Amanda Havard (born June 10, 1986) is an American writer of

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

,Goodreads.com Author Profile - Amanda Havard

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, Creative Director of the Immersedition transmedia studio, the creators of the Immersedition interactive book apps.Immersedition website
. Havard is most recognized for the

paranormal romance Paranormal romance is a subgenre of both romantic fiction and speculative fiction. Paranormal romance focuses on romantic love and includes elements beyond the range of scientific explanation, blending together themes from the speculative fiction ...

series, ''The Survivors'', a five book series featuring history, mythology, and paranormal beings like witches, vampires, and shapeshifters.Amazon.com Author Page - Amanda Havard

Early life

Amanda Havard was born in Shreveport, Louisiana to L.C. and Anneal Havard. She grew up in Dallas, TX and attended the

Parish Episcopal School Parish Episcopal School is a co-educational day school located on two campuses in Dallas, Texas, US. The college preparatory school enrolls students in grades Pre-K–12. In 2015–2016 school year, 1,130 students were enrolled, making Parish the ...

and the

Hockaday School The Hockaday School is an independent, secular, college preparatory day school for girls located in Dallas, Texas, United States. The boarding school was for girls in grades 8–12 and the day school is from pre-kindergarten to grade 12. The ...

for girls.Amanda Havard website
Upon graduation, Havard attended

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in Nashville, TennesseeMediabistro's Pub App Expo Speakers
December 2011. where she received her bachelor's and master's degrees in early childhood development from

Peabody College Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. ...

of Education and Human Development.U.S. News Education Rankings
, 2012. Havard now lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

''The Survivors'' series

''The Survivors''

''The Survivors'' was published on March 28, 2011 by

independent publisher A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. Independent press is general ...

Chafie Press.Amazon.com Product Page - ''The Survivors''
''The Survivors'' is also the pilot version of the Immersedition book app.Forbes.com: E-Book Publishers Take To The Cloud At Book Expo 2012
June 6, 2012. The Immersedition version includes original music (written by Havard), maps, photos, music videos, historical and mythological background information, author commentary, and other relevant additions to the story world.Wired.com: Publishers Hustle to Make E-Books More Immersive
April 9, 2012. ''The Survivors'' was also released in syndication on

Wattpad Wattpad is an online literature platform intended for users to read and write original stories. The founders Allen Lau and Ivan Yuen say that the platform aims to create social communities around stories and remove the barriers between readers a ...

throughout 2011PublishersWeekly.com: Wattpad Teams with Amanda Havard to Promote 'The Survivors'
May 20, 2011. and has received over 5 million reads.Wattpad.com Author Profile - Amanda Havard
''The Survivors'' was a recipient of Independent Publisher's 2011 Editor's Choice Award, the 2011

Moonbeam Children's Book Award Moonbeam may refer to: * Moonlight, the light that reaches Earth from the Moon * Moonbeam (band), a trance music group from Russia * Moonbeam, Ontario, a township in Canada * Moonbeam, a nickname of the American politician Jerry Brown (born 1938) ...

bronze medal for Young Adult Horror/Mystery,Independent Publisher: 2011 Moonbeam Childrens Book Awards Results
US Review of Books’ Eric Hoffer Lit Award 1st Runner-Up (YA),
2012. and eLit Awards' bronze medal in Young Adult and bronze medal in Fantasy/Sci-Fi.eLit Awards 2011 Award Results

''Point of Origin''

''Point of Origin'' is the second book in ''The Survivors'' series and was published in 2012. It was awarded the ''Review Direct'' Title of Special Note.

''Body & Blood''

''Body & Blood'' is the third book in ''The Survivors'' series.

Creative director

In 2011, Havard was named Creative Director of Immersedition, an interactive book app.

Fiction

Havard's own work, ''The Survivors'', was released on Immersedition.Interactive ebooks take on fiction novels
December 7, 2011. Havard has spoken on several media and transmedia panels across the country on the future of storytelling via multiple platforms and especially interactive books, including

Digital Hollywood Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

,Digital Hollywood Media Summit
, March 7, 2011.

Mediabistro Mecklermedia (formerly Internet.com LLC, Jupitermedia Inc., Mediabistro Inc. and WebMediaBrands Corporation) was a U.S.-based corporation. The original WebMediaBrands was established in 1994, and headquartered in New York. Founded by Alan M. ...

's Pub App Expo, UtopYACon,Meet The Authors At UtopYA: Amanda Havard
June 12, 2012. and the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, it is ...

(2012). In April 2012, ''Wired'' (magazine) featured Havard and Immersedition™ among the independent publishers "leading the way" in the development of interactive books.

Education

Havard has worked on an educational Immersedition project using

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Romeo & Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

, intended for classroom usage in schools.Immersedition website: Education
.

Songwriting

Havard has written and co-written songs that have been performed and produced to accompany ''The Survivors'' series. Havard used songwriting as a tool in the writing process to help articulate key scenes.
June 18, 2012.

"Pretty Girl"

The first song written by Havard and Deanna Walker (songwriter and songwriting professor at

Vanderbilt University: Blair School of Music Faculty
.) was "Pretty Girl" performed by ''The Voice'' Season 2 finalist, Chris Mann. "Pretty Girl" was released in April 2011"Pretty Girl" YouTube Video
and was written from the perspective of the male lead, Everett Winter.YPulse: Interview with Amanda Havard
April 26, 2011.

"Breaking"

The second single written for the series was co-written by Havard and Walker and titled "Breaking".Music News Nashville: Amanda Havard Adds Second Single “Breaking” To Survivors Series Soundtrack
August 22. 2011. "Breaking" was recorded by

Jess Moskaluke Jessica Moskaluke (born June 4, 1990) is a Canadian country singer and songwriter. She released her debut studio album, '' Light Up the Night'' in April 2014, which includes the platinum-certified single "Cheap Wine and Cigarettes". She has one #1 ...

.CMT.com Artist Page: Jess Moskaluke
"Breaking" debuted on August 3, 2011 and has over 300,000 views on YouTube."Breaking" YouTube Video

"Who You Are"

The third single written for ''The Survivors'' was co-written by Havard, Walker, Rick Beresford (

BMI Award The BMI Film & TV Awards are accolades presented annually by Broadcast Music, Inc., honoring songwriters, composers, and music publishers in various genres. Based in the United States, the awards include the BMI Christian Awards, BMI Country Awards ...

winner),Belmont University Faculty Bio: Rick Beresford
. and Tiffany Vartanyan.Amanda Havard website: Original Music
"Who You Are" is a duet performed by ''The Voice'' Season 1 contestant Patrick ThomasNBC.com: The Voice Season 1 Contestants
and Jenny Gill (daughter of

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

''The Tennessean'' Jenny Gill Keeps it All in the Family
June 24, 2011.). "Who You Are" was released on November 12, 2011.

"Play Nice"

The fourth single, recorded for ''Point of Origin'', was written by Havard, Walker, and Beresford and is performed by singer/songwriter Elle Maze. "Play Nice" was released on November 12, 2012.

References

External links

thesurvivorsseries.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Havard, Amanda Living people 1986 births Writers from Shreveport, Louisiana 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers American women novelists Songwriters from Louisiana Vanderbilt University alumni American women science fiction and fantasy writers 21st-century American women writers Novelists from Louisiana Musicians from Shreveport, Louisiana Hockaday School alumni