Out of the Easy

The eagerly anticipated novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Between Shades of Gray.

Download the Discussion Guide

Out of the Easy Writing Scholarship Contest

for the opportunity to win $5,000 towards the college of your choice!

Click for Official Rules and Submission Form

No purchase necessary Open to 12th grade full-time matriculated students who are attending high schools located in the fifty United States, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories and possessions, or home-schooled students between the ages of 17-18 who are residents of the fifty United States, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories and possessions.

SUBMISSIONS Please be sure to see full details and complete Official Rules HERE.

Essays must be exactly three double-spaced pages, single or double sided pages, in 12-point Time Roman with one-inch margins all around.

Essays must be submitted by entrant's English teacher, school librarian, guidance counselor or other college application mentor. Home-schooled students must submit their entries through their parent or legal guardian.

Uploaded entries must be received no later than May 31, 2013, 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time.

Entries may also be mailed to:

Penguin Young Readers Group
School and Library Marketing
345 Hudson Street
New York, New York 10014
Attn.: Out of the Easy College Scholarship Essay Contest

Mailed entries must be postmarked no later than May 24, 2013, and received on or by May 30, 2013.

Winners will be selected on or about July 15, 2013. Void where prohibited by law.

PRIZES One winner will receive a check in the amount of Five Thousand Dollars to be used toward winner's college tuition made payable to the college/university that the winner will be attending (ARV = $5,000.00). The winner's teacher or parent/legal guardian (in the case of a home-schooled winner) will receive their choice of a library of twenty-five (25) Penguin Classics for their school or local public library (ARV = $xxx.xx).

JUDGING Five (5) finalists will be selected by Sponsor, and then one out of the five will be determined to be the winning essay by a qualified panel of judges chosen by Sponsor. Entries will be judged based upon the writer's understanding of one of the book's central themes, the journeys of the characters and on style, content, grammar and originality.

See full contest rules

Ruta Sepetys Author Tour Dates

Wednesday, February 13, 6 pm

Booksellers at Laurelwood
387 Perkins Road Extended
Memphis, TN 38117

Tuesday, February 19, 5:30-7 pm

A conversation with Ruta Sepetys and Christine Wiltz
The Garden District Bookshop
2727 Prytania Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

Wednesday, February 20, 7 pm

Books and Books
265 Aragon Ave
Coral Gables FL 33134

Friday, February 22, 7 pm

Politics & Prose
5015 Connecticut Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20008

Friday, March 1, 7 pm

BookPeople
N. Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78703

Thursday, March 7

Porter Square Books
Cambridge, MA

At once a suspenseful, drama-packed survival story, a romance, and an intricately researched work of historical fiction.

The Wall Street Journal

An engrossing and poignant story of the fortitude of the human spirit in a dark time in Lithuanian history.

– Associated Press

Lina is a heroine young and old readers can believe in.

Entertainment Weekly

Please read this small window into a tragedy.

– NPR

This is a gripping story that gives young people a window into a shameful, but likely unfamiliar history.

School Library Journal, starred review

Sepetys flowing prose gently carries readers through the crushing tragedy of this tale that needs telling.

Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Beautifully written and deeply felt... An important book that deserves the widest possible readership.

Booklist, starred review

Sepetys has penned a harrowing and heartbreaking novel. Beautifully written and important.

– Harlan Coben, international bestselling author

A haunting chronicle, demonstrating that even in the heart of darkness love is the most powerful army.

The Horn Book

A document long overdue.

– Richard Peck, Newbery Awardwinning author of A Year Down Yonder

PA compelling love story.

VOYA

Between Shades of Graybilled as a young adult novel, but one that everyone should read... sings with truth.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Beautiful and unforgettable.

– Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Newbery Honorwinning author of Hitler Youth

Hard to read, but even harder to stop reading, there is no doubt into which category this tremendous first novel belongs.

The Guardian London

PA sweeping work of historical fiction, this meticulously researched novel will leave readers breathless.

Books to Borrow, Books to Buy, syndicated column

A brilliant story of love and survival.

– Laurie Halse Anderson, bestselling author of Speak and Wintergirls

A book hasnt moved me this much since I read The Help.

– Deborah Sinclaire, Editor-in-Chief, Book-of-the-Month Club