Thanks to everyone who entered. If you didn’t win but would like to learn more about Fringe Science, you can sign up below to read a free excerpt; we’ll also let you know about any future giveaways!

On May 17, The Center for Media and Destiny and The Center of Media and Information Literacy are co-sponsoring Hunger Games symposium “Are the Odds in Our Favor?: The Hunger Games on Fame, Fashion, and the Fate of Humanity.” The symposium will be held on the campus of Temple University, and admission is free. Get all the details here.

I’ll be there, giving a talk on the differences between the book and film, the film advertising, and the affect of both on where we readers/viewers stand in relationship to the Games, in a presentation titled: “Are We Katniss . . . Or Are We the Capitol?” (I’ll also have some Smart Pop buttons on hand.) But I’m more looking forward to hearing the other four speakers present—including past Smart Pop contributor Barry Vacker.

Hope I’ll see you in the audience!

To celebrate, we’re giving away a copy of Fringe Science. Leave a comment on this post (say, with your favorite thing about season 4, or what you’re most looking forward to—spoiler free—about season 5) before midnight Central time on Sunday, April 29 to enter!

(And remember: If you haven’t yet, you can sign up for the book mailing list here—scroll down to where it says “Sign up for free chapters & book updates”—and get a free download of Kevin Grazier’s introduction and one of our favorite essays from the book.)

Happy Friday!

2) Are you looking for an unpaid part-time internship that will give you a great overview of book publishing (plus a legitimate excuse to watch more tv/read more sf and fantasy)?

We have the internship for you!

The Internship

We’re looking for two part-time editorial and marketing interns for this summer. Our interns will work directly with Heather and I on our current and upcoming Smart Pop titles (like Beyond the Wall, The Panem Companion, and Ender’s World) and gain experience in traditional editorial and marketing tasks as well as the fast-growing field of online marketing.

Responsibilities may include:

• Putting together editorial feedback on manuscripts 
• Copyediting and proofreading
• Drafting back cover copy and marketing materials 
• Researching future titles 
• Researching and pitching marketing leads 
• Assisting in maintaining aspects of online marketing, including our websites and social media accounts 
• Other miscellaneous editorial and marketing support

However, additional responsibilities will NOT include:

• Physical mailings 
• Answering phones

Due to office space constraints, our interns will meet with us in person in Harvard Square in Cambridge once a week, and otherwise work independently on their own schedules.

Ideally, the internship will begin in early May and last through end of August, with possible extension into fall semester.

Qualifications

We’re looking for well-organized, detail-oriented, self-directed college juniors/seniors or graduate students who are passionate about books and interested in learning about the publishing industry. An interest in YA literature, television, science fiction and fantasy, and/or film is, unsurprisingly, a plus!

Applicants must have an outstanding command of the English language and excellent research skills. Competency in Microsoft Word and strong familiarity with Twitter and Facebook are required. Proficiency with WordPress and basic HTML is a plus, as are any graphic skills.

Given the nature of the internship, applicants must be able to work effectively without direct supervision.

Interested?

Send your résumé, cover letter, and two writing samples by April 18 to me, Smart Pop Editor-in-Chief Leah Wilson, at leah@benbellabooks.com.

I’ve included the book-specific sign-up form for each title below, so if any of these pique your interest and you want to get a head’s up when we post advance excerpts or do giveaways (along with, of course, a reminder email on pub date!), just enter your email and hit the submit button.

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First up, in December 2012, is The Panem Companion:

The Panem Companion is a new unofficial Hunger Games guide that delves into Panem itself: how it could have come to be; it’s culture, socioeconomics, and ideas of race, ethnicity, and gender; and the effects on the characters we know and love. Plus, it dives into some contentious fan debates, like “The Curious Case of Prim ‘Everdeen’” and who the true main architect/s of the rebellion were.

If The Girl Who Was on Fire is Hunger Games 101, this is the grad school class. The author, V. Arrow, is the co-creator of this map—

—which you may have seen around the web lately—like, at io9, the AV Club, Entertainment Weekly’s Shelf Life, and msn.com, to name just a few. But I think my favorite quote comes from NerdApproved.com’s post on the map: “Seems like it would be the companion book to have because V. Arrow clearly knows her sh*t.”

—

We’re also very pleased to be announcing, for the first time, the late January release of Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader—a collection of great YA authors writing about Cassandra Clare‘s Mortal Instruments series, with Cassie as editor.

As you can see, we don’t have a final cover yet, but one of our very favorite illustrators, Cliff Nielsen (who also does the art for the Mortal Instruments novels), is working on finishing the art up now. I’ve seen the sketch, and it looks fantastic.

The topics we have lined up so far range from Alec/Magnus (my personal favorite Mortal Instruments couple) to the power and magic of ink (or stele) on skin.

—

And finally, in February—a handful of weeks 6 months or so before the Ender’s Game film comes out—we’ll release Ender’s World: Fresh Perspectives on the SF Classic Ender’s Game, with Orson Scott Card at the helm.

(Great illustration, right? That’s Nick Greenwood‘s work, under Card’s direction—so you know that’s what the battle school really looks like in his head!)

The contributors are a mix of SFF, YA, and other writers—including two military strategists—writing about Ender’s Game, plus a series of in-depth Q&As with Card about various aspects of Ender’s universe, like why the battle room is in the shape of a cube and why children were chosen as the ultimate soldiers.

—

It’s a small season, but one we’re really excited about. All the pieces of it I’ve seen so far have been fantastic—only the battery-death of my e-reader kept me from finishing V.’s first draft manuscript in one sitting, and the topics we’ve gotten for the two anthologies have been really stellar.

I can’t wait to share them!

We left things pretty free-form for our writers: we suggested they tie their pieces into their original essays in some way, but we didn’t require it. And I admit to being a little nervous leading up to the film. Would we end up with a dozen* essays that all said pretty much the same thing? But happily, as it turned out, that wasn’t the case at all. Everyone’s contribution felt totally fresh, even though a lot of our writers dealt in some way with the changes between the book and the film, and the implications of those changes. We even ended up with two sets of contradictory opinions about the very same changes, where both writers had incredibly valid points.

I selfishly hope that, at this point, you’re asking: How do I get my hands on this extra movie content? And we know there’s been some (understandable) confusion about the best (and most affordable!) way to get access to it, depending on whether you’ve read the first edition of The Girl Who Was on Fire or not.

So we present you now with a helpful decision tree graphic, in hopes of clearing things up:

In other words, the math goes like this:

      +            =      

In addition, don’t forget: You get access to the extra movie content only if you buy an e-book version of the Movie Edition. It’s not included in the trade paperback.

We’d remiss if we didn’t remind you, also, that the Booster Pack is for sale right now, on the Kindle for $3.59 (subject to change), on the Nook for $4.97, and in the iBookstore for $3.99. Less than half the price of a ticket to The Hunger Games, in other words. (Well, in most places.) Though be forewarned: Once you read the extra movie content, you may, like me, feel driven to buy a ticket to see the movie again!

—-
*Because of schedule conflicts, a few of our sixteen writers unfortunately weren’t able to participate. (We’re still sad too!)

We’re giving away prizes to two lucky winners.

The grand prize winner will receive:

• a print copy of The Girl Who Was on Fire – Movie Edition, PLUS a copy of the extra e-book-only movie content: our authors’ thoughts on the film
• an authentic Comic-Con mockingjay pin, which we picked up in San Diego last year
• an authentic Hunger Games movie poster, also from 2011′s San Diego Comic-Con

One runner-up winner will receive: 

• a print copy of The Girl Who Was on Fire – Movie Edition and the extra e-book-only content
• The Hunger Games movie poster, from San Diego Comic-Con

To enter to win, just tell us in the comments who your favorite character in The Hunger Games movie was (“I can’t choose” is also a valid comment). The contest will close at 12 midnight CT on April 13; U.S. and Canadian entries only, please. (Sorry, internationals!)

And as always, may the odds be ever in your favor.

—
P.S. Don’t want to wait to read our Movie Edition extra movie content? Find out how to access it now here.

On Sunday, March 18, The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook authors, Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin, hosted a virtual dinner party on Twitter to celebrate the upcoming season five premiere of Mad Men. Food bloggers from all over the United States and Canada joined us to talk canapés, cookies, and cocktails, and to share photos and experiences. All of the bloggers made at least one recipe from The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook, and we all had lots of fun talking about two of our favorite topics: food and Mad Men. (Photo on left: courtesy of She’s Cookin’.)

Judy and Peter wrote about the party on their blog here, and you can see pictures of all the fabulous food in our Facebook album here. Here are all of the blogs who joined us, with links to their recipe posts:

• 30A Eats
• 5 Star Foodie Culinary Adventures
• Cookistry
• Culinary Cellar
• Food Hunter’s Guide to Cuisine
• Girlichef
• This Girl Walks into a Bar
• The Groovy Foody
• The Hyphenated Chef
• Juanita’s Cocina
• Madtini
• The Mid-Century Menu
• Mission: Food
• The Primlani Kitchen
• Sarcastic Cooking
• She’s Cookin’
• Tipple Sheet
• Thursday Night Dinner
• We Heart This

To read the conversation, and keep it going, check out the #PartyLikeaMadMan hashtag! And don’t forget to follow The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook at @DineLikeDraper. Here are some of our favorite Twitter moments from Sunday night (photo on left: courtesy of Girlichef).

Some of the bloggers explained why they chose to make certain recipes:

@WeHeartThis: We chose Rumaki because we LOVE Betty’s Around the World party in that episode

@shescookin: I chose the Caviar and Blini because it screams 60′s panache! Elegant and easy to make!

@dbcurrie: when my husband heard there was tartar in the book, I had to make it for him

@missionfood: I picked my recipe based on one of my favorite cocktails :) There were so many yummy options though!

@Merelene: We (@Madtini) mixed up an Old Fashioned, just like Don Draper, for the #PartyLikeaMadMan Virtual Dinner Party

Some fun tips and trivia were shared through the night:

@DineLikeDraper: @cookistry Your Steak Tartar at Sardi’s 1962: $5.90; today: $29.50

@DineLikeDraper: @shescookin Great tip you offered: use Salmon roe instead of Sturgeon…tastes good and saves $$

Everyone also seemed to enjoy the cocktail portion of the evening:

@PrimlaniKitchen: That’s Why I Love Brunch. @foodhunterguide alchohol at lunch…I do miss those days :) @hyphenated chef

@dbcurrie: Brandy Alexander does not improve my typing skills. :-) But I’m having fun at #PartyLikeaMadMan

And it could have been the cocktails, but things got a little crazy:

@DineLikeDraper: Game on! Twister in five minutes in the rec room.

@GirlWalksIn2Bar: Love it

@Foodhunter: Naked?

@JuanitasCocina: Woot! Smoky, drunk Twister!

@HeatherBeefield: Will play if I can spin!

@hyphenatedchef: What? Not sure about naked — not after all the Calif Dip

@fromagechick: @foodhuntersguide @DineLikeDraper So u cook naked and play naked? lol!!! ;) I’m telling

@dbcurrie: Yay! Twister!

When @DineLikeDraper mentioned that we have yet to see a Jell-O mold on Mad Men, we got a variety of responses:

@dbcurrie: Mmmm… jello with celery and tuna. Or maybe not.

@sarcasticcook: @DineLikeDraper I was thinking the same thing! It was so trendy, maybe we will see one this season.

@PrimlaniKitchen: Jello is so Playful

@madtini: I was just thinking that… peas in green jell-o (or aspic if you want to be classy) were a staple in the 60s

It was an all-around fun evening, that ended on an equally fun note. And luckily for all of our bloggers, we did the dishes:

From @hyphenatedchef: “goodnight, all. Until our next Bridge Night…”

From @GirlWalksIn2Bar: “Regardless of your TV Sunday lineup, the recipes from The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook R great 7 days a week!! Cheers!”

 Thanks again to everyone who joined us; we hope to see you around on Twitter!

It’s only a matter of days until The Hunger Games premieres, and we can’t wait to see Katniss, Gale, and Peeta on the big screen. To celebrate the movie’s release, Leah and I are going to be giving away five copies of The Girl Who Was on Fire – Movie Edition and pins to the folks in line for the midnight showing at the Somerville Theatre in Somerville, Massachusetts. (It’s just northwest of Boston; here’s a map.) Come hang out in line with us on Thursday night and answer some trivia questions for a chance to nab a copy!

Tickets are on sale for the Somerville Theatre showing here, and you can read more about it on their website here. Can’t wait to see you there!

***

If you haven’t already, definitely go check out the HP Alliance’s GROW campaign:

In the world of the Hunger Games series, everything is controlled by the Capitol, which uses power and money to punish the districts. The citizens of the Capitol live in luxury at the expense of the districts, forcing others to live in poverty so that they can enjoy their own wealth. Katniss, Gale and the citizens of District 12 are forced to break the law to keep from starving, to maintain an informal and illegal market so that they can eat.

Sound familiar? It should. Our world rests on an imbalanced system. In every country there are people who are starving because of corrupt politicians, injust laws and violent conflict. The most basic needs of millions of people are going unmet. And we can do something about it.

We’ll have a pledge form with us that night if you want to pledge in person, but you can also pledge online now.

I have to admit: I came in to this project not knowing anything about Spenser. When our publisher, Glenn (a huge Spenser fan), brought up the idea, I had only a vague sense of who Robert B. Parker was, much less of the series for which he’s best known—the series that’s sometimes credited as saving the PI genre.

So Glenn sent me a few books. And it was impossible not to get a little hooked.

Spenser is an appealing tough guy, with a quiet security in his own abilities and a healthy appreciation for others’. He has a charmingly quick, dry sense of humor and a strong sense of honor, plus a taste for gourmet cooking and an easy, nonchalant feminism ahead of his time. Add to that Parker’s singular writing voice and his smart, creative grasp on genre, and it’s easy to see why Spenser has made such an impact on so many readers—and on so many of Parker’s fellow writers.

We were lucky enough to talk Otto Penzler, proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in NYC, all-around great mystery editor, and longtime associate of Parker’s, into putting this book together for us. And he pulled together a fantastic list of writers to pay tribute to both Spenser and Parker, including:

• Ace Atkins, the writer taking over the Spenser series (his first Spenser title, Robert B. Parker’s Lullaby, comes out just a week after In Pursuit of Spenser!)
• Genre heavy-hitters like Lawrence Block and Dennis Lehane
• A whole list of other great mystery authors, all of whom were influenced by Parker personally or professionally

Two other people we should mention:

• Michael Fusco, the man responsible for designing our distinctive, eye-catching cover
• Joan Parker, who provided the lovely blurb you’ll see on the book’s cover and at the top of our book page

Excerpts from the essays are up on our book page. And as always, we’re offering a download of two free chapters if you sign up for our In Pursuit of Spenser email list (as well as, of course, a reminder on the pub date); you can sign up (or get pre-order links) on our book page, or by using the form below.

If you’re a Spenser fan, I know you’ll enjoy the heck out of this one. And if you aren’t—well, we recommend you pick up a few of Parker’s books, then come back and see us afterward. :)