The King of Stories: Time for Kids talks to Chris Colfer

160712_colfer_tout2.jpg

By Andrea Delbanco

Chris Colfer is a man of many talents. He sings, acts, and writes a wildly successful book series, The Land of Stories. Book 5 hits bookstores today. Though he vowed not to reveal any secrets, Colfer talked to TFK about The Land of Stories: An Author’s Odyssey and his inspiration for its fantastic fairy-tale world.

TFK: How do you keep getting new ideas for books in this series?

CHRIS COLFER: I’m so lucky, because the ideas for the books have always really been with me. I came up with most of the ideas for the series when I was a kid. Whenever I get something new; the things I see on the street—anything from statues to buildings; anything that I read—all these inspire me. I get inspired a lot by history too.

TFK: How long does it typically take you to write a book? What’s the process like?

COLFER: I wrote most of the books while I was filming the TV show Glee, so I didn’t have much free time. I would try to write as much as possible with the very little time I had. If I added up all the spare hours—here and there and weekends and an hour or two after work at the end of the day—I probably wrote each book in about two to three months. I wish I had more of a process than I do. I like to outline everything chapter by chapter, and then I let the characters in my head do all the talking.

Read the full Interview →

Chris Colfer on the Today Show talking about ‘Land of Stories’ and ‘Absolutely Fabulous’

Chris Colfer talks "Glee" and "The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms," the latest in his book series. " Subscribe to TODAY: http://on.today.com/SubscribeToTODAY " Watch the latest from TODAY: http://bit.ly/LatestTODAY About: TODAY brings you the latest headlines and expert tips on money, health and parenting.

Many know Chris Colfer for his Golden Globe-winning role as Kurt Hummel on the hit TV musical series “Glee,” but you may not know he is also a New York Times best-selling author! Now the actor is out with the fifth installment in his “Land of Stories” series, “An Author’s Odyssey.” He says his kids are his harshest critics: “They have no filter whatsoever; if they don’t like a sentence they will tell you right to your face.” 

EW: See the cover and title of Chris Colfer's next Land of Stories book!

BY  ISABELLA BIEDENHARN • @ISABELLA324

Glee alum Chris Colfer has written the fifth book in his best-selling The Land of Stories series — which has been translated into a whopping 19 languages — and EW is proud to give you a sneak peek at the title and cover of the next installment.

“Alex and Conner have traveled into the realms of fairy-tales and classic literature, but An Author’s Odyssey is their first adventure in a world created from their own imaginations,” Colfer tells EW. “Like a screenwriter, Conner has the exciting — and sometimes nerve-racking! — experience of seeing the characters and stories he has created come to life. The series has inspired so many kids around the world to read and I hope this fifth book will encourage readers to write their own stories, too.”

The Land of Stories: An Author’s Odyssey hits shelves July 12...

READ THE article →

Chris Colfer to continue Land of Stories series with new novels, picture books

Chris-Colfer_612x380_1.jpg

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

BY JONATHON DORNBUSH • @JMDORNBUSH

UPDATE: Chris Colfer tweeted out the titles for his Land of Storiescompanion books–The Mother Goose Diaries and Queen Red Riding Hood’s Guide To Royalty–and wrote that the picture books will be about the characters Curvy Tree and Trollbella.

ORIGINAL STORY: Though Glee’s story may be coming to a close, Chris Colfer is hard at work on expanding another one of his stories.

Colfer is set to write two more books in his childen’s series The Land of Stories, having signed a multi-book deal with Little, Brown and Company.

The newest entries, which will bump up the series to a total of five books, are untitled but scheduled to be released in July 2015 and July 2016.

In addition to these novels, Colfer will also write two picture books based on the Land of Stories, as well as two companion books for inclusion in a holiday box set releasing in 2015.

Colfer’s print plans don’t end with this set of stories, however. The actor and author is now also writing a novel for teenagers that tells the story of a young actor taking a cross-country road trip with his fans—a setup that would also make for a great way to do a book tour once the novel releases.

Colfer later tweeted about what the companion and picture books will cover.

Chris Colfer's new book lands in top 10


USA TODAY

Jocelyn McClurg, USA TODAY

Here's a look at what's new on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list…

King of 'Kingdoms': Chris Colfer has plenty to be gleeful about when it comes to his writing career. His The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms (Little, Brown) lands at No. 10, his highest debut. (The full list will publish on Thursday.)

Beyond the Kingdoms is the fourth book in a series for young readers about twins who have magical encounters with the fairy-tale characters they've read about. In the new book, Alex and Conner Bailey pursue a "Masked Man" with help from Goldilocks, Red Riding Hood and Mother Goose.

The series' previous peak was No. 29 with book three, A Grimm Warning, last summer.

Colfer, 25, who played Kurt Hummel on Glee, is on a multi-city book tour that ends July 18 in Los Angeles. In a recent interview with the Phoenix New Times, he said, "I did nothing but watch TV and movies when I was a kid, and I think it's really what made me a good storyteller."

He has a busy fall ahead as a storyteller, too. The Curvy Tree, a debut picture book, arrives on Oct. 27 from Little, Brown. It's based on an original fairy tale of the same name from The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell.

And on Nov. 24, Adventures from the Land of Stories Boxed Set: The Mother Goose Diaries and Queen Red Riding Hood's Guide to Royalty will be published, containing two new books.

Chris Colfer talks about 'Glee' and his latest novel

THE TODAY SHOW

The actor came to fame with his award-winning portrayal of Kurt Hummel on "Glee," and now Chris Colfer is the best-selling author of books for middle schoolers and has been named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people. He talks to the TODAY anchors about "Glee" and "The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms," the latest in his book series.

WATCH THE VIDEO →