A Teen Fantasy Come True

A 19-year-old media star? Sure, the pages of People magazine are filled with them, but they're not usually children's book authors. Christopher Paolini and his fantasy novel Eragon (Knopf), however, are taking the nation's booksellers by storm. Written by Paolini at the age of 15 (and previously self-published), Eragon, released on August 26 with a first printing of 100,000 copies, is the first in a planned trilogy about a boy who discovers a dragon egg that is destined to hatch in his care, thus resurrecting the mission of the legendary Dragon Riders.

Knopf distributed 3,600 pre-pub ARCs via BEA, ALA, Book Sense, account mailings, reviewer mailings, etc., and the response was "tremendous," according to executive director of publicity Judith Haut. An eighth trip back to press on October 14 brought the in-print figure to 300,000 copies. Rights have been sold in eight countries, and Fox 2000 has optioned the novel for a feature film. Paolini is currently on a 14-city tour; national media coverage has included features in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, People, the Sunday Times in London and on The Today Show. It's #1 on PW's children's fiction bestseller list and is in its seventh week on the New York Times list. Heady stuff for any first novelist, let alone a teenager, who—like his fictional hero—seems to be embarking on a story that's the stuff of legends. —With reporting by Diane Roback