Spirit Animals is set in the fantasy world of Erdas, where children who come of age go through a ritual to determine if they have a “spirit animal,” a rare bond between human and beast that bestows great powers to both. The series focuses on four kids from different cultures who undergo an annual ritual and discover that they have been chosen for a greater destiny. Each book in the series will unlock expanded gameplay on the immersive Spirit Animals online game site, where kids can customize unique heroes, choose spirit animals, and go on quests to help save Erdas.

“Readers are transported into a whole new fantasy realm with Spirit Animals,” says Ellie Berger, president of Scholastic Trade. “This is 21st century storytelling at its best. We cannot be more excited about introducing this epic series to kids everywhere.”

Brandon Mull is the bestselling author of the Beyonders and Fablehaven series. Award-winning Maggie Stiefvater is bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Scorpio Races, and The Raven Boys.

Spirit Animals joins Scholastic’s first forays into the multi-platform space, The 39 Clues, a mystery series of books, collectible cards, and an online game that debuted in September 2008, and Infinity Ring, a travel adventure series for readers ages 8–12 that debuted in August 2012. The 39 Clues: Unstoppable, a spin-off cycle from the original series, launches in October.

Speaking on “The Rockin’ Women of YA” session during SLJ’s SummerTeen online event, the panelists—which also included Nina LaCour and Jackie Morse Kessler—emphasized the need to write from a universal, rather than a male or female, perspective.

LaCour, the author of Hold Still (Dutton, 2009) and The Disenchantments (Dutton, 2012), says she initially found adapting a masculine point of view daunting but concluded that, “Even though some experiences are probably uniquely boy experiences…really it’s all about the human experience.” King, who was a tomboy growing up, says she prefers using male protagonists. And Stiefvater explains that she particularly likes the fact that her book covers appeal to both male and female readers.

Both Stiefvater and Kessler contrasted their approaches to writing series. Kessler says her “Riders of the Apocalypse” series, which concludes next spring, was an accident. There were no plans to write a sequel to the first book, Hunger (Houghton/Graphia, 2010), but Kessler says her editor asked her to write additional books focusing on the other three Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Stiefvater, on the other hand, intricately plans the plot points of her series well in advance. Despite her love of the world she created in The Scorpio Races (Scholastic, 2011), she has no plans for a sequel because, she says, the story is complete.

LaCour and Stiefvater say they’re actively involved in creating their own book trailers.  King and Kessler say they’ve had to slow down on promoting their work because of their heavy workload. Although social media has made marketing easier for the authors, King cautions against overdoing it, stating that, “The Internet is not a billboard.”

Several authors say they’re also branching out beyond YA, with King co-writing an adult novel, LaCour returning to an adult novel she started in graduate school, and both King and Kessler exploring options for younger readers.

Other SLJ SummerTeen Interviews:

• Gareth Hinds
• Earl Sewell
• A.S. King
• Johan Harstad
• Barry Lyga
• Sean Michael Wilson
• Peter Hautman
• Karen Healey
• Cecil Castellucci
• Julie Kagawa
• Katie Kacvinsky
• Marissa Meyer

Photo: Robert Severi

Waitress, calligraphy instructor, and technical editor are just some of the jobs Maggie Stiefvater had before becoming a writer. Now the New York Times bestselling author is busy working on the sequel to The Raven Boys, the first in a four-book series.

Stiefvater’s Linger, the second book in the “Shiver” trilogy, debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list, and there are more than 1.8 million copies of the series in print. The Scorpio Races, Stiefvater’s latest novel, received five starred reviews and was named a 2012 Michael L. Printz Honor Book by the American Library Association.

Stiefvater, who lives in Virginia with her husband, two small kids, dogs, and one criminally insane cat, is an avid reader, an award-winning colored pencil artist, and plays several musical instruments, including the Celtic harp, the piano, and the bagpipes. Follow her on Twitter @mstiefvater.

Stiefvater is a is a guest speaker at SLJ‘s August 9 online event, SummerTeen: A Celebration of Young Adult Books. If you’ve signed up for SummerTeen, make sure to gather your teens to hear Stiefvater speak on the “Rockin’ Women of YA” panel from 3:45 p.m.–4:45 p.m. Registration is still open.

What do you like best about writing for a YA audience?

MS: I really love the idea that I might be the author who introduces a teen reader to the incredible world of folklore and mythology. I still remember novels from my childhood—The Dark is Rising, Fire and Hemlock, The Black Cauldron—that introduced me to myth, and they literally changed my way of looking at the world.

How did you end up writing fantasy novels?

MS: Oh, there was never a time when that was in question for me. Well, I take that back. I had a brief stint as a 16-year-old where all I wrote were IRA political thrillers, but we all have those phases, right? Right? I got a piece of advice when I was young—”Write the book you wish you could find on the shelf but can’t”—and what I love to read is fantasy set in the real world.

What’s one of the most moving things you’ve heard said about your books?

MS: I think I would have to say one of the most stunning letters I’ve received in the past year was from a teen who had just lost her father. She said that reading Shiver had made her think about the nature of love and loss and realize how purely her father had loved her and her mother, and that she could believe that that love carried on after he was gone, and she didn’t have to be afraid anymore—she could be a hero. Letters like that don’t ever leave you.

How valuable are librarians about getting the word out about your work?

MS: This is a trick question, isn’t it? Because of course they are invaluable—I have countless emails from readers saying that a librarian had been the one to put my novel in their hand. Word of mouth is beyond reproach. Isn’t that how we all love to find a book?

Do you ever worry about your books being censored or challenged?

MS: No. I write the story.

What are you working on now?

MS: I’m working on the sequel to The Raven Boys (September 18), which is the first in a four-book series. It’s about a wealthy private school boy searching for the body of an ancient Welsh king and the daughter of a psychic who has been told that if she kisses her true love, he’ll die. It’s mythology and boys behaving badly and fast cars and magic—so, the book that I wish I could find on the shelf but can’t.

Other SLJ SummerTeen Interviews:

• Gareth Hinds
• Earl Sewell
• A.S. King
• Johan Harstad
• Barry Lyga
• Sean Michael Wilson
• Peter Hautman
• Karen Healey
• Cecil Castellucci
• Julie Kagawa
• Katie Kacvinsky
• Marissa Meyer