Photo Flash: Tom Schumacher, Sherie Rene Scott and More Attend Tim Federle's BETTER NATE THAN EVER Book Party

Better Nate Than Ever, the debut novel by Broadway dancer Tim Federle, will be released February 5, 2013 from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Better Nate Than Ever has already been praised by Tony and Oscar-winning composer of Newsies and Beauty and the Beast Alan Menken as "A smash hit! If there was a Tony Award for books, it would go to Better Nate Than Ever." The book will launch at the Junior Theater Festival in January, for an audience of over 4500 theater-loving kids.

Better Nate Than Ever invites readers on an adventure with Nate Foster, a small-town eighth grader with big-city dreams. From the book jacket: "For Nate's whole life, all he's wanted is to be in a Broadway show. (Heck, he'd settle for seeing a Broadway show.) But how is Nate supposed to make his dreams come true when he's stuck in Jankburg, Pennsylvania, where no one (except his best pal Libby) appreciates a good show tune? With Libby's help, Nate plans a daring overnight escape to New York. There's an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical, and Nate knows this could be the difference between small-town blues and big-time stardom."

On writing Better Nate Than Ever, Federle says: "While I was on the artistic staff of Billy Elliot, I was struck by how these teenagers had to carry such a gigantic show on their shoulders-it was like Hamlet with acne-and then come offstage and be expected to finish their science homework. Ultimately, Better Nate Than Ever is for anyone who knows that the fastest way to star in your own life story is to dream big, no matter how small you are."

Better Nate Than Ever can be pre-ordered on Amazon.com now and will be available wherever books are sold beginning February 5, 2013.

Tim Federle was born in San Francisco, grew up in Pittsburgh, and began crashing New York auditions as a teenager, landing in five Broadway shows, from Gypsy (starring Bernadette Peters) to The Little Mermaid (starring Tim in a catfish costume), with stops at Radio City, the Met, and a Super Bowl Half- time Show along the way. In recent years, Federle has penned popular columns for Apartment Therapy and Huffington Post, choreographed routines for Sting and James Taylor at Carnegie Hall, and coached the child stars of Billy Elliot on Broadway-the inspiration for Federle's debut novel, Better Nate Than Ever. For more information, visit www.timfederle.com.