Colin Meloy

Colin Meloy is lead singer of The Decemberists, a highly celebrated (and uncommonly literary) band that has sold in excess of 1 million records. In January 2011, The Decemberists’ sixth studio album, The King is Dead, was released to widespread acclaim, landing at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. Meloy has been recognized as much for his musical abilities -- his ear for inventive and timeless melodies and his lilting vocals -- as he has been for his unmatched lyrical prowess. Crafting each song as a vivid, imaginative story unto itself, he’s become one of the most distinctive and appreciated voices of our time. Wildwood marks his debut as a children’s author.

Wildwood, 2011

In Wildwood, Prue McKeel’s life is ordinary. She lives in Portland, Oregon, where it rains a lot. She has a mother and a father and a baby brother. Ordinary. At least until her brother is abducted by a flock of crows. And then things get really weird. On every map of Portland there is a big splotch of green on the edge of the city labeled “I.W.” This stands for “Impassable Wilderness.” No one’s ever gone in -- or at least returned to tell of it. And this is where the crows take her brother. So begins an adventure that will take Prue and her friend Curtis deep into the Impassable Wilderness. There they uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval, a world full of warring creatures, peaceable mystics and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. And what begins as a rescue mission becomes something much bigger as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of this wilderness. A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.