Archive for Neil Gaiman
All Hallow’s Read
Posted by: | CommentsThis is how it began … a thought that Neil Gaiman had during a flight …
I propose that, on Hallowe’en or during the week of Hallowe’en, we give each other scary books. Give children scary books they’ll like and can handle. Give adults scary books they’ll enjoy.
I propose that stories by authors like John Bellairs and Stephen King and Arthur Machen and Ramsey Campbell and M R James and Lisa Tuttle and Peter Straub and Daphne Du Maurier and Clive Barker and a hundred hundred others change hands — new books or old or second-hand, beloved books or unknown. Give someone a scary book for Hallowe’en. Make their flesh creep…
Give a scary book.
If you don’t know what kinds of books there are, or what would be appropriate for the person you’re giving a book to, talk to a bookseller. They love to help, most of them. (The ones that don’t tend not to be booksellers for long.) Talk to librarians. (Do not plan to give away their books though, unless they are having a library sale.)
Here’s what Stephen King had to say: “Science Fiction & Fantasy writer Neil Gaiman put a great idea up on Twitter a few days ago: ‘This year make Halloween All Hallow’s Read.’ Neil suggests giving someone you love a scary book on the 31st. I think it’s a great idea. It can be one of mine but it doesn’t have to be. Have a great Halloween!”
Here’s what Joe Hill had to say: “I’m going to adopt this as a Halloween habit and I hope you will too. It ain’t easy to start a new holiday tradition on short notice – we might have to take a couple years to build this one up – but I think it’s worth doing.”
Find out more about the kickoff of this new Halloween tradition: All Hallow’s Read
Best American Comics 2010
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On October 7th, New York City fans of Neil Gaiman, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Gabrielle Bell, or just comic stories in general were treated to a discussion between the aforementioned creators and the editors of the recently released Best American Comics 2010 (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) collection, illustrators Matt Madden and Jessica Abel.
Gaiman was the guest editor for this year’s collection, responsible for paring down a field of over 100 greats to a small selection indicative of the quality of the comic medium published in 2009. The book features more popular titles such as O’Malley’s “Scott Pilgrim” series, or Robert Crumb’s graphic interpretation of the book of Genesis (aptly titled “Book of Genesis”) alongside quieter releases like Todd Brower and Steve MacIsaac’s “Ex Communication” and Gabrielle Bell’s “Mixed Up Tales.”
“Things that didn’t get in were fascinating,” said Gaiman. “One artist failed to get in because she was Swedish. I didn’t know she was Swedish! It was a silent comic and the line work looked thoroughly American, but unfortunately, it was Swedish! I still think that we should declare all cartoonists and writers honorary Americans. Nobody would know.”
Read all about the event and the participants here: Gaiman Talks Comics in Union Square
Gaiman Jones Chat
Posted by: | CommentsBestselling author Neil Gaiman and editor Stephen Jones will chat live on Thursday, January 15, at 1:00 PM (EST) at The Beyond. The main topic will be about the upcoming film adaptation of Gaiman’s book Coraline and Jones’s book Coraline: A Visual Companion (which chronicles the making of the movie). Listeners can call in and chat or just listen on phone by calling (347) 826-9684.
Subterranean Press Updates
Posted by: | CommentsSome very good news for those who’ve been waiting for the Subterranean Press two volume limited edition of George R. R. Martin’s A Feast for Crows to be published. They’ve long since approved everything, including printed-but-not-yet-bound copies of the books. Once the finished books are finished – likely in the next week – they’ll send off to have the slipcases manufactured. If all goes according to plan, they’ll be shipping finished copies of the books sometime in January.
The limited edition of Neil Gaiman’s newest, The Graveyard Book, is marching steadily toward publication. Subterranean has approved all of the interior and special art section proofs, and is awaiting the special custom marbled paper that the book will be bound in. They’ve been told it’s shipping to their printer from the UK this week. If that holds true, they should have finished books before the end of the year, and then will only need to wait on slipcases before shipping to customers.
