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 2012′s intro posts are here.

For The Panem Companion, our latest companion book, on Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy (from Mellark Bakery to Mockingjays), we’ve asked the book’s author, V. Arrow, to write the intro post. Read her thoughts on writing The Panem Companion below! And don’t forget, you can sign up on the book page to get a free excerpt.

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If I had known that staying up until 3 a.m. with a carton of ice cream to talk to my …

» Continue Reading “Return to Panem with author V. Arrow”

Join V. Arrow as she travels the 13 districts for The Panem Companion Victory Tour!

We didn’t have to fight to the death to publish The Panem Companion, but we still think its impending December 4 release is something to celebrate.

Over the course of the next 13 days—from November 26 to December 12—author V. Arrow will be traveling to 13 “districts” (which some of you may know better as top-notch Hunger Games fansites and book blogs) to share the excitement. Each district will be giving away a copy of The Panem Companion, and will feature an exclusive excerpt from the book! Some of them will also be interviewing V., and hosting other fun activities.

Luckily, following us on the tour doesn’t …

» Continue Reading “The Panem Companion Victory Tour”

We don’t know if they have a winter gift-giving occasion in Panem.

But just in case, we’ve put together a (less deadly) cornucopia of gifts for the Hunger Games fans in your life—all of which can be obtained from the safety of your own home. Because let’s face it—the closer we get to Christmas, the more the mall starts looking like a Hunger Games arena.

1. The Panem Companion. Shameless self-promotion: our brand new Hunger Games companion, written by V. Arrow (the creator of this super-cool map of Panem), comes out December 4! The grad-school class of Hunger Games books, it answers the hardcore fan’s most burning questions about Panem.
2. Rue’s Song Print. For the musical Hunger Games fan, this print features the

…

» Continue Reading “2012 Holiday Gift Guide: Hunger Games”

Convention season is still going full swing, and this weekend Leah and a few other Smart Pop contributors will be heading to GeekGirlCon in Seattle. If you’re planning on attending, we’d love to see you at the two panels we’ll be participating in! And don’t forget to ask for a free 2012 Smart Pop Preview while you’re there—we’ll be giving away a limited number at the panels.

Gender and Race in the 74th Hunger Games

Saturday, 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM

Although the Hunger Games trilogy takes place in what looks like a future North America, the nation of Panem is distinctive from the contemporary United States, Canada, and Mexico. Social and cultural conventions clearly shifted over the centuries between our own time and Katniss Everdeen’s …

» Continue Reading “GeekGirlCon 2012”

Headed to SDCC next month? Hey, us too!

Here’s where to find us at Comic-Con, what we’re up to, and what we’re giving away.

Jump to: Location, Free Stuff, Signings, Giveaways

Location, Location, Location (#4300)

This year, thanks of Friend of Smart Pop Jamie Chambers, we’ll be front and audience-left-of-center in the exhibit hall, at Booth #4300.

We’re excited about this for multiple reasons:

1. The company (we’re sharing space with Jamie’s Signal Fire Studios and Dead Gentleman Productions)
2. We’ll be only twenty feet from Starbucks
3. We’ll be a lot easier for you to find!

We’re listed in two places in the exhibit hall guide, and you’ll still be able to pick up a sampler from our table …

» Continue Reading “San Diego Comic-Con 2012”

It’s my favorite time of year again: time to announce a new season of Smart Pop titles.

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 …

» Continue Reading “Announcing the Smart Pop Fall 2012 season”

. . . we’d like to announce—very, very early—the future publication of The Panem Companion: An Unofficial Guide to Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games, From Mellark Bakery to Mockingjays.

The Panem Companion, to be released December 2012, is written by V. Arrow, better known to a lot of Hunger Games fandom as aimmyarrowshigh, the creator of this brilliant unofficial map of Panem—which was my first introduction to her, actually, long before there was any talk of books. (And I have to give a quick shoutout here to the always fantastic Adam and Savanna at Hunger Games Fireside Chat, for introducing us to V. a few months back!)

We’re so excited about this book, from the updated (and gorgeously illustrated) version of that original …

» Continue Reading “Because there can never be enough Hunger Games books in the world . . .”