Alp-tastic

Posted on by scott

Hey, all. This is probably the longest I’ve gone without blogging, for which you have my abject apologies. Travel makes the internets hard.

As I’ve said, I’m on a research tour for Leviathan, checking out all the European locations for the novel and, of course, the Zeppelin hangars of Friedrichshafen, Germany. (We’re not there yet, but you’ll be seeing those in later posts.)

My first trick was seeing the Alps from above, straight from the plane on the way to Rome:

alps.JPG
Awesome mountains. I’m so glad I set part of Leviathan here.

In Rome, I finished the Uglies Guide. (Look for that this fall.)

Then we flew to London for a mini-tour of England. Thanks to everyone who warmly welcomed us there, and asked such interesting questions. My favorite: “Did writing Uglies make you see people differently?” Still mulling that one.

Right now, Justine, Holly Black, Maureen Johnson, Cassandra Clare, and I are all ensconced in a 17th-century tower in Bologna, Italy. We’re attending the annual Children’s Book Fair here, where publishers from many lands come to sell and buy translation rights for teen and kid books.

So far I’ve met with publishers from France, Israel, Holland, Germany, Australia, and the UK, some by chance and some by design. Brazil and Thailand are tomorrow. It’s a great way to meet a lot of the far-flung publishing world, and to find out weird stuff about how teens in different places read. Here are a few factoids:

Germany loves fantasy. The magicker the better, so say the Germans.
Holland doesn’t like fantasy or science fiction, but Maureen Johnson rules there.
Manga is so huge in Italy that there’s a teen imprint named after a manga character.
Ugies is a monster hit in France.

Another cool thing about Bologna is seeing all the art. One of my favorite traditions is the huge bulletin board where hopeful young illustrators pin up their work for publishers to look at:

bolognaart.jpg

This photo shows just a tiny fraction of the art here, of course. There are any huge aircraft-hangar sized spaces fool of books and art. It’s an awesome display of creativity.

Less uplifting is the vast Hall of Agents, where agents sit at tiny desks pitching books to possible buyers all day long. My hats off to those who toil in the mighty foreign rights mines:

bolognaagents.jpg

Anyway, enough of the business end of things. On Friday, the research tour moves into the Tyrolean mountains, and a week later into the Zeppelin hangars of Friedrichshafen!

Pictures will be posted.

138 thoughts on “Alp-tastic”

  1. Germany loves fantasy. The magicker the better, so say the Germans.

    Germans also love David Hasselhoff. I don’t trust those Germans!

  3. Wow! I am so jealous of you! I would love to go around Europe. Plus you finished the uglies guide! WOO!

  4. SO FAWESOME!!!!!

    ok. so i wanted to say sompthing:

    sorry i havent been on lately. homework. so much of it. but the quarters gonna end on friday and then i have spring break!!! and i swear i’ll come on every day. um…so. im back. but wheres everyone else?

    -Lizzy-wa OUT! 😕

  5. ooooooooo lizzy-wa’s back!!!
    that is so cool!!! i cant wait for the uglies guide!!! :mrgreen:
    oooooooo i think i’m fifth!!

  10. YAAAY Uglies guide! Not to infringe upon you, Scott-la, but I still can’t believe it’s done and ready for publishing.

    Consider at least one copy already sold. ;D

  11. You were in Israel? ISRAEL?! Why didn’t you anounce it? I would have loved to come and get my copies of Midnighters signed! You are an awsome author, and it would have been an honor to meet you. Not so many authors visit israel at all, let alone awsome ones like you… I’m so sad right now…

  12. the mountians are so pretty
    thats so weird that different countries like different books(i wonder what the US likes)

  17. Whoo! I didn’t know you were actually going to write the Uglies Guide! I’m guessing it takes a certain amount of obsession, mainly found on this site, to buy a “guide to” companion novel. Hope you have fun on the rest of your trip in Europe!

  20. yes! Lizzy’s back from the dead!

    also, yay Alps.

    and that room of agents is creepy. i mean, the actuality of what it is is cool, but that picture looks like some sort of evil megagovt beurorcrazy.
    ….wow, i’m crazy.

    so the Uglies guide is actually coming out? cool.
    though not as cool as a Midnighters guide.
    or a fourth Midnighters book.

  21. ooo fawesomeness! can’t wait till fall!
    also very pretty picture!
    hope ya have fun on the rest of your trip! 😀

    and Lizzy-wa is back! 😀 …very happy-making.

  23. Whoo! Uglies Guide! Very excited about that. A Midnighters Guide would be cool too. And, I agree with Serafina Zane- A fourth Midnighters would be cool. Hm. You know, I’ve seen you say that so many times, and yet I’ve never said that I agree. How rude of me.

  24. Thanks for the Europe tour! Awesome picture of the Alps. I want to go there.

    ~ You-Know-Who

  26. Hey Scott, is the Uglies Guide really gonna come out? Because if it is i am totally going to buy it , i have so many unanswered questions about the uglies trilogy. Have fun on your trip!!

  27. oh and could u plz dedicate it to…say…maybe…your dedicated fans on the westerblog who gave awesome ideas 4 this guide?? :mrgreen:

  33. YAY! You finished the Uglies guide! Hooray! Thanks for making a book to clarify things about the series! I am reading the Midnighters currently. I am in the second book! Yay! It is so cool! I heard good things about it, so i read the first one! And it was really good! U R an awesome writer! Keep up the good work! Yay!

    🙂

  34. omg yay! i cant wait for the uglies guide.

    and goshh! i am so jealous of you, scott-la. i want to go to Germany! that’s where my descendants are from.
    NON circa- nazi time.
    haha.
    :/
    me no nazi.
    but anyways,
    TAKE ME WITH YOU NEXT TIME!
    :]
    please?

  35. i cant wait 4 the uglies guide!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  36. Lucky you, getting to travel and have talent at writing. 😀

    The Hall of Agents sounds (and looks) vaguely dystopian to me…sensing some 1984 or A Wrinkle in Time…

    The mountains are gorgeous and I love how you wrote “fool” instead of “full”. xD It’s so great that you get to see where your books are taking place.

    And in response to “what books do the Americans like”: most of us like books with sex and clothes (which is kind of ironic or something when you think about it….), but it’s such a big and varied country, it’s hard to say, I suppose. Teen gal novels and biographies. NEVER MIND! I am totally screwing up my answer…

  37. YAY UGLIES GUIDE COMING OUT! I’ve been saving the gift card to my fave bookstore that i got for my birthday (cough I spent a little of it cough cough) for the guide, and as long as the gift card isn’t a stupid expiring kind CONSIDERED ANOTHER ONE SOLD!
    Another thing, Scott-la… —–> “There are any huge aircraft-hangar sized spaces fool of books and art.” FOOL? What was on your mind at the time?!
    Oh, and uh, voldemort-la, two things- 1.) It would be Voldemort-WA and 2.) YOUR ON THE WRONG WEBSITE lol. No offence tho…
    My library is absolutely evil. It doesn’t have the stinkin’ Midnighters books! Neither my school OR closest public library does (that I know of…), i have to special order it from ANOTHER library when I find the time. *sigh* It’s so tragic.
    Anyone there? I’m bored and wanna talk to someone…!

  42. OMG. I’m so excited for the Uglies guide. I’m sad that we have to wait until fall though. But I had a dream that I lived in your world the other day. It was wierd. I kind of wish that the world was like that. I don’t know though. It’s really controversial, you know? Anyway, thanks for completely changing my life, not even kidding! ~Hannah-la~

  43. Ooooooh, prettyful mountains 😀

    UGLIES GUIDE YAY!!!!

    Whats the betting that it will be out in AMERICA in fall, and i will have to wait till next year? I hope not Scott-la, make it come out in England at the same time. Otherwise tis no fair 🙁

    ALSO. Idea up there ^^^ Dedicate the Guide to your fans! We gave you the idea ofcourse by asking all our silly questions about the books, so i think we should be acknowledged 😀

    xox

  44. ya, i luv the cakes thing…then u should have a more…promising title for the next book *cough* hint *cough* hint *cough*
    heee heee then it could be an inside joke :mrgreen: only TRUE uglies and whatnot fans would understand… :mrgreen:
    well…gtg…………………………..it’s pretty nice out–like in the 50’s (at least last time i checked)

  45. By the way, I’m glad that Holly Black is accompaning you. I’ve noticed that most of my favorite authors know each other one way or another (Libba Bray told me congrats on liking Scott Westerfeld books) and how another one of my authors thanked your wife in their acknowledgements. . .

  46. haha
    I’m partially German.
    :/
    You need to take me with you next time, Scott-la.
    It’s so pretty-making.

    Cant wait for the Uglies Guide!

  47. Ok, did he post this yesterday. If so, then your telling me the one and only day i dont come on, he posts somethign new! Wow, that makes me madder than i already am. Why am i mad? More like frustration, im being weird cause…..its not important, quite silly actaully. I’m just gonna forget it. moving on…..

    I’m reading this book called Heart Breakers. Pretty good so far. i told this guy in my class that if he ever broke up with anyone i wouldnt talk to him ever again. Then we watched a cowboy movie for history and i said that if he ever broke a heart OR became a cowboy i wouldnt talk to him. Then he didnt say “thank you” so i said if he ever broke a heart OR became a cowboy OR didnt use his manners i would never talk to him again. Then…..jking! ok but he got tired of me saying that and we made a pickie promise (after begging him to just wrap his pickie, boys) that i wouldnt ever ever ever ever never ever say that to him again. And you no what, he better never ever break a heart, become a cowboy, or not use his manners.

    That was pointless yest i told u anyway.

  48. wow! You get to do fun research Scott-la. No fair. Oh well. I suppose I’ll get to go to Europe someday. *sigh*
    Those pictures are pretty. In the good way. I can’t wait for Levithan. But no pressure or anything.
    I am really sleepy. My life is really insane right now. Track, karate, youth group, track, piano, track, violin, track, more violin. Its starting to pile up on my head. I just have to keep reminding myself that “stressed” is just “desserts” backwards.

  49. woooooah… i never knew that. …thats crazy Bri-la! hope things calm down for ya!

    i had a good day today. in history me n my friends played hang man and go fish. i kick butt at go fish by the way. cuz we thought yesturdays assignment was do today so we were already done with it. and it turned out we had all class today to do it. but this was more fun. and in c/a we watched youtube videos (my teacher is the bomb! she let us get on her computer to watch them. lol. cuz they are blocked on the regular computers.) i found out who i’m roomin with for my band trip. and another one of my friends was p.o.ed that they asked me to room with them instead of her. 😀 (and i just have to smile at that cuz this girl is quite a bad word. hehe. cuz she acts like your friend and then doesn’t give a crap about you.) and um… let see… o yeah i got spanish student of the month. not that big of deal. but i do get this cool little poster on my locker for the next month and it has this cute little dog on it. plus i’ll be able to remember which locker is mine now. and i don’t really have much homework. so it’s all good!

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