WORD Presents Tor Teen 20th Anniversary

06/08/2023 - 7:00pm

FREE EVENT! Limited Seating + Additional Standing Room; RSVP below

Masks appreciated!

*Please note event space is only accessible by stairs; we do not have an elevator.*

 

Flaunt Your Fandom, Celebrating 20 Years of Magic, Mischief, & Marvel with Tor Teen

2023 marks Tor Teen's milestone 20th anniversary! Celebrate twenty years of magic, mischief, and marvel with critically-acclaimed YA authors Terry J. Benton-Walker (Blood Debts), Mark Oshiro (Into the Light) and Charlie Jane Anders (Promises Stronger than Darkness ) as they discuss crafting fantastical stories and standout characters for the young adult reader and fandom.

 

About Blood Debts

Thirty years ago, a young woman was murdered, a family was lynched, and New Orleans saw the greatest magical massacre in its history. In the days that followed, a throne was stolen from a queen.

On the anniversary of these brutal events, Clement and Cristina Trudeau—the sixteen-year-old twin heirs to the powerful, magical, dethroned family—are mourning their father and caring for their sick mother. Until, by chance, they discover their mother isn’t sick—she’s cursed. Cursed by someone on the very magic council their family used to rule. Someone who will come for them next.

Cristina, once a talented and dedicated practitioner of Generational magic, has given up magic for good. An ancient spell is what killed their father and she was the one who cast it. For Clement, magic is his lifeline. A distraction from his anger and pain. Even better than the random guys he hooks up with.

Cristina and Clement used to be each other’s most trusted confidant and friend, now they barely speak. But if they have any hope of discovering who is coming after their family, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other and their family's magic, all while solving the decades-old murder that sparked the still-rising tensions between the city’s magical and non-magical communities. And if they don't succeed, New Orleans may see another massacre. Or worse.


About Into the Light

When you're like me, you have to lie.
It’s been one year since Manny was cast out of his family and driven into the wilderness of the American Southwest. Since then, Manny lives by self-taught rules that keep him moving—and keep him alive. Now, he’s taking a chance on a traveling situation with the Varela family, whose attractive but surly son, Carlos, seems to promise a new future.

I can't let anyone down.
Eli abides by the rules of his family, living in a secluded community that raised him to believe his obedience will be rewarded. But an unsettling question slowly eats away at Eli’s once unwavering faith in Reconciliation: Why can’t he remember his past?

What am I supposed to do?
But the reported discovery of an unidentified body found in the hills of Idyllwild, California, will draw both of these young men into facing their biggest fears and confronting their own identity—and who they are allowed to be.

Find the truth.
For fans of Courtney Summers and Tiffany D. Jackson, Into the Light is a ripped-from-the-headlines story with Oshiro's signature mix of raw emotions and visceral prose—but with a startling twist you’ll have to read to believe.

 

About Promises Stronger Than Darkness

Promises Stronger Than Darkness marks the final installment of the international bestselling author Charlie Jane Anders's absolutely heart-stopping YA series, Unstoppable.

They're the galaxy's most wanted—and our only hope.

When Elza became a space princess, she thought she'd be spending her time at the palace, wearing gorgeous couture and soaking up everything there is to know—but instead, she's on the run, with everyone hunting for her and her friends.

Rachael followed her best friend Tina on the adventure of a lifetime—but now Tina's gone, and Rachael's the only one keeping her friends together, as they go on a desperate quest to save everyone from an ancient curse.

Rachael, Elza and their friends have found one clue, one shining mysterious chance to stop the end of the world. And that takes them back to the second-to-last place they'd want to be: enlisting the aid of Captain Thaoh Argentian, the woman who stole Tina's body (and who now seems to be relishing a second chance at teenage chaos and drama, instead of living up to her legacy of an intrepid heroic commander).

With only a ragtag band of misfits, crewmates, earthlings, friends, lovers (and one annoying frenemy), the Unstoppable Crew are up against the universe--and they soon find that in order to survive, they may have to cross a line they vowed never to cross.

 


About the speakers:

TERRY J. BENTON-WALKER grew up in rural GA and now lives in Atlanta with his husband and son, where he writes fiction for adults, young adults, and children. He has an Industrial Engineering degree from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Georgia State. When he’s not writing, he can be found gaming, eating ice cream, or both. Connect with Terry on Twitter at @tjbentonwalker, Instagram at @icecreamvicelord, or at tjbentonwalker.comBlood Debts is his first novel.

MARK OSHIRO is the #1 New York Times bestselling, award-winning Latinx queer author of Anger Is a Gift, Each of Us a Desert, and Into the Light, as well as their middle grade books The InsidersYou Only Live Once, David Bravo, and Star Wars Hunters: Battle for the Arena. They are the coauthor (with Rick Riordan) of The Sun and the Star: A Nico Di Angelo Adventure. When not writing, they are trying to pet every dog in the world.

CHARLIE JANE ANDERS is the author of Victories Greater Than Death, the first book in the young-adult Unstoppable trilogy, along with the short story collection Even Greater Mistakes. Her other books include The City in the Middle of the Night and All the Birds in the Sky. Her fiction and journalism have appeared in The New York TimesThe Washington PostSlateMcSweeney'sMother Jones, the Boston ReviewTor.comTin HouseConjunctionsWired Magazine, and other places. Her TED Talk, "Go Ahead, Dream About the Future" got 700,000 views in its first week. With Annalee Newitz, she co-hosts the podcast Our Opinions Are Correct.

 

 

Interested in a signed copy but unable to attend the event?

Use the listing below to purchase a copy and leave us a note in the "Notes" field saying you'd like a signed one! We offer pick-up and shipping options. 


 

Blood Debts By Terry J. Benton-Walker Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781250825926
Availability: In stock at Brooklyn or Jersey City -- click for more details
Published: Tor Teen - April 4th, 2023

GODS MEDDLE AND MAGIC WILL BETRAY YOU, BUT THIS TIME JUSTICE WILL REIGN.

Terry J. Benton-Walker's contemporary fantasy debut, Blood Debts, is "an extravaganza from start to finish" (Chloe Gong) with powerful magical families, intergenerational curses, and deadly drama in New Orleans.


Into the Light By Mark Oshiro Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781250812254
Availability: In stock at Brooklyn or Jersey City -- click for more details
Published: Tor Teen - March 28th, 2023

When you're like me, you have to lie.


Promises Stronger Than Darkness (Unstoppable #3) By Charlie Jane Anders Cover Image
$21.99
ISBN: 9781250317506
Availability: Available from our distributor; usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Tor Teen - April 11th, 2023

Promises Stronger Than Darkness marks the final installment of the international bestselling author Charlie Jane Anders's absolutely heart-stopping YA series, Unstoppable.

They're the galaxy's most wanted—and our only hope.


RSVP Form: 

RSVP for Tor Teen 20th Anniversary, June 8, 2023

RSVP below for WORD Presents Tor Teen 20th Anniversary, June 8, 2023 at 7:00PM

 

Do not attend the event if you are feeling ill. Location and time subject to change.

All fields marked with '*' denotes mandatory fields