The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
UPDATE: Little Brown has made an announcement regarding publication of Stephenie's new Novella in foreign countries: "We are still working with our many international partners to confirm on-sale dates and they will all be making announcements shortly. The June 5th release date will be adhered to by our UK, Australian and New Zealand publishers with many of our foreign language partners such as Spain, Italy, France and Germany to either come out simultaneously or closely behind."
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Stephenie Meyer and Little Brown have announced that a new novella by Stephenie Meyer, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, will be released this year on June 5th!
Here's the official press release:
LITTLE, BROWN BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS TO RELEASE
NEW NOVELLA FROM INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON
STEPHENIE MEYER ON SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2010
THE SHORT SECOND LIFE OF BREE TANNER:
AN ECLIPSE NOVELLA
NEW YORK, NY (March 30, 2010) – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, a division of
Hachette Book Group, has announced today that it will release the first new title from Stephenie
Meyer in nearly two years. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is a novella told from the point
of view of Bree, a character originally featured in Eclipse. The novella (at 192 pages) will be
released at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, June 5, 2010 in hardcover for $13.99 with a first printing of
1.5 million copies. One dollar for each book sold in the US from the first printing will be donated
to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which supports disaster relief efforts
such as those in Haiti and Chile.*
“I’m as surprised as anyone about this novella,” said Stephenie Meyer. “When I began working
on it in 2005, it was simply an exercise to help me examine the other side of Eclipse, which I
was editing at the time. I thought it might end up as a short story that I could include on my
website. Then, when work started on The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide, I thought the Guide
would be a good fit for my Bree story. However, the story grew longer than I anticipated, until it
was too long to fit into the Guide.”
As a special thank you to fans, Meyer is giving them exclusive access to the novel on a
dedicated website, www.breetanner.com, from June 7 to July 5, 2010 where fans from around
the world will be able to read the book online in English. “I’d always considered The Short
Second Life of Bree Tanner as something for the fans,” said Meyer. “They have been so
supportive of all things Twilight.”
Visitors to the dedicated site will also find a link to the American Red Cross website
(www.redcross.org), where they can make a donation and learn more about their relief efforts
worldwide. “I have been moved by the generous outpouring of support for the recent crises in
Haiti and Chile,” said Meyer. “I am glad that sales of this book will support the American Red
Cross with their amazing efforts abroad.”
“Fans have been waiting with bated breath for a new book from Stephenie,” said Megan
Tingley, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. “We are
doubly thrilled to be giving them the opportunity to read this exciting new work as well as
contribute to an important cause at the same time.”
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is the riveting story of Bree Tanner, a newborn vampire
first introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the world she inhabits. The novella chronicles
the newborn vampire army’s journey as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens,
following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.
The character Bree not only features prominently in the book Eclipse, but in the upcoming
movie from Summit Entertainment. “Stephenie was gracious enough to let me read a draft of the
novella while we were prepping the movie The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” said Director David
Slade. “I thoroughly enjoyed the story and it gave us great insight and inspired location choices
and the tailoring of scenes. I think fans are going to love the fascinating details involved in the
loves, fears and actions of an emerging vampire.”
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner will also be available as an ebook beginning at 6:00 a.m.
EST on June 5, 2010. Additionally, more information about the previously announced The
Twilight Saga: The Official Guide, including publication date, will be released by the end of the
year.
In less than five years, Stephenie Meyer has become a worldwide publishing phenomenon. The
Twilight Saga’s translation rights have been sold in nearly 50 countries and 100 million copies
have been sold worldwide.
*Donations to the American Red Cross from the US sales of The Short Second Life of Bree
Tanner will continue until all first printing copies have been sold or at the end of a two-year
period from the initial publication date, whichever is the first to occur.
The American Red Cross name is used with its permission, which in no way constitutes an
endorsement, express or implied, of any product, service, company, opinion or political position.
And here's what Stephenie said about it on our official website:
Surprise!
I have a new book coming out. It's called The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. Well, it's more of a novella than an actual book—my version of a short story.
Actually, this has been a surprise to me, too. The reason why it's a surprise was that I never intended to publish this story as a stand-alone book. I began this story a long time ago—before Twilight was even released. Back then I was just editing Eclipse, and in the thick of my vampire world. I was thinking a lot about the newborns, imagining their side of the story, and one thing led to another. I started writing from Bree's perspective about those final days, and what it was like to be a newborn.
This story was something that I worked on off and on for a while, just for fun, in between the times I was writing or editing other Twilight novels. Later, when the concept for The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide came up, I thought that might be a good place for Bree. Her story is a nice complement to Eclipse; it explains a lot of the things that Bella never knew. So I dusted it off and finished it up for placement in the Guide.
At the same time, it came in handy for the Eclipse film. Melissa (Rosenberg, the screenwriter) had a ton of questions about what exactly was going on in Seattle, how Victoria managed things, what Riley was like, etc. I let her read what I had then, and later gave the whole thing to the director, David Slade. David asked if Xavier, Bryce, and Jodelle (Riley, Victoria, and Bree) could read it as well, so all the parties involved would end up having a really strong foundation for their characters before the cameras started rolling. I was pleased that this side of the story would make it into the film and was looking forward to including it in the Guide.
(Keeping it confidential: Here is Jodelle next to the bucket of waterlogged ashes that were once the pages of her copy of the Bree manuscript.)
Then I got the news: my "short story" was nearly 200 pages long when typeset. It was too long to fit into the Guide—without ending up with a tome as heavy as the Oxford English Dictionary. My publisher approached me with the idea of releasing the Bree story on its own. One of the major benefits of this plan was that it would be out before the movie, so people would get to know Bree before they saw her in the film. That made sense to
me, and we decided to go ahead with it.
There was one thing I asked for: since this story had always been an extra for me, and was meant to be released with the Guide, I wanted to be able to offer it to my fans for free. You all have bought a ton of my books, and I wanted to give you this story as a gift. My publisher was awesome and embraced this idea. We still wanted to also produce a physical book with a cool cover (see below) that you can add to your set if you like, but starting at noon on June 7th until July 5th, it will also be available online at www.breetanner.com.
One other aspect of this release is the plan to give a more important gift to people who really need it. One dollar of each book purchased in the US from the first printing will be donated to the American Red Cross for their relief efforts in Haiti and Chile and other parts of the world where people are in great need. We're going to have an option online as well, so you can choose to make a donation if you want when you read the story online. I hope you will. I think that we can really help a lot of people with this.
I really hope you all enjoy this story. I had a blast writing it. I'm glad that after all this time cooling her heels in my files, Bree finally gets her chance to shine.
Thanks for all the support,
Steph
As Seth noted on Stephenie's website, her novella is not available for pre-order yet. But we'll let you know the second we hear anything.
"Bachelor parties are designed for those who are sad to see the passing of their single days. I couldn't be more eager to have mine behind me. So there's really no point." [Edward, Breaking Dawn, Chapter 2: Long Night, pg 24-25]
