"Mockingjay" Release Spawns Midnight Book Parties
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Shades of Harry Potter!
"Mockingjay," the most anticipated young adult novel of the summer, got a midnight welcome today.
Author Suzanne Collins, her gentle smile and soft features framed by waves of blond hair, met with hundreds of fans crowded into the Books of Wonder store in Manhattan and unveiled the most anticipated young adult novel of the summer, "Mockingjay."
"I didn't know there were so many of you until I came out," she said, seated behind a rectangular table at the back of the store, confiding that she usually didn't stay up until midnight, the Potter-esque launch time for the final work of her "Hunger Games" dystopian trilogy. "Now, let's get on with it."
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The book already has the top spot on Amazoion.com and is generating a lot of buzz on Facebook and other networking sites .
Scholastic, publisher of the "Hunger Games" trilogy, has planned to print 1.2 million copies with orders that booksellers not sell it until 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
The million-selling "Hunger Games" novels are as dark as can be, stories of a murderous society where one has to kill or be killed. But you'd never know that from the reception "Mockingjay" is getting.
Independent booksellers, like the Books of Wonder store, are aiming to capitalize on the excitement with book-release parties with trivia, costumes and games, similar to the events held when volumes in the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" series were released.
Gerry Donaghy, the new-book purchasing supervisor at Powell's Books in Portland, Ore., told the New York Times that managers have ordered 3,600 copies of "Mockingjay," a supply they hope will last about three week. He said he expected the book would be right behind the Stieg Larsson "Millennium" series in sales.
At Books of Wonder, fans stood for hours outside under mist and drizzle, each greeted personally by store owner Peter Glassman, a longtime supporter of Collins whose loyalty was rewarded with her appearance early Tuesday, a special outing for an author who cares little for publicity. "When others' interest waned, Peter was there," Collins said as she hugged Glassman in a small office at the store where she waited before coming out to read.
Collins' first reading ever was at Books of Wonder, around eight years ago, when she appeared on a panel of fantasy writers that included such future stars as Christopher Paolini of "Eragon" fame and Jonathan Stroud, author of the "Bartimaeus" trilogy. "That was a great group," says Glassman, a heavyset man with a big and ready laugh. "I think there were about 100 people, which seemed like a lot at the time. It was a great night."
Collins, who lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children, all of whom were at the reading, also is the author of the five-volume "Underland Chronicles" and the picture book "When Charlie McButton Lost Power." She has written for several children's television shows.
The Books of Wonder event, well under way by early Monday evening, was like one big carnival.
Some fans arrived in costume, wearing the feathered bridal gown worn by Katniss during a key scene in "Catching Fire." Some brought bows and arrows, weapons used in the books.
Others acted out the "Hunger Games" version of the Edward-Bella-Jacob triangle of the "Twilight" books. Would Katniss end up with loyal Gale or sweet Peeta? Fans advertised their loyalty by painting "Gale" or "Peeta" on their cheeks. Collins heightened the suspense by reading from the new book: "Peeta was taken prisoner. He is thought to be dead. Most likely he is dead."
From around the store, you could hear gasps.