BookPeople hosted the world release party for The Last Olympian. How did that go? Do you have videotapes? We
are always amazed and honored when Disney/Hyperion gives us a shot at
hosting the world release party for Percy Jackson. We've actually had
that honor for the last three book releases, since Titan's Curse. The
turnout for this event is always crazy. The Last Olympian brought in
around 3,000 fans and their friends and family. At the event we try to
have smaller demo versions of things we do out at Camp Half-Blood,
Austin branch. Things like: phalanx training, the lava wall, sword
fighting demos and this year... Mythomagic. There has to be fun stuff
for the demigods to do while their parents or loved ones are waiting to
get their book signed. We usually bring in a local pizza vendor, ice
cream vendor and someone to sell drinks. We try and have everything
you'd need while hanging out in at a huge parking lot world release
party. Rick's world release parties are always a highlight of our event
year at BookPeople.I
think it's because of a combination of things; our relationship with
the publisher and Rick, incredible sales of Rick's books and the fact
that because of the camps and Rick's amazing storytelling ability we
can get a huge crowd to show up for these events. The publisher likes
it when you can get loads of people to show up to an author event -
selling tons of books doesn't hurt either. I hope we've proven that we
can put together a first-class event for Rick's books. Here is a link
to the story of BookPeople and Rick Riordan's books. http://kidsblog.bookpeople.com/2009/05/01/the-percy-jackson-phenomenon-a-look-back/
How has Rick Riordan felt about your Literary Camp? How supportive has he been? Also, How involved has he been? Rick
has been very supportive of the Austin branch from the outset. I think
he really likes the idea that there is a place for fans of his books to
go and have adventures and hero training. In fact he's been supportive
of the other branch camps that have begun to pop up across the country,
though I can't speak to how that support has been expressed beyond a
general blessing. When I put together the first camp in 2006, Rick and
his wife showed up for the Claiming Ceremony on their Birthday/Wedding
Anniversary and stayed for nearly four hours with the demigods. Talk
about amazing! Since then, Rick has been to camp every year, with the
exception of last year. He was so busy with the Last Olympian tour,
writing the manuscript for his Egyptian book, and adventuring through
Italy and Greece that there was no way he could have squeezed us in.
As far as working with the day-to-day running of the camp, he leaves
that to me and my staff, but I try and run our story ideas for camp by
Rick before we commit. For summer 2009 I had to create a new group of
bad guys for our demigods to contend with because we didn't know what
was going to happen at the end of the Last Olympian at the time all the
camp planning took place. Rick looked over the idea for the League of
Machines and Monsters and gave us his blessing. So in many ways, his
relationship to the Austin branch is close. He also realizes we need a
little creative wiggle room and is very supportive of us inventing new
backgrounds for characters that exist for the Austin branch. We have a
lot of fun. As a point of interest, Rick wrote the letter from Percy to
the campers on the home page of the camp website. Pretty cool, huh?
Check it out here: http://web.mac.com/camphalfblood/Camphalf-blood.com/Camp_Home.html
Why should we go to your literary camp (give us some reasons)? Wow,
you're gonna make me sell it? Now I don't know what to say... Let's
see. I think the coolest thing about the Austin branch is that you get
to show up as yourself, but yourself as a demigod. Each camper gets a
prophecy from the Oracle. Each session of camp has a story with a
beginning, middle and end. Your quest, as a demigod, unfolds over the
course of your five days with us at the Austin branch. The real
strength of the camps is feeling as though you've experienced a story,
with you as the main character. Each session's story feeds into the
next so that by the end of all summer sessions the story arc is
completed. Now the stuff we do on a daily basis is fun too. We have
sword training, archery, phalanx training, the lava wall, chariot
games, capture-the-flag, Laistrygonian dodge ball, ceramics classes
(with or without pottery wheel), daily quests, music lessons, lessons
in Greek language and Mythomagic tournaments. I dunno... we have a
blast every year! Was that enough of sell?
When you walk into the camp, Is is like walking into Camp Half Blood? The
short answer is... not really. Now before you say something like,
what's the point then, let me explain. Here's the thing about bringing
something from the books to life. This is something all of us are
going to go through with the Lightning Thief movie. No one person or
group of people can get the details of the camp you all have envisioned
from reading the books just right. I'd go so far as to say it's as
near impossible as something can get. Nothing can compete with your
imagination, plain and simple. Having said this, I'd really like to
try for a uniquely Austin, Texas feel. Someday when we have enough
money I'd like to buy land and go all the way. I'm talking about
building the camp cabins like they are described in the books an some
ancient Greek looking forest temples and stuff. The thing is, we're
the Austin branch. No sense trying to build the Long Island camp in
Texas. The climate is different, the land is different, the whole feel
is different. So instead we have a Texas feel. Would I love to add
some ancient Greek architecture? Heck yes! I'd do it in a heartbeat,
but it's prohibitively expensive at this point.
We do have our own dining hall, amphitheatre,
capture the flag forest grounds, swimming hole with waterfall, magical
tree and the like, but it's different from the books because it has to
be.
What do you do at the camp? Can you send us a copy of the schedule? I've
mentioned a lot of what we do at camp in an answer to an earlier
question. The schedule varies from year to year, but would look
something close to this.
8:00 a.m. Roll call 8:10 - 9:10 Marching/Phalanx training 9:15 - 9:30 Snack break 9:30 - 10:30 Lava Wall/Capture-the-flag/Chariot games/Archery/Searcher's License game
10:30 - 12:00 Daily Quest/Laistrygonian dodge ball/sword training/forge work 12:00 - 1:00 Lunch 1:00 - 2:00 Mythomagic tournament/ceramics/arts & crafts/music lessons/ language lessons/ Get-the-Greek/forge work/games
2:00 - 3:00 Water games 3:00 - 4:30
Story-telling/drama/war room tactics/ sword championship (Fridays)/
Archery Championship (Fridays)/ Mythomagic Championship (Fridays) 4:30 - 5:00 Questers recap that day's quest/ Clean up/ go home
What is your favourite part of working at Camp Half-Blood? This
one is easy. You guys. You are the best part of Camp Half-Blood. It
doesn't work without you. You are the whole reason I put this
together. I love hanging out with you folks through the quests and
games, through the challenges and triumphs. Camp is for you. It may
sound cheesy, but it's true.
Everybody loves your Camp Half Blood t-shirts! How can people get one? The
only way is to come to camp. Occasionally I may have a few extras,
that I'll send to Percy fan sites as giveaways. It keeps the shirts
special for the demigods who attend our camps.
Any advice for people who want to create their own literary camp? Ask
Rick first - it's polite. Be passionate! Have a plan. Ask for help.
Prepare to have your plans change rapidly. Figure out why you want to
have a camp in the first place. Know that it takes a tremendous amount
of time and effort. We plan our camps about 11 months in advance. You
may want to do something different from the other branch camps out
there due to time and money constraints - that's perfectly cool.
You'll make mistakes along the way, expect it. Always be open,
communicative and honest with yourself, your campers and their families
and your staff. Call or email me with any questions. I'd be glad to
help. Really, there is so much that could be written here. It would
take up pages and pages.
How could someone register for your literary camp? How much does it cost?
On November 7, 2009 I will have the registration packets available to download from these sites. Camp will cost $395.00.
Registration
will open the following week, on November 14, 2009 for summer 2010.
The spots fill up in a matter of hours. We accept faxed applications
but not emailed applications. This is due to security precautions.
Demigods come to the Austin branch from all over the country and the world. Describe your (professional) relationship with the other literary camp (run by little shop of stories).
I love Diane Capriola and Little Shop of Stories. If I had
to send you to any other Camp Half-Blood branch camp it would be this
program. They are top-notch. My relationship with their camp began as
a simple consultation with the owner when they figured out they wanted
to start a branch in Decatur. They just wanted to know what we did and
how we did it. Three years later they are going strong and have built
an amazing reputation with their camps. Last year I thought it would
be cool to unify the various camps around the country with a National
quest to stop the League of Machines and Monsters. In the end we had
three branch camps working together. We would Iris message (Skype)
with the other camps to share clues and discoveries about the League
and what they were up to. It was so much fun. The Little Shop of
Stories and BookPeople may team up again next summer. It was that much
fun! How involved is the camp (and bookpeople) with the Percy Jackson Fansites?
The Austin branch has minimal involvement with Percy Fansites in any
direct way. Personally I'm a big fan and occasionally I'll post
something in the forums. Every once in a while I'll donate some
tee-shirts or other camp schwag for a contest prize you folks run from
time-to-time. I know that many of our campers post on the fansites
too, though I can't say how often. I think it's great that Percy
Jackson has such an amazing following online. I hope you can grow it
over the coming years.
What other camps do you and bookpeople provide? For summer 2010 we are adding The Ranger's Apprentice:
Ranger Corps. Training. I know many of Rick's fans in the Austin, TX
area are also huge fans of John Flanagan's books as well - myself
included. For those of you who haven't yet read this series... get on
it! They are amazing stories. Rick has blogged about John's books
several times. You can register for the Ranger Corps Training camp the
same day you register for Camp Half-Blood, Saturday, November 14th,
2009.
In the past we've run literary camps based on The Spiderwick Chronicles, by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, Kiki Strike, by Kirsten Miller, and Half-Moon Investigations,
by Eoin Colfer. In every case the authors were involved in some facet
of the camp planning or production. All of them were amazingly fun to
create and bring to life.
How did the literary camp start out? Several
years back Rick's publisher, Disney/Hyperion, would send out ARC's
(advanced reader copies) of Rick's books to the bookstore about six
months before they were released to the public. I would hold public
readings of the book where I'd read the entire thing in either one or
two sittings to whoever wanted to listen. We're talking six or seven
hours of reading out loud. The groups got quite big. It was after I'd
read The Sea of Monsters, to a group that we got to talking about how cool it would be to be able to go to Camp Half-Blood for real. A
few months after that reading we opened the first ever Camp Half-Blood,
branch camp. The summer of 2006 was a very special year. Many of the
54 demigods who attended that first year work for me at camp now.
Just how successful has the literary camp been? I'd
say the camps have been very successful, by any measurement you'd like
to use. The demigods have loved it, my staff love it and come back
every year. The parents of my demigods have given us rave reviews and
their kids come back year to year. BookPeople is happy with the camps
and they are a highlight of my year. The camps are profitable enough
that we can improve the look and feel of the camps every year.
Who else works with you on the literary camp? I
feel like I have the most capable and reliable staff on the planet.
All of them are amazing. There are a handful I lean on more and more
for the day-to-day running and administrative functioning of camp.
There is a mountain of paperwork, organizing, correspondence and legal
wrangling to keep on top of. Zoe Wolszon gets the brunt of the work,
as Assistant Camp Director, and is also head of Artemis cabin - nothing
gets done without her knowing about it. Zoe is second in command. I'd
be lost without her. Kelly Cotton, of Athena cabin, helps administrate
and plan daily functions and Sarah Jones, of Poseidon cabin, helps with
the daily running and planning of the camps as well. We employ actors,
prop designers, make-up artists, costume designers, set designers and
more amazing staffers than I deserve. It's a big group effort
involving volunteers, local businesses, wives and husbands, and an
amazing bookstore BookPeople!
If you could have one wish for the literary camp, what would it be? To
remind children that reading for pleasure is vital. You folks are
inundated with so much required reading that it can take the fun out of
reading in general. I want to nurture a group of creative, lateral
thinkers that will have a positive influence on the world. Books we can
relate to and enjoy without having to dissect and examine are a
wonderful way to remind ourselves that you have value as a young person
beyond your accomplishments in the classroom.
This is a Harry
Potter/Percy Jackson comparison that I feel is important to ask.
Compare your literary camp with the new Harry Potter theme park.
Wow, this feels like an apples and oranges type
comparison. What we don't have is the elaborate set dressing and sense
of permanence that a movie-based theme park has to offer. The theme
park has many millions of dollars to spend on the look and feel of
their environment. We can't compete with that and I think it would be
unrealistic to even entertain the notion that we ever could. What we
do have going for us is that we have an evolving storyline that you are
a part of. You come to camp as a demigod and you have a direct effect
on the outcome of your personal quest and the events that effect the
camp as a whole. No theme park can offer that. Having said this, I am
interested in going to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter some day. I
love Harry Potter and I'm intrigued by the notion that I could walk
through a movie set-like setting.
Word has is that you guys invented Mythomagic, the game Nico plays in TC. How does that work? How can we play? Yes,
we created a playable version of Mythomagic for the Austin branch. We
didn't invent it - Rick did that. It differs from the version Rick
ever so briefly describes in The Titan's Curse in one major way. You
don't play the gods/goddesses themselves. Instead you play demigod
characters adventuring through scenarios and settings like those you'd
find in Rick's books. We had a really cool table designed for the game
that has both a modern and Ancient Greek feel. We took figures from
other games and modified and repainted them for use in Mythomagic. The
game has cards and figures and is really fun to play. The only way to
play it is by coming to camp. We can't sell it because we don't own
the rights to the game. Rick Riordan sold the rights, for
merchandising, to the movie company when that deal went through. We
can create whatever we want for the camp as long as we don't try and
sell it. I hope this makes sense.
One last question: How do things look for the future of the camp?
Our
future looks very bright. Rick's fanbase is huge. The popularity of
the camps continues to grow and I hope that means we're doing something
right. There are always new fans discovering the books. The first
movie will bring new fans and then we have the second series on the
horizon.
I'm always looking for ways to improve the camps
and feedback from you folks is always appreciated. One of the biggest
questions I get is about the age cap. The age restriction is there for
a really good reason. Most, not all, 14 year-olds are not able to
suspend their disbelief as well as the younger kids. You older kids
expect things from a camp like that we may not be able to provide.
When you realize this, it's harder for you to have the kind of fun you
want to have. You're also more likely to express this displeasure to
the younger kids in ways that ruin the camp for them. In order to
preserve the magic of the camp for everyone we put a maximum age on the
camp. I realize there are always exception to the rules, but there is
no way for me to effectively figure that out. Everyone paying to come
to the camp should have a great time, so in order to protect that we
have the age cap. |
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Interview With Topher |
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