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If you look up WILD LIFE on any of the book-buying sites today, you may notice something different: a subtitle!
The book’s full title is now Wild Life: Dispatches from a Childhood of Baboons and Button-Downs. It took us (me, my agent, and editor) months to come up with this, and it was a much harder process than even doing the line edits (no, seriously). Typically, titles make a splash but may not tell you what the book is about. That is a role the subtitle often fills.
How would a reader know it was a book about a kid having adventures in Botswana, but also living in the US? Would they know it was about monkeys? How would search algorithms pick it up?
Right from the beginning my editor liked “Dispatches from” as well as the idea of making it alliterative, but then the search to find the right two words to fit into the phrase “Dispatches from a Childhood of X (something to do with Botswana) and Y (something to do with the US)” took literally almost three months.
Monkeys and McDonalds? No, “monkeys” wasn’t specific enough and ew to “McDonalds.” Hippos and Hockey? Well, there are a lot of hippos and I do play field hockey, but “field hockey” is two words and that didn’t fit our mold or make the subtitle alliterative.
Finally, we all agreed that “baboons” had to feature prominently. Solid decision, I think, but that left the gap of what word could be descriptive of private school and started with a “B?” We literally poured over dictionaries trying to find the right word (ah, the glamour of publishing!) but eventually decided that “button-downs” hit all the right notes: a good contrast to “baboons”, makes you think of something straight-laced and mildly stuffy, and lets the reader know that at least part of the book doesn’t take place in Botswana.
So! After a process that started way back in November, I’m pleased to announce that WILD LIFE’s shiny new subtitle has appeared. I hope you like it, and don’t forget to pre-order while it’s fresh in your mind! Only six months to go, and LOTS of exciting news still to come!
Friends, if you like epic fantasy do yourself a favor and pick up The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. Yes, it’s 800 pages long but thank goodness because it sucks you into this incredible world you don’t want to leave. I haven’t enjoyed a book this much in a long time. Highly recommend.
Recommendation, Uncategorized
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book, Fantasy, priory of the orange tree, Reading, rec Comments Off on Book Rec – The Priory of the Orange Tree
I’m currently writing a book about the adventures of a troop of baboons in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. Told from the perspective of monkey protagonists, this work of fiction is based on actual events observed during my time living and working in a primate research camp. The book features a detailed look at the intricate rules of baboon societies and the dangers of daily life for the animals of Africa. Expect an epic tale with blood, teeth, hippos, lions, strong girls, and deep friendships.
My wonderful wife has created some pictures to showcase quotes from the book. Here’s your first peek! What do you think?
Keena Roberts split her adolescence between the wilds of an island camp in Botswana and the even more treacherous halls of an elite Philadelphia private school.
In Keena’s funny, tender memoir, Wild Life, Africa bleeds into America and vice versa, each culture amplifying the other. By turns heartbreaking and hilarious, Wild Life is ultimately the story of a daring but sensitive young girl desperately trying to figure out if there’s any place where she truly fits in.
Publication date: November 12, 2019
WILD LIFE
Comments Off on Wild Life (Hachette, November 2019)
Meet Morgan: The first baboon I ever named and always a favorite. I named him after my first grade teacher, and his little sister was named after one of the bravest mice of literature, Mariel of Redwall.
#MonkeyMonday #Botswana #Okavango
Photo credit: Keena Roberts
Please pre-order now to help make sure that the book is a success.
About the book
WILD LIFE is a memoir by Keena Roberts, who split her adolescence between her parents’ primate research camp in Botswana and a fancy private school outside Philadelphia.
“In this funny, tender memoir, Africa bleeds into America and vice versa, each culture amplifying the other. By turns heartbreaking and hilarious, Wild Life is ultimately the story of a daring but sensitive young girl desperately trying to figure out if there’s any place where she truly fits in.”– Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Book Group
There are also tons of animals, several near death experiences, and loads and loads of monkeys.
Why pre-order?
Pre-orders are unbelievably important to a book’s success and the single best thing you can do to help support Keena. Please call or visit your local bookstore to complete your pre-order, or complete your purchase via Indiebound, which distributes books to local bookstores.Your bookstore might need this information as well, as the book is so new:
Title: WILD LIFE
Publication Date: November 12, 2019
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
ISBN-13: 9781478995487
You may also pre-order through Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
Keep up to date on WILD LIFE and Keena’s other projects
If you have any questions about the book or want to follow along on this publishing journey, please subscribe to Keena’s newsletter. If you have any questions or know anyone (bookstores, book groups, or classes) who might be interested in hosting an event or discussion, don’t hesitate to reach out via email to info@keenaroberts.com.
This week I’m heading to Portland, Oregon for the Association of Writers and Writing Professionals Conference (called “AWP”). It’s the biggest book fair in North America, and given how difficult it was to book a hotel room I should have been prepared for the size of this thing. Reader, I was not. My plane is full of poets and fiction writers and non-fiction writers and booksellers and illustrators and designers and they are all so excited to be spending four days talking about nothing but writing. I’ve never seen anything like it.
“Make sure you plan for downtime!” a fellow writer said to the crowd at the gate. “I didn’t my first year and within two days I was lying curled in the fetal position crying in a hallway because I was so overwhelmed!”
“Ha ha ha!” we all said, instantly breaking out in back sweats. So, now I’m on the plane. I have no plan here, people. I have a few groups I’m going to meet-ups with and a cocktail event with my agent (which, by the way, is a crazy thing to say) but otherwise my main goal is now NOT to end up curled up crying in a fetal position. It’s important to keep your expectations realistic, I think. More soon!