Do you love Jane Austen? Do you dream of Mr. Darcy? (Who doesn’t, really?) Do you fantasize about living at Mansfield Park? Did you elbow people out of the way to get your copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? Do you have a Jane Austen action figure ? (Yes, they make them! Click here to see proof.)
The wonderful people at figment.com are hosting an author-led live web-discussion about…you guessed it, JANE AUSTEN. Read the following press information about the event!
On Monday, February 13 at 8 p.m. ET, three beloved YA authors—SHANNON HALE (Midnight in Austenland, Princess Academy), ELIZABETH EULBERG (Prom and Prejudice, Take a Bow), and E. LOCKHART (The Boyfriend List, National Book Award finalist The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks)—will join the thousands of young readers and writers on Figment.com for an exciting live group chat.
Inspired by Hale’s new novel, Midnight in Austenland, and the bestselling Austenland (soon to be a movie starring Keri Russell), these three authors will discuss the everlasting appeal of English literature’s most beloved lady: the incredible, inimitable Jane Austen.
Why do we keep coming back to Austen again and again? How is it that her heroines, created 200 years ago, still feel fresh enough to inspire thoroughly modern characters like Bridget Jones and Clueless’ Cher? And why does the idea of a trip to Pembrook Park—the setting of Midnight in Austenland, where
21st-century guests don bonnets and receive a taste of Regency romance from handsome gentleman actors—sound like the best vacation we’ve ever heard of?
Join us on Figment on Monday, February 13 at 8 p.m. ET to learn the answers to all these questions, and more. The authors will also take questions from readers in the second half of the event.
Permalink for the event: http://blog.figment.com/after-austen/
And as a lead-up to the live group chat, we invite you to try your hand at our quiz: Could You Survive Regency England?
http://blog.figment.com/2012/01/31/could-you-survive-regency-england/
You can also read Shannon’s essay on her lifelong love affair with Pride and Prejudice:
http://blog.figment.com/2012/02/06/shannon-hale-on-jane-austen/
Thanks to my friends at the YALSA listserve for keeping me in the know!
YA Book Bridges 