Welcome to the I Can't Sleep podcast,
Where I help you drift off one fact at a time.
I'm your host,
Benjamin Boster,
And today's episode is about the Wings of Fire novel series.
Wings of Fire is a series of high fantasy novels about dragons,
Written by Two E.
T.
Sutherland and published by Scholastic Inc.
The series has been translated into over 10 languages,
Has sold over 27 million copies,
And has been on the New York Times bestseller list for over 200 weeks.
Wings of Fire is set on a magical planet orbited by three moons,
Which features two known major continents,
Pyrrhea and Pantala.
The two continents are predominantly inhabited by intelligent dragons that are grouped into ten tribes,
Seven of which inhabit Pyrrhea,
Mud Wings,
Sea Wings,
Rain Wings,
Sand Wings,
Sky Wings,
Ice Wings,
Night Wings,
And three that inhabit Pantala,
Silk Wings,
Hive Wings,
Leaf Wings.
There was also once an additional Pantalan tribe known as the Beetle Wings,
Now extinct.
The Silk Wings and Hive Wings are their descendants.
Dragons tend to live in their tribe's suited habitat.
For example,
Rain Wings reside in the Rainforest Kingdom,
Ice Wings prefer the Ice Kingdom,
Etc.
,
And most regularly live among their own kind.
Also,
Rare inter-tribal relationships allow hybrids of the various species to exist.
Each tribe lives in a habitat suited to its biological needs and abilities.
Most tribes have unique adaptations fitting for their respective habitats,
Such as resistance to cold,
The ability to breathe underwater,
Or camouflage scales.
They are ruled by dynasties of queens.
Both continents are also sparsely inhabited by humans,
Sometimes referred to as scavengers or reading monkeys by dragons,
Mostly the former term,
Who are or previously were viewed by most dragons as an inferior species or simply another prey animal.
However,
Human-dragon interactions are explored several times throughout the course of the series.
Many scavengers are even kept as pets by dragons.
Over 5,
000 years prior to the events of the main series,
Humans were the dominant species of Pyrrha.
Dragons in this period were solitary creatures with no civilizations.
As the human empires started having territorial disputes,
They sought out new weapons to fight each other.
This resulted in Cottonmouth,
One of the emperor's advisors,
Leading a group of people to steal a dragon's egg.
Other empires followed suit,
And soon every emperor had dragons at their disposal.
Eventually,
The first dragon that the humans stole from formed a group of other dragons and hunted and burned the humans in their towns,
Driving most of the survivors into hiding,
And Cottonmouth's group across the ocean.
The series currently consists of three arcs,
Soon to be four,
Of five books apiece,
Which focus on young dragons,
Dragonettes.
The first arc includes Clay,
Mudwing,
Glory,
Rainwing,
Starflight,
Nightwing,
Sunny,
Sandwing,
And Tsunami,
Seawing,
Fulfilling or subverting prophecies to save their world.
Each arc consists of five books,
And each book centers on its own protagonist,
Whose story is told through a third-person limited perspective.
Fifteen books in the main series have been released,
As well as four novellas,
Known as winglets,
Two extended-length standalone novels,
Known as legends,
Multiple companion books,
And a presently-releasing series of graphic novel adaptations of titles from the main series.
The series has been edited by Amanda Maciel and features covers drawn by Joy Ng.
Many of the titles have been recorded as audiobooks by Shannon McManus.
Each Wings of Fire novel has been released in hardcover and paperback format,
In addition to ongoing graphic novel adaptations.
A fourth arc has been confirmed by Sutherland to be in the works,
And the title of the sixteenth book has been revealed to be The Hybrid Prince.
The first arc consists of five books,
The Dragonette Prophecy,
2012,
The Lost Air,
2013,
The Hidden Kingdom,
2013,
The Dark Secret,
2013,
And The Brightest Night,
2014,
Respectively starring Clay,
Tsunami,
Glory,
Starflight,
And Sunny as the protagonists.
It takes place roughly twenty years into the War of Sandwing succession,
A continent-wide war across most of Burya,
Which originated when the three daughters of Queen Oasis of the Sandwings,
Blaze,
Blister,
And Burn,
Each sought the throne for herself after Oasis was killed by three treasure-hunting humans,
Which the dragons call scavengers,
Without a specified heir.
Clay,
Tsunami,
Glory,
Starflight,
And Sunny,
Collectively referred to as the Dragonettes of Destiny,
Are tasked by a prophecy,
The Dragonette Prophecy,
To choose who should ascend to the throne and bring an end to the twenty-year war.
The second arc consists of five books,
Moon Rising,
2014,
Winter Turning,
2015,
Escaping Peril,
2015,
Talons of Power,
2016,
And Darkness of Dragons,
2017,
Respectively starring Moonwatcher,
Winter,
Peril,
Turtle,
And Kibli as the protagonists.
It takes place six months after the Dragonettes of Destiny successfully end the War of Sandwing succession,
Beginning at the newly founded intertribal school,
Jade Mountain Academy,
And eventually expanding elsewhere within Burya.
The books follow the aforementioned five students as they face off against threats,
Both old and new,
And try to prevent the catastrophic destruction foretold in the Jade Mountain Prophecy from coming true.
The third arc consists of five books,
The Lost Continent,
2018,
The Hive Queen,
2018,
The Poisoned Jungle,
2019,
The Dangerous Gift,
2021,
And The Flames of Hope,
2022,
Respectively starring Blue,
Cricket,
Sundew,
Snowfall,
And Luna as the protagonists.
It introduces a second continent,
Pantala,
The Lost Continent,
Located far west of Burya,
Ruled by the tyrannical and dictatorial Hivewing,
Queen Wasp.
Neither continent is fully aware of the other's existence,
Aside from some ancient legends.
The books focus on five dragons and their efforts to discover the truth behind the lies told by Queen Wasp,
As well as stop the existential threat of a mind-controlling entity with the potential to destroy all of the dragon tribes.
A fourth arc was announced to be in the works,
And the first book in the arc,
Book 16,
The Hybrid Prince,
Will be released on March 3,
2026,
Starring Umber as the protagonist.
On June 19,
2025,
It was announced that Book 16 will take place sometime after Book 6,
Moon Rising,
And on July 25,
2025,
It was announced that Arc 4 will be a trilogy of three books,
Rather than the usual five.
Two standalone special edition titles separate from the main arcs,
Subtitled Legends,
Have been published,
Darkstalker 2016 and Dragonslayer 2020.
Each book seeks to add additional context and or provide a new perspective on major events referred to in the series,
And in contrast to main entries in the Wings of Fire series,
Legends books follow several characters' perspectives in alternating chapters.
Darkstalker alternates between the perspectives of Fathom,
Clearsight,
And the titular Darkstalker,
Providing in Unobscured by a Legend a trio of accounts of the origin story of Darkstalker within the larger context of the dragon world.
Dragonslayer alternates between the perspectives of three humans,
Leif,
Ivy,
And Wren,
And features retellings of major events from the first arc from their perspectives.
Four short stories called Winglets have been published.
They seek to add additional context to events that were mentioned offhandedly in the main series or Legends,
And are told from perspectives of secondary characters from the main series.
Originally published exclusively as e-book titles,
The four stories,
Prisoner 2015,
Assassin 2015,
Deserter 2016,
And Runaway 2016,
Have since appeared several times in print.
They respectively star Fierce Teeth,
Deathbringer,
Six Claws,
And Runaway alternates between Foe Slayer,
Arctic,
And Snowflake.
Three titles appeared in the limited edition A Winglets Collection,
The first three stories,
2016,
Two in the also limited Winglets Flipbook,
2019,
And all four in The Winglets Quartet,
The first four stories,
2020.
Collectively adapted by both Barry Deutsch and Thuy T.
Sutherland,
And respectively drawn and colored by Mike Holmes and Marta Laiho,
The Wings of Fire series has undergone an adaptation into graphic novel form since 2018.
Five companion books and one limited edition re-release have been released.
Forge Your Dragon World 2022 is an interactive activity book with advice on world building and developing characters in the style of Wings of Fire,
And is aimed at fans who want to write their own stories.
The official coloring book,
2022,
Created in collaboration with artist Brianna C.
Walsh,
Is a coloring book featuring blank line art of many characters from the series.
A Guide to the Dragon World 2023 is a collection of stories and art intended to add some additional context and history to the ten tribes and the world they live in.
How to Draw 2023 is a drawing tutorial book and reference book illustrated by Walsh.
The official Wings of Fire stained glass art book 2024,
Created in collaboration with Klutz Press,
Features crafts in the form of vellum paper to look like stained glass.
Additionally,
The Dragonette Prophecy Limited Edition 2024,
A re-release of the full first book with unique cover art,
An interview with the author,
And an early omitted chapter,
Was released for a limited time.
Wings of Fire was written as an anti-war series,
And series protagonists often try to put an end to major conflicts by pacifistic means,
While trying to prevent as many dragons from dying as possible.
Despite generally being targeted toward younger audiences,
The books are also noted for dealing with heavy and dark subject matter,
Though the series also continually works toward the idea of hope.
Sutherland intentionally resolves each arc individually around its characters and sets of leading questions,
Such as free will versus destiny,
Nature versus nurture,
The implications of different styles of parenting,
The various aspects of expectations,
Both that which one projects outwards and which one receives from others,
What it means to be gifted,
Not only referring to intellectual giftedness,
But to supernatural abilities as well,
And the many rules of duty and responsibility.
The phrase Wings of Fire was chosen to both immediately invoke the imagery of dragons to readers,
And to represent an individual's ability to overcome destiny and uncover one's full potential.
Sutherland additionally explores the philosophical and moral implications of mind-reading,
Prophecy,
And extrasensory perception through moon-bestowed nightwing powers.
Darkstalker and the second arc,
In particular,
Expand upon the role of magic in fantasy literature through the concept of animus magic,
A rare form of all-powerful magic that comes at the cost of affecting one's soul.
Additionally,
Sutherland's personal philosophy and upbringing have been cited as an important influence,
As have her unusual religious and multicultural upbringing.
A large influence on Sutherland's process of developing the setting of the world of Wings of Fire was nature documentaries,
Such as Planet Earth and Life in the Undergrowth.
When pitching the series to Scholastic,
She noted that one of the series' primary selling points and draws was that it featured dragons as the heroes of the stories,
Contrasted with the supporting or antagonistic roles typically allotted to dragons.
Wings of Fire has generally received positive reviews and sold over 27 million copies to date.
It has developed a substantial following over the years,
And Sutherland has hosted numerous public events where she interacts with fans and answers questions.
In March 2020,
An animated television series was announced to be in development with a Ray and Warner Bros.
Animation for Netflix,
With production commencing in April 2021.
Ava DuVernay was to helm the project,
Which would initially include 10 40-minute episodes.
In May 2022,
Netflix scrapped the series for unspecified reasons.
In February 2024,
It was announced that the books were picked up for production by Amazon Prime Video,
And the animated series will be produced by Amazon MGM Studios.
An entirely different creative team was attached to the production.
The announcement revealed that Jack Tarr Productions,
Under executive producer Mark Restagini,
Was assigned the adaptation.
In May 2025,
It was announced that Aaron Waldke will be attached as showrunner,
Co-writer,
And executive producer,
With Stuart T.
Sutherland as co-writer and executive producer.
Tui Tamara Sutherland,
Born July 31st,
1978,
Is an American children's book author who has written more than 60 books under her own name and under several pen names.
In 2009,
She won $46,
200 over three games on Jeopardy.
She is best known for writing the Wings of Fire series of epic dragon fantasy novels.
Sutherland's books have sold over 15 million copies.
Tui was born in Caracas.
Her mother,
Who was from New Zealand,
Named her after the tui,
A bird native to that country.
Sutherland lived in Asuncion,
Miami,
And Santo Domingo for short periods before moving to New Jersey in high school.
While in high school,
She began doing theater,
Mostly backstage work.
She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Williams College in 1998,
Writing her college thesis about Ophelia from William Shakespeare's Hamlet,
Then earned a Master's of Arts in Art History.
Sutherland's thesis was titled The Beautified Ophelia,
Shakespeare and British Art,
1850-1900.
Sutherland abandoned ideas of a career in theater in favor of writing children's books after she partook in creative writing courses over six months in New Zealand,
A decision she half-joked allowed her career path to be far more stable and lucrative.
She began her professional literary career as an editor in Brooklyn,
New York,
At Grosset and Dunlap,
Then at HarperCollins.
Her debut solo work,
This Must Be Love,
A retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream,
Was published in 2004.
She achieved initial commercial success on the New York Times bestseller list,
With her junior novel adaptation of the screenplay for Pirates of the Caribbean at World's End,
And joined the Aaron Hunter team alongside Victoria Holmes,
Kate Carey,
And Cherith Baldry on the popular Warriors and Seekers series,
From the perspective of Cats and Bears,
Respectively.
Her success during this time,
Coupled with what she learned about the inside workings of the publishing industry,
Helped her work up the courage to write and see through to publication several books of her own.
She eventually quit her position as an editor to write full-time,
And later moved to Waterton,
Massachusetts.
Sutherland has written books under her actual name,
Or an initialized variation,
As well as under pseudonyms and pen names,
Including Tamara Summers,
Heather Williams,
And Rob Kidd,
The latter of which was shared.
After the conclusion of her dog-focused Pet Trouble series,
Sutherland pitched her agent Stephen Malk and the team at Scholastic Inc.
About writing an epic fantasy series starring dragons as the focus.
With Amanda Maciel as her editor,
The Wings of Fire series debuted on July 1,
2012,
To commercial success,
Generally receiving mixed to positive critical reviews.
Over time,
The series gradually amassed a fan following,
And became an international bestseller.
Sutherland grew up sharing original ideas and exploring the classics with her younger sister Kari.
She married her husband Adam in October 2007,
And the two live in Waterton,
Massachusetts,
With their two sons.
Though she has generally refrained from revealing private details about her life and her frequent public events,
Sutherland's religious background has been noted.
She is known to borrow influences from a variety of religious traditions and backgrounds.
She attended a Baptist missionary school in Paraguay,
Studied Buddhism in college,
And is raising her children with Judeo-Christian influences,
Having married a wonderful Jewish man.
Though she has woven philosophical and spiritual aspects from a variety of sources and traditions into her work,
She has also said that religion isn't something talked about as freely in her daily life.
Instead,
Hoping that her writing can open up discussions among readers and pose questions to contemplate in the freer,
Larger-than-life fantasy world she creates.
Sutherland has drawn inspiration from locations she has visited over the years,
Including Waitomo Caves in New Zealand and the Amber Palace in India,
And develops her fantasy world's environments through matching nature documentaries,
Such as Planet Earth and Life in the Undergrowth.
Although she is not a member of the Writers Guild of America WGA,
Sutherland marched in support of the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike in Boston.
A long-time fan of Jeopardy!
,
Sutherland named the sixth dog in the Pet Trouble series after it.
In 2009,
She was a two-day champion on the show,
Winning a total of $46,
200 over three episodes.
The first two games she won by a fine margin,
Whereas she lost in her latter appearance as she did not wager enough money on the final clue.
Had she wagered everything,
She would have won the game.
Sutherland began a free online newsletter in late June 2024.
Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing,
Education,
And media company that publishes and distributes books,
Comics,
And educational materials for schools,
Teachers,
Parents,
Children,
And other educational institutions.
Products are distributed via retail and online sales,
And through schools via reading clubs and book fairs.
Clifford the Big Red Dog,
A character created by Norman Bridwell in 1963,
Is the mascot of Scholastic.
Scholastic was founded in 1920 by Maurice R.
Robinson near Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania,
To be a publisher of youth magazines.
The first publication was the Western Pennsylvania Scholastic.
It covered high school sports and social activities.
The four-page magazine debuted on October 22,
1920,
And was distributed in 50 high schools.
More magazines followed,
For Scholastic Magazines.
In 1948,
Scholastic entered the book club business.
In the 1960s,
International publishing locations were established in England,
1964,
New Zealand,
1964,
And Sydney,
1968.
Also in the 1960s,
Scholastic entered the book publishing business.
In the 1970s,
Scholastic created its TV entertainment division.
From 1975 until his death in 2021,
Richard Robinson,
Son of the corporation's founder,
Was CEO and president.
Scholastic began trading on NASDAQ on May 12,
1987.
In 2000,
Scholastic purchased Scrollier for $400 million.
Scholastic became involved in a video collection in 2001.
In February 2012,
They bought Weekly Reader Publishing from Reader's Digest Association and announced in July 2012 that it planned to discontinue separate issues of Weekly Reader magazines after more than a century of publication,
And co-branded the magazine as Scholastic News slash Weekly Reader.
Scholastic sold Read 180 to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2015.
In December 2015,
Scholastic launched the Scholastic Reads podcast.
On October 22,
2020,
It celebrated its 100th anniversary.
In 2005,
Scholastic developed FastMath with Tom Snyder to help students with their proficiency with math skills,
Specifically being multiplication,
Division,
Addition,
And subtraction through a series of games and memorization quizzes,
Gauging the student's progress.
In 2013,
They developed System 44 with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to help students encourage reading skills.
In 2011,
Scholastic developed Read 180 with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to help students understand their reading skills.
The business has three segments.
Children's Book Publishing and Distribution,
Education Solutions,
And International.
Scholastic holds the perpetual U.
S.
Publishing rights to the Harry Potter and Hunger Games book series.
Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books,
And print and digital educational materials for pre-K to high school students.
In addition to Harry Potter and the Hunger Games,
Scholastic is known for its school book clubs and book fairs,
Classroom magazines such as Scholastic News and Science World,
And popular book series Clifford the Big Red Dog,
The Magic School Bus,
Goosebumps,
Horrible Histories,
Captain Underpants,
Animorphs,
The Babysitter's Club,
And I Spy.
Scholastic also published instructional reading and writing programs,
And offers professional learning and consultancy services for school improvement.
Clifford the Big Red Dog is the official mascot of Scholastic.
Founded in 1923 by Maurice R.
Robinson,
The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards,
Administered by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers,
Is a competition which recognizes talented young artists and writers from across the United States.
Scholastic Entertainment,
Formerly Scholastic Productions and Scholastic Media,
Is a corporate division led by Deborah Forte since 1995.
It covers all forms of media and consumer products,
And is comprised of four main groups,
Productions,
Marketing and Consumer Products,
Interactive,
And Audio.
Weston Woods is its production studio,
Acquired in 1996,
As was Soup to Nuts,
Best known for Dr.
Katz,
Professional Therapist,
Science Chord,
Home Movies,
And World Girl,
From 2001 to 2015,
Before shutting down.
Scholastic has produced audiobooks such as the Caldecott Newbery Collection.
They have been involved with several television programs and feature films based on their books.
In 1985,
Scholastic Productions teamed up with Carl Lorimar Home Video,
A home video unit of Lorimar Productions,
To form the line Scholastic Lorimar Home Video,
Whereas Scholastic would produce made-for-video programming and became a best-selling video line for kids.
And the pact expired for two years,
Whereas Scholastic would team up with the leading independent family video distributor and a label of International Video Entertainment,
Family Home Entertainment,
To distribute made-for-video programming for the next three years.
Scholastic book fairs began in 1981.
Scholastic provides book fair products to schools,
Which then conduct the book fairs.
Schools can elect to receive books,
Supplies and equipment,
Or a portion of the proceeds from the book fair.
In the United States,
During fiscal 2024,
Revenue from the book fairs channeled $541.
6 million,
Accounted for more than half of the company's revenue in the total children's book publishing and distribution segment,
$955.
2 million,
And schools earned over $200 million in proceeds and cash and incentive credits.
Scholastic book clubs are offered at schools in many countries.
Typically,
Teachers administer the program to the students in their own classes,
But in some cases the program is administered by a central contact for the entire school.
Within Scholastic,
Reading Clubs is a separate unit,
Compared to,
E.
G.
,
Education.
Reading Clubs are arranged by age or grade.
Book club operators receive classroom funds,
Redeemable only for Scholastic Corporation products.
