Hey, Narnia Fans. NarniaFans sat down with Teen Libris Series Editor, Leah Wilson to discuss the new book, Through the Wardrobe: Your Favorite Authors on CS Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. Special thanks to Leah for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions.
JS:This is the first book in the Teen Libris Series. Would you care to explain to our readers what the name “Libris” means?
LW:“Libris” comes from the Latin root “liber,” which means books (and free, incidentally); mostly its used as part of “ex libris” (“from the books of”), which you see a lot on book plates. So Teen Libris, more or less grammatically, means “Teen Books”—hard to come up with a more accurate name for the series than that! What we liked about it as part of a series name is that it felt smart, and a little quirky. And I at least thought it was catchy. 🙂
JS: It certianly is! What is the overall focus of the TeenLibris books?
LW: It’s a line of anthologies written on popular and well-loved series for teens, by popular and well-loved authors who write for teens. They’re aimed primarily at a teen audience, but just like the Chronicles are a rewarding read regardless of age, we think anyone who enjoys the book series a Teen Libris title is on will also enjoy the Teen Libris title.
JS: Who was it that first proposed the concept for the book Through the Wardrobe?
LW:The series idea was my boss’s, BenBella’s publisher, but doing one on Narnia was Borders’. Being a bookstore, they’re in a great position to know what their customers want—and since we’re effectually partnered with them for this book, as the book’s only available in Borders stores, it’s their investment too!
JS: Obviously there are plenty of Narnia tie-in books out there. Because of this was there any hesitancy or concern on either yours or the publishers part on doing a Narnia tie-in book? What do you think sets Through the Wardrobe apart from the other books out there focusing on Narnia?
LW:Some, absolutely—it’s, as you say, a crowded market. But I think our concept, and the book that resulted, is unique. It’s a pretty secular take on Narnia, though not in a way that denigrates or pushes aside the very important religious elements. And because of that, I think we were freed up to look at more of the quirkier, less-discussed aspects of Narnia—the romantic appeal of King Edmund, Prince Caspian as a coming of age story—along with giving some fresh perspectives on well-covered themes—eating in Narnia, how Aslan inspires goodness (in readers, too).
JS:How did you find Herbie Brennan and the other writers for the essays? Did they contact you or did you contact them?
LW: We contacted them. We did an earlier anthology aimed at teens for Borders, and had contacts from that, and otherwise approached writers we loved (some of whom we’d worked with on the adult pop culture anthologies we produce) to see if they wanted to write about Narnia. The response was pretty overwhelming; this generation of YA writers were apparently very influenced by Lewis and Narnia.
JS: What exactly were yours and Mr. Brennan’s editorial duties on the book?
LW: I’m what I suppose you’d call the “series editor”—I hang out behind the scenes and make sure everything gets done, well and on time. Herbie, as the guest editor for the book, provides the “voice” of the book—introduces all the essays, puts everything into context. And also, generally, hangs around being fabulous while I have to scurry off to make sure all the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed on the next book. 🙂
JS:Were there any essays you didn’t use?
LW: There were a few writers who had to drop out because of various reasons (and every one of them seemed pretty heartbroken about it!), but we ended up using just about every essay we got—they were all fantastic.
JS:Had you read the Chronicles of Narnia before working on editing this book?
LW: Absolutely! And actually, back in college, I took a whole class with Professor Wesley Kort on C.S. Lewis—which was a great thing for me to be able to pull from when talking to authors about their topics. I should really send him a copy, now that I think of it. 🙂
Also, I worked a little bit with an earlier anthology we did on Narnia for adults, Revisiting Narnia, edited by Shanna Caughey. (http://smartpopbooks.com/allbooks/2005.htm#Narnia) So I got the chance to re-read them again then, and get paid for it!
JS:That’s always a plus! So,which of the Narnia books is your favorite?
LW:I’ve always had a special affection for The Magician’s Nephew—it’s the one I remembered best from childhood. The image of the Wood between the Worlds really stuck with me. And in re-reading, I love the little touches that give you the backstory for things in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe—less Jadis than the origin of the Wardrobe, and the Lamp post.
JS: Do you have a favorite character or moment in the Narnian Chronicles? Why?
LW:I rather like the image in Prince Caspian of the whole world coming back to life, but there are so many vivid moments that it’s really hard to pick.
JS: What about the film? Had you seen the movie,The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe?
LW: I had—it came out right after we printed Revisiting Narnia, so if I recall correctly we might have made an office field trip out of it.
JS: Most people in writing books on Narnia prefer to gear it to kids (as they are seen a children’s books) or adults. Why choose teenagers for your target audience?
LW:It’s the “fastest growing market in publishing”—which is just a fancy way of saying teens are the group out there right now who are most enthusiastic about reading. Who better to write for? Also, we’d already done one for adults. 🙂
JS:What do you like best about Through the Wardrobe?
LW:Probably the philosophy behind it, honestly. Grown-ups aren’t the only ones who enjoy thinking about what they read. If Harry Potter has taught us nothing else, it’s that kids engage with their reading even more than adults do. And Through the Wardrobe encourages that.
JS: Do you have a favorite essay in Through the Wardrobe? If so, why?
LW: It’s very dangerous to play favorites, but I will mention two I think were particularly inventive: “King Edmund the Cute,” a fantastically engaging, smart account of Diana Peterfreund’s childhood crush on Edmund Pevensie; and “Eating in Narnia,” a topic that’s been well-covered but that Diane Duane treats in a very fresh, charming, and earthy way, starting with the insight that Narnia, unique among fantasy worlds, is a place you’d actually want to go for dinner.
JS: What do you hope readers will gain from reading this book?
LW:If I were a better person, I might say “insight into the Chronicles.” But honestly? Enjoyment. I hope they’ll just have a blast with the book. I know I did working on it.
JS:Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about this book?
LW:I know you’ve linked it already, but just the fact that we have a 25-page preview up at our Teen Libris series site—because I think the book speaks for itself! (http://www.teenlibris.com/teenlibris1_Wardrobe.html)
JS:I have taken a look at some of the other books in the TeenLibris series. Any chance that we’ll see ones focusing on Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or A Wrinkle in Time?
I would love to do A Wrinkle in Time; that’s one of my favorite series from childhood. But on the whole, Teen Libris is focused on what’s in the forefront of teen readers’ minds now—stuff like Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, and the super clever, soon-to-be-a-major-motion-picture Percy Jackson series. Narnia is a little bit of an oddity in our line-up so far . . . but if it does well for Borders, I’ll definitely be taking a closer look at some other classics!
JS: Thank you again, Leah for all your time. Be back tomorrow for the review for Through the Wardrobe