Courtney Summers

Canadian young adult fiction author

Courtney Summers

Born| 1986 (age 38-39)[1]
Belleville, Ontario
Occupation| Novelist
Citizenship| Canada
Period| 2009 – present
Genre| Young adult, Fiction
Notable works| Cracked Up to Be (2008)
This is Not a Test]] (2012)
All the Rage (2015)
Sadie (2018)
Website
courtneysummers.ca

Courtney Summers (born 1986 in Belleville, Ontario, Canada)[2] is a Canadian writer of young adult fiction. Her most famous known works are Cracked Up to Be (2008), This Is Not a Test (2012), All the Rage (2015), and Sadie (2018).[3]

## Career

[edit]

Her first novel, Cracked Up to Be, was published in December 2008[4] and was the 2009 Cybils Award winner for YA Fiction.[5] Her sophomore novel, Some Girls Are, was published in January 2010,[6] and received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews,[7] Publishers Weekly,[8] and School Library Journal,[9] and was a 2010 Goodreads Choice Awards nominee in the YA Fiction category.[10] Both novels were repackaged as a 2-in-1 edition titled What Goes Around in September 2013.[11]

Her third novel, Fall for Anything, was published in December 2010[12] and received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews[13] and Booklist.[14]

This Is Not a Test was published June 2012[15] and is set during the zombie apocalypse. Prior to its release, all of Summers' novels were contemporary and realistic. This Is Not a Test received a starred review from Publishers Weekly[16] and was optioned for television by Sony.[17] Summers announced that a script was currently in development in April 2015.[18] In January 2015, Summers released an e-novella sequel to This Is Not a Test, Please Remain Calm.[19]

Summers' fifth novel, All the Rage, was her hardcover debut and published in April 2015.[20] It was chosen as the sixth official selection of Tumblr's Reblog Book Club[21] and received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews,[22] Publishers Weekly[23] and School Library Journal.[24] It was also named a Spring 2015 Junior Library Guild Selection.[25]

On April 14, 2015, to mark the release of All the Rage, Summers launched the hashtag campaign #ToTheGirls,[26] encouraging people to send messages of support and positivity to girls across social media. #ToTheGirls trended worldwide on Twitter.[27] Notable press coverage included The Today Show[28] and it was named one of the most important feminist hashtags of 2015 by Mic News.[29]

Her novel Sadie tells the story of a teenager named Sadie Hunter whose little sister Mattie was murdered. Sadie seeks revenge against the man she believes killed Mattie. The book was released on September 4, 2018,[30] and is told from two perspectives: some chapters offering Sadie's point of view and some chapters being styled as transcripts from a podcast called "The Girls" hosted by a man named West McCray. The release of the book was accompanied by the release of a mock true-crime podcast titled The Girls: Find Sadie which is available on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher.[31] Sadie became a New York Times bestseller[32] on September 29, 2018, and has been awarded the 2019 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult literature from the Mystery Writers of America.[33] [34] Sadie also won the 2019 Odyssey Award from the American Library Association[35] and was a Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Best Book of the Year in 2019.[36]

Summers has also contributed short stories to the anthologies Defy the Dark and Violent Ends.[37]

## Works

[edit]

### Books

[edit]

* 
- (2008). Cracked Up to Be. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9780312383695.
* 
- (2010). Some Girls Are. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9780312573805.
* 
- (2011). Fall for Anything. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9780312656737.
* 
- (2012). This Is Not a Test. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9780312656744.
* 
- (2013). What Goes Around. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781250038449.
* 
- (2015). Please Remain Calm. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781466875906.
* All the Rage, St. Martin's Press (2015) (ISBN 9781250021915)
* Sadie, St. Martin's Press (2018) (ISBN 9781250105714)
* The Project, St. Martin's Press (2021) (ISBN 9781250105738)
* I'm the Girl, Wednesday Books (2022) (ISBN 9781250808363)

### Short stories

[edit]

* "Sleepstalk", Defy the Dark edited by Saundra Mitchell
* "The Likability Rule", Violent Ends edited by Shaun Hutchinson (2015)

### Essays

[edit]

* "Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World", Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World from Algonquin BFYR, January 2017

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Year  | Work  | Award  | Category  | Result  | Ref

|
|
|
|
|

2009  | Cracked Up to Be | Cybils Award | Young Adult Fiction  | Won  | [5]
OLA Forest of Reading Awards  | White Pine Award (YA Fiction)  | Nominated  | [38]
2010  | Some Girls Are | White Pine Award (YA Fiction)  | Nominated (Honor)  | [38]
Goodreads Choice Award | Young Adult Fiction  | Nominated  | [10]
2014  | This Is Not a Test | OLA Forest of Reading Awards  | White Pine Award (Fiction)  | Nominated (Honor)  | [38]
2019  | Sadie | Audie Award | Audio Book (Young Adult)  | Won  | [39]
Cybils Award | Young Adult Fiction  | Won  | [40]
Odyssey Award | Audio Book (Children or Young Adult)  | Won  | [41]
Edgar Award | Young Adult Novel | Won  | [42]
2020  | White Pine Award | Fiction  | Won  | [43]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "bio | courtney summers, new york times bestselling author". Feb 13, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved Dec 27, 2020.
2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-11. Retrieved 2014-10-10.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. ^ "work – courtney summers". Courtneysummers.ca. Retrieved 24 May 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
4. ^ "Cracked up to be | Courtney Summers | Macmillan". Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
5. ^ a b "The 2009 Cybils Winners - Cybils Awards". Cybils.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
6. ^ [1] [dead link‍]
7. ^ "SOME GIRLS ARE by Courtney Summers - Kirkus Reviews". Kirkusreviews.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
8. ^ "Children's Book Review: Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers, Author . St. Martin's Griffin $9.99 (245p) ISBN 978-0-312-57380-5". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
9. ^ "Some Girls Are - Bookverdict.com". Bookverdict.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
10. ^ a b "Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Young Adult Fiction!". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
11. ^ [2] [dead link‍]
12. ^ [3] [dead link‍]
13. ^ "FALL FOR ANYTHING by Courtney Summers - Kirkus Reviews". Kirkusreviews.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
14. ^ Fall for Anything, by Courtney Summers. Retrieved 24 May 2019 - via Booklistonline.com.
15. ^ Courtney Summers. "This Is Not a Test". Archived from the original on 2015-10-25. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
16. ^ "Children's Book Review: This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers. St. Martin's Griffin, $9.99 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-312-65674-4". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
17. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2015-06-05.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
18. ^ "courtney summers". Summerscourtney.tumblr.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
19. ^ [4] [dead link‍]
20. ^ [5] [dead link‍]
21. ^ "Reblog Book Club • Happy April! The sixth official selection of..." Reblog Book Club. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
22. ^ "ALL THE RAGE by Courtney Summers - Kirkus Reviews". Kirkusreviews.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
23. ^ "Children's Book Review: All the Rage by Courtney Summers. St. Martin's Griffin, $18.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-250-02191-5". Archived from the original on 2018-09-11. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
24. ^ "Library Journal". Slj.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
25. ^ "Selection". Juniorlibraryguild.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
26. ^ "#ToTheGirls". Summerscourtney.tumblr.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
27. ^ updates, courtney summers (14 April 2015). "WE ARE TRENDING WORLDWIDE. THANK YOU. #tothegirlspic.twitter.com/qoP3aIlr2R". Twitter. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
28. ^ "KLG's advice to teens: Let God define who you are". Today.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
29. ^ Noman, Natasha (8 May 2015). "The 9 Most Important Feminist Hashtags of 2015 So Far". Mic.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
30. ^ "Sadie | Courtney Summers | Macmillan". US Macmillan. Retrieved 2019-10-16.[permanent dead link‍]
31. ^ "The Girls: Find Sadie". Macmillan Podcasts. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
32. ^ "Young Adult Hardcover Books - Best Sellers - Sept. 30, 2018 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
33. ^ "These 9 Books Just Won A MAJOR Award For The Best Crime Fiction & Nonfiction". Bustle.com. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
34. ^ America, Mystery Writers of. "Mystery Writers of America Announces 2019 Edgar Allan Poe Awards". Prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 24 May 2019.
35. ^ SZALUSKY (2019-01-28). "Macmillan Audio wins 2019 Odyssey Award for "Sadie"". News and Press Center. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
36. ^ "Best Children's Books of the Year Archive". Bank Street College of Education. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
37. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-05-01. Retrieved 2015-06-05.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
38. ^ a b c Advanced Solutions International, Inc. "Sign In" (PDF). Accessola.org. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
39. ^ "2019 Audie Awards® - APA". Audiopub.org. Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
40. ^ "2018 Cybils Winners! | Cybils Awards". Cybils.com. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
41. ^ admin (1999-11-30). "Welcome to the Odyssey Award home page!". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). Retrieved 2019-04-05.
42. ^ "Category List – Best Young Adult | Edgars Database". Retrieved 2019-10-16.
43. ^ Scriver, Amanda (18 February 2021). "YA novelist Courtney Summers and the complicated allure of cults". Quill & Quire. Retrieved 30 August 2021.

## External links

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* Children and Young Adult Literature portal

* Official website
* Courtney Summers at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
* Courtney Summers at Library of Congress, with 5 library catalogue records

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Netherlands
* Korea
* Poland
* Israel