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Welcome to fatherhood!  At first glance, the adventures of New Dad sound an awful lot like the adventures of Bachelor Man:

·      Late nights with a bottle in your hand

·      Working extra hard to get her into bed

·      Explaining why it’s OK for you to spend some time apart

·      Sleepover parties with tons of girls

·      Talking about drugs and alcohol

But now all these activities have a whole new spin.  That late-night bottle is full of baby formula, not Sam Adams.  You’re luring that cutie-pie to bed by reading a story, clearing the room of monsters, and fetching “one last glass of water” before retreating to the blissful haven of your own room.  That talk about spending time apart is going to happen while your child wails in despair as you try to say good-bye and drive away on the first day of school.  The sleepover party—yeah, your job is to rent a movie that a roomful of nine-year-olds will all like.  And talking about mood-altering substances gets a lot less funny and a lot more serious when you’re the one explaining to your child why she should not use them.

It’s a whole new world, huh?  But, being a dad is life altering—for the better! A lifetime of joy awaits.  Also, a lifetime of stuff that needs doing.  Fortunately, Stuff Every Dad Should Know exists to help.

First, thank you!

When we launched Quirk Books ten years ago, we had one goal: to publish titles we were passionate about. We weren't aiming for New York Times best sellers (though we've now published four of them) or trying to create new publishing genres (though we've seen countless imitators of our mash-ups and "irreference" handbooks.)

So, thank you for sharing our passions, interests, and dreams. Thank you for helping us spread great ideas and tell terrific stories. Thank you for making our first ten years so fun, so successful, and so rewarding.

This fall, we'll be celebrating our tenth anniversary with plenty of contests, promotions, and giveaways. Keep an eye on this page for details on how to join the fun.

Retailers: Please contact your Random House sales representative to discuss your participation in Quirk's 10th Anniversary Retail Promotion.

BEA Prize Patrol: In honor of Quirk Book's 10th Anniversary, our prize patrol will be walking the show floor and randomly giving away prizes to attendees carrying the Quirk Books tote bag. Grab a Quirk Books tote bag at booth #3848 and you could be the next winner.

At Quirk, we’re big fans of mashing up genres and putting an irreverent spin on pop-culture. We’re also big fans of The Hunger Games. So, to mark the movie’s release, we imagined what it would be like to have a celebrity version of The Hunger Games with some of our favorite TV children. Welcome to The Celebrity Hunger Games. May the odds be ever in your favor…

THE ARENA

The Arena has been prepared with a variety of dangers and pressures that face all teenagers. But, the Head Gamemaker has amplified these elements to a torturous degree. Here’s a sampling of what the Tributes can expect to encounter:

– A horde of teenage fembots sent to seduce and distract
– The captain of the football team armed with football grenades and handsome good looks
– A sudden onslaught of full-body acne so powerful that it leaves them incapacitated for hours
– A pregnancy scare
– Dangerous diet pills
– A throng of siblings out to steal their stuff
– An overbearing principal bent on destroying the Tributes’ freewill
– An avalanche of slushies that will threaten to drown them
– A very special episode where the characters experience the effects of drugs & alcohol
– And, near the end of the games, the Heads Gamemaker may introduce a younger sibling or cousin to stir things up—but, mostly to keep the at-home audience interested.

THE TRIBUTES

Caesar Flickerman had an opportunity to sit down with the Tributes and he has offered his analysis of each one.

Greg & Marcia Brady (The Brady Bunch)

Strengths: While not technically brother & sister, they have a connection that will be hard to break—and an investment in seeing the other return home safely. They’ve also displayed a strong ability to work together on-stage.

Weaknesses: It’s an immediate alliance, but they both can’t win. (Well, maybe they can???) Other known weaknesses include an ancient Hawaiian tiki and a football to the nose.

Happy Birthday, Dawson’s Creek!

Today (January 20th) marks the 14th anniversary of its premiere on The WB. The show introduced the world to the future Mrs. Tom Cruise, a future multiple Academy Award nominee, a future sci-fi fan favorite… and James Van Der Beek.

On this date back in 1998, we met 4 hyper-aware teenagers living in the fictional town of Capeside, MA. Joey, the proverbial girl next-door, climbed through Dawson’s bedroom window looking for comfort and refuge from her depressed family life. Dawson, oblivious to her intentions, daydreamed about being the next Spielberg and pined for Jennifer, the new neighbor. Jennifer, exiled to Capeside for her bad girl behavior, was seeking a fresh start by moving in with her Grams. And, Pacey, always looking to stir the pot, was seducing his high school teacher. Good times.

Over the course of six seasons, Dawson, Joey, Pacey and Jennifer debated life and love with a maturity and vocabulary that showed a wisdom beyond their teenage years. So, what better way to mark this anniversary than to present ‘Creek Wisdom’…

Amazingly, today is the first of three Friday the 13ths to happen in the next 13 weeks!

Mythology and spirituality aside, this date immediately brings me to the movies. And, I’m not talking about the recent retreads or even the last few movies in the original series. We’re talking the early days when a boy drowned in Crystal Lake because his counselors weren’t paying attention. We’re talking Mrs. Vorhees and her hockey-masked son seeking revenge. We’re talking guts and gore in the wilderness. Ah… good times.

So, in honor of this momentous 13 week stretch, let’s consider what Jason might be listening to while on his murder spree–assuming he had an iPod underneath that hockey mask…