Our Blog

Photo by JESHOOTS.com from Pexels

Dev Patel shot to fame thanks to the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, and since then, he’s starred in everything from action films to high drama to retirement comedy. Most recently, Patel has found himself at the center of casting controversy, thanks to his portrayal of David Copperfield. Many fans and critics applauded the decision to cast based on sheer charisma and talent, rather than race, but of course, a vocal minority was none too pleased about it.

However, there’s no doubt that Patel’s role has changed the way we look at classic literary characters (hopefully for the better), opening up future adaptations as well. In honor of the film, we’re taking a look at some of his other literary roles.

It’s hard not to love Mister Rogers. He taught us how to imagine, how to be a good neighbor, and, without us even noticing it, how to be a kind people. The lessons we learned from this wonderful man have stuck with us through adulthood. And yes, we did cry all the way through Won’t You Be My Neighbor? last year. We even published a book about him, pairing Fred Rogers own songwriting with beautiful illustrations by Luke Flowers: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. But we’re not the only Mister Rogers fans out there. Many many celebrities have expressed their love for the man. And who could blame them?

We really really love The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston. In this wildly imaginative adaptation of Mark Twain’s classic The Prince and the Pauper, Imogen Lovelace is a teenager on a mission. All she wants is to save her favorite Starfield character, Princess Amara. She’s got the ExcelsiCon map memorized, the #SaveAmara hashtag trending, and so much merch to give away. But there’s one problem: Jessica Stone, the actress playing the role, wants nothing to do with the campaign. In fact, she’d rather her character remain dead. (Yikes!) Which got us thinking: who would we like to see switch places for our own entertainment? And the answer was easy: Emma Thompson and Emma Watson.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

April 9 is National Name Yourself Day, which isn’t about celebrating your own name, but about taking a day to choose a new one. It may just be for a day, but it can be extremely liberating to take a new name for a while; maybe a Jane is sick of feeling plain, and wants to be Arabella for a while. Maybe a Veronica acts a little differently in the world than a Mildred. Maybe you’ve just always wanted to see how the world would react if you could choose your own moniker.

Of course, for authors, there’s no need to wait for National Name Yourself Day to choose a new name. Many authors write under a pen name, for all kinds of reasons. Some do it so that they can cover sensitive topics without offending loved ones. Some do it to avoid public scrutiny, or to try something that doesn’t fit with their usual brand. Did you know that these famous authors have all written under pen names?

A Quiet Place is now out in theaters and while we’re all sufficiently frightened by the trailer, we’re also kind of in love with the fact that the movie’s stars – Emily Blunt and John Krasinski – are married and working together for the very first time. (Okay, we’re not just “kind of in love” with that. We’re full on in love. You know how much we love Emily Blunt.) To celebrate the film’s release, we thought it would be fun to showcase some of our other favorite couples and the work they’ve created together. Forget #relationshipgoals, this is all about #collaborationgoals.

(Movie still from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Warner Bros)
 

It’s the end of July and we can’t put our wand on the why, but things are feeling kind of magical. Oh, hang on. It’s J.K. Rowling’s birthday! Over here at Quirk Books, we’re celebrating the Queen of Quidditch, the Duchess of Diagon Alley, the Countess of Chocolate Frogs. Want in on the fun? Other than sending a loving and determined tweet to our hero and yours, here are five ways to celebrate J.K. Rowling’s birthday.