So, it’s been a while since I blogged…

In the past eight months or so, I’ve finished three books. The Lost Kingdom (which comes out later this year on September 1st), Cave of Wonders, my installment in the Infinity Ring series (which also comes out on September 1st), and the first book in my Quantum League series (which won’t come out till next spring). This is not a pace I think I could keep up long-term, but it’s been so fun to work on each of the projects. Now I’m working on the first book in my science fiction series with HarperCollins, and it’s a blast, too.

I’ve also done a few events recently. I did a wonderful visit at Saint James School in Montgomery, Alabama (thanks, Benji!), participated in the Children’s Literature Festival at Truman State University, and presented at the conference of the International Reading Association in San Antonio with Matt de la Peña. I’d never been to San Antonio before. Can someone explain the river thing? I mean, was it a real river at some point?

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I also got some new author photos taken. The result of which was this:

DSC_7308

And this:

DSC_7294

Many thanks to the talented Naomi Leu, who took the photos. If you live in the Salt Lake area and you’re looking for a photographer for yourself, your wedding, or another event,  I highly recommend her. (You can find more about her here.)

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I’ll be teaching at a few upcoming workshops.

The first will be the midyear workshop of the Florida regional chapter of the SCBWI. You can find out more about that here.

The next will be my Advanced Novel class at the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers workshop. I’ve mentioned that conference many times here before. It’s the place where I met my agent and got my start. If you’d like to register for my class, or the classes of any of the other amazing faculty members, check it out here.

Rounding out the month of June will be the Jackson Hole Writers Conference. To register and find out more, go here.

 

 

 

 

1 Comment by on April 23, 2013
filed in Uncategorized

Cover reveal! Infinity Ring Book 5: Cave of Wonders

Hi, everyone! I’m really excited to finally share the cover for Cave of Wonders, book 5 in the amazing Infinity Ring series from Scholastic!

IRcover5

 

This story was a ton of fun to write, even though I had some rather large shoes to fill (namely those belonging to the giant feet of James Dashner, Carrie Ryan, and Lisa McMann, whose first three books in the series are out now, and you should all go read). Cave of Wonders takes Dak, Sera, and Riq to the Golden Age of Baghdad, on the eve of its destruction by Mongols. A truly compelling period in history that I wish more kids knew about. Hopefully, this book will change that for a few of them when it comes out later this year, on September 1st. As I have more details, I’ll post them, but for now, I hope you enjoy the cover!

And be sure to visit the Infinity Ring website here!

 

2 Comments by on February 27, 2013
filed in Uncategorized

Infinity Ring!

Infinity Ring

Hey, everyone! I’m relieved and excited to say that I have finished my installment in the Infinity Ring series, which is book #5, and will be out this fall. This series has been so fun to work on. Books 1 and 2, by James Dashner and Carrie Ryan, have both been bestsellers, and I’m so thrilled for them. They really got the story off with a bang. A couple more things I’m excited about:

INFINITY RING BOOK 3

Lisa McMann’s book 3, The Trap Door, just came out last week, and I hope everyone goes out to pick up a copy. If you want a taste, click here to read an excerpt.

The online game that accompanies it involves Samurai and Ninjas, or in other words, it’s made of awesome. Click here to check it out.

Finally, the Infinity Ring message boards are now live, so click here to visit them, and if you’ve read the books, be sure to leave a comment. The folks at Scholastic are really excited to hear from fans.

That’s all the news for now. (Except, I’ve read Matt de la Peña’s book 4, and it’s amazing!)

1 Comment by on February 11, 2013
filed in Books, Infinity Ring, Writing

The Lost Kingdom Cover

I’m really excited to share the cover for my next middle-grade novel, The Lost Kingdom! This novel is significant to me on a personal level, because an earlier draft of it was the first piece of novel-length fiction I’d ever attempted. It was how I first attracted the attention of my agent, Stephen Fraser, even though he ultimately advised I put it aside and write something new, which I did. But he and I both knew there was still something there, and with time and distance, I was able to see what the story needed and wanted to be. After writing Icefall, I decided to come back to it, and The Lost Kingdom now bears little resemblance to that earlier draft except in the most sweeping and general terms. But it feels good to have hopefully done right by it. So, here is the cover:

The Lost Kingdom final cover

As I’ve said here and elsewhere, I think of this book as a Jules Verne-esque Colonial American fantasy. Here is the synopsis from the cover:

At last Billy Bartram has received the invitation he’s waited for all his life: His father has asked Billy to join him on one of his expeditions into the vast American wilderness. Traveling in a massive flying aeroship, Billy and a secret society of philosophers and scientists venture west in search of the lost kingdom of the Welsh prince Madoc, to seek aid in the coming war with the French. But the wilds of colonial America hide a host of secret dangers — from a terrifying bear-wolf that haunts their every move, to a party of French soldiers hot on their trail, to a spy and traitor in their midst.

Billy will face hazards greater than he has ever imagined as, together with his father, he gets caught up in the fight for the biggest prize of all: America.

Award-winning author Matthew J. Kirby brings his signature storytelling prowess and superb craft to this extraordinary story of fathers and sons, the beginnings of a nation, and remarkable wonder-filled adventure.

What do you guys think?

10 Comments by on February 5, 2013
filed in Books, The Lost Kingdom

A bunch of stuff!

I’ve been very, very busy lately, and I’m just poking my head up for a moment to say that yes, I am alive, before dropping back under. (Although. I am on twitter, now, and I am able to update there a lot more frequently than here, FYI.) In the past few weeks I’ve written the bulk of the first book in the Quantum League series, and now I have to switch gears to write my installment in the Infinity Ring series. So I’m going from a magical-heist novel, to Golden Age Baghdad, and I’m having way too much fun with both of them.

Before I go, I just want to say a few things.

First, if you have emailed me in the last few weeks (or *ahem* months) I’m sorry if I haven’t gotten back with you. I hope to get caught up on my email soon, but I’ve been saying that for a while now.

Second, I am behind on a few things people are expecting from me, and have been expecting for quite some time. You know who you are. Thank you very much for your patience.

Third, Icefall will be out in paperback on February 1st (officially – you’ll probably spot it before then), and the ebook price has dropped recently as well. Just in time for Christma- Oh, wait…

Now that I have said those things…

Do you remember the 12 year old composer I’ve mentioned before? Well, he just won first place in the student competition of the National Association of Composers for a piece inspired by the green violin in The Clockwork Three! Here is his acceptance, and a performance of the piece.

And here are some more wintery photos from the last couple of weeks. First, a couple of the lake by my house:

And one of Muppet, who treats snow like Scrooge McDuck treats his money bin:

And a couple of deer, as photographed from my bedroom window, hence the slight blurriness:

And finally, the other day we left the house, a single Oreo in its plastic sleeve on the kitchen counter, and we came home to this. There was no one home but the cat. I think Oreos should include “No opposable thumbs necessary!” on their packaging.

And that’s all I got for now.

No Comments by on January 10, 2013
filed in Books, Dogs, Icefall, Infinity Ring, Life, The Quantum League, Writing

You can almost feel the fur coats…

The other day, after we’d had a heavy snowfall, I took the dogs for a walk in the woods. The forest had a very Narnia feel about it. I imagined Mr. Tumnus with his parcels and little umbrella around every tree (and it also made me think that I need to get a lamppost like Neil Gaiman). Look at the photos below, and tell me if you agree.

The dogs had a good time, too, following invisible trails of scent, collecting snowball boots on their legs. They both love the snow. Love it. Muppet will literally burrow through it, while Coral bounds across it like a deer. Here are some pics I snapped of them.

Coral

Muppet

And early this morning I woke up to find we’d had a few little night visitors right up against the front porch.

I think they must have come by at different times, or the place where the tracks intersect would probably look quite different.

3 Comments by on December 19, 2012
filed in Dogs, Life

A couple of announcements

I’m very excited to let you all know that I will have a second fiction series beginning in 2014! From Publishers Weekly:

Donna Bray at HarperCollins’s Balzer + Bray imprint has acquired a three-book middle grade SF trilogy, Infinite Winter, by Edgar and PEN Award-winner Matthew J. Kirby. In his new project, the daughter of a climate scientist tries to unlock the secrets of a new Ice Age. The series will debut in fall 2014; Stephen Fraser at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency sold world rights.

It’s still a bit early to go into more detail, but I can tell you that it involves aliens, and I’m really looking forward to this project.

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This second announcement is not nearly so exciting. But you may have noticed a new Twitter feed in the sidebar. Because I’m now on Twitter! Come follow me! @writerMattKirby

3 Comments by on December 11, 2012
filed in Books

Sextet on an Ice Epic

I meant to post this a long time ago, but somehow forgot. (I say “somehow,” but really there’s no “somehow” when you forget things as often as I do.) You  may remember Alessandro, the young musician who composed a quartet inspired by The Clockwork Three. Well, he has done the same for Icefall, and I continue to be amazed by this young man’s talent.

Here is how he described the piece:

Sextet on an Ice Epic is a piece inspired by Matthew J Kirby’s book Icefall. The structure of the piece loosely reflects the story:
• A “run-away” theme plays when Solveig, a young princess, is forced to run away in an icy land.
• She spends a lot of time alone, like a star in the Northern sky, sad but strong (sweet “Solveig theme”).
• Enemies arrive, they want to kill her! Solveig’s warriors fight to defend her (battle theme).
• The run-away theme returns, since Solveig and her warriors are forced to run off, but …
• Solveig has an idea and the enemy is defeated (“tumbling down” theme).
• Her dad, the king, finally arrives and Solveig is now happy again (peace theme).

And now, here is the premiere performance:

3 Comments by on December 4, 2012
filed in Books, Icefall, Music

PEN Center USA Award, and the first snowfall of the year

A few weeks ago, Scholastic was kind enough to send me to Los Angeles to receive the PEN Center USA Award for Icefall. I have to say, I think this was one of the most intimidating events I’ve been to. It’s partly because I was there alone and didn’t know anyone. It’s partly because it was held in Beverly Hills, and I’d spent that afternoon walking past stores I didn’t think I could even afford to set foot in. The banquet and ceremony were held in a ballroom at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and there was a cocktail reception before the event, during which I was just sort of hanging out on my own at the edges, watching the people and simply enjoying being there.

At one point, while I was texting my editor, I looked up and saw someone standing right in front of me who seemed familiar. She had red hair, and it took about five seconds for me to think to myself, “That’s Molly Ringwald.” And before I could decide if it was a good idea to say anything to her, she looked at me and smiled, and I smiled back and blurted out, “Are you Molly Ringwald?”

“Yes,” she said.

I’m sure at this point she usually gets the Breakfast Club or 16 Candles appreciation, but I was more interested in the fact that I thought I’d heard she’d written a book. So I asked her about it. It’s a collection of short stories tied together by a theme of betrayal called When it Happens to You. We talked about that briefly, and then she asked about my work and we talked about Icefall.

The whole interaction lasted maybe two minutes, but it was kind of fun to have a Hollywood moment while I was there. I thought about asking to take a picture with her, but after feeling the mood of the room, I decided I didn’t want to be that guy.

During the banquet, I was seated at a table with several of the judges for the award, as well as one of the other finalists, Gretchen Woelfle (for All the World’s a Stage: A Novel in Five Acts). Everyone was lovely, and Gretchen already wrote up a great piece on the event and what PEN Center USA is all about. It’s definitely worth a read.

That’s me giving my speech. Thanks to Drew Filus for snapping the picture.

When I went up to receive my award and give my acceptance speech, I talked about what an honor it was to receive the same award that had been given to Ursula K. Le Guin a few years ago. I haven’t ever blogged about Ms. Le Guin in detail, or what her work has meant to me. I think that’s something I need to remedy in the near future. I am a writer because I read her books.

It was a really wonderful evening. Thank you again to PEN Center USA for the honor, and to Scholastic (I’m looking at you Candace!) for their support in sending me. And congratulations to the other finalists!

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We had our first snowfall of the year a couple of days ago, and woke up to this:

The back yard.

The front yard.

Pretty magical. I looked out the window and felt a bit like Ralphie in A Christmas Story on Christmas morning, with the harp music playing and everything. It has put me in mind of the holidays, that’s for sure.

And speaking of holidays, a good friend of mine, Kimball Fisher, has written a short story for the Christmas season. It’s titled Finding the Baby Jesus. I really enjoyed it and blurbed it. It’s available through Amazon.

 

5 Comments by on November 11, 2012
filed in Books, Events, Icefall, Life

Icefall in German

Yesterday, I received copies of the German translation of Icefall. I think it’s a really interesting take, and I particularly like the tattoos on Solveig’s hand and face. I had never pictured her that way, but I think it’s pretty cool. It’s also fun to see how widely interpretations of the material can vary, when comparing this, the more realistic German cover:

to the more fantastical, almost ethereal Italian translation:

In some ways, this is actually a reflection of the different ways people read the book.

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Just a reminder, I’ll be in Utah this week doing a couple of library events on the 17th, in Murray and Brigham City. If you’re in the area, come on by! Details to the right in the sidebar.

 

 

No Comments by on October 14, 2012
filed in Books, Events, Icefall
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