The Results Are In

I fasted for 48 hours, consulted my oracles, asked my Magic 8-Ball for guidance, and viewed the entries several times each on my imaginary 60-inch hi-def plasma monitor. How to choose, how to choose. The two front-runnners, Angel and Subhan, have submitted How to Steal a Car videos of excellent quality, especially considering that they were produced at the last possible minute and without the aid of a munitions expert. How do you make a movie without explosions? Imagine if "Hurt Locker" had no bombs! I tell you, it boggles the mind. Still, they succeeded.

The winner of first prize (a complete set of Pete Hautman YA books) is...

Congratulations, Subhan!

As for the second prize (a $50 gift certificate for the most YouTube views by 3/31/10), Subhan has a daunting lead. (Angel, you must mobilize your relatives, friends, and classmates! I'm pulling for you!)

I will need a physical mailing addresses from both of you (Angel, even if you don't win the YouTube part of the contest, I'd like to send you a couple of books.). Contact me by email, please.

Congratulations to both of you!

The HOW TO STEAL A CAR Video Contest Deadline...

...has come and gone, and we have two fabulous last-minute entries.

This video, from angel51654, features the philosophical reflections of a happy looking car thief being manipulated by a disembodied blue arm.

Nice job, angel!

The second entry, from subhantopsy, is an energetic and funny review that reminds me a little bit of John Green's video posts.

Alas, Subhan is an honest-to-a-fault fellow who gives How to Steal a Car a rating of only 7.5. Subhan, don't you know that you're supposed to suck up to the contest judge? Just kidding. I love it.

I am going to ponder these two Academy Award worthy efforts for a few days before choosing the first prize (a complete set of ten signed YA books) winner. Meanwhile, the battle for second prize continues - whichever contestant gets the most views on YouTube by the end of this month will win a $50 gift certificate to a bookstore. Good luck, guys!

Contest Update, and a New Book

It’s cracking cold outside today—the sort of cold where the snow squeaks when you walk on it—but my “How to Steal a Car Video Contest” is really heating up! Although I have no evidence to support this, I’m expecting the first entry to be posted on YouTube any day now. I’m sure there are dozens—possibly billions—of nascent filmmakers slaving over their short videos, trying to make them Academy Award worthy. In fact, I have heard from an impeccable source (my fervid imagination), that James Cameron’s grandchildren (if he has any) may be partnering with Pixar to develop a ninety-second tour de force involving CGI versions of Kelleigh and her friends.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. In my dreams. Hey, why don’t you make a video! It’s easy! It doesn’t even have to be good. You could win a bunch of signed books, or maybe fifty bucks! Check out the contest rules here.

In other news, I’ve just shipped my latest novel off to my publisher. The original title was “Shayne,” a nod to Jack Schaefer’s classic western novel, Shane. But because almost no one born after 1970 remembers that book, my wise editor suggested an alternate title: Blank Confession. Look for it next November.

I’m now deep into revising my next project—a novel in which nothing happens. Oddly enough, it is shaping up to be my longest YA novel yet. Writing about nothing takes a lot more words than writing about something. Just ask Marcel Proust. Or Thomas Disch, who called Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past the “dullest and best of all books.”

Pete's Video Contest!!!!!

Here’s how you can become a YouTube sensation, earn extra credit at school, get experience making videos, and maybe even win a fabulous prize!

Make a short video based on Pete Hautman’s novel How to Steal a Car.

Contest is open to individuals or groups, the crazy and the sane. It could be a class project with a cast of hundreds, or just one person looking into a cell phone camera while talking about the book.

Here are some ideas:

Act out a scene from the book.

Offer a commentary about the book.

Do a spoof, like on Saturday Night Live

A photo montage with voiceover

An interview with a character from the book

A puppet show or animation

…it’s up to you!

First Prize: Full set (all ten) of Pete Hautman’s YA books, signed and with illustrations (okay, doodles) by the author

Second Prize: $50.00 gift card to your favorite bookstore

Contest Rules

- Video must be at least 60 seconds long, but not more than ten minutes.

- It must be posted on YouTube on or before March 15, 2010.

- It must be about the novel How to Steal a Car (not just a video about car theft).

- It must not contain anything that will get you or me in trouble (no porn, no slander, no bomb-making instructions, etc.)

- The title (How to Steal a Car) and author (Pete Hautman) of the book must be mentioned, and an image of the book cover must appear at some point in the video. This can be at the beginning, the end, or anywhere else in the video (for example, you could show a character reading the book).

When your video has been posted let Pete know via a comment on this blog, or by email: pete@petehautman.com

Links to all qualifying entries will be posted on Pete’s blog. Winner(s) will be announced on April 1, 2010.

First Prize will go to the video that Pete likes best.

Second Prize will go to the video that gets the most YouTube views by March 31, 2010. (Posting your video early and getting your friends to watch it will give you a huge advantage!)

Note: It is possible that one video could be awarded both prizes.