Fan Favorite D.J. Schwenk is back!!

This season, D.J. Schwenk steps behind the free-throw line to confront the perils of love and life in this highly anticipated final book in Catherine Gilbert Murdock’s Dairy Queen trilogy.

“Hysterically laugh-out-loud funny. And inspiring. I loved it.”

—Kristin Cashore, author of Graceling.

“Hey. I’m Marissa from a very small town in Wisconsin. . . . Reading Dairy Queen really hit home. In a lot of ways I am D.J. Schwenk. When reading the book I sometimes felt like I was telling it . . . we think very much alike.”—Marissa

“I am 68 years old, and I just finished Dairy Queen last night. I loved every minute of it.” —Barbara

“I am a loyal D.J. fan! I love Dairy Queen and The Off Season soooo much. . . I’m not much of a reader but I was absorbed by these books.”—Megan, age 13

Front and Center finds D.J. Schwenk back in Red Bend, Wisconsin, planning to fade right back into the background where she’s comfortable. Turns out that other folks have big plans for D.J. Like her coach. College scouts. All the town hoops fans. A certain Red Bend junior who’s keen for romance and karaoke. Not to mention Brian Nelson, whom she really shouldn’t be thinking about! Whom she’s done with, thank you very much. But who keeps showing up anyway . . .

For Murdock, the success of the Dairy Queen books came as quite a surprise. She never meant to write a sequel, much less a third book, but the volume of fan mail was overwhelming and the demand from readers so great that she soon found herself thinking about what else was in store for D.J. and her family. When asked about the volume of this mail and its intensity, Murdock says, “I don’t know if it’s her personality or her voice or her everygirl quality, but D.J. inspires the most passionate, heartfelt, unvarnished—certainly un-spellchecked!—correspondence I’ve ever seen. At first I thought this was normal for authors, even though my agent and editor kept saying no. Now that Princess Ben has been out for a year, I finally understand how right they are. My Princess Ben mail is lovely: ‘Thank you for the wonderful book. Please write more fairy tales, as I truly enjoyed your volume.’ Whereas DQ and TOS produce—and I quote—‘Your my favorite author . . . You are an exceptional righter.’ Isn’t that completely endearing?” Though she finds herself thinking about what might happen to D.J. when she enters college, Murdock has decided to allow herself—and her readers—to answer those questions individually.

Catherine Gilbert Murdock burst on to the scene of young adult literature with her debut novel, Dairy Queen, winner of Borders’ Original Voices Award, the 2007 Midwest Booksellers Choice Award, the 2007 Great Lakes Booksellers Children’s Literature Award, and the Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award. Reviewers, booksellers, and readers from across the country embraced D.J. Schwenk, rejoicing in her refreshing honesty, wit, and, most of all, determination to do something different. Dairy Queen’s sequel, The Off Season, soon followed and met with the same success, prompting e-mails from teens celebrating the return of D.J. and thanking Murdock for creating someone to whom they could relate. To give these fans a chance to talk with Catherine Murdock, we are hosting a D.J. Schwenk Fan Club meeting on Facebook, on publication date—October 19, 2009—where readers can interact with Catherine, win books and prizes, and connect with each other.

Join the action and sign up today for Catherine Gilbert Murdock’s Facebook fan page! In addition to this online outreach, Ms. Murdock will visit schools, bookseller trade shows, and stores throughout the Midwest.

Since their debut in 2006, the books in the Dairy Queen series have sold nearly 150,000 copies in hardcover and paperback and continue to be nominated for numerous young reader awards, including nominations in Illinois, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Washington.

Catherine Gilbert Murdock and her sister, the best-selling novelist Elizabeth Gilbert, grew up on a tiny farm in Connecticut. She now lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband and two children, where she is slowly transforming her yard into a wee but flourishing ecosystem. In addition to her books in the Dairy Queen trilogy, Ms. Murdock is the creator of Princess Ben, a delightful fractured fairy tale that received numerous starred reviews and was welcomed by fantasy readers everywhere. Please visit Ms. Murdock’s website, www.catherinemurdock.com, for more information about the author, including glimpses of her work in progress, discussion questions for readers, an up-to-date appearance schedule, and playlists of songs that kept her going while writing!

Front and Center • Catherine Gilbert Murdock • 978-0-618-95982-2

Ages 12 and up • Grades 7 and up • 288 pages

$16.00 • October 2009 • Teen Fiction