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E-mail YingHello, friends! I’m so thrilled today to share with you the North American cover for The Traitor in the Tunnel:
Those of you with an editorial eye will now be wondering, “The Traitor and the Tunnel” or ” The Traitor in the Tunnel”? Why are you so inconsistent, Ying? Don’t you know the title of your own book? In fact, there are two slightly different titles. I originally chose “and” because I wanted the title to allude to different traitors and different tunnels, and that’s what we did at Walker Books for the UK edition. But the fine editors at Candlewick Press felt that “in” sounded better – faster, snappier, cleaner. And once it was pointed out to me, I agreed. So the North American edition is The Traitor in the Tunnel. Did you think it was possible to agonize this much over a simple conjunction or preposition? 
I also wanted to share with you an absolutely lovely review of Traitor by Niranjana Iyer of Brown Paper. Iyer says, “The richness of detail, the intelligent writing, the intricate plots, and superbly-drawn characters elevate this series miles above most YA offerings on the shelves today; I’m delighted to hear this trilogy now has a fourth installment in store for its many devotees.” Thank you so much, Nina!
Tags: cover art, reviews, The Traitor and the Tunnel, UK, US
Eeee! Another lovely cover! Congratulations!
I am looking forward to reading the next installment very much…
Ohhh, that cover is so lovely!
*FANGIRL SCREAM*
Right, so I need a US edition of this cover too.
So how different is the US edition from the UK edition on the inside? I know you’re doing copyedits for the US edition, and I was curious…
(this is the same Yuan who frolicked in France/lives in canada, btw. I’ve just recently decided to try going by Li on the internet. So, um, namehandle is different but still the same person!)
Thank you so much, Deva and Steph! And it’s great to be in touch again, Li! The US edition is basically the same as the UK one, with lightly Americanized idioms (and a couple of corrections we caught on the umpteenth proofread).
Love the cover… and the news that there will be a 4th book! Hurrah!
Wow. I think I’m going to hit up the Book Depo for a US hardcover – it’s just SO pretty!
Another beautiful cover! Congrats!! I can’t wait for this to come out!
will it have a cover story like you did with the other ones?
OOOOHH so glad I waited for the US cover! Now I just have to wait for the book to arrive, haha!
Personally, I like the British-isms. Can I campaign to have them kept in for the next book? LA Meyer’s Bloody Jack series has tons of regional and historical idioms (she’s all over the place, that one) and I love that. Leave ‘em in, I say!
Yay, 4th book! *prays* Come on, book 5…
Omg! Thank you Thank you THANK YOU!!!!! I have been waiting for this for a long time! The cover looks amazing! Will read it the day it comes out!
I love it! I’m so excited for this book, it looks and sounds as fabulous as the others.
I like this cover better than the other two. When is this available in Canada?
Beautiful! Another gorgeous cover (who does them for you??) and another success!
You’re a star!
It’s such a great cover!!!! I love it and it still has the same girl on it as the last two books- but you can see her much more clearly now. And I’m really happy you post every wednesday so I know EXACTLY when I could comment instead of looking in hope every single day!!
I love that the cover is remaining true to the previous two books- I always hate it when book covers change in the middle of a series! I can’t WAIT to read it.
Another gorgeous cover! It fits well with the first two books. As you know the cover posts are some of my favorites.
I agree with the above poster. Why use Americanized idioms for a story set in England? It would have been better to add a glossary to the North American version. Then we could refer to it if we didn’t understand a British idiom or better yet just look it up ourselves.
Thank you so much, everyone! I’ll be sure to let Heather, the designer, know how enthusiastic you all are. Carenza, yes, I’ll do a Cover Story – I’m just waiting for Candlewick to send me the photos (I wasn’t at the photo shoot). Auntie Yen, it’s out in Feb ’12. Jill, all the covers are designed in-house by my publisher. They’re just amazing with every detail. Radha and JaneE, using the same model was v important to us – so glad you agree! And sorry about the higgledy blogging this summer; I prefer being back on schedule, too. And Melodyj and Alethea, it is a VERY light Americanization – eg, “jail” instead of “gaol” -and we kept most idioms (“She turned about” vs “She turned around”). It’s so hard to strike a balance between authenticity and intelligibility for a wide range of readers!
Ooohhh, this has to be my favorite cover yet!!! I can hardly wait until it’s released over here! As for the slight change in book title, I rather wish Candlewick had kept the original if only because I prefer titles to refer closely to the book’s plot, rather than just sit there and sound snappy (but both titles are nice).
Look forward to it!
*wants* Oh, can’t wait to get my hands on it! Like everyone else, I love that the book covers are continuing with the same design and model. And the burgundy colour scheme in this one is very nice!
Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU! I have been waiting for this book so eagerly! The cover looks amazing and is by far the bst from the other two books. Congrats Ying AND Thanks once again!
I’m so glad you’re all excited; I am, too! Mara, I totally see your point about accurate titles. Don’t worry, though; “in” is still a good reflection of the plot!
it’s so beautiful
Thank you, Helenabean! P.S. Your bookplate is finally on its way to you. So sorry for the delay!
I want it sooo bad…
I CANT WAIT!!!!
thank you Ying, it arrived this morning
thank you sooooooo much, i am so grateful!!
huzzah! it’s gorgeous. so excited for more mary — some friends and i have been waiting and waiting…this is fabulous news!
Thank you so much, Gbemi!
congratulations, my dear!
bye
Enrico
Thank you, dear Enrico!
Beautiful cover! I can’t wait to have it sitting beside the first two.
great post thx
[...] I haz it. [...]
I CANT WAIT FOR THIS TO COME OUT!! I HAVE WAITED FOR IT FOR LIKE WHAT FEELS LIKE FOREVER!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!
RIGHT THERE WITH YOU! Can’t wait for Feb 28…