It’s that time of year again, although we can hardly believe it. Time for San Diego Comic-Con! As we frantically finish up a million to-dos, we wanted to share what we’ll be up to at this year’s convention. Click/scroll onward to see where you can find us in the convention center this year, what we’ll be up to, and what we’re giving away.

Jump to: Location, Signings, Free Stuff (With Bonus Prize Wheel!)

Location (#4300 – Exhibit Hall, Entrance F)

We’re sharing booth space again with Friend of Smart Pop Jamie Chambers and his Signal Fire Studios, which means we’ll be back front and audience-left-of-center in the exhibit hall, right at door F, at Booth #4300. We’ll be the front corner booth …

» Continue Reading “San Diego Comic-Con 2014”

For a very limited time, we’ve put the e-book of Fic: Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over the World on sale for only $3.99 US. And not just for US readers!

Fic‘s also heavily discounted at:

• Amazon.ca (Canada)
• Amazon.co.uk (UK)
• Amazon.com.au (Australia)
• Amazon.com.mx (Mexico)
• Amazon.fr (France)
• Amazon.it (Italy)
• Amazon.es (Spain)
• Amazon.de (Germany)
• Amazon.com.br (Brazil)
• Amazon.co.jp (Japan)

What people are saying about Fic:

“An indispensable guide to the dizzying world of fanfiction—its history, names, games, and creative promise. With . . . provocative interviews with writers, lively essays by readers and activists, and engaging examples from the kingdoms of fandom.” —Elaine Showalter, Professor Emerita of English and American Literature, Princeton University

“This definitive volume offers a rich immersion into fanfiction and is for anyone who …

» Continue Reading “BIG discount on Fic: Why Fanfiction is Taking Over the World”

We really enjoy reading reviews of our books, especially the ones by book bloggers (who tend to have a little more space to discuss than, say, the average Amazon reviewer); I love hearing what works and doesn’t work for different readers, especially in our anthologies, where often every review has different favorites (and different least favorites).

Recently I read a great one from Kelley at Oh, the Books on Divergent Thinking (thanks, Kelley!). The whole review was smart and thoughtful, but she made one particular comment that stood out to me and stayed with me long after reading: “this could just as easily have been a series of posts on a blog somewhere.” It’s a terrific point, even if it’s one I’m not sure I …

» Continue Reading “The Future of Smart Pop: We Want Your Help!”

Coming this fall from Smart Pop, just in time for Halloween (and the next season of The Walking Dead): The Art of Eating Through the Zombie Apocalypse: A Cookbook and Culinary Survival Guide by chef and zombie nerd Lauren Wilson, with illustrations by Kristian Bauthus.

Maybe you’re thinking: How many recipes for braaaaaaains can there really be? And why would I want them?

But The Art of Eating is a guide for those of us not yet infected and struggling to survive—it’s 300+ full-color, illustrated pages of recipes, survival tips, and more to help you eat well even after the zpoc. Just because the undead’s taste buds are atrophying doesn’t mean yours have to!

Learn the best order in which to clean out …

» Continue Reading “The Art (and text) of Eating Through the Zombie Apocalypse”

Our Divergent anthology, Divergent Thinking: YA Authors on Veronica Roth’s Divergent Trilogy, is officially launching next week. In fact, our introductory post about the book is already up. We’re pretty excited around Smart Pop Headquarters because we’re all big fans of the books and we’re eagerly awaiting the release of the movie in a few weeks. (Seriously, a Veronica Mars movie and a Divergent movie in the same month? March 2014, you’re not too shabby.)

Not only are we excited about the movie and about the release of Divergent Thinking, we’re extra excited about the week-long event we have planned around the release in partnership with the Divergent fansite community. Next week is officially:

We hope you’ll visit each of the below sites …

» Continue Reading “Divergent Thinking Book Launch + Giveaways!”

Each season we announce our new titles individually, each in their own post, to give you a little extra background behind the book. If you’ve missed any, you can check them all out here.

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» Continue Reading “A Little More Information on Divergent Thinking”

Our giveaway has closed (scroll down for winners’ information!), but you can still win a copy of Neptune Noir from Neptune Rising through March 13! Visit here for details.

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Thanks to 91,585 tried-and-true Veronica Mars fans, we’re finally getting the much-wanted next chapter in the lives of our favorite Neptune kids (well, favorite late twenty-somethings by now). The Veronica Mars movie release is just a couple weeks away!

You may remember that Smart Pop Books donated proceeds from Neptune Noir‘s ebook sales toward the movie’s Kickstarter fund. In return, we received some Kickstarter swag. But since we received those rewards from donating the money raised by our community of readers . . . it only makes sense that we give those rewards back to our …

» Continue Reading “An Epic Veronica Mars Giveaway”

Each season we announce our new titles individually, each in their own post, to give you a little extra background behind the book. If you’ve missed any, you can check them all out here. All of Fall 2013′s intro posts are here.

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When Anne Jamison’s book proposal for Fic: Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over the World showed up in my inbox, it wasn’t the first time we’d thought about publishing a book on fanfiction. It wasn’t the first fanfiction book proposal we’d considered. It was just the first one it made sense to us to publish.

One reason is that nebulous thing, the marketing climate. The word “fanfiction”—thanks in part to, yes, Fifty Shades of Grey, but not Fifty Shades alone—is …

» Continue Reading “Fic: Why Fanfiction is Taking Over the World – now available!”

Get the geeks in your lives something they really want this year.

Here are our ideas for all of the Shadowhunters, Potterheads, and Demigods on your shopping list—and more.

Percy Jackson

1. Demigods and Monsters [shameless self-promotion]. Spend a little more time at Camp Half-Blood with this anthology of your favorite authors discussing the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Edited by Rick Riordan, it also contains a glossary of Greek mythology.
2. Camp Half-Blood Gym Bag. Don’t forget to pack your sword!
3. Anaklusmos T-Shirt. Don’t feel bad about drawing your pen in this tee. Your foe has been warned.
4. Demigod Copper Bracelet. This bracelet is just the thing for your favorite Demigod.
5. The Lightening Thief Mini Book Locket. Take your favorite

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» Continue Reading “2013 Holiday Gift Guide: Assorted Geekery”

Each season we announce our new titles individually, each in their own post, to give you a little extra background behind the book. If you’ve missed any, you can check them all out here. All of Fall 2013′s intro posts are here.

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Something about starting a new book or tv show always reminds me of visiting a city for the first time. There’s a landscape to explore. Pacing to settle into. People to meet and little details to take in. The most satisfying stories are usually ones where the setting feels alive, like it could really exist.

Sometimes, of course, that’s because it does—because the story takes place in a city like New York, or Chicago, or Paris, that exist in the …

» Continue Reading “A Guide to the New York of HBO’s Girls”