F O R I M M E D I AT E R E L E A S E

National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson

makes his nonfiction YA debut

SYMPHONY FOR THE CITY OF THE DEAD

Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad

A brilliant and riveting account of the Siege of Leningrad

and the role played by Russian composer Shostakovich and
his Leningrad Symphony
In September 1941, Adolf Hitlers Wehrmacht surrounded Leningrad
in what was to become one of the longest and most destructive sieges in
Western historytwo and a half years of bombardment and starvation
that culminated in the harsh winter of 1943. More than a million
citizens perished. Survivors recall corpses littering the frozen streets,
their relatives having neither the means nor the strength to bury them.
Residents burned books, furniture, and floorboards to keep warm; they
ate family pets andeventuallyone another to stay alive.
Trapped between the Nazi invading force and the Soviet government
itself was composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who would write a
symphony that roused, rallied, eulogized, and commemorated his fellow
citizensthe Leningrad Symphony, which came to occupy a surprising
place of prominence in the eventual Allied victory.

On sale September 22, 2015

HC: 978-0-7636-6818-1 Also available as an e-book
$25.99 ($29.00 CAN) 464 pages Age 14 and up

This is the true story of a city under siege: the triumph of bravery and
defiance in the face of terrifying odds. It is also a look at the powerand
layered meaningof music in beleaguered lives. Symphony for the City
of the Dead is a masterwork thrillingly told and impeccably researched
by National Book Awardwinning author M. T. Anderson.

#symphony7

Illustration 2015 by Kikuo Johnson

M. T. Anderson is the author of Feed, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, as
well as The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The
Pox Party, winner of the National Book Award and a New York Times bestseller, and
its sequel, The Kingdom on the Waves, which was also a New York Times bestseller.
Both volumes were also named Michael L. Printz Honor Books. M. T. Anderson lives
in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

SYMPHONY FOR THE CITY OF THE DEAD

A Note from Author M. T. Anderson
This book is a hymn, I hope, to a composer I love and to the power of
music in general. It began when my interest was piqued by the idea of a
symphony considered so important that it was transferred onto microfilm
like some dossier in a spy novel and smuggled halfway across the globe.
Over the years, my sense of the project has deepened far beyond that, to a
real passion for the larger story of the struggle of the Soviet people, trapped
between Hitler and Stalintwo of the most terrifying dictators the world
has ever known.
Why did I decide to write the book for teens, instead of adults? I think it
goes back to two moments in my youth. The first is my memory of reading
John Herseys Hiroshima in eighth grade and having my mind blown
by the realization that war was much more complicated than I had ever
understood before. War was not just a simple clash of good and evil. The
second moment was years later, when I was eighteen or nineteen. I heard
a piece by Shostakovich (one of his cello concerti), and suddenly the
harmony swerved in a way Id never heard before. Like that engagement
with Herseys WWII reporting, I felt my world broadening; I suddenly
recognized complexities Id never even suspected before.

Illustration 2015 by Kikuo Johnson

Now Im an adult, and Im used to dissonance and to the unbearable

crimes of war. I take them for granted. But I shouldnt. So I wanted to write
this book for readers who still feel outrage at discord, who still dream of a
more harmonious world.

Candlewick Press www.candlewick.com

SYMPHONY FOR THE CITY OF THE DEAD

About M. T. Anderson
M. T. Anderson is an accomplished author of a wide range of titles,
including works of fantasy and satire, for readers of various ages. He
studied English literature at Harvard University and Cambridge University
and went on to receive his MFA in Creative Writing from Syracuse
University.

Photograph by Sonya Sones

M. T. Anderson is known for challenging readers to look at the world in

new ways. We write because we cant decipher things the first time
around, he says. His previous books include Thirsty, a vampire novel; Burger Wuss,
a revenge story set in a fast-food emporium; and Feed, a futuristic satirical novel widely
lauded as one of the most important and pioneering works of the recent dystopian craze.
A finalist for the National Book Award, Feed received the Los Angeles Times Book Prize
for YA fiction in 2003 and a Boston GlobeHorn Book Honor.
The authors passion for history and classical music were inspirations for his
sophisticated and much-lauded epic The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor
to the Nation,Volume I: The Pox Party, a National Book Award Winner, and Volume II:
The Kingdom on the Waves. The two novels, both Michael L. Printz Honor recipients,
trace the story of a fictional slave in preRevolutionary War Bostona time when
American Patriots rioted and battled to win liberty, while African slaves were entreated
to risk their lives for a freedom they would never claim.

Illustration 2015 by Kikuo Johnson

M. T. Andersons work may be best known for its sophisticated wit and storylines,
highlighting his belief that young people are more intelligent than some might think.
When asked why he gives so much credit to his young audience, Anderson says that
Our survival as a nation rests upon the willingness of the young to become excited and
engaged by new ideas we never considered as adults.
M. T. Anderson was an instructor at Vermont College of Fine Arts, where he now serves
as a board member. From 20032012, he also served on the board of the National
Childrens Book and Literacy Alliance, a national nonprofit organization that advocates
for literacy, literature, and libraries. He has published stories for adults in literary
journals such as the Northwest Review, the Colorado Review, and Conjunctions. He lives
in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Candlewick Press www.candlewick.com

Praise for M. T. Anderson

A National Book Award Winner

A Michael L. Printz Honor Book

A Michael L. Printz Honor Book

A Boston GlobeHorn Book

Honor Winner

A Los Angeles Times Book

Prize Finalist

A New York Times Book Review

Notable Book of the Year

A New York Times Book Review

Notable Book of the Year

A New York Times Bestseller

A New York Times Bestseller

A Horn Book Fanfare Selection

HC: 978-0-7636-2402-6 PB: 978-0-7636-5376-7 Also available as an e-book

Its probably the best young-adult novel in American history,

top 10 for sure. John Green for Time Magazine
Andersons imaginative and highly intelligent exploration of the
horrors of human experimentation and the ambiguous history of
Americas origins will leave readers impatient for the promised
sequel. The New York Times Book Review

HC: 978-0-7636-2950-2 PB: 978-0-7636-5377-4 Also available as an e-book

Awe-inspiring. . . . Even more present in this volume are

passionate questions, directly relevant to teens lives, about
basic human struggles for independence, identity, freedom, love,
and the need to reconcile the past.Booklist (starred review)

A sweeping and epic novel. . . . Will someday be recognized

as a novel of the first rank, the kind of monumental work
Italo Calvino called encyclopedic in the way it sweeps up
history into a comprehensive and deeply textured pattern.
The New York Times Book Review

Andersons powerful and unforgettable novel is a vital

contribution to the ongoing national conversation on the subject
[of slavery] and its effects on into the present day.
Los Angeles Times

This deeply moving reimagining of a little-known episode in

American history should be required reading not only for high
school students of the American Revolution but, I would argue,
for anyone who wants to see just what brilliance is possible in
so-called childrens books. BookPage

A historical novel of prodigious scope, power, and insight. . . .

This is the Revolutionary War seen at its intersection with
slavery through a disturbingly original lens.
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Anderson once again shows the breadth of his talents with this
stunningly well-researched novel. Publishers Weekly

Presents a unique vision of this nations infancy, one to which

young-adult readers with sophisticated tastes are likely to
respond with enthusiasm. San Francisco Chronicle

Time Magazines 100 Best YA Books of All Time Selection

A National Book Award Finalist
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner

Subversive, vigorously conceived, painfully situated at the juncture where funny crosses into
tragic, Feed demonstrates that young-adult novels are alive and well and able to deliver a jolt.
The New York Times Book Review

This satire offers a thought-provoking and scathing indictment that may prod readers to examine the more
sinister possibilities of corporate- and media-dominated culture. Publishers Weekly (starred review)
PB: 978-0-7636-6262-2
Also available as an e-book

This dystopic vision is dark but quite believable. Sad and strong and scary. Chicago Tribune

Its exhilarating to decipher Andersons futuristic adolescent slang, but his story is a serious one.
He has an uncanny gift for depicting how teenagers see the world. BookPage

Candlewick Press www.candlewick.com