Our Blog

Fiction: MG & YA

Banned Books Week: A YA Survival Kit To Get You Through Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week: A YA Survival Kit To Get You Through Banned Books Week

Leaves are falling, pumpkins are plumping, and books are being banned. It must be fall. This year, if you’re going to survive Banned Books Week, I thought I’d provide you with ten essentials featured prominently in ten of the most challenged young adult novels. This way you can arm yourself with the knowledge, and items, that the parents in your community are protecting you from. Because as we all know, if you don’t read about taboo things in books, then of course, they will never affect you.

So get your flashlights, bottled water, and canned goods ready, then be sure to add the following items to your Banned Books Survival Kit.

Posted by Diana R. Wallach

Banned Books Week: A Week of Outfits Inspired By Banned Books

Banned Books Week: A Week of Outfits Inspired By Banned Books
 
Next week at Quirk Books we’re celebrating Banned Books Week!
 
Ah yes, that time of year when booklovers honor books that have been banned or challenged throughout the ages and celebrate their freedom to read whatever they like. Many of the most important books in my life have been banned at one point or another, and it makes me wonder who has missed out on the opportunity to be inspired by one of these frequently challenged works of literature because it was banned in their county or their country.
 
By taking part in Banned Books Week, we’re honoring our ability to live free from censorship and embrace new ideas in the best way we can, through reading. But there are a lot of other ways to embrace your love for banned books too. If you’re a baker you could make banned book themed cupcakes, or if you’re interested in film you could have a movie marathon of all the classic films inspired by banned books. If you’re feeling especially inspired, you could even take a road-trip to the cities and towns where your favorite banned books are set.
 
My second love (after books, of course) is fashion, so I have taken it upon myself to create a weeks worth of looks based on my favorite banned or challenged books. If you like them, feel free to let me know in the comments! Mimicking my favorite fashion bloggers, I will have links for where you can buy all of the pieces featured in this post (or, if I can’t find them, alternatives to all of the pieces).
 
So, without further ado, here are a week of outfits based on banned books.

Posted by Kristy Pirone

Bookish Events in Philadelphia: September 20th – 26th

Bookish Events in Philadelphia: September 20th – 26th

Gentle readers: get your smelling salts. Writers: hang on to your berets. This is a whirlwind of a week!  And as always, remember this is but a gust of the exhilarating literary weather of Philadelphia, back in full force for fall.

Love,

APIARY

Posted by Lillian Dunn

Cookbook: Desserts, Crafting

Celebrate Read an eBook Day With Our Free eBook Samplers!

Celebrate Read an eBook Day With Our Free eBook Samplers!

Did you know that today is Read an eBook Day? It is! True story! Just check out this website! 

Over the past few years, Quirk has released a handful of free eBooks, featuring tons of stuff from our books. Recipes, crafts, excerpts, essays… you name it, we've tossed in a lot of free stuff into these beautifully designed (great work Andie!) free eBooks.

There are some links to download them below. Go ahead, they're free. Happy Read an eBook Day! 

Stuff Every Geek Should Know

Quirk Books Throws You Five Awesome Parties

Quirk Books Entertains Your Kids

Homemade Quirk Diy Sampler: Volume 1

Posted by Eric Smith

Fiction: Horror & Paranormal

HORRORTOR: The Horrorstor Blog Tour, Plus Five Forgotten Horror Writers You Need to Discover

HORRORTOR: The Horrorstor Blog Tour, Plus Five Forgotten Horror Writers You Need to Discover

Greeting horror fans! The blog tour for Grady Hendrix's Horrorstor has begun! Launching yesterday with The Book Smugglers and running through the end of the month, you can find Grady on a number of websites celebrating the release of his awesome novel. 

9/17: The Book Smugglers – Five Horror Novels That Will Make Your Head Spin
9/18: Quirk Books Blog – Five Forgotten Horror Novelists You Need to Discover
9/19: My Bookish Ways – Are Ghosts Really Real?
9/22: LitReactor – The Joy of Horror Novelizations
9/23: Publishing Crawl – What Watching Hong Kong Horror Movies Taught Me About Writing
9/24: Forces of Geek – You Don’t Know These Ten Horror Movies, But They Will Melt Your Face
9/26: Cuddlebuggery – Favorite Fictional Places
9/29: Bound by Words – A Playlist for Writing
9/30: That's Normal: Supernatural Smackdown – Difference Between Real & Fictional Hauntings

The tour continues today with this post from Grady, about horror novelists you need to discover.

Posted by Grady Hendrix

Travel

Why I’d Rather Be a Fictional Pirate Than an Actual Pirate

Why I’d Rather Be a Fictional Pirate Than an Actual Pirate
 
Sign via Loving Leigh Yours on Etsy
 
I am a Pirate.
 
This is known to anyone who has ever spoken to me for more than an hour. It’s not something that can be taught, you’re just born this way. Now if you’re jealous, don’t be. I can’t bake so if you can then that’s an awesome thing you have over on me. But this isn’t a contest. This is about Pirates. And when you’re a pirate people make one very obvious assumption, “I bet you wish you could live back then and be a real pirate!” And my answer is alway, “HELL NO!” (and there’s usually a dramatic record scratch).
 
I don’t blame you for being shocked. How could I love something that much and not wish I could see it or experience it first hand? Well, the short answer is three words long, “Penicillin, anesthesia, birth control.” What do those things have in common? Pirates didn’t have them. In fact they didn’t have a lot of things… like teeth. Most of what the public consciousness perceives as piracy comes from fictitious novels, sensationalized legends, and of course movies. No one ever walked the plank, said yar (unless they were getting run through by a cutlass) and buried treasure wasn’t buried so much as spent IMMEDIATELY in port. 
 
But this misinformation doesn't make me angry. Sure it’s fun to drop knowledge on people about what being a pirate was really like, but in all honesty I love the romanticized figure of the pirate as much as you all do! I’m totally there with you on the whole swinging from ropes thing and dramatic jumps from high cliffs into conveniently deep water! That stuff is fun, exciting, and amazing! As a pirate I am proud of my pirate heritage and well read on the history of my people, but if you’re asking me if I’d rather sail with Black Bart or Capt. Jas Hook the answer is Hook! Hook! Give us the hook! 
 
In honor of September 19th being International Talk Like a Pirate Day here are a couple of more ways being a fictional pirate trumps being an actual gentleman of fortune during The Golden Age of Piracy.

Posted by Jenelle Sosa

New Releases

Dog’s First Baby
Dog’s First Baby
By Natalie Nelson
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
By Grady Hendrix
My Best Friend’s Exorcism
My Best Friend’s Exorcism
By Grady Hendrix
Horrorstör
Horrorstör
By Grady Hendrix
Paperbacks from Hell
Paperbacks from Hell
By Grady Hendrix