I’m going to be doing a quick 5 day tour in the UK in April for the release of Sharp Ends. We shall be visiting London, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol and Bath.
Daytime events tend to be just the quick meet and greet, shake of hands, sign the book. Evening events come with reading and Q&A as well. Unless time is really tight (which it usually isn’t) I’ll try to sign anything of mine you bring, though it would only be good manners to buy something from the store who are hosting the event, and I know you all have impeccable manners.
Full schedule in the attached picture. By all means get in touch with the stores for tickets and further information, and hopefully I’ll see some of you out there…
For those I won’t be visiting – apologies, I go where my publicist directs me, and she works out a schedule based on the logistics of travel, the stores that she knows have a good track record with events, and the stores that make a particular enthusiastic pitch for an event with me personally. There’s a certain beaten track of bigger stores in bigger cities that you can move between relatively easily, and who are used to hosting events and therefore have a pool of customers who are used to coming to events. On the one hand you’d love to travel more widely and visit some places rarely visited, but on the other hand that puts pressure on the travelling and can lead to some really badly attended events, which are no fun for me or for those folks who turn up. So it’s a bit of a self-reinforcing cycle of visiting the same stores…
18 comments so far
Can’t believe you’re not doing an event at Skara Brae, the Bloody Nine would love it here!
Shame you aren’t coming to York but I shall look forward to seeing you at Leeds.
shame your not in Birmingham or Worcester 🙁 if I can get a bookstore to do an enthusiastic pitch. Would you visit one of these cities in 2017?
I went to your Glasgow reading for the launch of Heroes, if I go again am I potential stalker?
Joe,
Big fan. Honestly can’t say enough about your work. I have had every one of my buds read your books. I give them as gifts all the time.
How can I get a signed copy of Sharp Ends? I would really love to get something autographed from you. You are my favorite author.
Willing to pay whatever. Would love get a signed copy of The Heroes it was my favorite book of yours. I live in NYC so I know you don’t make it out here to often.
Regardless can’t wait for your next project.
Regards,
Tommy
I’m glad to see your tweet that Steven Pacey is narrating the Sharp End. I really don’t know what you’re going to do, if he ever retires.
See you in Liverpool!
I’m glad you’re releasing the book at the same time in the US and the UK. This saves me from having to spend money on a proxy server.
I love your work, and I think you and Pacey are a perfect team. I’ve probably listened to all six First Law universe books at least six times each. Don’t die or anything.
Tomorrow! I will have to wait a bit as I decided to get the British HB.
Bought the book. I haven’t started reading yet, but looking at the table of contents I was surprised to see all the stories are labeled by date. Could you tell us in which years the novels take place so we can properly place them with the stories? Also was there any particular reason you placed Made a Monster at the end out of chronological order? Thanks.
Hi Joe,
Just like to say a big thank you for you appearance at Waterstones in Liverpool today. I enjoyed our chat about Hillsborough and justice. Also your encouragement re my own writing. I’m working on getting a PA like yours (don’t tell the wife though!
Now to settle down and get reading!
Thanks again.
Thanks for the chat at lunchtime in Edinburgh Joe. Looking forward to the next signing – can’t really stand the wait though !! Now to find a dark corner at work and start reading.
I was late home on Tuesday. Stopped the car a mile from home and listened to Steven Pacey voicing Glokta, Whirrun, Craw (only 5 chapters in…). It is like welcoming old friends back. It has been a long time, but worth the wait.
Current tipple – a Tamdhu 10, lots of sweet toffee and vanilla. Very nice.
@Michael – I agree it was awesome to hear Pacey doing Glokta – this time without the lisp since he still had his teeth then. Brilliant bit of voice acting there.
If I even meet Steven Pacey (or that bloke Joe Abercrombie) I owe them a pint or two for the hundreds of hours of enjoyment they have brought me on my commutes to and from work.
Ok. After those young adult books I started to lose faith in one of my favorite authors, It’s not that they wer not well written they just whern’t my thing. But after listening to the amazingly perfect collection of short stories that is Sharp Ends I wholeheartedly regret doubting Mr. Abercrombie.
I have read thousands of books in this genre and nothin has come close to the perfection of this book. I had no idea it was possible to make a anthology that let you relive the books of a series and raise the quality of the story by an order of magnitude. Well don Sr. I will never doubt yo again…
Have you ever considered coming to Doncaster for a signing? we never get any events.
Love the books, all of them,it’s a rare thing for me to finish a book and go straight back to the beginning and read it again but this is what I did, and I have read them again since. One thing that worries me though is for an older woman who has been a fan of Georgette Heyer since I was at school,finding myself half in love with the bloody nine is a bit scary.
Joe – I’ve read all your books and I shall be visiting the UK from Canada in August. Do you know yet if you will be doing any UK tours or appearances then?