Come the end of January 2011, I (and my trusty publicist, Jon), will be hitting the road for an olde time booke toure of the UK, coming (more than likely) to a town (relatively) near YOU. Yes indeed, experience the thrills of books, signing, me in person, signatures, books, did I mention me? In person? And signing, plus some talking about the books, and some readings from the books, where suitable space is available to hold the innumerable multitudes who will no doubt battle through the January blizzards for the privilege. The itinerary:
Thursday 27th January 2011 – London
6-7pm – Signing
Forbidden Planet
179 Shaftesbury Avenue
London
Friday 28th January – Guildford & Bath
12noon – Signing
Waterstones
High Street
Guildford
7.45pm – Talk and signing
In conversation with David Bradley, editor of SFX magazine
Topping Bookshop
The Paragon
Bath
Saturday 29th January – Bristol
1-2pm – Book signing
Forbidden Planet
Clifton Heights
Triangle W
Bristol
Monday 31st January – Southampton & Reading
12.30pm – Signing
Waterstone’s Southampton Above Bar
69 Above Bar
Southampton
6.30pm – Talk and Signing
Waterstone’s Reading Broad Street
89a Broad Street
Reading
Tuesday 1st February – Birmingham & Nottingham
12.30pm – Signing
Waterstone’s Birmingham High Street
24-26 High Street
Birmingham
7pm – Talk and signing
Waterstone’s Nottingham
1/5 Bridlesmith Gate
Nottingham
Wednesday 2nd February – Liverpool & Manchester
12.30pm – Signing
Waterstone’s Liverpool One
12 College Lane
Liverpool
6.30pm – Talk and Signing
Waterstone’s Manchester Deansgate
91 Deansgate
Manchester
Thursday 3rd February – Leeds & Newcastle
12.30pm – Signing
Waterstone’s Leeds
93-97 Albion Street
Leeds
6.30pm – Talk and signingWaterstone’s Newcastle Emerson Chambers
Emerson Chambers
Blackett Street
Newcastle
Thursday 10th February – Edinburgh & Glasgow
12.30pm – Signing
Waterstone’s Edinburgh West End
128 Princes Street
Edinburgh
6.30pm – Talk and signing
Waterstone’s Glasgow Sauchiehall Street
153- 157 Sauchiehall Street
Glasgow
14 engagements. Yowch. Mark ’em in your diary, people. There’s a good chance we may also get across to Ireland, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet. I’ll let you know as and when we have some dates on the emerald isle. So no one can complain that we’re not making the effort to get to them this time around. Right?
EDIT: We may have to move the Glasgow and Edinburgh events, as I’m due at the SFX Weekender 4th/5th February and I might not physically be able to do the lot, certainly with the necessary level of personal effervescence. Still very much hope to fit them in, though, perhaps the following week. More news as I learn it…
FURTHER EDIT: It looks as if the Scottish events will now be taking place six days later than first planned on Thursday 10th February. Further details about this and Irish dates as I receive them…
43 comments so far
See and hear you on the 14th in Glasgow. As I have never attended a reading, do you do different voices for your different characters, jackanory style?
I might have to get you to sign my email receipt of “the heroes” from Amazon as they estimate they’ll post it out on 4th Feb. This is what happens when i listen to your adverts!
Maybe they’ll have copies of the collection with your short story in at least. That or I’ll make do basking in your presence and hearing you regail us with tales of inspiration and excerpts like you did with “best served cold”.
But but but… the London signing is during the week? noooooooooooooooooooooo
*regains composure*
I babysit my kid until 8pm when hubby gets home from work.
*sniffles*
i’ll be at the Newcastle one 🙂
Newcastle, eh? I may just have to pop along…
cool. Do you get a tour bus with drugs and groupies? :p
I’m far away in the Caribbean. Are you planning at some point to do any web ordered signings? Sometimes bookstores will allow for web orders of singed books… I know Cory Doctorow did it with an indie book seller in London and a bunch of great authors are using the signed page http://signedpage.com/… Any plans?
I went to my first one of these at the Glasgow Waterstones a couple of months back (Peter F Hamilton) and wished I’d gone to more over the years.
Will definitly try and get along to see you on Feb 4th.
Mark C
Come to the US! We (or at least I) love your stuff over here!
Specifically ATL.
Damn, no Vancouver, Ca on that list. ‘Spose that was wishful thinking though 🙂
I think you should maybe throw Norwich into the equation. We have a lovely, large Waterstones, which even has a life-size Dalek for whatever reason.
Well, I am EXTREMELY annoyed to discover that waterstones are getting an exclusive edition with an extra short story. I hate waterstones and exclusively support independent book shops sadly Gollancz obviously don’t. (not your fault Joe, I know that)
Will there be lots of lovely copies to purchase at Forbidden Planet on 27th January? Glad I held off from ordering on Amazon just in case of a fiendish postal plot that coincided with a release day signing in the one place where I stood a chance of making it…
Mike
Hang on a minute…I’ve been forming a queue here at Waterstones Bath for four days now, and you tell me you are going somewhere else?!!!
I’m in Los Angeles, CA.
“So no one can complain that we’re not making the effort to get to them this time around. Right?”
Indeed. Wouldn’t dream of it.
So. Exactly which of these signings *is* closest to me? 😉
Maya,
Not a tourbus, it’s a private jet, with a helicopter co-opted from the military for the short hops. As for the drugs and groupies, I imagine it will be like an early Ozzy Osbourne tour, a veritable Gomorrah on the road.
Liam,
One day, maybe…
Sonny,
How would anyone tell the difference between me and the dalek?
Emily,
The edition of The Heroes will be the same as the one sold elsewhere, but Waterstones will have copies of the short story, separately bound, to give away, yes, as part of an exclusive deal to promote the book and bring people in to the events.
I fully support anyone who’s willing to stock and able to sell my books, as (I would very much expect) do my publisher. I’m a great enthusiast for good independent shops – I’ll be signing for Forbidden Planet, Topping, Goldsboro and others, but it should be utterly obvious that Waterstones are able to provide a level of support and promotion that no one else comes anywhere near.
SwindonNick,
Well by now the queue is probably long enough to cover the 200 yards or so to Topping, where I’ll be doing the event on the 28th. What’s one more evening camping in Bath?
AO,
If we do make it to Ireland, I’m guessing that one’ll be closest.
Really, separately bound? Well I guess that’s slightly better than usual.
…but it should be utterly obvious that Waterstones are able to provide a level of support and promotion that no one else comes anywhere near.
Of course! but what is it costing you?
We all know how WS work and if a review in the magazine is 500 what will be the bill for this.
I understand you need to sell and sell as many copies as possible but let’s just say if I was FP I would be extremely pi**ed.
I think The Heroes will be the biggest selling yet by quite a way and that will please me no end but I don’t think it will have anything to do with WS.
Joe, try and blag a promo trip to Australia.
I’ll show up and buy you a beer.
I notice Norway is not on your list. It’s a shame, I know at least one fan of yours in addition to myself.
Have you requested anything outrageous on your rider?
See you on January 27th, hopefully i’ll get in this time without being beaten by the bouncers and thrown into the gutter.
Dammit Thursday night (27th) will be Film School night, so I can’t make it! Maybe with my new-found skills I can make a fan film set in the Abercrombie world and you will come to the premiere 🙂 lol
Ah well, maybe next time.
Sooo… ever thought of hitting something like Gen Con in Indianapolis Indiana, USA for promoting your books stateside? 35,000 gamers and sci-fi fantasy fans all in one place at one time! Give it some thought! http://www.gencon.com
Thanks for putting out stuff that has made me eager to read fantasy all over again!
Hey Joe. Ever think about bringing some love your your fans across the pond? You could always make it a working vacation. The Smokies are beautiful in the spring.
Emily,
My profound apologies, I’m totally wrong and you evidently know more about my books than I do because, yes, Waterstones are getting an edition with the short story bound into it. Shows what I know…
IngerMarie,
I’ve already been to Norway once this year!
Harvey Quinn,
No, just the usual heroine, hermaphrodites and diamond-encrusted caviar.
D Geiken,
I was at Comic Con in NYC a few weeks ago…
joe when will we know the date for ireland, hopefully dublin if its going to happen?
Might as well…
Don’t forget San Diego CA, USA. We also have a Comic-con.
Plus there is an independent book seller her in San Diego that is specifically Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Mystery. It’s called “The Mysterious Galaxy”. Neil Gamin, Orson Scott Card. G RR Martin have all been there. It’s pretty much the place to go.
Oh, and I’ll by you a pint.
Sweet deal. That’s what that is.
But this is 2011 we’re talking about, it doesn’t matter if you were here in 2010. And the last time you were here you probably were in Oslo. Everyone goes to Oslo. I can’t see why, Bergen is ten times better. I think we’ve got like six bookstores, more if you count the ones outside the citycentre:)
Also, a bit off topic… I’ve just finished reading Post Office and Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski; call me insane, but I see a lot of Bukowski in Logan Ninefingers.
Is that purely conincidental? If so, read some Bukowski, he’s great.
Talking of selling books…
Is it possible to get hardback copies of the First Law trilogy. I’ve got the paperbacks, but they’re not the same as ‘proper’ books.
Amazon, Abebooks, Bookdepository don’t have any (unless you want to pay c£350 for first edition of The Blade Itself (signed by the author – witwoooo!)
Joe,
I’m terribly sorry, this queue I’ve been in Bath appears to have been for Jamie’s Italian. I’ve ended up having a very nice meal but they were a bit confused when I asked where you and your book were. But a bottle of Fiano and life seemed much better. This Bath thing is very confusing…
Shiny, I’ll see you at Forbidden Planet. Maybe this time I’ll manage NOT to double-book myself, either! That would be super.
Joe reading that news has just made my day!
I may have to bring along each of your books and get them all signed 🙂
If you need a drink when you’re in Nottingham i’ll be happy to direct you to a few watering holes 🙂
hmmmm – East Anglia obviously a cultural wasteland…but hey we had Iain M Banks the other day so why not Joe Abercrombie. Humungus Waterstones in Cambridge as well as some excellent beer swilling (sorry selling) establishments cant see why you wouldn’t want to come myself.
Joe you’ve made my day, for years Manchester’s got all the greats and nada for Liverpool, that’s a long lunchtime off work for me.
But still, no talk or reading? Let me take you for a pint instead, I know a lovely scouse boozer just round the corner from Waterstones!! 😉
How about fitting in Gloucester on the same day as Bristol? The guy in charge of SF/Fantasy/Horror at this branch of Waterstones is a legend!
Manchester here I come. Do you know how the Waterstones short story thing is going to work, ie will they have enough for everybody or is it going to be a mad scuffle to get hold of a few limited copies?
Had an email from Amazon this morning saying the release date has been pushed back to the 31st January?
Will this effect any of the tour?
Chris,
The Waterstones copies have the short story bound into them. There are 5,000 being printed so I doubt they’ll run out right away.
PhilN,
Don’t know anything about that. 27th as far as I’m aware.
Unfortunately, the release date for the item(s) listed below was changed by the supplier, and we need to provide you with a new estimated delivery date based on the new release date:
Joe Abercrombie “The Heroes”
Estimated arrival date: January 31 2011
Made me wear my sad face all morning……
See you in Londinium, and at SFX… where you can be sure the Pornoitsch guys will be stalking you. Bwhahahahaha.
PhilN,
Amazon’s own page for the book still says release on 27th Jan. It may be that, because the book’s embargoed until the 27th, they can’t send it out until that day, and they’re therefore assuming four days in the post and projecting its arrival with you on the 31st. May well get there sooner, but either way it’s going to be in the shops, and at the events, from the 27th. Honest.
Ahh cool, that makes sense. See you in sunny* Manchester again, then!
*NB Not a guarantee that Manchester will be sunny. Ever.
As you are not coming to Finland, I had to make other arrangements. I’m spending 5 days in London in January and guess what? I’ll be there 27th!!! So, Forbidden Planet, here I come 🙂
Actually, the trip was booked before I knew about the signing, but for once I was lucky.
I have enjoyed your books immensely and can’t wait to get my hands on the Heroes.
The Birmingham one was in the afternoon! Can you make it in the evening next time please?
cheers