Airborn (novel)

Airborn is a 2004 young adult novel by Kenneth Oppel. The novel is set in an alternate history where the airplane has not been invented, and instead, airships are the primary form of air transportation. Additionally, the world contains fictional animal species such as flying creatures that live their entire lives in the sky. The book takes place aboard a transoceanic luxury passenger airship, the Aurora, and is told from the perspective of its cabin boy, Matt Cruse.

Awards

 * The book won a Governor General's Award for children's literature in 2004.
 * The book was a Michael L. Printz Award honor book.
 * The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon award winner.
 * The book won the Red Maple Award in 2006.
 * The book won a Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award in 2005.
 * The book made the 2006 International Board on Books for Young People list.
 * The audiobook version, narrated by David Kelly and a full cast, won the 2007 Audie Award for Children's Titles for Ages 12+.

Film adaptation

 * The book originally was being adapted into a film, to be directed by Stephen Sommers. Thomas Dean Donnelly adapted the screenplay. However, in 2008, Oppel indicated that the project had been dropped.
 * Announced on March 19, 2012, Halifax Films and Michael Donovan teamed up and optioned the book for film. Oppel was hired to write the preliminary script and would have been an executive producer.
 * On the frequently asked questions section of his site, Oppel says the most recent producers of his film have dropped out and that he owns rights to the book again.

Publication history
Airborn was first released in Canada in February 2004. It was shortly followed with its release in the United Kingdom and the United States in April and May 2004 respectively. Below is the release details for the first edition hardback and paperback copies in these three publication regions.


 * 2004, CAN, HarperCollins ISBN 978-0-00-200537-1, Pub date February 5, 2004, Hardback
 * 2004, UK, Hodder Children's Books ISBN 978-0-340-87855-2, Pub date April 15, 2004, Hardback
 * 2004, US, Eos ISBN 978-0-06-053180-5, Pub date May 11, 2004, Hardback
 * 2004, CAN, HarperCollins ISBN 978-0-00-639259-0, Pub date October 21, 2004, Paperback
 * 2005, UK, Hodder Children's Books ISBN 978-0-340-87856-9, Pub date January 13, 2005, Paperback
 * 2005, US, Eos ISBN 978-0-06-053182-9, Pub date May 24, 2005, Paperback