Jennifer Government Blog
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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 commentsHearing 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.
Virtual greed is good
The British and German publishers have both just gone into a second printing, so sales must be good. Either that or they thought it would bomb and only printed a handful of copies to start with. It’s hard to know for sure. No, wait! A reprint is always a good thing.
According to Amazon.com, who always find out this kind of thing before me, there are release dates for the American & Canadian paperback (January 6th 2004, US$12.95) and the British smaller paperback (February 5th 2004, �6.99). There’s also a chance I’ll be doing touring the US in January, but that’s yet to be confirmed.
Meanwhile, I’ve realized I can manipulate the stock market. The Hollywood Stock Exchange, anyway, which is just as fun and minus the risk of getting hauled off to jail. If I say something on this web site about the movie’s development, the Jennifer Government stock goes up; if I don’t mention it for a while, it sinks. This makes me want to announce that Nicole Kidman has committed to play the lead. (But she hasn’t. They’re still working on the screenplay.)