DreamWorks announced the news that the writers for Kung Fu Panda & Robin Hood have signed on to write the adaptation for Gils’s All Fright Diner.

From Variety:
Writers dine on ‘Diner’
‘Panda’ pair back for animated ‘Fright’ fare
By Michael Fleming

DreamWorks Animation has set Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris to write “Gil’s All Fright Diner,” an adaptation of the A. Lee Martinez novel that has Barry Sonnenfeld attached to direct.

The scribes previously received story credit on DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda.” The writers also originated the Ridley Scott-directed “Robin Hood” as a spec script that was subsequently rewritten by Brian Helgeland, and they were exec producers and writers on the Showtime drama series “Sleeper Cell.”

Much like the “Twilight” series, “Gil’s All Fright Diner” revolves around a vampire and a werewolf. Here, they are mismatched partners who battle zombies and try to save the world, after they stop in a diner in the desert that is a conduit for the supernatural.

We liked the odd couple aspect of the story, this vampire and werewolf who team to save the world from an ancient demon and his modern ally, a high school cheerleader who wants to be famous.”

Kirk De Micco was the first writer on the pic.

Reiff and Voris have also completed an hourlong drama pilot that Warner Bros. will shop to networks shortly. Their last series was the Rufus Sewell starrer “Eleventh Hour.”

Universal releases “Robin Hood” on May 12.

By Susan Chang, Senior Editor

When we were choosing the books that would launch our Starscape imprint for middle grade readers in January of 2002, the number one pick on our list was the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. The protagonist is a brilliant child character, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, and from the fan mail we’ve gotten over the years since its initial publication in 1985, we knew that the book appealed to young readers. So, for the Starscape edition, we wanted to make the cover more attractive to a younger audience.

To create a new cover for one of the most beloved science fiction classics of all time was a daunting task. Our art director chose a talented artist named David Gaadt to illustrate a scene of Ender and his fellow trainees in the Battle Room. In print for eight years, the Starscape edition of Ender’s Game has been a huge success, selling hundreds of thousands of copies and introducing the books of Orson Scott Card to a whole new generation of readers.

In 2008, the Young Adult Library Services Association of the American Library Association chose Orson Scott Card as the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award, honoring his significant and lasting contribution to writing for teens, specifically citing Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow. “Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow continually capture the imagination and interest of teens,” said committee chair Brenna Shanks. “The conflicts of self and society, on a personal level and on a universal stage, never lose relevance.”

Now that we are approaching the 25th anniversary of the book’s publication, the time has come for a facelift. Here it is: the new cover for the Starscape edition of Ender’s Game.

What do you think?

(from the December Tor/Forge newsletter)

Keke Palmer, star of Nickelodeon’s True Jackson VP, reviews Never Slow Dance With A Zombie by E. Van Lowe.

Dom Testa visits Preston Middle School in Fort Collins, Colorado, in support of their fantastic Preston Reads! program.

Related Links:

• Club Galahad
• Big Brain Club
• Book Trailer for The Comet’s Curse by Dom Testa
• Rocket Kids ‘09–An Interdisciplinary Project
• The Comet’s Curse Educator’s Guide
• More Broccoli
• Video: Creating the Curse with Dom Testa
• Video: Dom Testa – Meet Galahad’s Crew
• Dom Testa – Mountains and Plains Trade Show

Enter for a chance to win an advance reading copy on Goodreads!

About Dead Guy Spy: Nathan Abercrombie is getting used to his rotten life as a half-dead zombie. The good thing is he doesn’t feel any pain. The bad thing is his body can’t heal, so he has to be really careful not to break anything. But that’s hard to do when his wrestling-obsessed gym teacher, Mr. Lomux, matches him up with Rodney the bully, who’s looking for any excuse to break his bones. Then one day, Nathan is approached by the secret organization B.U.M.—aka the Bureau of Useful Misadventures—which offers him a cure in exchange for his help. Nathan jumps at the chance to become the world’s first zombie spy, but soon discovers that B.U.M. isn’t quite what it seems. Can Nathan trust them?

Enter to win here!

Kashimashi Omnibus Vol 2: story by Satoru Akahori; art by Yukimaru Katsura

Thanks to a freak accident with an alien space ship, Hazumu has had to get used to living life as a girl instead of a boy. Not only that, her relationship with childhood friend Tomari and first love Yasuna has developed into a delicately-balanced love triangle.

But now, a wrench is thrown into the works—the alien that caused this mess in the first place informs Hazumu that she only has thirty days left to live. Only by merging her fate with that of another does Hazumu stand any chance of surviving.

The chaotic and conflicted all-girl love triangle comes to a shocking resolution in the face of Hazumu’s biggest challenge yet…her own mortality.

Read more about the series on gomanga.com

Keyholders #3: Inside the Magic by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

Oh, no! Mr. Leery has been kidnapped by the evil Queen of the Boggarts. It’s up to the apprentice Keyholders Penny, Luke, and Natalie to rescue him. Together with their links, a unicorn named Kirin, a dragon named Dracula, and a rat named Buttercup, the three Keyholders cross the border to the landinside the magic—a place where anything can happen. Will they find Mr. Leery in time?

……………………………………………

Keyholders #4: The Wrong Side of Magic by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

When Penny, Luke, Natalie and their links return home after rescuing Mr. Leery from the clutches of the evil Queen of the Boggarts, they find a lot of changes in Morgantown. Mrs. Bender, the principal, has decided on longer school days with no recess. The cafeteria ladies are serving up some extremely yucky food (even more than usual). And their teacher, Mr. Crandle, is giving them twice as much homework. What is wrong with all the adults in town? Could it be another scheme from the Boggart Queen? It’s up to the apprentice Keyholders to find out.

Now in paperback!

Chance Fortune in the Shadow Zone by Shane Berryhill

At the end of their freshman year at the Burlington Academy for the Superhuman, Chance Fortune and the Outlaws saved the universe. Though he lacks a superpower, Chance used his natural talents and quick wits to form his team, the Outlaws, into an effective fighting force.

When an apparent teleportation malfunction strands the team in the Shadow Zone, the Outlaws are put to the test once more. Teeming with supervillains exiled by the Brotherhood of Heroes, the Shadow Zone is a land of nightmares brought to life. Before long, Psy-Chick, Gothika, Iron Maiden, and Private Justice are kidnapped by the mysterious Shadowmen. Can Chance, Space Cadet, and Shocker rescue their friends and find their way home—before it’s too late?

By Susan Chang, Senior Editor

As an editor, one of the things I love to do is come up with ideas for books I’d like to read and find the perfect person to write the story. These ideas come from anywhere and everywhere: TV, magazines, web surfing, video games, comic books. One day, I was sitting at home watching an episode of National Geographic Explorer. Called “China’s Secret Mummies,” it was about ancient mummies unearthed in the Tarim Basin in Western China in 1978.

Surprisingly, these mummies had Caucasian facial features and light hair. Who were these people? What were they doing there?

Continue reading…

By E. Van Lowe

It amazes me where the inspiration for our stories comes from: a dream, a song, a fleeting image—and sometimes failure. That’s how it was for me. The inspiration for Never Slow Dance With a Zombie came out of a failed pitch.

In Hollywood we sell TV shows by pitching them. In 2004, when I was hot off the success of writing Even Stevens for the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon invited me to pitch a show idea. The idea I came up with was about a girl whose father had become a whistle-blower and the family suddenly found itself in the witness protection program. Yeah, I know. Where are the zombies? Bear with me.

Continue reading…