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August 3, 2017
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DARE TO KNOW
"Worth the cover price for sheer insolence alone... Essential reading for the gathering dark." —The Times Saturday Review
"A razor-smart sci-fi corporate noir nightmare. Dare to Know is what happens when Willy Loman sees through the Matrix. A heartbreaking, time-bending, galactic mindbender delivered in the mordantly funny clip of a doomed antihero." —Daniel Kraus, co-author of The Shape of Water
"Explores questions of free will, psychology and human history in a fascinating, compulsively readable thriller."—The Guardian
"Audaciously clever and well written... [a] superb piece of storytelling: vivid, thought provoking and unsettling. After you finish it you’ll want to go back to the start and read it again." —SFX Magazine
"[An] enjoyable slipstream thriller... Readers with a taste for the synchronicity of the cosmic with the commonplace are sure to be entertained." —Publishers Weekly
"Philip K. Dick energy infusing Death of the Salesman... I loved it." —Kieron Gillen, Hugo-winning creator of The Wicked + The Divine
"Seamlessly integrates philosophy, first love, Beatles music, jaw-dropping science fiction and the four stages of civilization, and turns it all into a fast-paced, existential, mind-expanding thriller—a thoroughly enjoyable read." —Shelf Awareness
"Will keep readers on the edge of their seats wanting to find out the next piece of the puzzle... Dare To Know will prompt the reader to consider the philosophical implications of life and death itself." —Booklist
"[A] genre-bending thriller... good pacing and clever plotting keep the pages turning." —New York Journal of Books
"Hilarious . . . Readers with a finely tuned sense of the absurd are going to adore the Technicolor ride."
—Booklist
"Fantasy done to a clever, grotesque, nonsensical turn." —Chicago Sun-Times
"A work of mischievous imagination and outrageous invention." —Time Out Chicago
"An extraordinary and delightfully weird romp that’s one part China Mieville, one part Lemony Snicket, with trace amounts of Madeline L’Engle and Roald Dahl . . . Kennedy has filled 400+ pages with a series of strange turn-ups and adventures that grow progressively more outlandish and funny, such that when you think he’s surely run out of runway and must crash, he finds new, unsuspected weirdness to explore.” —Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother, For The Win, and co-editor of Boing Boing
Email: kennedyjames@gmail.com
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
I am interviewed by author Keir Graff about my speculative thriller Dare to Know for the Authors On Tap series at Chicago's Exile in Bookville bookstore (Fine Arts Building, 410 S Michigan Avenue, 2nd floor). This event is both IN STORE and streamed virtually (register here for streaming). 7 pm CST.
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
I'm one of the three featured speakers at the Assistance League Chicagoland West's 25th Annual Books & Brunch. With authors RJ Hoffman (Other People's Children) and Julie McGue (Twice a Daughter), moderated by Andrea Thome. This is a hybrid event: both virtual and at Abbington Distinctive Banquets (3S002 Route 53 - Corner of Route 53 and Butterfield Rd, Glen Ellyn, IL). Doors at 10 am, program and livestream begin at 12:30 pm CST. Complete details here.
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Speaking about Dare to Know for a virtual event for Off The Beaten Path Bookstore in Lakewood, NY! More details to come. 7 pm EST.
Thursday, November 18, 2021
Speaking about Dare to Know at the Lincolnwood Public Library (4000 W. Pratt Avenue, Lincolnwood, IL). This may be a virtual program or a live program, depending. More details to come. 7 pm CST.
Friday, January 14, 2022
The deadline for submitting movies for the eleventh annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival.
Saturday, February 12, 2022
The BROOKLYN, NY screening for the eleventh annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Hosted by me and another co-host TBA. At the Brooklyn Public Library (10 Grand Army Plaza) in the Dweck Auditorium. 1 pm. More details to come.
Sunday, March 6, 2022
The CHICAGO screening for the eleventh annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Hosted by me and another co-host TBA. At the Chicago Public Library - Harold Washington Library Center in the Pritzker Auditorium. Made possible by the Chicago Public Library. More details to come.
Saturday, March 12, 2022
The BOSTON screening for the eleventh annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Hosted by me and another co-host TBA. At the Boston Public Library - Central Library (700 Boylston St). Made possible by the Boston Public Library. More details to come.
Saturday, March 19, 2022
The TACOMA, WA screening for the eleventh annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Hosted by author me and another co-host TBA. Made possible by the Tacoma Public Library. More details to come.
Sunday, March 27, 2022
The ROCHESTER, NY screening for the eleventh annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! At the Dryden Theatre at the George Eastman Museum (900 East Ave). Hosted by me and another co-host TBA. 2 pm.
Saturday, April 2, 2022
The SAN ANTONIO, TX screening for the eleventh annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Hosted by me and another co-host TBA. At the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Will Naylor Smith Riverwalk Plaza. Made possible by partners at Bexar County Digital Library Bibliotech and the Hidalgo Foundation through the generosity of H-E-B Texas Grocery. 2 pm.
Saturday, April 9, 2022
The BOULDER, CO screening for the eleventh annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Hosted by me and another co-host TBA. Made possible by the Boulder Office of Arts & Culture. More details to come.
Saturday, April 30, 2022
The TRENTON, NJ screening for the eleventh annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Hosted by me and another co-host TBA. More details to come.
I am interviewed by Betsy Bird for the School Library Journal’s Fuse #8 blog. Check it out if you want to read about my opinions on Zork, my life in the convent, and why The Jeffersons is superior to Catcher in the Rye. Many in the comments section deem this the “Best. Interview. Ever.” Dare you disagree?
I am interviewed by the lovely Senfaye on A Maze Of Books. Read it if you’re curious as to why I chose to end the interview by saying “I hate you”—and why when Senfaye asked “What’s your favorite food?” I replied “Your skull.” It’s scandalous!
I am interviewed by Amy Alessio for the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Read about my experiences as a junior high school science teacher—in particular, of how the entire faculty was mysteriously menaced by a obscene note-writing student known only as “The Foggy Wiener.” I also talk about my participation in Japan’s violent “Naked Man” Festival, and how I discovered the President of the ALA is a whimsical hobo.
Order of Odd-Fish Week on Murphblog. Check out Paul Michael Murphy's monster five-part interview with me! Part One, the road to publication; Part Two, on writing; Part Three, I reveal the thing I will always find funny; Part Four, the "lightning round"; Part Five, a Create-Your-Own-Odd-Fish-Specialty contest (entries are in the comments section); and I judge the winner of the contest.
I am interviewed by Melissa at the Book Nut blog. I talk about the difficulties of getting The Order of Odd-Fish published, my high school friend who was the inspiration for Jo, the idea of an “urban Narnia,” and the origin of the All-Devouring Mother character. Melissa also posted a glowing review here.
The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. I founded a film festival in which kid filmmakers create weird short movies that tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning books in about 90 seconds. Now in its 6th year, it screens annually in 14 cities: New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and many others! The movies the kids create are weird, funny, and impressive. Learn more about the film festival here.
The Secrets of Story Podcast. I host a podcast with Matt Bird, the author of a book and blog called The Secrets of Story, in which we discuss (okay, argue about) advice for novelists and screenwriters.
The Classroom Guide to The Order of Odd-Fish. I've put together a 44-page Teacher's Guide / curriculum for Odd-Fish! It's a treasure trove of creative project ideas, discussion questions, chapter worksheets, and further resources. It also features fan art by enthusiastic teen readers of Odd-Fish. (This art was featured in a fan art gallery show in Chicago in April 2010.) You can download the teacher's guide for free here.
It's a mixtape for The Order of Odd-Fish. Listen to a stream of the songs I chose for an imaginary "movie soundtrack" for Odd-Fish, and read why I chose them. Lots of different stuff: French ye-ye, Kinshasa street bands, pseudo-classical, puzzling blippity-bloopity music, and more.
I used to be in a band called Brilliant Pebbles. We had been variously described as "melodramatic video game music," "moon-man opera," and "gypsy sex metal." It's over now, but I loved being in this band.
Email: kennedyjames [at] gmail [dot] com
Twitter: @iamjameskennedy
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