TELL, OR THE ADVENTURES IN THEMIDDLE Named Quarterfinalist in 2020 BookLife Prize
Industry: Books
'Wildly Inventive' Middle-Grade Novel Receives Acknowledgement as Quarterfinalist from BookLife Critics
Le Plessis Robinson, France (PRUnderground) November 8th, 2020
The upper middle-grade fantasy adventure novel Tell, or the Adventures in Themiddle was named a quarterfinalist this month in the 2020 BookLife Prize, a contest for independent authors sponsored by BookLife and Publishers Weekly.
Commonly known as ‘the bible of the book business,’ Publishers Weekly (PW) is a magazine that targets librarians, booksellers, literary agents, authors and the media. BookLife is a PW website dedicated specifically to independently published authors. Their annual BookLife Prize, established in 2016, seeks to ’support independent authors and discover great written works in nine categories’ in both Fiction and Nonfiction.
Tell, or the Adventures in Themiddle, submitted on August 22nd, 2020, was among 800 entries received by the BookLife team. Earning 10 out of 10 marks for Plot, Prose, Originality, Character and Execution, the novel is “convincingly emotionally conflicted, with dimensions beyond that of a ‘chosen’ child.” The book, which targets advanced upper middle-grade readers, hasn’t always pleased every reviewer, however.
“A few readers who have reviewed Tell have had difficulty with the seeming senselessness of the story,” says author L.N. Mayer. “I’m hoping to reach more of my target demographic, children who aren’t necessarily looking for this type of book but might be interested by the story. They are the ones who know that as a child, you don’t always have a goal to accomplish, as the majority of young adult adventure novels would have you believe. You are led by your curiosity, you want to try to make sense of the weird and the senseless.”
ABOUT TELL, OR THE ADVENTURES IN THEMIDDLE
Published in January 2020, Tell, or the Adventures in Themiddle is a fantasy adventure novel that targets advanced readers ages 10 to 14. According to the 2020 BookLife Prize Critic’s Report, “This excellent, wildly inventive middle grade story follows the path of an abandoned boy as he discovers his unusual capabilities and encounters a bevy of otherworldly beings… Stories of troubled boys left alone to navigate complicated, magical worlds, are familiar. However, Mayer’s delightfully strange worldbuilding allows for the story to stand apart from other fantastical works of children’s literature.”
“Those who are conditioned to expect stories that fit the classic young adult format are going to be disappointed by this book,” says the author. “And I’ve come to terms with this because I’ve experimented with a sacred trope. Rather than just an adventure novel, Tell is a psychological thriller for children—and one I’m hoping they will re-read more than once, taking away something different each time they read it.”
Watch out for the 2020 BookLife Prize finalists who will be announced this week on November 15th, 2020.
To read the full BookLife Prize Critic’s Report for Tell, or the Adventures in Themiddle, visit: https://booklife.com/project/tell-or-the-adventures-in-themiddle-43399
To read an interview with the author, visit: https://www.smashwords.com/interview/lnmayer
To watch a book trailer for Tell, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78EUIYkv_qo
About Oslo & Bangs Publishing
Oslo & Bangs Publishing is the independent publishing company of author L.N. Mayer. The company is based in Le Plessis Robinson, France. Located outside of Paris and partially named after the celebrated novel, ROBINSON CRUSOE, Le Plessis Robinson is a city known for celebrating literature and reading.
