Penguin Teen Australia Besteller List

Hello Rick Yancey! Welcome to the Top 5 on the Penguin Teen Australia bestseller list

Penguin Teen Australia Bestseller Chart

This week John Green's An Abundance of Katherines jumps a big three places to take second spot and give him a one/two lock out on the PTA chart. The Fault in Our Stars also remains Australia's biggest selling YA book.

The Vampire Academy Blood Sisters Update

More casting announcements, sneaky cast pics and fun and games. We've got it all, in our latest VA: Blood Sisters movie update.

Over the weekend, our major key roles were all filled and wow, some heavy hitters from the acting world are now on board. Gabriel Byrne, Joely Richardson, Sarah Hyland and more join Zoey, Danila, Lucy. For our updated key cast roles, head to this update.

And as production meetings kicked into gear, we've welcomed a few more people to the #VAFamily. We've got Will Tudor, Chris Mason, Harry Bradshaw all joining the team in unconfirmed roles and Edward Holcroft, stepping in as Lissa's ex and Mia's main squeeze, Aaron. Some mighty fine additions to the cast here!

Left: Harry; Top: Edward; Bottom: Chris and Right: Will

Of course, behind the scenes shenanigans are half the fun and thanks to the magic of Twitter, we somehow feel that Zoey Deutch and Cameron Monaghan are going to have a very Rose/Mason relationship - what with their friendly banter and Tube flipping fun.

Note how dark Zoey's hair is!

And then a few of our cast managed to snap a few pics of the table reads!!

Turn the page Sami, we want to see more!

Welcome the #VAFamily

Vampire Academy fans have been around quite a while now, loving the heroines, the villains, the epic moments, the cliffhangers (well, not loving - Shadow Kiss we're looking at you!) and adoring the world Richelle Mead first introduced in 2007. And while VA fans haven't adopted an official sounding name for themselves, we do like to think of us all as one big #VAFamily. From author, to publisher, actor, casting agent, bookseller, fan - we are part of the #VAFamily.

We want to celebrate the #VAFamily in all shapes and forms, and we're kicking off with Kim's #VAFamily story. A story that truth be told, had us here at Penguin Teen Aus HQ tearing up just a little.

If you want to submit your story - we'd love to hear from you so email us at: penguinteenaus@au.penguingroup.com 

Was Vampire Academy the first book you ever read, did you create a fan site, did you  meet Richelle on tour, are you actor in the film (Hi Zoey & co!), are you new to the series, are you a Bloodlines fans, do you design fanart - we want to hear them all.

Kim's Story - How I Found a Best Friend

My #VAFamily story goes back a long way – it started small but grew into something amazing! For me, the Vampire Academy series will always be more than just a book series. It was and always will be a link to some of the best friendships and exciting experiences I’ve ever had. And I owe it all to Penguin Australia (100% genuine, no sucking up in that statement).

It all started with a book club – re-reading the best Vampire Academy book ever: Shadow Kiss; although I may be a little bias since it is my favourite Richelle Mead Book. I think this was the real start of my obsession. I was a fan before, but the Book Club made me a tad more passionate and addicted to the series than I was before. It was something fun and exciting to look forward to every week. Discussing and dissecting my favourite series – what could be better than that?

Kim meeting Richelle

My first signing event, and the most exciting signing I’ve ever been to, involved VA. The Sydney VA Tour After Party. Buying tickets months before the event (on holiday, frantically trying to log onto failing dial-up internet connections to get them), lining up well before start time and walking into the incredible MacLaurin Hall, it was more than I could have possibly imagined – and that was before Richelle had even been sighted! Everything about that event screamed VA from the excited fans (VA Represent!), to the gorgeous hall, even the wait staff blended in like Guardians – dressed in black, watching over the guests from the outer edges of the room. It was amazing. Meeting Richelle was obviously the highlight – although talking to Felicity after all the book club discussions comes in close second. I was so speechless and tongue tied that I forgot to ask Richelle the one question I wanted answered at the time (What the ‘T’ Royal Family stood for – Tarus was an unknown Royal before Spirit Bound) But it was an amazing night regardless of missed questions!

May 18, 2010 – the day of Spirit Bound’s release and the opening of the Penguin Australia Vampire Academy Forum – totally changed my VA life. I became a part of two Vampire Academy Forums around the same time; one more high profile than the other, but both introduced me to people all over the globe; some I’m still talking to years later. I met the best bunch of friends I could ever hope to have on the Penguin VA Forum. We even made up our own group name: The Dimka Hussies. We didn’t always stay on topic, but we sure knew how to swing the conversation back to VA and Dimitri (or anacondas) when needed. When the forum drew to a close, we didn’t let that stop us – migrating to twitter for chats and for a few lucky Sydney Hussies we even had some in-person meet ups! That’s how I met my best friend: Kerrie (Keza). Without VA I’d be minus my BEST FRIEND – and a lot of good book recommendations, but it’s the best friend part that hits home the most. 

Last Sacrifice discussions required!

Now? I’m still VA obsessed, waiting for the next books, the next mention of Rose and Dimitri, the latest casting information. This series and the connections I’ve made will always be part of my life – I have no doubt I’ll still be Dimitri obsessed in years to come, will still compare YA characters to Rose, discuss cabin scenes, wait for Adrian to truly find love, long for more Christian snarkiness and talk about how hot Strigoi Dimitri is...even while being evil. 

The Vampire Academy Movie Cast

The key roles are now in place and we have our Vampire Academy movie cast in place! Of course, we'll be digging down deep into what makes this the perfect cast later (Us biased?) but for now, here is your complete handy cheat sheet.

Penguin Teen Australia LIVE - Sydney

After having an amazing time with our Brisbane peeps, Penguin Teen Australia Live is back again and this time in Sydney. You’ll get to meet the people behind Penguin Teen Australia, ask us questions, hear about our amazing 2013 titles still to come, meet other YA fans in person AND hear a few extracts from HIGHLY anticipated books. We’ll also have a little PTA show bag of fun stuff for everyone attending.

AND we've got special guest author Will Kostakis attending - we'll spend time quizzing him about reality TV, Greek food and of course his amazing book, The First Third which is out later this year. 

Our amazing friends at Books Kinokuniya in the city (right near the town hall), are going to be our co-hosts on the night and will offer 20% discount on some hot teen titles as well. YAY! And if you want to bring a friend – then go for it, the more the merrier.

The Details: 
Penguin Teen Australia LIVE 
Time: 6pm, Monday 24 June
At: Books Kinokuniya, 

Level 2, Galleries Victoria

500 George St, Sydney

RSVP: penguinteenaus@au.penguingroup.com 

It's important to RSVP by Wednesday 19 June - that way we can make sure everyone gets a show bag!

Penguin Teen Australia Bestsellers Chart

It's top and bottom for John Green this week, with An Abundance of Katherines coming back into play. Also making a move up is Beautiful Creatures - could the upcoming Australian DVD release have anything to do with this surge?

Cover to Cover: The Truth About Forever

A look at covers around the world, as we compare Sarah Dessen's classic The Truth About Forever.

Top Row L to R: USA paperback - French - USA
Bottom Row L to R: Australian - German - Swedish

Which cover do you prefer?

Sanditon Lives - Gigi Darcy Continues The Story

If you're anything like us here at PTA, you've been desperately missing the twice weekly Lizzie Bennet Diaries episodes. And not just because we've missed staring into William Darcy's dreamy eyes.

We've got good news for you then, as hinted in their final days of LBD, the team behind this ground breaking series, have decided to carry on - and even better, within the Austen world. It is the story of Sanditon, Jane Austen's famously unfinished novel about a small seaside community looking to re-invent themselves and using communication to do so. The LBD team have taken some modern day liberties of course, but the same energetic storytelling, exciting characters and fun world building are already present in the first episode and will make waking up on Tuesday and Friday morning's Australian time worthwhile.

Dear Fans from Penguin Teen Australia

It's a truth universally acknowledged that fans are passionate people. The word itself derives from fanatic and let's be honest, we're all pretty fanatical about reading!

We love our characters, our authors, our stories with a fearsome loyalty that can sometimes overwhelm. We've bonded with them in their darkest hours, sharing their tears of joy, laughter and life altering moments. We've supported the characters journeys, invested in their growth and felt a personal attachment to them that goes beyond reading, beyond pages and beyond books.

So when other people assume to interpret our characters and attempt to transform the message, we can be passionately protective about this. We want not only the best, but VERY best for them. We want the same care, consideration and dedication shown to their stories and lives, that we've shown them. We want metaphoric blood, sweat and tears - maybe even a few literal tears and a few drops of sweat (we're not asking for blood, we're not that cruel!).

What often happens though, of course, is a difference of interpretation. Another's vision can be different from our own. It can be jarring. That clean, clear, perfect vision that was our own private world rocked and our perception of those characters can be altered, possibly forever.

Like any relationship that changes, people deal with it different ways. Anger, denial, grief, joy, triumph - it's all there - the range of emotions you might experience can be vast. And it's understandable, no one can tell you it's not.

However, the reaction you share with the world, that's a different story. The words you use to express you emotional response to this new perception and translation of characters and character worlds can affect everyone involved from author to actor and creator.

We'd never presume to tell you how to react, that's not our thing. We do though, value more than anything, the power of words. The impact of words is something we celebrate with new books every day. So we respectfully ask you as fans, to consider how you use your words and the reach they have.

With Love,

Penguin Teen Australia