The Penguin Platform YA Road Trip

Penguin Platform authors are on the road! Fantasy fan? Hopeless romantic? Can’t resist a good twist? The Penguin Platform YA Road Trip has you covered!

Join Ayana Gray (Beasts of Prey), Karen M. McManus (One Of Us is Lying, You’ll Be the Death of Me), Sarah Daniels (The Stranded) and Emily Barr (Ghosted) on a very special summer YA road trip that will takes readers on a tour of their novels: from fantasy to thriller, dystopia to contemporary issues as well as writing suspense in a super-connected world, and the rise and rise of BookTok. Discuss the classic tropes with this stellar line up of authors – from enemies to lovers, to twisty thrillers, to books to make you cry… (Road trip playlists, snacks, and maps optional!)

Ayana Gray, Beasts of Prey

Ayana Gray is a lover of all things monsters and magic. Originally an Atlanta native, she now lives in sunny Florida where she writes fantastical stories, follows Formula One racing, and worries over her adopted baby rhino, Apollo.

T: @ayanagray / I: @ayanagray_

Karen M. McManus, You'll Be the Death of Me

Karen M. McManus is the #1 New York Times and international bestselling author of YA thriller/mystery novels, including One of Us Is Lying (now a Netflix series), One of Us Is Next, Two Can Keep a Secret, The Cousins and You’ll Be the Death of Me. Nothing More to Tell will be her next novel, publishing this autumn. Her work has been translated into more than 40 languages worldwide. Karen lives in Massachusetts and holds a master's degree in Journalism from Northeastern University, which she mostly uses to draft fake news stories for her novels. 

T/I: @writerkmc 

Sarah Daniels, The Stranded

Sarah Daniels is an ex-archaeologist who escaped academia and now writes stories from her home in rural Lincolnshire. Her work has been published in various online magazines and has been nominated for Best British and Irish Flash Fiction and Best Small Fictions. This is her first novel and part of a duology.

I: @sarahdanbooks / T: @sarahdanielsbooks


Emily Barr, Ghosted 

Emily Barr's latest novel GHOSTED is a perfect love story with her signature thrilling twist. Her first novel for young adults, THE ONE MEMORY OF FLORA BANKS was a global hit, publishing in 27 languages. Before that, she worked as a journalist in London but always hankered after a quiet room and a book to write. She went travelling for a year, which gave her an idea for a novel set in the world of backpackers in Asia. This became BACKPACK, an adult thriller which won the WH Smith New Talent Award, and she has since written eleven more adult novels published in the UK and around the world. She lives in Cornwall with her husband and their children.

T: @emily_barr