Joshua Dudley Nominated for The Pearson Prize Teen Choice Award

Joshua Patrick Dudley and his novel Lost in Oz have been nominated for The Pearson Prize Teen Choice Award.

REAL Teens, REAL Books, REAL Awards

The Pearson Prize – Teen Choice Award nomination process asks students all over Montreal, Canada to vote on a book to be nominated for this prize. Hundreds of these real high school students voted for Lost in Oz for the award.

The results will be announced in late May 2009.

http://www.pearsonprize.org/

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4 Stars from Shop.com

SHOP.COM recently rated Joshua Dudley's second novel, Lost in Oz: Rise of the Dark Wizard, 4 out of 5 stars!

Nashua Telegraph Article

Nashua man shares his passion for the Land of Oz in a series of books
By DARRELL HALEN Telegraph Correspondent



When he was a young boy, Joshua Patrick Dudley fell in love with "The Wizard of Oz" and yearned to travel to the story's magical land.

So he did – in his imagination. Now, the Nashua author is sharing the second story of his "journey" in the Land of Oz.

"Lost in Oz: Rise of the Dark Wizard," the second installment of Dudley's twist on the classic Oz stories, recently became available at online bookstores. It continues the saga of four teenagers who stumbled upon their own journey down the yellow brick road.

• "I'm not in this for monetary gain at all," said Dudley, 22. "It's just spreading my love of Oz, spreading my interpretation of it."

Dudley's obsession with the story started early. When he was about 3, he fell in love with the classic 1939 film starring Judy Garland when he watched it for the first time.

He would watch the film again "thousands of times," he said, wearing out several copies of the movie.

"It was a completely different place for me, to see different colors and Munchkins and the Yellow Brick Road and crazy things like that," recalled Dudley, who was also heavily influenced by reading L. Frank Baum's Oz books. "Stuff kids dream about. It was awesome."


Dudley's stories are written in the first person. Joshua is joined on his journey in the Land of Oz by his twin sister, Tamara, his best friend, Tommy, and his friend, Laura.

In Dudley's first book, "Lost in Oz," the teens' presence in the land has altered the original story and they must deal with the consequences.

In his sequel, the group searches for Glinda's Great Book of Records, which keeps track of everything that happened in Oz, to erase that they had been there. Meanwhile, the Dark Wizard wants to steal the book so he can put into motion evil plots of destruction.

Dudley grew up in Hooksett and was heavily influenced artistically by his mother, Laurel Levesque, a teacher. He graduated from Manchester Central High School in 2004, and earned a degree in musical theater from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City.

Dudley designed his own book covers and also drew the pictures in his second novel. His love for Baum's stories isn't confined to his writing – his bedroom is filled with Oz collectibles and memorabilia and he has performed in four theater productions of "The Wizard of Oz."


Dudley, whose book tours take him to Oz festivals, book fairs, middle schools and book signings, has heard from kids as young as 5 who enjoyed reading his first novel with their parents, as well as longtime Oz lovers in their 60s who like his fresh twist on the classic story.

"The Wizard of Oz," a perennial classic with its engaging story, lovable music and technical artistry, was a ratings hit when it first aired on television in 1956.

"The basic Baum story is so well known, it's one of the few things that hasn't gone out of style," said John Fricke, a Manhattan-based writer and producer who has chronicled Judy Garland's career and the appeal of Oz. "It's a real pop culture phenomenon that shows no sign of fading."

It's a film that kids fall in love with immediately, Fricke said. They relate to Dorothy's love for her dog, Toto, and the Kansas farm girl's desire to travel to a better place.

"I think everyone wants to find that place – just like in the song 'Over the Rainbow' – where they feel completely comfortable with themselves," added Dudley, who plans to write a third installment. "Oz is for, has always been and always will be about the kids. You get sucked in when you're a kid. You love this fantasy world so much you want nothing more than to be a part of this world, and it just stays with you for life. The characters are relatable. You feel for Dorothy during her entire journey."

Nowadays, the Baum books – he wrote 13 sequels to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" – appeal primarily to kids younger than 12, said Fricke. Dudley's books are geared to older readers, especially middle school students and teenagers, he said.

"I think he found an untapped audience with his first book," said Fricke, who met Dudley at an Oz festival in Lancaster, N.Y., where the young author was promoting his first book. "He's been an entertainer, so he's good with the public. He's very personable. He has that youthful energy that's so much like Oz."

Click here to read the article on NashuaTelegraph.com

Telegraph Photo Gallery

Check out the Nashua Telegraphs collection of Photos featuring Joshua and his collection.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ONLINE GALLERY

SEQUEL RELEASED!

I'm so excited to finally announce the release of my second book, Rise of the Dark Wizard. I cannot thank everyone enough for all of your support and I hope you all enjoy reading about my latest journies through Oz.

It's available online now at
www.Target.com
www.BN.com (Barnes and Noble)
www.Amazon.com
and many others!

Sincerely yours,
Joshua Patrick Dudley

NewHampshire.com Sequel Article

Our friends over at NewHampshire.com were kind enough to run this article: Click here to go to NH.com to read the article!

Baum Bugle Reviews Lost in Oz

Re-Writing Oz History
Published in the Spring 2007 issue of the Baum Bugle, The Official Wizard of Oz Fan-Club Magazine, Volume 51, Number 1
The very concept is nothing short of brilliant. It is something I haven’t seen done before anywhere. Instead of presenting Oz as an actual land, it presents Oz as merely a place in the storybook The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The primary characters here are four teenagers (one of whom is the author himself) who get caught in the storyline from the book. The problem is that, since they were not in the original tale, their presence is causing the details of the story to change. As a result, the pages in their copy of the book turn blank and the book starts rewriting itself as the altered events transpire. If they alter the plotline too much, they could jeopardize the ending and prevent Dorothy from ever getting home. If that were to happen, they could all be trapped in this unfamiliar version of Oz forever.
The four teenagers start out amiably, but after the group splits up over an argument between Joshua and his sister, things start to become less pleasant for all of them. I’ll not reveal the ending here, but suffice to say that I did not expect it.
The author’s profile states that he has a background in theatre, which isn’t hard to believe when one reads his writing: the novel is told in the present tense, in the style of stage directions. This can get awkward at times, particularly when he shifts tense. For example, a sentence on page 29 reads: “As quickly as it was said, we all rose to our feet and start our long journey to the city of emeralds.”
I had been warned in advance that this book includes killing and death. Although that is true, one needs to remember that this is essentially a re-thought version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. While many modern Oz fans remember the story as seen through the MGM-colored glasses, it actually has a great deal of killing in it. The Tin Woodman chops up an army of wolves (as well as a wildcat); the Scarecrow twists the necks of a flock of crows; and a couple of Kalidahs are made to fall to their deaths. Reading the books side by side, I actually find Baum’s the bloodier of the two. I will mention, though, that as a vegetarian, I was very put off by a segment in which our human heroes are served a type of meat that clearly wasn’t picked from a lunch pail tree. I think it best not to offer details here.
There is one fight segment that I could have done without. The characters with whom we are supposed to sympathize with actually start fighting with Dorothy and her friends. I don’t have a lot of respect for anyone who would punch Dorothy, or bite her or pull her hair. And they also tear the Scarecrow into pieces in that segment. Indeed, as Joshua himself laments later on, “We’re the bad guys!”
Taken as a whole, this book has a lot of action and excitement. I hope to see many more books from this author in the future.

-CHRIS DULABONE

How Bastinda Was Made