Shay-la means ‘That person called Shay over there’, and not a cool suffix/nickname from the future.)

  36. lol, congrats to Justine! Hey, adn sicne someone else mentioned it, has the Midnighters movie progressed any?

  37. Is there going to be a midnighers movie? I haden’t heard that!! Thats really cool!!

  41. PAUSE AND JUST, REWIND!!! THERE’S GONNA BE A MIDNIGHTERS MOVIE???? BLIMEY ‘O RILEY’S TROUSERS! I’M SOOO GONNA SEE IT!!! *giggles with glee* *bounces in seat* *screams at top of lungs* I knoow…i’m crazeeee!

  42. Oh, and for anyone who cares….sory i think it was Capt. Cockteil… yes it was! You told me ’bout Cirque Du Freak! it’s amazing i got the first book 2day during fifth period! and got to pg 113!

  44. there’s gonna be a Midnighters movie????????

    *does happy dance then stops when i almost knock over ~uncontainable~unpredictable~wonderfulness~ because it is quite sharp*

  46. PEOPLE its not a movie its a T.V. series!! this was annoucned like 2 monthes ago 🙂

    “A few notes on genre “reveals” and on the TV option of Midnighters, all starting with a long digression.”
    (thats what scott said)

    you can find details on either march 16 or 18 i cant remember

  47. its was march 18th sorry: (from post)

    “This brings us to the Midnighters TV show.

    Last October, Scifi Wire brought us an interview with former Charmed producer Brad Kerns. He’s the man that the CW (formerly the WB and UPN) has hired to look into creating a Midnighters TV show.

    He is quoted saying:

    It’s a very intriguing world. It’s a very cinematically visual area. At this point I’m not yet convinced that we’ve figured out how to make it a series. We’d want to up the ages of the characters in the book from all teenagers in high school to probably in their middle to late 20s.

    Stomp. Twenty-six year olds who . . . stay up till midnight!”

  48. Yeah, it doesn’t sound as witching hour as it should. But still, having your work made into a T.V. series? How awesome!
    Congratulations for Justine!

  49. that is amazing that you got to go to France!!!!! i would kill t go to france. in fact i would love to go any where other than the U.S. (and any places that are totally war torn) BTW your not that old Scott. My dad is 48

    🙂

  52. why os there no one to talk to?!?!?! you people are the only other people beside my best friends that i talk to out side of school. beside my writers club group.

  53. O, so it’s going 2 be a TV series!!! It seems like a movie would work better, but o well! Either way im glad it’s going to be somethin!! lol

  54. You know how sometimes in elementary schools, two different classes(like grade 5 and 2) pair up and do something or other together? For some reason I kept thinking about what Melissa would do.

    *stare balefully at each other for ten minutes*

    MELISSA: You go see Rex, okay?

    LITTLE KID: Okay. *tries to hug her in a nice little kid way*

    MELISSA: DON’T TOUCH ME!

    Not very imaginative, to be sure. But it’ll do.

  58. hey…. guess what i just got sick its soo ew lol i hate it any way only 15 more days of school left!!!!! oh and really really good book for everyone to read is Maximum Ride by James patterson i read it in like 2 days and same for the second one and the 3 one is coming out on may 29!!!!!! yey lol its really good 🙂 and im really bord lol and dont now what to say so yea

  59. Capt. Cockteil – I know! they r really amazing! I’ve also read Lord Loss! it gave me the creeps cuz i finished it @ like 1:30 in the morn’! and i was all like omg! i have to have the next one! lolol!
    Alexa – i’m bored toooo!

  62. LUCKY DUCK!!!!!!!!!! wow i wish today was my last day of school!!!! that would be tatally fawsome lol but i have like 16 days left and some of them are like feild trips and stuff so thats all good 🙂

    oh and i got my hair high-lighted lol wow that was randome but anyway its a lighter blonde so its both of them mixed togher but i think it looks good so yea
    today is national bingo day… can you say BORING unless you like playing bingo i think its fun sometimes but not like when they show a whole bunch of old ppl playing and stuff taht looks boring lol 🙂

  63. well not really next week is exams and i only have to take my orchestra exam and all that i am doing for that is i am practing my all state solo cometition music. so it is like friday was my last day of school. and also on friday we had a student vs. teachers dodge ball game.

  64. My school ends this tuesday!!! Only two dayz left!! But the way my school works, we are still actually doing work!! We don’t even get report cards until 2 weeks after skool ends!! OMG!!! Every other skool is having field trips, and doing fun stuff, and we are working!!! But we already had our awards day… so I know what i’m getting on my last report card. But for all you who get 2 do fun stuff @ the end of the year…. think about how much you’d like to come 2 my skool!!! Yea……… 🙁

    But anyways happy summer, I guess!!

  65. My school ends on June 25th. This is not fair! It was going to end on June 20th, but we had snow this year. Darn snow. Why do all of you get out of school in May? Sucks for me, I guess.

  66. I ended last Friday. haha. Of course, I have never seen more than half an inch of snow, so snow days aren’t really an issue.

    I read something on AOL while checking my mail, about a blue light keeping kids alive. The first line was,
    “Across the moonless dark of Lancaster County, where horse-drawn buggies clatter along country roads and many families shun electricity, a strange blue light cuts harshly through the night.”

    I thought that sounded strangely familiar to something I’ve read (haha). Anyway, thought it was interesting.

  67. my last day is June 4th but im not going cuz its a monday..this week we have year book signing parties and our 8th grade party where we walk to the bowling alley and our Wild River Country (water park) trip and the last two wednesdays we went on feild trips oh and also we get out half a day for an awards ceremony 🙂

  68. heyy guys havn’t posted in a while!!! jus finished TLD it wuz sooo fawesome!!!!!!!! uhh im sad cuz thats my last scott book 4 the year. but i end skool on june 19th & also yea Alexa-la I KNOW!!!! Maximum Ride is sooo good and im reading the 2nd one right now. the 3rd comes out next week.

  72. Yeah… Florida doesn’t get 2 much snow… haha! Actually NONE!! I have seen snow only once in my life in tennesse.

    We got our yearbooks this week… and I realized something freaky!! I will graduate in 2012!! And for some reason, it really scared me for a second!! My friend who reads the same stuff I do pointed at it and started laughing!!! Just my luck to graduate in a tear with the letter ’12’ in it!!!

    Tomorow is my last day of skool! Just thought id let you know that..lol!! Im soooooo happy!!
    🙂

  73. I graduate in 2011. Yearbooks at my school are really weird. We have all these pages for things like “Best Smile”. So apparently if you’re not on the page your smile is not good enough. I won “Most Original” which I didn’t understand. How can someone be the most original? Oh well.
    There is never any snow here usually, but this year it snowed a lot. It was really scary, actually. I hate the snow, too, so I was sad and had to stay inside all day.

  76. OMG snow is the BEST!!!!!!!!!11 i love love love love love love love snow :)!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its so fun to play in and stuff

    and i have 11 days left of school!!!!!! yeppe oh and kayla-wa i already read the second one it is totally fawsome!!!! really good. and i read like the frist cupple chapters of the 3 one and i was like OMFG OMFG OMFG wow its good really good but idk? i think i liek the 2 better but thats just me!

  77. I graduate in 2011 too capt cockatiel!
    7 more days for me and it snows every year here but like only for a day and then it melts..one year it iced but i can’t remember it all that much

  78. i loveee snoww!!!! evry year its snows up hea in RI and man it gets cold. sometimes i get sick of it tho.

    i jus figured i graduate in 2013…huh im younger than you guys 🙂
    Alexa-la i like the 2nd one soo far but like it alwayz seems the same.like wherever they go i know that the erasers are gonna come
    but stilll its fawesome. cant wait for the third!!

  80. yea i graduate in 2011 lol and yea ur like 2 years yunger then us i guess if u graduate in 2013? but idk? this isnt math class (witch im sick of!!) hehe 🙂 i was absent and she gives me a make up test and i like failed it cuz i didnt now any of the stuff so yea she did taht twice!!!! o well 11 more days left yeppe!! 🙂

  82. yea i hate math tooo!!! my teacher is such a bore and i usually get a little zz’s during then 🙂
    ugh i have 28 more days of skool….but i cant wait until my last day!!!!!!!

  83. How can u hate math!!! Im taking 9th grade classes in math next year, even though i’ll be in 8th grade. But most of my friends are taking them too. But I love math!! I make all As in that class, and every other class. But math is the only thing I don’t study for, which is why i love it!!!! But if u were like me, u would like math to, because I’ve never made a B before, so I always study like crazy to keep it that way, and math is just something u don’t study for!!!

    My skool is out!! Yay for summer!! LOL Im like completely crazy now! I LOVE summer!!

  84. All you guys are so lucky! I don’t get out for 15 more days… yes I am counting.
    Congates to Justine! I love the ‘Magic’ series. It melted??
    Happy late b-day! You are not old. my step dad is 51.
    Go Midnighters series! That will be so awesome!

  86. gratz justine and scott your not that old. 44? isnt old…your not old till your 50 plus mi dads 46 and he wants to retire when gets “old”(50) but he cant cause then we wont have as much money and my boyfriend(18 now 22 then) wouldnt have a job and i’d be 19(now 15) with a 5 year old and no job cause thats ‘posed to be what my dad is for

  89. Jessie im a straight A person too!!!! im good at math, but jus dont like it. i never study either because its all too easy. i hope they dont put me in advanced classes next year!! this one kid ha d to take 8th grd algebra.

  91. I have um… 23 days left of school. Dang.
    What’s with all you people and snow? It’s horrible! I admit: it looks nice at first. But then all the snow-obsessed crazies (aka Topaz) go out and stomp in it, make snowmen and snow forts and such and ruin it all! Where I live we don’t get that much snow, so if you make a snowman or something you use up all the snow in your yard and are left with fozen grass and a snowman. It is truly ugly. That is why I hate the snow. Plus, it’s too cold. And wet. Ew. And it turns into mud and sludge.
    I am a straight A student! Why are we talking about our grades, though? Strange…

  92. Hey, Scott! Have you ever seen that new V-Cast music hunter commercial? Because it made me think of you and your book So Yesterday.

  93. well i think i was a straight A student like once in my life in like 2 grade lol yea

    snow is the best when it isnt all messed up for like 1 day hehe yea then you go and play in it but when its melting i hate it!!! cuz its all muddy and slushy and stuff but other tahn that its totally fawsome!!!!! 🙂

  94. okay we arereaching 100 scott, now would be a good time to post eventhough the internet at your hotel cost 7 million dollrs acording to justine..haha j/k

  96. How old is this post? Im to lazy to look and see…lol. But yeah it would be a good time 2 post!!!

  97. dang this post is pretty dang old… may 13 is when he posted it so yea if you want to know how many days thats been look it up your self… this is not math class and i dont inted it to be 🙂

  98. Scott, I also thought I should let you know that last night, I had a dream that I was a Peep.

    And it was FAWESOME!

    Let me just say that I had the safer strain, and that I was not eating people. I just had super cool powers. But I wasn’t horny :\ It was a non-horny Peeps dream.

  99. 12 days!!!!!! this post has been on for a long time. (yes here we go wit math again) Scott doesn’t post as much as he used tooo…..dont u like your fans??? j/k.

  100. i think that he just has a life… un like some of us… not to mention any names (jk)

    a good book so far is looking for alaska by john green but im only like on page 55 or something but its good so far its bout this geek kid who goes to bording school and meets this girl named alaska its good so far tho might want to look it up?!

  101. Looking for Alaska! That is my second-favorite book of ALL TIME! I read it in one day. I love it. Almost as much as So Yesterday. An Abundance of Katherines is also very good, and by John Green as well.

  102. yea thats on my booklist!!! but heyyy i have a life….jus like to read thats all:) read 59 this year!!and i know scott is busy with Extras and all….so ok we’ll jus keep commentin!!!

  103. I read over 68 books last year (32 in the summer). My friends think I’m insane for spending the summer reading, but really, what else is there to do? Nothing. Except make full-length movies with your friends. But even that leaves time for reading!

  104. yea i have a life but i dont really do much on weekend cuz i live like 30 min form everything and my mom is a beep so yea 🙂 but tahts when i just read and my friends are like wow i feel bad for you and yea but im kind of happy so yea i dont now how many books iv read but its a lot ill keep track next year 🙂

  105. I had a peep-dream too, Heather! Except I did eat people. But then the Night Watch caught me and I fought the worms.

  106. My friends think im crazy for reading too. But I don’t know why!! Most of them just say they’d blow their brains out before they read for fun!! But a small number of my friends do read like I do… we all read the same books!! It’s so cool, cause I’ll read a book, and if it’s good, we literally pass it around to people we know who love to read… and thats what we talk about sometimes. I know it sounds kinda weird we have nothing better to talk about, but trust me… there’s nothing else to talk about, since nothing goes on here!!! lol 🙂

  108. yea we have to keep track of how many books we read in school. we’re supposed to read 25 at least for the school year and im like way ahead of that wit mayb a few others. but this one girl, just during the skool year (not summer) she’s read 110 books!!!! now thats no life. but my friends hate the books i read. i try to suggest Scott’s but they’re like eww.

  109. EIGHT DAYS OF SKOOL LEFT! YA UR JELOUSE!! BOOOYAAHH!!! lolol! Math is probably my worst subject…like…ever…i mean i get the concept of how to do things, but i always make those stupid bogus errors and stuff…and i’m all ARG! I SAW PIRATES 3 LAST NIGHT (Thursday night) Teeheeeeeeee! it’s amazing!

  110. ps- half of my friends r readers and the other half think books r like…evil or somethin…its kinda funny cuz they’re always like “GEEZ STOP READING AND GET A LIFE!” and i’m like “DUDE! I SWIM!” lolol! we aren’t crazy, just…more old fashion…i guess…lolol!

  116. OMG….I can’t wait for the extras to come out! I have read the other 3 books! Also i feel that therre should me a movie on this trilogy…and the extras. Even if some scenes get cut out…it will still be exciting!

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