Books / Be More Chill

 

quick links: what's it about? / praise / pre-order / press release (US) / press release (UK) / video / current status / technical business-y stuff / movie info

...Be More Chill 06/01/04. My next book is called Be More Chill and it will be released 06/01/04--that's what that means. See, I just skipped some words in the middle and said Be More Chill twice. (Three times.) Anyway, I'm an idiot. Anyway, those are advertising principles.

 

...The book is the story of a guy who gets a pill that makes him cool. The pill is called a "squip"--it's actually a supercomputer that lives in your brain and gives you real-time social advice. The kid is named Jeremy Heere.

 

...From wonderful writers, all of 'em: words that are good and are associated with Be More Chill:

"I wish I'd had a squip when I was a teenager. Actually, I wish I had one now. You know what? Forget the squip. Reading this hilarious book is what will make you cool."
-- Neal Pollack, author, The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature, Never Mind the Pollacks

"Ned Vizzini writes about teenagers without the Saved by the Bell, 'boy I sure love pizza' clichés. Be More Chill is a funny, perceptive, and surprisingly well-written read for all ages."
-- Robert Lanham, author, The Hipster Handbook

"I thought Be More Chill was very funny, well observed and well written. Very clever story, beautiful executed - definitely one to take notice of, and one of the cleverest plots I've come across in a long time."
-- Melvin Burgess, author, Smack, Doing It

"Authentic without pretense and honest without stifling morality."
-- Zoe Trope, author, Please Don't Kill the Freshman

"Faust for the high school crowd, not to mention the greatest novel ever written about an ingestible robot that instructs a teenage boy in the art of seducing teenage girls."
-- Marty Beckerman, author, Death to All Cheerleaders, Generation S.L.U.T.

"I just finished Be More Chill and I loved it!! It is authentic, refreshingly honest and hilarious. You have perfectly captured the angst-filled, sex-obsessed thoughts of today's teens. Also, it is an incredibly original plot. [B]etween Be More Chill's originality and humorously honest depiction of the lives and thoughts of teens, your book is one of a kind."
-- Anne Rouyer, the New York Public Library

"I read your book over the weekend. It's really good, Ned. Funny and fun and smart. Who's gonna play you in the movie? Freddie Muniz? Ha."
-- John Strausbaugh, author, Rock 'Til You Drop

"What an urgent, industrious character is Jeremy Heere, narrator of Be More Chill. And what an insightful, hysterically funny, and ultimately meaningful journey he makes as he struggles to climb the ladder of teenage social hierarchy. Ned Vizzini is a young genius."
-- Regina McBride ph.D, author, The Nature of Water and Air, The Land of Women

"As a two-time survivor of high school (once as a student and once as a teacher), I know how hard it is to write about adolescence. But Ned Vizzini gets it right-- the lingo, the rigid caste system, the minutiae of teen courtship rituals. Be More Chill shows that high school can be a hero's journey, a treacherous march through minefields of bullies, drugs, and unfairly complicated bra straps. A smart, funny book that shies away from sentimentality and cliché, Be More Chill handles powerful themes with a light touch."
-- David Benioff, author, The 25th Hour, screenwriter, Troy (2004)

"Be More Chill is a sharp social commentary disguised as a high school sex (or no sex, in our hero's case) comedy. I was thoroughly entertained by Vizzini's clever take on the insanity (and inanity) of contemporary teendom."
-- Megan McCafferty, author, Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings

"Ned Vizzini is the definitive voice of his generation. The pages of this book reek with raw emotion and brilliant humor. You go, Ned!"
-- George Tabb, author, Playing My Field (2004), writer, Maximumrocknroll, New York Press, punk rocker

 

...If you'd like a special sneak preview of the book, there is a video of me reading from it, live, wearing a burlap sack. [video]

 

...For those who care, here is the book's status:

  • I'm done writing it (yea!)
  • It's been edited
  • it's been copy-edited (typos, bad English, unclear sentences, that sort of stuff)
  • we are finishing up the cover [above]
  • we had the first promotions meeting, where we sat around and discussed how the book will invade your space; I'll try to make that as painless as possible
  • we had a second, more realistic promo meeting
  • we have started to get praise-ful quotes (aka "blurbs") for the book [blurbs]
  • the "galleys" of the book, which are early copies for reviewers, and which are also called "ARCs" for "advance review copies", will be done the last week of November; I will get 25 copies to give to my bestest friends
  • the galleys are done (they came 11/24/03) and they look great! They're amazing! Some early recipients: Rasmus Holmen of nirvanaclub.com, Nick Antosca up in Yale, my friend Marcus, your mom
  • we have a contest to give away one of galleys!
  • I made a few edits to the galley (so the winner of the contest will get infamous "Chapter Nine," which no one else gets)
  • The UK cover is unveiled! (1/25/04)
  • In a poll, my girlfriend's cover design, which wasn't used, got the majority of votes. (A foreboding omen for the future? Maybe everyone will hate the cover and I will be destitute and jailed.) Maybe a future version of the book will have Naomi's cover; in any case she did a great job and you should check it out. Naomi majored in photography and is a great graphic designer. (2/6/04)
  • A Humiliation Sheet from Be More Chill has been manufactured by Hyperion and is available in pdf format. Check it out, it's funny! [Humiliation Sheet]

 

...Technical business-y stuff:

  • In the US, Be More Chill was sold to Hyperion Books, to be published under the Miramax imprint, in February 2003. Once again, publication 06/01/04.
  • In the UK, Be More Chill was sold to HarperCollins UK. Publication 07/05/04. I will be going to London in the last week of June or early July 2004 to promote the book!

    the UK cover!
    ["The UK cover of BMC is HOT!!" -- Tim Saccenti, designer of the US cover]
  • In Germany, Be More Chill has been sold to Bertelsmann Jugenbuch Verlag, or "Random House" to you; it's all owned by Bertelsmann. Publication 06/01/04. This means the book will be translated into actual German!

    the German cover! (In Germany, the book will be called simply Cool)
    [subtitle, according to my brother, is "And what's with love?"]
    [the German translator's concerns] [an earlier translation of Teen Angst into Filipino]
  • In France, Be More Chill has been sold to Gallimard for publication in their "Scripto" series of books, which in the past has included books by Joyce Carol Oates and Melvin Burgess. No publication date yet for the French version, but we do know the book have an initial print run of 6000-8000 and will cost about 10 euros.
  • There will be an audiobook version of the book. I have no idea who is reading it. I'd love to get Judge Mills Lane.

 

...Movie stuff:

The Weitz Brothers (Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz), who wrote and directed American Pie (plus Chris has a new play on Broadway, Roulette), have agreed to develop Be More Chill with Steve Pink, the screenwriter who adapted High Fidelity into a movie. They're doing this through their company Depth of Field. I'm really excited, obviously, to be working with such quality, talented people who understand where the book is coming from. Over the next three months I am going to be involved with Steve as he puts together the screenplay! [2-21-04]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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©2003Ned Vizzini