Phoo
Right now I’m in a Seattle hotel room, having just finished the last bookstore appearance on my US book tour. It’s been such a blast; thanks to everyone who came along! I hope it was good for you too.
0 commentsReturn of the Syrup (part two)
Syrup is back in Australia and New Zealand! Apparently the publisher was checking down the back of a couch for a TV remote and instead found 2,000 copies. Or maybe it was a warehouse, not a couch. Whatever. This means that like in the US and Canada, while most bookstores won’t have Syrup on the shelves, they can now easily order it in for you.
Because there’s limited stock, if you’re keen to get your mitts on a copy in Australia or New Zealand, now’s the time to act. (By going to a bookstore and ordering a book. Was that clear already? Okay.)
Hearing voices
Borders has announced the finalists for its
2003
Original Voices award, and Jennifer Government is one of them!
I’ve never felt so warm and fuzzy toward a chain store. Although I can’t help but wonder if the idea of going after Barnes & Noble with a private army really tickled Borders’ fancy.
The winner is announced in March, so I have that long to arrange horrible accidents for Monica Ali, Mark Haddon, Khaled Hosseni, Audrey Niffenegger, and Julie Orringer. No, wait! That might trigger a sympathy vote. Maybe I should toss myself down some stairs.
Only a week or two now before my US book tour! I talk, I read, I sign books, I answer questions; it’s like a wild and crazy party for librarians. You should come along.
Paperback coming real soon now
Jennifer Government arrives in paperback in the US and Canada on January 6th, just in time to be purchased with that gift voucher you got for Christmas. Or, if someone gave you some OTHER book, you know, by some OTHER author, you can return that and exchange it for mine. Those other authors are probably rich and successful already, anyway. I bet they hire college students to convert a half-page of wine-stained notes into a finished novel, then slap their name on it. I, meanwhile, have to convert my own wine-stained notes.
To celebrate this, or, more accurately, to attempt to kick sales of it along, in early February I’m coming to the US and doing a 10-city book tour. This is terrific, and not just because my publisher is going to pay for my room service. It means I get to meet people who read my book, which is lots of fun; also oddly reassuring. Check out my tour dates!
Note this
The New York Times has released its list of Notable Books for 2003, and
Jennifer Government is
on it!
Admittedly, it’s a long list. But… the New York Times! I’m stoked.
Section 8 ponies up again
Good news for my
Jennifer Government stock holdings
on the
Hollywood Stock Exchange:
Section 8 and Warner Bros. just renewed their option on the film rights! This means they’ve got another 18 months to turn it into the world’s first movie with negative product placement. (Where companies pay to have their products not mentioned. I still say it can be done.)
This also means I get paid for doing nothing at all, a new experience for me, but one I could definitely get used to. I would work towards having this happen more often, but I think that defeats the point.