***

In some ways, editing an anthology is a lot like throwing a party: you send out a lot of invitations and hope a lot of smart, funny people show up and talk about interesting things. And sometimes, you get lucky, and the party goes really well. Everything seems to gel.

That’s how I feel about The Girl Who Was on Fire, our anthology of YA authors on the Hunger Games trilogy, coming out this April.

For me, the perfect Smart Pop anthology is one that makes you laugh, that makes you think, and that makes you cry—and this one does all three. Okay, mostly the second one. But the number of times these essays moved me to tears—even the second, third, fourth time reading through (Mary Borsellino, I’m looking at you)—I ought to declare kleenex as a business expense on my taxes. And I laughed and smiled way more often than I would have expected, too, given the bleakness of Mockingjay.

Take this bit from Sarah Rees Brennan‘s essay, on Gale at the end of the series:

Last we hear, he has a “fancy job” and Katniss speculates about his possible other romances. Gale seems to be doing just fine for himself, and indeed one has pictures of the rebellion reunions in which Gale shows up in a flashy sports car and says, “Katniss, baby, you could have got with all this.”

Still, what I love most about what our contributors have done is the way they shed light into some unexpected corners of the series. Jennifer Lynn Barnes talks about why arguing Peeta vs. Gale distracts us from something way more important: Katniss herself. Blythe Woolston takes on PTSD among Hunger Games “winners.” Sarah Darer Littman looks at the rebellion in terms of the War on Terror. Carrie Ryan talks not just reality TV, but what the Hunger Games trilogy suggests about the media, and why we should be paying attention.

The benefit of a book over a party, of course, is that you can share a book much more easily. This link will take you to our book page, with the full list of essays and contributors (and links to excerpts). It also gives you the back cover copy. But I wanted to leave you with a few extra quotes, as a preview. (And if you’re interested in getting a head’s up reminder from us when the book’s officially available—and updates on giveaways and other book news beforehand—just leave your email in the sign-up box after the excerpts.)

From Adrienne Kress‘s essay on the Capitol’s decadence, and how it led to its downfall:

Food is a huge metaphor in the books. The country is even called “Panem,” which means “bread.” Food is life. We learn that it is what initially brought Katniss and Peeta together as children when he saved her life by giving her slightly burnt bread. Food gave her hope when she and Gale were able to hunt and provide for her family. Food becomes a symbol of strength to her in the arena when, during her first Hunger Games, District 11 sends her bread as a gift of gratitude. Food is what keeps people alive. It’s what shows others that they care. And so when we see food treated as trash, when we see people simply throw food away because they have too much of it, we understand that we are witnessing the ultimate display of decadence and overindulgence: life being tossed aside.

From Terri Clark‘s essay on the power of the fashion statement:

No one better understands the philosophy of fashion than Suzanne Collins’ fictional character, Cinna. All of the Capitol stylists are well practiced at polishing and presenting their contestants, but Cinna takes this craft to a new level. Not only is he genius at creating provocative, memorable costumes, he utilizes his fashion artistry as a political platform that subtly plays on his audience’s sensibilities. He gives the people of Panem a heroine to root for, plucks at their romantic heartstrings, and fires up their indignity over injustice, and he does it all through fabric.

From Ned Vizzini‘s essay on media training, both Katniss’ and his own:

Katniss becomes famous because of her realness. When Caesar Flickerman asks her in her first televised interview what has impressed her most about the Capitol and she mentions the lamb stew, the laugh she elicits cements a love affair with her public that she contends with for the rest of the trilogy. Why is this answer so important? It is honest. It shows a lack of concern for what the “right” answer might be (“the architecture,” “the fashion”) and, in a world of tightly controlled propaganda, this is revolutionary. . . Of course, in order to win the Hunger Games and lead the rebellion that follows, Katniss must betray that realness and employ all sorts of calculated gambits, losing herself in a maze of self-constructed imagery . . . Thus the Hunger Games presents us with the kind of hero that not only Panem but America likes best: the reluctant one, unexpectedly brilliant when challenged and then, once famous, desirous of a simpler life.

Finally, let me give a quick mention to our other contributors—Bree Despain, Cara Lockwood, Liz Rees, and Lili Wilkinson—all of whose essays are equally worthy of quoting. Maybe closer to the pub date . . .

For those of you both familiar and planning to attend, we thought we’d give you a quick rundown of Smart Pop at BEA:

Smart Pop Itself. Jennifer and I will be at Table #4112 (under the Perseus Distribution banner) with the rest of BenBella whenever our schedules permit; come say hello! We’ll have copies of our 2010 Smart Pop Sampler, which includes essays from Serenity Found, Batman Unauthorized, and Ardeur, and previews of the not-yet-released A Taste of True Blood and The Psychology of Dexter (plus our full fall catalog). It’s handy short reading for when you’re waiting in autograph lines.

In the Autographing Area. If you’re looking to pick up some autographed books (especially YA), we recommend the following past Smart Pop writers:

• Cory Doctorow – For the Win (Wednesday, 10:00-11:00, Table 14) [ticket required]
• Justine Larbalestier (with Holly Black) – Zombies vs Unicorns (Wednesday, 3:00-4:00, Table 17)
• Rick Riordan – The Red Pyramid (Wednesday, 3:00-4:00, Table 24) [ticket required]
• Diana Peterfreund – Ascendant (Wednesday, 3:30-4:00, Table 18)

Plus these two, from our upcoming A Visitor’s Guide to Mystic Falls:

• Bree Despain – The Dark Divine (Wednesday, 4:00-5:00, Table 24)
• Jennifer Lynn Barnes – Raised by Wolves (Thursday, 2:30-3:00, Table 28)

(We should also give a shout out to the BenBella nonfiction authors signing at Table 28 all day Wednesday. From social media to the science of vision to a guide to proper-fitting bras, the nonfiction side’s almost busier than we are!)

Anything happening at BEA this year that you think we should know about?

As of this morning, she’s taking over chief hosting duties for our blog, Twitter account, and Facebook page. I’ll still be blogging, giving book updates, and sharing the occasional comment or link. But when you @message us or comment over on Facebook, chances are Jennifer will be the one answering.

I’ll miss getting my daily Twitter fix, but—as you’ll see over the next few days—having Jennifer take the reins is going to be a great thing for stepping up the frequency and quality of what we’re doing online.

So we’ve extended the deadline two weeks.

Dollhouse essays are now due on February 15.

Happy writing!

• updates on the contest and book (including the first look at the cover)
• notice that we’ve posted another essay tip on the blog
• a reminder a couple of weeks before Feb 1 so you don’t miss the deadline

It’s right up at the top and hard to miss; just go to our contest page, enter your email, and hit submit!

Hope your essays are going well!

I’m your de facto host, Leah, Smart Pop series editor—and this is the new Smart Pop Books.

I wanted to use this inaugural entry to give you a feel for the site: what we’re aiming to be, and what kind of content we’re trying to provide.

Overview

First and foremost, you’ll find essays we’ve published in our Smart Pop series—a new free essay every day.

Over the past six years we’ve put out nearly 50 anthologies, each with an average of 18 to 20 essays—a huge amount of content.  Starting today, we’ll be putting up the full text of a new essay from one of those anthologies every day, Monday through Friday, and leaving it up for a full week before letting it disappear back into the ether. (The links will still work after that week; they’ll just take you to a shorter excerpt.)

Second, you’ll find this blog. As we go forward we’ll be blogging once or twice a week ourselves, and inviting our past Smart Pop writers to do some guest blogging.

Our goal, at least for the moment, is not to review episodes or books or movies (there are already plenty of places you can find smart people doing a fabulous job at that) so much as it is to talk about both the minutiae and the big picture—to make comparisons across series and across mediums, to talk about pop culture in a way that’s hopefully thoughtful and creative. We’ll give a peek behind the scenes of the Smart Pop series and keep you updated on books in progress.

Also, you’ll be able to browse through and search all our past Smart Pop anthologies and their essays; see what other essays writers you like have written for us; and of course, buy the books.

What You Can Look Forward To in the Next Few Months

Excerpts for all the rest of our essays. We’ve got that “BETA” up there in the header for a reason: we’re still testing things out, and getting content loaded in. But over the next few weeks, those “Essay excerpt to come!” lines will quickly start being replaced.

The ability to rate and comment on individual essays. Because what are our Smart Pop titles, really, if not a printed discussion of tv shows, books, and movies we’re passionate about? And it’s a discussion we want you to be able to join.

Links to purchase e-books and individual essays. It seems unfair to tease you with an excerpt if we aren’t going to follow through. You won’t be able to get every essay, but we’re working with our authors to make as many available as we can.

Stay in Touch!

Over on the right are plenty of ways to keep up with us:

1. Twitter and Facebook. We’ll tweet/post whenever a new essay or blog post goes up, in addition to offering book discounts, passing on links we like, and making the occasional 140 character observation of our own.
2. RSS. We’ve set up separate feeds for our essays and our blog—subscribe to either, or both.
3. Our weekly email. Every Friday we’ll send you an email with links to the essays we’ve posted over the past five days. It’s an easy way to make sure you didn’t miss anything, and since the next essay won’t go up until Monday, you have the weekend to read at your leisure.

And please don’t hesitate to leave us a comment and let us know what you think: of the site, of our books, of my sorry attempts at spicing up a long introductory post. We’re always looking for feedback!

Thanks for stopping by—hope we’ll see you again soon!