FAQ
When is the next RAVEN BOYS book coming out?
I'd like to send you a letter. Where should I send it?
I love getting letters from readers, and I do try to reply to all of them, although I am very, very, very slow to do so. If that doesn't put you off, please send correspondence to me at:
Maggie Stiefvater
c/o Scholastic
557 Broadway
New York, NY 10012.
What other books have you written? What are you working on?
You can see the whole lot of the books that I have out on the novels page. I’m now working on the sequel to The Raven Boys and also on Requiem, the third and final book in the Books of Faerie series. I’ve also just finished collaborating on an anthology, The Curiosities, with Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff. And of course I also have short stories available for free at Merry Sisters of Fate.
Who wrote the music from the book trailers? Where can I find it? Can I use it for my fan video?
All of the trailers feature music composed by me. The songs are available for free download on the respective books’ pages in this site. Feel free to download for your listening pleasure and for any non-commercial purpose. For fan videos, please credit me with a link back to my site.
Can I use your lyrics/ words/ poems with my own music?
You can sing them all you like so long as you don’t try to sell them or mass-produce them (I realize this removes most of the fun from it). The rights to the lyrics belong to me and to Scholastic and the only versions of Summer Girl, etc., that are out there on iTunes have been approved by both of us. So, singing them in the shower = good. Singing them at your local gig = bad.
Will you do a signing in my town? How do I find out about your signings? I’m a bookseller and would like to arrange a visit.
Head over to my Appearances page for scheduled signings. Booksellers, email my publicist to find out about coordinating signings.
Will you come visit my school or book club?
I’m happy to visit schools, libraries, and book clubs, and have a variety of programs and workshops for groups of all sizes and age ranges. For school visits queries, contact my school visit coordinator. And for all other visits, contact my publicist.
Will you sign my book?
I will sign a bookplate for you if you send me a self-addressed-stamped-envelope at the address listed on the question about writing me a letter (up at the top!) It often takes a very, very long time for me to do them as I get a lot of requests and I’m also doing things like sleeping and writing books, so please don’t stalk me on Twitter asking if I’ve sent it yet or plan on the bookplate arriving in time for a loved one or pet’s birthday. Also, I can’t sign books as that means I need a special trip to the post office. Only bookplates, I’m afraid. And the self addressed stamped envelope is important!
I live in Australia/ Tokyo/ Austria/ the moon and I would like to know when books will be available in my country. Can you tell
Um, usually, no. I have the publication dates for the foreign editions as I get access to them, but it’s hard for me to say where the English-language edition will show up in any given country. I will update foreign edition info as it comes to me; if you have date or title information that’s missing from the Shiver page, a quick email with that info would be much appreciated. Otherwise, I recommend checking out the foreign editions page for each novel — most of them have links to publishers or more information, and can answer questions about multiple titles.
What are your favorite books?
You can read all about my favorite books on my Goodreads page and my Shelfari page. I put only my absolute favorite books on Goodreads, usually with a review, but I put everything that I read on my Shelfari page.
I have a homework assignment and need to interview an author. Can you help me? I need to do a book report on Shiver. Can you tel
I’m afraid that review copies are out of my hands. Especially in this economy, review copies are limited and my publishers decide who is eligible for one based upon the popularity of the review venue; I am blissfully unaware of the algorithms and machinations of review copies. Reviewers should direct all requests to the appropriate publisher (Flux for the Lament series, Scholastic for Shiver). If you’d like to be considered as a potential review venue, please send your requests along with your physical mailing address, your blog visit statistics, and a little bit about the popularity of your blog to tradepublicity@scholastic.com for the Shiver series or publicity@fluxnow.com for the Lament series.
Will you write another book in the Shiver series? Will you write a spin-off series?
Nope. That series is about hope and beginnings and the last thing I want to do is follow the remaining characters to the bitter end. Unlike The Scorpio Races, the nope will remain nope, even when I’m 60 and feeling nostalgic.
There's more about the ending here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApB_kgtJGI0
Will the books be movies? What’s going on with the movie? Can I be in the movie!? Don’t make the movie! Do make the movie!
I get asked about the movies. A lot. A lot a lot. Here's what I know:
The Scorpio Races has been optioned by Katzsmith Productions/ Warner Bros, and they are in the process of engaging a screenwriter. Optioning means that they’re looking at assembling all of the movie parts, but it’s all very tenuous and at any time it can perish.
The Raven Boys has also recently been optioned, this time by New Line/ Warner Bros.
Shiver was optioned, but the producers and I had a difference of creative opinion and so I decided not to continue with it. It's not to say it will never happen, but it's definitely not on the books now. I would always rather no movie than a movie I don't think my readers will appreciate, if it's in my power (and with film, it isn't often).
So, neither The Scorpio Races nor The Raven Boys has a release date (everything you see online to the contrary is lies and damn lies). No, they don't have trailers (although some fans have very fine editing skills on YouTube). No, they are not yet casting. I get asked a lot if there are new developments. Trust me, if there were new developments, I’d be howling them from the rooftops. And by rooftops, I mean Twitter.
I would like to talk to you about the ending of FOREVER. Will you?
No, but I will tell you that I did talk to readers about it in this chat hosted by Mundie Moms. I think it might answer your questions. http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/2011/0
Also, I talk about it in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApB_kgtJGI0
How did you come up with the idea for Shiver?
This is a long story, and I’ve tackled it in many, many interviews. For the story of Shiver‘s genesis and many other fascinating details about my life, I invite you to google “maggie stiefvater interview” and be amazed by the sheer number of them.
Are there real songs that go with Sam’s lyrics?
The answer to that is yes and really yes. I had songs in my mind when I wrote the lyrics, but then, after the books came out, I worked with two artists to create real versions of Sam’s “Summer Girl.” You can hear Jonas and Plunkett’s version here and Sulaiman Azimi’s here.
Which translation did you use for the Rilke poetry in Shiver and Linger?
Those are my translations from the original German. I also like Stephen Mitchell’s translations.
Will there be another book after LAMENT and BALLAD?
Yes. It’s tentatively called REQUIEM, it’s the last book in that series, and I’m working on it right now. Currently, the first two words of the rough draft are “Luke Dillon.”
In Ballad, there are poems by Steven Slaughter at the beginning of each chapter narrated by Nuala. Where can I find them?
Unfortunately or fortunately, there is no Steven Slaughter. He was supposed to be one of Nuala’s first “pupils” and I took the liberty of writing some poetry for him (without the benefit of a psychotic music, I might add). There are no more to the poems than what you see there. There is a short story, however, about Steven here.
Will The Scorpio Races be a movie?
Scorpio just got optioned by Warner Bros/ KatzSmith Productions and I had a great and optimistic phone call with the producers. Remember what I said about optioning above, though. It’s early stages. And even with full speed ahead, it would be YEARS before the movie comes out. Did you guys see Hugo last month? Yeah, the book it was based on came out in 2007. Twilight the book was published in 2005. Twilight the movie appeared in 2008. Books-to-movies take a long time. I swear, I promise, I declare that if I get any new news, I will shout it.
Will The Scorpio Races have a sequel?
No. That’s the short answer. The long answer is maybe when I’m 60 and feeling very nostalgic, I will write something called RETURN TO THISBY that won’t be as good as the original, but will please both me and lovers of Scorpio. But like I said. It’ll be in 30 years. I wouldn’t hold my breath.
What is your stance on fan fiction?
I consider it a pretty steep compliment. So long as I’m acknowledged as the creator of the original characters and no money is being made on the derivative fiction, fanfic away! I am not, however, a fan of derivative works—i.e., fanfic where my writing is taken word for word with only the characters or minor details changed. Please don’t plagiarize!
I want to be a writer. What should I do first?
Google is a godsend. Check out as many editor, agent, and author blogs as you can find — the internet is like a free crash course to the writing business and craft, available 24/7. There’s just not any excuse not to be well-versed in the writing world now. I’m afraid I don’t have time to answer specific writing questions via e-mail. If you leave writing questions on the blog as comments, I may tackle them in a group blog post at some point. I also have a very very broad description of getting published here.
Will you read my unpublished or self-published short stories, novels, poetry, or grocery lists?
Unfortunately, I can’t, mostly for legal reasons, but also because I only have time to critique the in-progress works of my two critique partners. If you want to find a critique partner, I have a match-up here.
I am a book reviewer and would like to request review copies of one of your upcoming novels. How do I get one?
I’m afraid that review copies are out of my hands. Especially in this economy, review copies are limited and my publishers decide who is eligible for one based upon the popularity of the review venue; I am blissfully unaware of the algorithms and machinations of review copies. Reviewers should direct all requests to the appropriate publisher (Flux for the Lament series, Scholastic for Shiver). If you’d like to be considered as a potential review venue, please send your requests along with your physical mailing address, your blog visit statistics, and a little bit about the popularity of your blog to BAmsel@scholastic.com for the Shiver series or publicity@fluxnow.com for the Lament series.
I'm a journalist — where can I find more information?
How do you pronounce your last name?
“Steve-Otter.” Like the name, “Steve,” and the little furry animal otter.







