Veronica Roth Writing New Young Adult Series

Posted on March 5, 2015

Veronica Roth, author of the bestselling Divergent series, has just inked a deal for two new novels with HarperCollins. The deal is for a new young adult series which Ms. Roth says is "in the vein of Star Wars."

The new series is a duology about a boy who must team up with an enemy so that they can both get what they want. One wants revenge and the other wants redemption. What they have in common is living in an oppressive society that they are both desperate to escape. The first novel will come out in 2017, and the second will be published in 2018.

Ms. Roth is still writing the first book, so details are sparse. She told the AP in an email that she began with a character. Everything else flowed from that first character: the plot, setting and the world the characters' live in. She says she has a detailed out line for the series. But she's just begun to write, so she says she has to be vague in her answers.

Ms. Roth began writing her Dystopian trilogy Divergent while she was on winter break from Northwestern University. The series has now sold more than 30 million. The first book was made into a feature film starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James and Kate Winslet. It made nearly $289 million worldwide. The sequel, Insurgent, hits theaters on March 20th. The last film in the series, Allegiant is scheduled to hit theaters in March, 2017.

Fans of Divergent have been hounding Ms. Roth on Twitter about whether there will be any crossover between the Divergent characters and the new series. She shut down that speculation quickly, tweeting, "To those asking: no, there is no Divergent universe connection with the new series. It is brand new! I am excited."