Malinda Lo

So much happened in June I can hardly believe I managed to do everything I did! Here’s a recap of highlights from last month.

June in News

Huntress in Paperback
The big news of the month: Huntress came out in paperback! Yay! And what an awesome paperback, too. It not only includes a previously never in print short story, “The Fox,” which is set a couple of years after the end of the novel, it also includes a teaser from my next book, Adaptation. I hope you’ll pick up a copy!

WisCon Podcast
Remember when I went to WisCon, the feminist science fiction convention, back in May? Well, I did, and during the convention I was on a panel about heteronormativity in YA dystopian fiction. The Outer Alliance recorded that panel as a podcast and recently posted the podcast online for your listening pleasure. It was a really interesting discussion, so I’m glad it’s available for a wider audience.

HRC’s Welcoming Schools Supports Ash
I recently learned about a project called Welcoming Schools from the Human Rights Campaign which “offers tools, lessons and resources on embracing family diversity, avoiding gender stereotyping and ending bullying and name-calling in elementary schools. It offers an LGBT inclusive approach that is also inclusive of the many types of diversity found in our communities.” I heard about Welcoming Schools because a fourth-grader read my novel Ash, wanted to do a book report on it, and was told by her teacher that it wasn’t appropriate. The student’s parents contacted Welcoming Schools, which opened a dialogue with the teacher and the school, and as a result, the student’s teacher apologized to the student and will be reading Ash herself. I was really heartened by this very positive story, and you can read about it here on the Welcoming Schools blog. Also, what an awesome fourth grader!

School Library Journal on LGBTQ Lit
School Library Journal published a feature in June about LGBTQ literature called “Speaking Out,” and they included Ash as a recommended title. Thank you! Be sure to check out the other books, too.

YA Pride
Finally, last month on my website was all about YA Pride. It’s over now, but I invite you to tell me your thoughts about the blog series here. (What did you like? do you want me to do it again?) If you missed any of the posts, you can read them all here.

June in Writing

I didn’t get much writing done in June what with all my traveling, but I have officially, officially begun revising the sequel to Adaptation. As I did when rough drafting, I’ll post on tumblr every day I work on the sequel, as part of my yearlong experiment in documenting how I write a book.

June in Reading

During all my traveling I slipped in some vacation time, too, and managed to read two books I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. I’m a big fan of Diana Peterfreund’s writing, and I love Jane Austen novels, so I was really excited to check out Diana’s latest book, For Darkness Shows the Stars, which is a post-apocalyptic retelling of Persuasion. I read it while on vacation at Spofford Lake in New Hampshire, and it was lovely and enjoyable and really did channel Jane Austen through a post-apocalyptic lens.

On a cross-country flight to the American Library Association’s annual convention I finally got a chance to read The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson, the sequel to her sci-fi novel The Adoration of Jenna Fox, which I loved. The Fox Inheritance was just fascinating. Mary Pearson’s vision of a future America was so thought-provoking; if you’re interested in biology and technology and the nature of humanity, this is a great book. But it’s not all thinking sci-fi, it’s also a thriller, which made it a fantastic read for the plane.

June in Photos

Here are some photos from my travels over the last month, beginning in New York which I visited to attend the Lambda Literary Awards and Book Expo.

I also went to the United Nations to do some research, and I encountered this amazing thing during the tour:

In mid-June I went to New Hampshire for a family vacation on the shores of Spofford Lake, where we stayed in an idyllic lake house that should really be the set of a movie.

From the lake I went to a friend’s wedding in the White Mountains:

And finally I flew from New Hampshire to Anaheim, California, to attend ALA. Here I am standing at the Little, Brown booth next to the big, creepy (love it!) cover of my next book.

In July I’m not planning to go anywhere except into the imaginary world of the sequel to Adaptation. Hope you are enjoying your summer!