CECIL CASTELLUCCI reads from her young adult novel STONE IN THE SKY, and BEN LOORY reads from his new children's book THE BASEBALL PLAYER AND THE WALRUS

Stone in the Sky (Roaring Brook Press) The Baseball Player and the Walrus (Dial Books)

Please join us tonight as we celebrate the launch of Cecil Castellucci's Stone in the Sky, as well as the paperback release of Tin Star and the 10th anniversary of the release of Boy Proof, which was just named as one of the top 100 best YA Books of All Time by Time Magazine! For today's event Cecil will be joined by Ben Loory, who will be launching his first children's book The Baseball Player and the Walrus!

"Brother Blue.

His name, even the color, filled me with a furious fire of pure hatred."

Years ago, Tula Bane was beaten and left for dead on a remote space station far from Earth, her home planet. She started with nothing and had no one, but over time, she found a home, a family, and even love. When it's discovered that the abandoned planet beneath the station is abundant with a rare and valuable resource, aliens from across the galaxy race over to strike it rich. With them comes trouble, like the man who nearly killed Tula years ago—the man she has dreamed of destroying ever since.

In this sequel to Tin Star, Cecil Castellucci takes readers on an extraordinary adventure through space in a thrilling and thoughtful exploration of what it means to love, to hate, and to be human.

Cecil Castellucci is a two-time MacDowell Colony fellow and award-winning author of twelve books for young adults, including Boy Proof, The Plain Janes,First Day on Earth, Year of the Beasts, and Tin Star. She lives in Los Angeles.

. . .

From acclaimed short-story writer Ben Loory comes a sweet and poignant story of friendship.

Once there was a famous baseball player who seemed to have it all. He made lots of money and had fans from around the world. But, he didn’t have the one thing he wanted most—happiness. That is until he went to the zoo. There the baseball player sees a walrus who “makes funny noises” and “flaps its flippers” in glee, and he decides he wants the walrus in his life.

When the baseball player leaves his job to spend more time with his new best friend, trouble arises in zoo paradise. Hopefully, the pair can find a compromise that will keep everyone happy and even leave a little time for one last game.

The Baseball Player and the Walrus brings the love of baseball and of friendship together in a humorous story of how we find happiness in the most surprising of places.

Author Ben Loory lives in Los Angeles and is the acclaimed author of Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day, which Kirkus has called “one of kind.” His short stories have appeared in the New Yorker and on NPR’s This American Life. Visit him at www.benloory.com.

Illustrator Alexander Latimer lives on the outskirts of a national park, where rogue porcupines wander the nearby streets, though he has yet to find any walruses. He is also the author of The Boy Who Cried Ninja, Lion vs. Rabbit, Pig and Small, and Penguin’s Hidden Talent. Visit him at www.alexlatimer.co.za.