John Green to publish his first book since 'The Fault in Our Stars'

John Green to publish his first book since ‘The Fault in Our Stars’

June 22, 2017 12:15 PM PT

It’s been more than five years in the making, but John Green’s follow-up to his beloved 2012 novel, “The Fault in Our Stars,” is finally becoming a reality.

Penguin Young Readers announced the upcoming release of “Turtles All the Way Down,” Green’s new novel, scheduled for publication on Oct. 10.

Famed for his nuanced and empathetic depictions of teenagers, Green’s latest work centers on Aza Holmes, a young woman looking to solve the mysterious disappearance of a fugitive billionaire, while also struggling with her own mental illness.

“I’ve been working on ‘Turtles All the Way Down’ for years, and I’m so excited to share it with readers this October,” Green said via his publisher’s press release. “This is my first attempt to write directly about the kind of mental illness that has affected my life since childhood, so while the story is fictional, it is also quite personal.”

In the years since the blockbuster success of “Stars” and the ensuing hiatus from publication, Green has been transparent about his struggle with mental illness and the pressure of following up on a global phenomenon.

“I’ve known that I have this mental illness for a long time, and I’ve had a lot of therapy and learned a lot of strategies for dealing with my illness,” Green admitted in August 2015, while participating in a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” thread.

The author suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder as well as anxiety, and he shared with readers that press tours were particularly stressful for him.

On his VlogBrothers YouTube channel, where Green creates content with his brother Hank, he shared a video in September detailing his struggle writing after the success of “Stars.”

“I was elated and grateful that ‘Fault in Our Stars’ was reaching so many readers,” Green said in the video, “but at the same time, I was terrified because I felt like I could never follow it up.”

Green was already a highly accomplished young adult novelist, winning the genre’s top award, the Printz, for his debut, “Looking for Alaska.” A regular bestseller, his other books include “An Abundance of Katherines,” “Paper Towns” and, with David Levithan, “Will Grayson, Will Grayson.”

Since the publication of “The Fault in Our Stars,” Green has seen two books — “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Paper Towns” — adapted into feature films. In 2014, he was awarded the L.A. Times Book Prize Innovator’s Award and named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.

“As with all of John’s work, ‘Turtles All the Way Down’ is both a singularly personal read and a catalyst for conversation and community,” Julie Strauss-Gabel, president and publisher of Dutton Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Penguin) said in Thursday’s statement. “It is with tremendous pride and great excitement that his longtime Penguin family can finally shout this news to the world.”

“Turtles All the Way Down” will have a first print run of 1.5 million copies.

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