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”²s 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 best …

I admit to a few moments of trepidation when we first announced we were publishing a book about Fifty Shades of Grey.

“Dexter, or the Hunger Games, or James Bond–sure, okay,” I imagined you guys saying, seeing the tweet or Facebook post or monthly newsletter. “Plenty to talk about there. Lots of deep and interesting thoughts. But really, Smart Pop, seriously–Fifty Shades of Grey?”

But here’s the thing about Fifty Shades of Grey: It’s more than just a book, at this point. Fifty Shades became a lightning rod for issues like feminism, sexuality (BDSM/alternative and otherwise), domestic violence–even, given the book’s fanfiction roots, issues of authorship and ownership.

Plus, you could practically taste the confusion and conflicted feelings of …

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 …

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

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. . . 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 …