Cecil Castellucci
Encyclopedia
Cecil Castellucci, also known as Cecil Seaskull (born October 25, 1969 in New York City
), is a young adult
novelist, indie rock
er, and director. She currently lives in Los Angeles
, California
She grew up in New York City where she attended the Laguardia High School of the Performing Arts
. She later studied theatre in Paris
at the École Florent. She attended Concordia University in Montreal
and received a B.F.A. in Film Production.
In Montreal, she embarked on her music career as part of Bite, which was, at the time, the only all-female indie band in Montreal. When she was kicked out of Bite, she formed Nerdy Girl with Gordon Hashimoto. When Hashimoto left, she joined with Rod Woo, Gabe Levine, and Kim Temple to continue the band. After recording their only album Twist Her, Levine and Temple left the group, and Jessica Moss and Eric Craven took their places. She later moved to Los Angeles after Nerdy Girl broke up for good, and she recorded solo under her performing name, Cecil Seaskull.
In 2001, she co-founded the experimental *Alpha 60 Film Collective with Neil Matsumoto and Nick McCarthy.
Her first novel, Boy Proof was published in 2005.
. She has also been published by Scholastic Press
, DC Comics
and Roaring Brook Press
and considers herself "boy proof", and proud of it. However, her outlook on life is challenged when a boy named Max Carter comes to her school and she finds herself reluctantly drawn to him.
It was named to the 2006 Best Books for Young Adults list by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association (ALA) as well as to the Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers list (also by YALSA).
Beige (2007)
Katy is a French-Canadian girl who is forced to spend a summer with her estranged father. Beau "The Rat" Ratner of L.A.'s most infamous punk band-that-never-made-it, Suck. Suck is about to come off its hiatus, and the Rat hopes he can use the band as an opportunity to bond with his daughter. There is one problem: Katy does not like music. Because of this, the daughter of her father's bandmate, Lake, nicknames her "Beige".
It won the California Book Award Gold Medal for Juvenile category.
is due in May 2012. A comic book for young readers called Odd Duck with illustrator Sara Varon is planned for 2013.
for DC Comics
's Minx
imprint, which targets the YA audience. A long time comic book fan (she invited Batman
to her fourth birthday party), Cecil jumped at the opportunity when contacted by Group Editor Shelly Bond.
The story follows a girl named Jane who moves to suburbia after a terrorist attack in her hometown of Metro City. Once there, she rejects the popular girls, and instead finds her "tribe" with three other girls named Jayne (aka Brain Jane), Jane (Theater Jane), and Polly Jane (Sporty Jane). They band together to form P.L.A.I.N. (People Loving Art In Neighborhoods) and commit "art attacks" to try and brighten up the atmosphere of fear that follows the terrorist attack.
A Canadian citizen, Cecil won the Joe Shuster Award in the category of "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Writer" for Janes.
A sequel, called Janes in Love, was released in 2008. The sequel follows P.L.A.I.N as they play Cupid, become entangled in affairs of the heart (both their own and others), and procure a spot in Metro City Museum of Modern Art Contest.
A third volume, Janes Go Summer, was announced at Comic-Con International
2008, but the Minx line was canceled before it came out. No official word has been given whether it will be released in some other medium in the future.
3 songs, including a cover of The Beatles
' She Said She Said
, and "After Having Cried".
Recordings. Available on iTunes.
to write a libretto for an opera called Les Aventures de Madame Merveille. The live comic book opera featured art by Michael Cho, Pascal Girard, Scott K Hepburn and Cameron Stewart
. It premiered May 6, 2010 and was remounted in Fall 2011.
. Cecil was one of these fans. She also appears in the special features on the Special Edition DVD, released in 2005.
Through Alpha 60, Cecil made this ensemble film based on the actors' responses to a questionnaire. It premiered at the Alternative Screen series at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
), is a young adult
Young adult literature
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
novelist, indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
er, and director. She currently lives in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
She grew up in New York City where she attended the Laguardia High School of the Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is a high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center and the Juilliard School in the Lincoln Center district of Manhattan, on Amsterdam Avenue...
. She later studied theatre in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at the École Florent. She attended Concordia University in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and received a B.F.A. in Film Production.
In Montreal, she embarked on her music career as part of Bite, which was, at the time, the only all-female indie band in Montreal. When she was kicked out of Bite, she formed Nerdy Girl with Gordon Hashimoto. When Hashimoto left, she joined with Rod Woo, Gabe Levine, and Kim Temple to continue the band. After recording their only album Twist Her, Levine and Temple left the group, and Jessica Moss and Eric Craven took their places. She later moved to Los Angeles after Nerdy Girl broke up for good, and she recorded solo under her performing name, Cecil Seaskull.
In 2001, she co-founded the experimental *Alpha 60 Film Collective with Neil Matsumoto and Nick McCarthy.
Her first novel, Boy Proof was published in 2005.
Novels
Cecil's first novels were published by Candlewick PressCandlewick Press
Candlewick Press, established in 1991 and located in Somerville, Massachusetts, is the American division of the British publisher Walker Books Ltd....
. She has also been published by Scholastic Press
Scholastic Press
Scholastic is a global book publishing company known for publishing educational materials for schools, teachers, and parents, and selling and distributing them by mail order and via book clubs and book fairs. It also has the exclusive United States' publishing rights to the Harry Potter book...
, DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
and Roaring Brook Press
Boy Proof (2005)
Boy Proof is about a girl in Los Angeles named Victoria Jurgen, who insists on being called "Egg" after a character in her favorite movie, a (fictional) post-apocalyptic, science fiction film called Terminal Earth. Her mother is a washed-up actress and her father is special-effects designer. She is a card-carrying geekGeek
The word geek is a slang term, with different meanings ranging from "a computer expert or enthusiast" to "a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts", with a general pejorative meaning of "a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp[ecially] one who is perceived to...
and considers herself "boy proof", and proud of it. However, her outlook on life is challenged when a boy named Max Carter comes to her school and she finds herself reluctantly drawn to him.
It was named to the 2006 Best Books for Young Adults list by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association (ALA) as well as to the Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers list (also by YALSA).
The Queen of Cool (2006)
Libby Brin is one of the most popular girls in her school, and her life is all about parties and boys. Then one day she realizes that she is bored with her glamorous lifestyle and signs up for an internship at the local zoo. There she meets up with Tina, a dwarf with a huge personality, and a boy named Sheldon. Soon, she begins to question her definition of "cool". As she hangs out with the people that she thought were uncool, she realizes that they are actually good friends and that she has more fun with them instead of her regular friends.Beige (2007)Beige (novel)Beige is a young adult novel by Cecil Castellucci. It was published by Candlewick Press in 2007 and is Castellucci's third novel.-Plot summary:...
Katy is a French-Canadian girl who is forced to spend a summer with her estranged father. Beau "The Rat" Ratner of L.A.'s most infamous punk band-that-never-made-it, Suck. Suck is about to come off its hiatus, and the Rat hopes he can use the band as an opportunity to bond with his daughter. There is one problem: Katy does not like music. Because of this, the daughter of her father's bandmate, Lake, nicknames her "Beige".Rose Sees Red (2010)
Set in New York in the 1980s, this story of two ballet dancers (one American, one Russian) recounts the unforgettable night they spend in the city, and celebrates the friendship they form despite their cultural and political differences.Grandma's Gloves (2011)
A young girl and her grandmother bond over gardening. A story about a child who loses a beloved grandparent and finds comfort in carrying on the activities they shared.It won the California Book Award Gold Medal for Juvenile category.
First Day on Earth (2011)
Mal thinks he's been abducted by aliens and starts going to an alien abduction support group where he meets Hooper, who may or may not be a traveler from another world.Future Novels
A hybrid novel/graphic The Year of the Beasts with illustrator Nate PowellNate Powell
Nate Powell is a graphic novelist, publisher, and musician. He owns DIY punk record label Harlan Records, has performed in several punk bands , and occasionally performed hip hop as Featherweight MC...
is due in May 2012. A comic book for young readers called Odd Duck with illustrator Sara Varon is planned for 2013.
The P.L.A.I.N. Janes (2007)
Cecil wrote the inaugural graphic novelGraphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
for DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
's Minx
Minx (comics)
Minx was an imprint of DC Comics that published graphic novels aimed at teenage girls. It ran from 2007 to 2008.-History:Minx was announced in November 2006, following several years of planning...
imprint, which targets the YA audience. A long time comic book fan (she invited Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
to her fourth birthday party), Cecil jumped at the opportunity when contacted by Group Editor Shelly Bond.
The story follows a girl named Jane who moves to suburbia after a terrorist attack in her hometown of Metro City. Once there, she rejects the popular girls, and instead finds her "tribe" with three other girls named Jayne (aka Brain Jane), Jane (Theater Jane), and Polly Jane (Sporty Jane). They band together to form P.L.A.I.N. (People Loving Art In Neighborhoods) and commit "art attacks" to try and brighten up the atmosphere of fear that follows the terrorist attack.
A Canadian citizen, Cecil won the Joe Shuster Award in the category of "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Writer" for Janes.
A sequel, called Janes in Love, was released in 2008. The sequel follows P.L.A.I.N as they play Cupid, become entangled in affairs of the heart (both their own and others), and procure a spot in Metro City Museum of Modern Art Contest.
A third volume, Janes Go Summer, was announced at Comic-Con International
Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
2008, but the Minx line was canceled before it came out. No official word has been given whether it will be released in some other medium in the future.
Nerdy Girl 10" EP (1994)
Released by No Life Records- Do You Like Me?
- Glad To Know
- Roof of Wilson
- Hate Me
- Nerdy Girl
- Song 7
New Jersey 7" single (1995)
Released by RightWide Records3 songs, including a cover of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' She Said She Said
She Said She Said
"She Said She Said" is a song written by John Lennon and released by The Beatles on their 1966 album Revolver...
, and "After Having Cried".
Dime Store Hussy 7" single (1996)
Released by No Life Records.- Scream
- 18 Foot Yacht
- Perhaps
Twist Her (1997)
Released by No Life Records. Available on iTunes.- Casa Nova
- Hate Me
- Georgiana
- Iceman (Murder on the Rue Morgue)
- Anne Elliot
- Cast Off
- Single Bed
- Weed
- Do You Like Me
- Wicked
- 3 Wishes
- Judy
- Aranova
Whoever (1998)
Released by Teenage USATeenage USA
Teenage USA Recordings is a Canadian independent record label, founded by Phil Klygo and Mark DiPietro in the fall of 1997 on the back of Klygo's Skull Geek record label and fanzine....
Recordings. Available on iTunes.
- True Love
- 2E
- La Song (feat. Rufus WainwrightRufus WainwrightRufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
) - Toutes ces filles
- Beautiful Everything
- Fairfax & Melrose
- Cheap
- The Bruise
- Dim
- Ridiculous
- What's Wrong?
- Sweet Girl
For Lovers and Rats (unreleased)
Contains tracks "Ode to a Boy with a Girlfriend," "Liquor and Cigarettes," and "Whisper This to Me", (the latter two are available streaming from her MySpace page)Other songs
- "My Chores" for Canadian Music WeekCanadian Music WeekCanadian Music Week is an industry conference and music festival held over four days in various venues throughout Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-History:...
1997, on the compilation album Northern Exposure. It is also available streaming on her MySpace page - "Take Me" on indie compilation album Try for Summer, Plan for Fall, released in 1999.
- Also available on her MySpace page is a live cover version of The MuppetsThe MuppetsThe Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
' "Movin' Right Along"
Les Aventures de Madame Merveille
In 2010 she was commissioned by ECM+ in Montreal along with composer André RisticAndré Ristic
André Ristic is a Canadian composer, pianist, accordion player, and music theorist. He has won several awards, including the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music in 2000 for his work Catalogue de bombes occidentales, the Prix opus for Composer of the Year in 2002, and the Prix Québec-Flandre in...
to write a libretto for an opera called Les Aventures de Madame Merveille. The live comic book opera featured art by Michael Cho, Pascal Girard, Scott K Hepburn and Cameron Stewart
Cameron Stewart
Cameron Stewart is an Eisner Award and Shuster Award-winning and Eagle Award and Harvey Award-nominated Canadian comic book artist who has worked for DC, Marvel, and Dark Horse Comics.-Biography:...
. It premiered May 6, 2010 and was remounted in Fall 2011.
Starwoids (2001)(self)
Starwoids is a documentary about the Star Wars fans who camped out in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater for six weeks in order to buy tickets for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom MenaceStar Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...
. Cecil was one of these fans. She also appears in the special features on the Special Edition DVD, released in 2005.
Happy Is Not Hard to Be (2005)(director/writer/actress)
According to the film's IMDb page, "Happy Is Not Hard to Be follows the lives of a diverse group of family and friends in Los Angeles, whose paths intersect at a time of personal turmoil and uncertainty. Reflecting the discontented melting pot of Los Angeles itself, this modern family struggles to find harmony when new and old faces enter their lives."Through Alpha 60, Cecil made this ensemble film based on the actors' responses to a questionnaire. It premiered at the Alternative Screen series at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles.
Other works
- Her short story "Best Friends Forever" is featured in the anthology "Teeth" edited by Ellen DatlowEllen DatlowEllen Datlow is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist.-Biography:Datlow was the fiction editor of Omni magazine and Omni Online from 1981 through 1998, and edited the ten associated Omni anthologies...
and Terri WindlingTerri WindlingTerri Windling is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. Windling has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and her collection The Armless Maiden appeared on the short-list for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award...
. - Cecil co-edited the anthology Geektastic with author Holly BlackHolly BlackHolly Black née Riggenbach is an American writer and editor, best known for writing The Spiderwick Chronicles, a series of children's fantasy books she created with illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi.-Early life and education:...
it includes a story they co-wrote. - Cecil contributed an essay entitled "My Fairy Godfathers" to the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys. The anthology celebrates the friendship between straight women and gay men. "My Fairy Godfathers" recounts her friendships with three gay men who help her get over failed relationships.
- In the anthology First Kiss (Then Tell): A Collection of True Lip-Locked Moments she has an essay called "Bad Reputation" about a relationship she had in junior high.
- She also has a video podcast called "I Heart YA" on YouTube.
- Her short story Wet Teeth is featured in the anthology The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and DesireThe Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and DesireThe Eternal Kiss is a anthology of vampire short stories edited by Trisha Telep. Eternal Kiss is first book in series of 13 tale books all edited by Trisha Telep. This collection brings together the top fantasy youth writers of our generations...
(2009)