Utah author Marc J. Gregson on his debut novel Sky’s End—Part One of the Above the Black series

After Marc J. Gregson’s young adult novel Sky’s End dropped in January, it shot up the New York Times’ YA bestseller list. A surreal experience for an author whose book had uncertain beginnings that parallel the journey of the story’s protagonist.

“I feel like this book mirrors my artistic journey a little bit more than some of my other books,” says Utah author Gregson. Sky’s End is his sixth book but first-ever published work. After his fifth novel was rejected, Gregson was feeling frustrated. “So I wanted to write a character who was down on his luck and the underdog and trying to rise, so to speak.”

Gregson, an English teacher at Eastmont Middle School, started working on Sky’s End in 2016, determined to throw caution to the wind. “I’m not going to chase any trends in publishing,” he told himself. “I’m just going to write something I want to read and that I want to write. I’m just going to have fun with it and go crazy.”

He started pitching the book to agents that next year to no avail, when, “Finally in 2020, just as I was about to give up on it, an agent emailed me at midnight.” Eventually, publisher Peachtree Teen picked up the book as well as its forthcoming sequels in a trilogy called Above the Black. 

The down-on-his-luck protagonist of the series is 16-year-old Conrad, who has lost almost everything. To protect what’s left, he has to prove himself by hunting “gorgantauns.” Sky’s End is set in a world of floating islands that are terrorized by these gigantic steel-scaled sky serpents.

“They fight back against these beasts with skyships,” explains Gregson, each skyship crew trying to slay the most. “It’s kind of like a deadly competition—sort of in the vibe of Hunger Games or Red Rising.” Beyond the action in the sky, Conrad faces dangerous political machinations and intrigue. 

Critical praise for the book has been glowing, but Gregson finds the response from readers the most humbling. “I have a lot of students who have read the book. We read the first ten minutes of class, and three of my students in the class were reading it.” Other students chose Sky’s End for their book reports. “I had a student who came into my room after school just to talk to me about Sky’s End.”

One fan drove from Logan to a book signing in Orem, and some adult male readers have told Gregson that Sky’s End is the first book that they have read since high school. “That makes me excited and proud, especially as an English teacher,” says Gregson. “It’s a battle that I’m fighting all the time—trying to get kids to read can be challenging. It excites me that several people are connecting with the book for different reasons and reading.”  

The next book in the Above the Black series, Among Serpents, is slated for a January 2025 release.

Sky’s End Movie Deal

Sky’s End is now on track to have a film adaptation. Gregson announced the news on Instagram, saying, “I need to sit down. This really is unbelievably exciting, and I’ve been eager to share these wonderful details with all of you. I hope you’ll all jump up and down and cheer and celebrate with me! Imagine the floating islands, the giant monsters, the thrilling hunts, the bloody duels and Conrad facing down his enemies.”

Deadline reports that director Antoine Fuqua and his production company Hill District Media will develop and produce a feature adaptation of the New York Times bestseller. Kat Samick will produce the feature adaptation for Hill District Media, alongside Justin Bursch and Sam Levine. Bob Higgins will executive produce on behalf of Trustbridge Entertainment, which acquired all dramatic rights to the book from Peachtree Teen, an imprint of Peachtree Publishing Company.

Higgins told Deadline, “Hill District was at the top of our partner wish list. Antoine Fuqua has an unparalleled track record for telling stories with fascinating but flawed heroes, complex relationships, high stakes and, often, big action. It’s a perfect match.” Hill District Media has produced movies as The Magnificent Seven, The Equalizer franchise and Brooklyn’s Finest.

“The teams at Hill District Media and Trustbridge Entertainment are author focused, and I’m heartened that Marc will be involved in developing the book for the screen,” said Peachtree’s Subsidiary Rights Director Farah Géhy. “This collaboration will make for an amazing film.”

“I genuinely cannot wait for readers to see the world of the Skylands—with its horrifying monsters, epic battles, and memorable characters—come to life on the big screen,” said Gregson on the film deal.

Looking for more summer reads? See what local booksellers are reading now.

Great artists are never satisfied with staying in one place creatively and tend to find ways to challenge and push themselves. Feel free to put singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz in that category.

It would be easy for her to coast on her laurels based on the four Grammy statues she’s won, with the most recent being the Best Americana Album Grammy for 2021’s “World On the Ground.” The Texas native instead uprooted herself from New York City and headed to Nashville intending to immerse herself in that city’s songwriting community. The result is “Polaroid Lovers,” her seventh full-length outing that found her opening herself up to a larger pool of collaborators. And while Jarosz has teamed up with other singer-songwriters like Luke Reynolds and Parker Millsap to write songs before, this time was different.

“I moved to Nashville at the beginning of the pandemic somewhat unknowingly,” she explained. “I thought I was just getting out of New York City. I think living in Nashville really kind of spurred me to want to embrace elements of the music community there that I hadn’t really explored [before]. In 2022, I decided I was going to spend my time focusing on songwriting in a way that is not rushed and in a way that I can just put my head down and write as many great songs as I can. In the past, when I’ve written songs with other people, it’s been largely with other artists. And this time it was with people who considered themselves first and foremost writers and they forged their path in Nashville that way.

“It really was my first time [doing it this way],” she said. “I think when I was 17 making my first record, I had a lot of people wanting me to do that and get in writer rooms with other writers. I just didn’t feel like I knew myself well enough to go into those scenarios. So this time, I knew my voice better and knew what I could bring to the table, so exploring with these other people is only going to be a positive for all of us.”

Among the kindred spirits Jarosz found in her new home was singer-songwriter Daniel Tashian, who also produced the album. Tashian, whose writing and producing credits include Kacey Musgraves, Lee Ann Womack, Martina McBride and Sara Evans, helped gently push the 32-year-old multi-instrumentalist out of her comfort zone. It’s a talent Jarosz very much appreciates.

“Daniel is incredible and is the kind of curious musician that I like to work with,” she said. “He’s not concerned about genre, which I’m the same way. We’re just trying to write good songs. I think he has a very forward-thinking sonic palette that really contributed to this record. And the band he helped put together that we tracked mostly live for all these songs wound up being the right people for the job and these songs. I learned a lot about songwriting from working with him from just little melodic ideas to certain turns-of-phrase. It really was inspiring to work alongside him.”

Anyone who has followed Jarosz’s path from her humble origins growing up in Wimberley, TX, a small town just outside of Dallas, shouldn’t be surprised at where she’s at in her young career. Having first picked up the mandolin around the age of 10, Jarosz built her instrument repertoire to include guitar, clawhammer banjo, and octave mandolin.

By 2009, she had released her Sugar Hill Records debut “Song Up in Her Head.” That same year, she enrolled in the New England Conservatory of Music. By 2013, she graduated with honors with a degree in contemporary improvisation. Since then, she’s worked with a number of notable artists, including Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Shawn Colvin, Kate Rusby, and the Punch Brothers. In 2018, she joined forces with Nickel Creek’s Sara Watkins and Crooked Still’s Aoife O’Donovan to form the progressive-folk trio I’m With Her, an outfit with which she continues to work (“I am just so grateful for Aoife and Sara,” Jarosz said. “I feel like that band sort of was this magical gift in my life.”)

But for now, the road awaits in the form of a 50-plus date tour which promises to attract plenty of fans.

“So far it’s been absolutely amazing. It’s been really fun to see the songs come to life on stage,” Jarosz said. “I wasn’t sure if people were just going to want to hear the old songs. But people are just so excited about the new songs and singing along to the lyrics. It’s been really rewarding so far. I’m experiencing a good problem for the first time. It feels like I have more songs than I can fit into a set. I’m kind of picking and choosing the special ones and definitely making it half and half old [songs] with the new record. And slipping in a cover or two.”

For the immediate future, Jarosz is “…hitting the road really hard and just pouring all of my energy into getting these songs out into the world and playing them.” And with a reunion with I’m With Her (her band with Sara Watkins and Aoife O’Donovan) sure to follow, Jarosz is leaning into her parents’ advice of not getting lost in the day-to-day chaos of her chosen profession.

“I think that’s [guidance] I constantly have to come back to and remind myself,” she said. “I think everybody could benefit from that. It’s just the nature of our world and the craziness of what’s the next thing, what’s the next thing. In a way, that’s what the song ‘The Way It is Now’ is about. Just remembering to be in the moment and to take it one day at a time.”

You can see Sarah Jarosz in action this weekend at the Ogden Music Festival. For tickets and information, visit their website.

Featured image photographed by Shervin Lainez.

As we’ve witnessed public education funding come under fire over the past decade, some of the first programs to be cut are arts—despite proven studies that show how impactful arts education is on children’s mental, social and physical well-being. Sensing the dearth of access to arts programs in public schools, the team at Ogden Contemporary Arts (OCA) are on a mission to bridge the gap between professional artists and Utah youth. Launched in 2022, OCA’s Artist Factory Program partners with community organizations to empower students with the teachers, facilities, and environment needed to develop their creativity. 

‘This Class Was Really Fun!’

In the workshop, “Exploring the Use of Animals in Art: Merging Children’s Interest with Contemporary Artists,” from teaching artist Nancy Andruk Olson, students learn to develop their own signature style, like American artist Basquiat, by reading the children’s book Radiant Child. Then, using a drawing guide, students create their own customized dinosaur in oil pastel on black paper. As one student put it, “Nancy taught me to have fun and always work hard!

A “Basquiat Dinosaur” created by the children in teaching artist Nancy Andruk Olson’s workshop held at the YCC Family Crisis Center. Photo courtesy of OCA

“Art gives kids an opportunity to think critically, to collaborate and show empathy,” says Venessa Castagnoli, OCA’s Executive Director. “Art can be professional-building, and it just creates good people.” To create more good people, and pay professional artists a fair wage, Castagnoli and OCA’s Program Coordinator Kasey Lou Lindley created the Artist Factory Program. “We bring in professional artists that are active in the arts community, and they create a curriculum focusing on their expertise.” Each teacher curates a unique lesson plan that aligns with their discipline. Past courses have included videography, sculpting, painting, performance art, digital media and more. Throughout the courses, which vary in frequency and length, students also learn about more broad artistic concepts. “The students are learning a wide range of art approaches and techniques, from basic skills to more complex themes of identity, social justice and environmentalism,” Lindley says. 

Just two years after the program’s creation, the Artist Factory Program now partners with the Boys & Girls Club of Weber-Davis, Youth Impact, YCC Family Crisis Center, The Monarch, Utah Division of Arts & Museums, Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs and the Weber Valley Youth Center to offer classes at ten locations in Ogden and Roy. More than 30 local teaching artists have taught and empowered over 900 students, and the OCA team expects that number to grow in the coming year. To highlight their work with community partners, and celebrate the dedication of their educators and students, Castagnoli and Lindley curated OCA’s first biannual exhibit Transference, which ran from Feb. 1-14. Combining the works of both teachers and their pupils, the dynamic exhibit showcased a range of mediums from digital installations to 2D artwork. “The overarching theme is how the teachers are transferring their knowledge to their students through their experience,” Lindley says. “And we did want to show a wide range of mediums to show the community what is being taught and created.” 

The show is the first in what OCA hopes is an ongoing showcase of their rotating teachers and pupils. Apart from raising awareness for the Artist Factory Program, Castagnoli hopes the experience will excite and encourage their students. “All the work is for sale, and a portion will go toward the artists, so the really exciting thing is that some of these kids could potentially sell their work in a professional gallery and get paid for it.”   

For more information on the Artist Factory Program, visit ogdencontemporaryarts.org and stop by their gallery at 455 25th St., Ogden.