Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: The Art of Escaping
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://erinpcallahan.com/
CITY:
STATE: NH
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 2018006030
Descriptive conventions:
rda
Personal name heading:
Callahan, Erin
Found in: The art of escaping, 2018: ECIP title page (Erin Callahan)
PERSONAL
Married; children: one daughter.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, novelist, and attorney. Worked as an attorney and as a case manager at a residential program for teens.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Erin Callahan is a novelist and attorney. She has also worked as a case manager at a residential program for teens. She started writing “for her own sanity” after she became “unemployed at the height of the recession,” noted a writer on the website Bookishfirst. As a novelist, she specializes in writing for a young adult audience. In an interview on the Erin Callahan website, she explained that she writes young adult fiction because “at the core of YA lit is this perpetually unresolved tension between depicting all the gritty, nuanced realities of the world we actually live in, and depicting something better. This tension pops up in all storytelling, but YA, in my opinion, is driven by it. It is the fuel that powers the magic bus.”
Callahan collaborated with her friend Troy H. Gardner to write Wakefield, the first book in the “Mad World” series. On her website, she described the origins of the novel. “In 2008, while perusing the YA shelves at Borders (R.I.P.), my dear friend Troy H. Gardner turned to me and said, ‘We could do this.’ I naively and arrogantly agreed with him and the Mad World series was born.”
Wakefield
Wakefield follows protagonists Max Fisher and Astrid Chalke, two orphaned teenagers who meet at the titular Wakefield, a residential institution for troubled teens. There, they undergo treatment for their individual psychiatric problems while also working to complete their basic educations. At odds with their roommates and with others at the institution, Astrid and Max develop a close friendship that better enables them to navigate the chaotic environment in which they’re forced to live.
When another Wakefield resident, a personable but enigmatic teen named Teddy, claims to have extranormal abilities, Astrid and Max have to decide if they can believe him. Teddy claims he can sometimes move things without touching them. At other times, he can see people’s voices. As time goes on, and Max begins to have strange dreams, the pair have to confront the possibility that Teddy is telling the truth about his abilities and about what is going on around them at Wakefield.
The Art of Escaping
The Art of Escaping, Callahan’s solo novel, tells the story of seventeen-year-old Mattie whose fascination with escape artists lead her to seek a teacher who can show her the secrets of escapology. With some difficulty and persistence, she convinces Miyu Miyake, the daughter of renowned Japanese escape artist Akiko Miyake, to teach her techniques made famous by Akiko and by other practitioners such as Harry Houdini and Dorothy Dietrich. Though Miyu is a gruff and difficult teacher, Mattie learns well, and soon finds herself “reborn” as the performer Ginger, adept at lock picking, straitjacket escapes, and other elaborate tricks. After seeing a classmate, Will, in the audience one night, she fears that he will give away her secret. The closeted gay Will, however, has secrets of his own, and the two become close friends. Soon, both Mattie and Will learn the value of owning their identities no matter what those around them may think.
A Kirkus Reviews writer called the novel an “exciting and nuanced portrayal of the terror of vulnerability and the exalted freedom of authenticity.” Callahan shows “how difficult it can be to open up to another with one’s authentic, true self, and the catharsis of actually doing it,” concluded Jennifer Rummel in a Voice of Youth Advocates review.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, April 15, 2018, Julia Smith, review of The Art of Escaping, p. 49.
BookPage, July, 2018. Jill Ratzan, review of The Art of Escaping, p. 26.
Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2018, review of The Art of Escaping.
PR Newswire, June 19, 2018, “Groundbreaking Escape Artists Houdini and Dorothy Dietrich Are the Inspiration for New Young Adult Novel, The Art of Escaping.“
Voice of Youth Advocates, June, 2018. Jennifer Rummel, review of The Art of Escaping, p. 54.
ONLINE
Bookish First, http://www.bookishfirst.com/ (July 29, 2018), biography of Erin Callahan.
Erin Callahan website, https://www.erinpcallahan.com (July 29, 2018).
I grew up by a small glacial lake in New Hampshire and, after brief stints in Colorado and Rhode Island, eventually settled back in the Granite State. As a small child, I told my mother I’d defaced a wall with crayons because I’d been possessed by an imp. I’m convinced that same imp drives me to write.
Headshot1
When I’m not at my day job or cranking out novels on my laptop, you can find me soaking in the new golden era of television, stalking my favorite musicians on Twitter, and reading picture books with my kiddo (aka “The Goobess”). I love giant squids and the color red, I hate the phrase “no offense,” and I think birds are creepy.
Once upon a time, I was a lawyer but found myself unemployed in the thick of the recession. For my own sanity I started writing, and to make ends meet I took a job as a case manager at a residential program for teens. The kids I met there will forever serve as a well of inspiration for the YA fic I write.
I’m represented by Jennifer Chen Tran at Bradford Literary. My headshot was taken by the fabulous Little Fang Photo.
MAD WORLD
In 2008, while perusing the YA shelves at Borders (R.I.P.), my dear friend Troy H. Gardner turned to me and said, “We could do this.” I naively and arrogantly agreed with him and the MAD WORLD series was born. Part contemporary YA and part urban fantasy, the series follows two kids who meet at an institution for troubled teens and, together, discover the world is super strange and more complex than they ever thought possible. You know, just regular growin’ up stuff…
The first three books in the series were e-published by a tiny little Canadian press roughly a zillion years ago, and served as a crash course in writing YA. In 2017, we self-published a re-release of the first book (WAKEFIELD), with a brand new cover designed by Troy H. Gardner himself. You can buy it here! We are currently working on new editions of books two and three, along with the first edition of book four. Stay tuned.
Why do you write YA?
Because I never got over my teenhood and enjoy contributing to a genre that is, effectively, a collective art therapy project. Isn’t that why all YA authors write YA? *looks around nervously*
But seriously, at the core of YA lit is this perpetually unresolved tension between depicting all the gritty, nuanced realities of the world we actually live in, and depicting something better. This tension pops up in all storytelling, but YA, in my opinion, is driven by it. It is the fuel that powers the magic bus. Some books lean one way, some lean the other, but the best books do both. And they get away with it because teens, both in real life and as characters, embody hope and have the magical ability to transform themselves overnight.
So the real question is, why aren’t YOU writing YA?
What’s your favorite YA novel?
Hands down, THE GOATS by Brock Cole. Every time I read it, I find more things to like. If you haven’t already, you need to read it. And don’t tell me its hilarious 80s fashion and lack of cell phones makes it outdated. It’s vintage, dammit.
Other all-time faves include WEETZIE BAT by Francesca Lia Block, OCD LOVE STORY by Corey Ann Haydu, LUCY by Jamaica Kincaid, and WISE CHILD by Monica Furlong (though it would probably be considered MG these days). And though it’s not technically YA, THE MAGICIANS trilogy by Lev Grossman is a lovely story about growing up that I feel compelled to mention here.
Why do you like giant squids? Will you ever write a book about a giant squid?
I like mollusks in general, particularly cephalopods, and especially squids. They’re beautiful, terrifying, and completely absurd in equal measure, a balance that truly speaks to my personal aesthetic.
I’ll probably never write a book about a giant squid, in part because China Miéville already did that (it’s called KRAKEN and it’s fantastic). But I tend to sneak snaily, squiddy, nautical motifs into everything I write. (Yes, I stole squiddy from Miéville. Sorry not sorry.)
I like birds and you don’t. What’s your problem with such beautiful and majestic creatures?
I don’t dislike birds, I just think they’re creepy because they remind me of the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park. Especially big birds, like raptors and parrots. Blame Steven Spielberg.
Are you a feminist?
F*ck yes!
Do your books have swears in them?
F*ck yes!
If I tweet or email you a question, will you answer it here?
Maybe yes. Always worth a shot.
Thumb
Erin Callahan
Erin grew up by a small glacial lake in New Hampshire and, after brief stints in Colorado and Rhode Island, she settled back in the Granite State with her husband and daughter. As a small child, she told her mother she’d defaced a wall with crayons because she’d been possessed by an imp. She’s convinced that same imp drives her to write. When she’s not at her day job or cranking out novels on her laptop, you can find her soaking in the new golden era of television, stalking her favorite musicians on Twitter, and trying not to embarrass herself on the volleyball court. She loves giant squids and the color red, hates the phrase “no offense,” and thinks birds are creepy.
Once upon a time, she was a lawyer but found herself unemployed at the height of the recession. For her own sanity she started writing, and to make ends meet she took a job at a residential program for teens. The kids she met there will forever serve as a well of inspiration for the contemporary YA she writes.
Publisher:
Amberjack Publishing
The Art of Escaping
Julia Smith
Booklist. 114.16 (Apr. 15, 2018): p49.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
The Art of Escaping.
By Erin Callahan.
June 2018. 320p. Amberjack, paper, $12.99 (9781944995652). Gr. 9-12.
Seventeen-year-old Matties fascination with escape artists like Harry Houdini and Dorothy Dietrich leads her to give escapology a try--in secret, of course. This is how she ends up at the doorstep of Miyu, a prickly agoraphobe and the only daughter of famed escapologist Akiko Miyake. Miyu reluctantly agrees to mentor Mattie, and before the summer's out, this snarky teen wallflower is transformed into Ginger, an underground performer who can pick locks and escape a straitjacket while submerged in an aquarium. Mattie's performances are compellingly raw and imperfect, and her nervousness is palpable. When she spots popular classmate Will in the audience one night, she panics he'll spill her secret. Instead, he shares one of his own with her, and they become friends, bonding over their double lives (Will is gay but closeted) and a shared love of 1920s jazz. Mattie and Will both narrate chapters, and interspersed excerpts from Akiko's diary further enhance the story. This debut novel of friendship and personal liberation rings true and dares to look danger in the face and smile. --Julia Smith
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Smith, Julia. "The Art of Escaping." Booklist, 15 Apr. 2018, p. 49. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A537268158/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=69ccb39c. Accessed 8 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A537268158
Callahan, Erin: THE ART OF ESCAPING
Kirkus Reviews. (Apr. 15, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Callahan, Erin THE ART OF ESCAPING Amberjack Publishing (Young Adult Fiction) $12.99 6, 19 ISBN: 978-1-944995-65-2
Mattie has a few obsessions--jazz records, Star Trek, vintage dresses--but not even her best friend, Stella, knows about the one that propels her to the home of Miyu Miyake: her desire to learn how to pick locks and escape from straitjackets.
Escapology legend Akiko Miyake came from Japan, settling in Rhode Island before she died in a plane crash, leaving her tools and methods with her daughter. Miyu is a gruff 30-something who would much prefer to be secluded in her crumbling home than train the relentlessly persistent white teenager who turns up uninvited. Mattie keeps meeting the outrageous demands of her curmudgeonly mentor, including being pushed from her private comfort zone into public performance the summer before senior year. Will, a white basketball player with a secret, finds himself pulled into Mattie's orbit. A seemingly mismatched friendship develops between the two, and within their growing trust, they find the space to express their genuine selves. Stella, who is white, returns from a prestigious academic summer program to discover, and fully embrace, this radically bold version of Mattie. She ushers 14-year-old Azorean-American boy genius Frankie Campos into the mix, and the four become an inseparable crew, offering each other the space they need to be their overachieving, weird, or queer true selves.
An exciting and nuanced portrayal of the terror of vulnerability and the exalted freedom of authenticity. (Fiction. 14-17)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Callahan, Erin: THE ART OF ESCAPING." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A534375035/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=d69f75f0. Accessed 8 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A534375035
Callahan, Erin. The Art of Escaping
Jennifer Rummel
Voice of Youth Advocates. 41.2 (June 2018): p54.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
Callahan, Erin. The Art of Escaping. Amberjack, June 2018. 324p. $12.99 Trade pb. 978-1-944995-65-2.
3Q * 3P * S
Matties summer looks dismal with her best friend deserting her for advanced achievement summer school. Enchanted by the past and in need of a diversion, Mattie seeks out her deceased idol's daughter, Miyu. Daughter of a great escapologist, Miyu is trained in the art of escapism, but she is not thrilled with Matties request to teach her the art. Mattie is persistent, though, and soon, she is spending the summer learning how to pick locks, eventually becoming skilled enough to perform. During one of her shows, she spies Will, a boy from school, in the audience. Afraid of his censure, she is surprised when he confides in her. They start hanging out; Will starts helping her perform. The secrets between them cannot hide forever though.
The Art of Escaping showcases two people becoming unlikely friends and establishing a deep connection. While primarily written from Matties perspective, there are chapters from Will's point of view as well. Interspersed between the two perspectives is information about the world-renowned escape artist Mattie admires. This coming-of-age novel features a character who is not ready to come out to the world yet, escapism performance art, secrets, lies, betrayals, and friends who love you for who you are. Callahan portrays how difficult it can be to open up to another with one's authentic, true self, and the catharsis of actually doing it.--Jennifer Rummel.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Rummel, Jennifer. "Callahan, Erin. The Art of Escaping." Voice of Youth Advocates, June 2018, p. 54. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A545022881/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=6be799db. Accessed 8 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A545022881
THE ART OF ESCAPING
Jill Ratzan
BookPage. (July 2018): p26.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 BookPage
http://bookpage.com/
Full Text:
THE ART OF ESCAPING By Erin Callahan Amberjack $12.99, 324 pages ISBN 9781944995652 eBook available Ages 14 and up
FICTION
In Erin Callahan's The Art of Escaping, escapology is defined as the art of breaking free from locks, chains, straitjackets and water tanks along with dodging sharp arrows aimed at your heart. For some teens, there's no better metaphor for high school.
For 17-year-old Mattie, it isn't a metaphor. The summer before her senior year, Mattie convinces Miyu Miyake, the reclusive adult daughter of a famous Japanese escape artist, to teach her the practice made famous by Harry Houdini and Dorothy Dietrich. All summer long, Miyu instructs Mattie in how to pick locks, how to hold her breath underwater and how to conquer her fear of the spotlight. But while Mattie is bending hairpins and training in ponds, she is also learning how to be herself. With her best (and only) friend, Stella, away at nerd camp, Mattie soon finds herself in an unexpected friendship with fellow misfit Will, who, unlike Mattie, doesn't outwardly seem like a misfit at all.
Both Mattie and Will--and later Frankie, a third friend who joins their wayward band--love the sights, sounds and even textures of the 1920s, and their story is peppered with the slang of the era, jazz music, vintage dresses and speak-easies populated by bohe-mian audiences. Yet even as these historical references are celebrated and romanticized, they're simultaneously critiqued as Mattie enrolls in a history class designed to question the nature of how history is discussed. In the end, metaphor blends with reality, text blends with interpretation, and Mattie, Will and those around them just might escape from the restraints that are holding them back from being their true selves.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Ratzan, Jill. "THE ART OF ESCAPING." BookPage, July 2018, p. 26. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A544601900/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=78048286. Accessed 8 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A544601900
Groundbreaking escape artists Houdini and Dorothy Dietrich are the inspiration for new Young Adult novel, The Art of Escaping
PR Newswire. (June 19, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 PR Newswire Association LLC
http://www.prnewswire.com/
Full Text:
Erin Callahan's book debut is on Barnes & Noble's 10 Most Anticipated Indie Young Adults Books of 2018 and has a 4 star rating on the influential Goodreads web site
SCRANTON, Pa. and NEW YORK, June 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --Houdini and Female Houdini Dorothy Dietrich are the inspiration for the new novel "The Art of Escaping."
Dorothy Dietrich has been named as one of the top four escape artists in history. She is probably the best-known female escapologist of all time. Enjoying a long career that began with New York television shows, she later founded The Magic Townehouse, a popular NYC magic venue. Regarded as the "First Lady of Magic," she's been an inspiration to female and male performers alike. She was famously the first woman to escape from a straightjacket while hanging from a burning rope 15 stories up and without a net. She's known for several premiers: the first woman to catch a bullet in her mouth, and is called the Female Houdini for copying many of Houdini's escape acts, including one Houdini backed away from -- the Jinxed Bullet Catch Stunt.
Quoted from https://www.brainz.org/10-greatest-escape-artists-history/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T_VUMjglIg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOHgVXgYY3w
Dorothy Dietrich, the first woman to gain prominence as an escape artist since the days of Houdini, breaking the glass ceiling for women in the field of escapes and magic. The 2006 Columbia Encyclopedia included Dietrich among their "eight most noted magicians of the late 20th century."
Quoted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Dietrich
The Art of Escaping by Erin Callahan 110 Goodreads Reviews 4.01 stars
Seventeen-year-old Mattie is hiding her obsession with Harry Houdini and Dorothy Dietrich from everyone, including her best friend. Mattie has a hidden obsession: escapology. Told through the perspectives of the witty main characters, this funny and fresh debut explores the power of stage personas and secret spaces, and speaks to the uncanny ways in which friendships transform us.
Quoted from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38338238-the-art-of-escaping
Other Accomplishments The Grim Game, a 1919 film, lost for over 90 years and rediscovered in 2015 by escape artist and magician Dorothy Dietrich, stars Harry Houdini as a young man who is bound and imprisoned on numerous occasions by a gang who have kidnapped his fiancée. Considered by many as Houdini's best film. In the 2013 film, Now You See Me, Isla Fisher plays an escape artist named Henley Reeves. In an interview, she says, "I watched all of Houdini's work and Dorothy Dietrich, who is a female escapologist, who is amazing, you have to watch her." "I got to train with Dorothy Dietrich, the first lady magician to catch a bullet with her teeth. Fisher studied the life and work of Dietrich to prepare for the role. "Dorothy is a real female escapologist who is working today. She was the first woman to capture a bullet between her teeth, which is an amazing feat. She's not only good at misdirection, but she also connects emotionally with the audience, so she's better able to involve them in the stunts."
Quoted fromhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escapology
Dorothy's desire to perform magic and escapes started after reading a biography of Houdini in her childhood. Dietrich has a large number of television appearances https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxTQ3aE3euA and is also involved in the world's only continuous traveling Houdini exhibit.
http://HoudiniDisplays.com
Quoted from https://www.theabracadabra.com/5-successful-female-magicians-need-know/
HoudiniOpoly. Dorothy Dietrich recently designed a KickStarter success program The Largest Houdini project in KickStarter history and the largest successful Scranton, Pa project in history as well.
http://HoudiniOpoly.com
Media Contact:Penny Wilkesmagicus@comcast.net
Photos:https://www.prlog.org/12714353
Press release distributed by PRLog
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/groundbreaking-escape-artists-houdini-and-dorothy-dietrich-are-the-inspiration-for-new-young-adult-novel-the-art-of-escaping-300668939.html
SOURCE Dorothy Dietrich
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Groundbreaking escape artists Houdini and Dorothy Dietrich are the inspiration for new Young Adult novel, The Art of Escaping." PR Newswire, 19 June 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A543518059/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=8b1e9799. Accessed 8 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A543518059