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ABOUT THE STORE : NEWSLETTER
DISPATCHES FROM THE BORDER
Events and News from Borderlands Books
November, 2011
Chapter One - Event Information, News, and Special Features
Upcoming Author Events
Shaenon Garrity, NARBONIC: THE PERFECT COLLECTION VOL. 1
(Couscous Collective, Trade Paperback, $17.00) Saturday, November 19th
at 5:00 pm
Zach Weiner, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME: A SATURDAY MORNING BREAKFAST
CEREAL COLLECTION (Breadpig, Trade Paperback, $18.00) Sunday, November
27th at 5:00 pm
(for more information check the end of this section)
Borderlands takes an event hiatus for the holidays, but we'll be back
after the first of the year with many more fantastic authors, including
Rudy Rucker, Jo Walton, Tobias Buckell and Matt Ruff!
Overheard at the Con
This is a feature that appears periodically, as we attend
conventions
and overhear things. The tradition of keeping track of anonymous
overheard bits and bobs started for us at the 2002 ConJose in San Jose,
where trying (or trying not to) fill in the blanks on overheard
conversations made us laugh so much that we made it a habit.
These are the (many!) things we overheard at the World Fantasy
Convention in San Diego:
"This artwork makes me feel very Colonialist."
"We're staying at the Eldritch Moppet Hotel."
"I am no slave to grammar!"
"Me and ma Fey homies are gonna come down on you wid a quickness."
"It's a bit more stylized & a bit less moist."
"She writes slipstream. . .magic realism. Our world with a bit of
magic."
"So, urban fantasy?"
"No, because it's not set in cities."
"So, bucolic urban fantasy?"
"Your book made me stab my bathrobe. It could have harboring
footless midget zombies."
"Every time I see him, I want to fall to my knees and prostate myself."
"Don't you mean 'prostrate'?"
"No, I think I meant what I said."
"It was at ReaderCon when I karate-chopped a plate of crudite out of
your hands."
[San Diego's famous Old Town is called the "Gaslamp District".] "I
assume in the Gas_light_ District they change the street names every
afternoon."
"It was a really knotty problem that I solved by not thinking about it."
"I really wanted to have sex but my genitals stopped me."
"Doesn't he usually kill his wife and then steal sausages?"
"Amazon regularly tries to sell me my own books."
News
* California extends library privacy laws to E-books: <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2394064,00.asp#fbid=i1s49Zg-_iU>
* Cory Doctorow's LITTLE BROTHER will be on stage in San
Francisco! Adapted and directed by Josh Costello, the show will
run January 13th - February 12, 2012. More details here: Custom
Made Theatre Company <http://www.custommade.org>
1620 Gough Street, San Francisco CA 94109, info@custommade.org
* Michael Palin (the Monty Python comedian, actor and writer) is urging
readers to purchase books from independent bookstores: <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2048151/Michael-Palin-urges-readers-use-independent-bookshops-buy-work-bid-stave-threat-Amazon.html>
* At the World Fantasy Convention last month, Alisa Krasnostein and
Jonathan Strahan talked with Alan Beatts about his recent article and
the future of publishing for their podcast Live and Sassy: <http://liveandsassy.podbean.com/2011/11/12/episode-2-live-and-sassy-with-alan-beatts/>
* Amazon's "Lending Library" apparently lending titles without
publishers' permission: <http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/49430-could-amazon--s-lending-library-end-in-court-.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=5c6796c607-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email>
Reader Response
Ron Larson, a bookseller, had this to say in response to
Alan's
articles on Amazon from the last two months, and was kind enough to let
us reprint his note here:
"Dear Alan,
Another problem that I have with Amazon is this:
They started out selling new books at big discounts and got people used
to buying their books from them.
Then, they added the ability for buyers of books to relist the books
for sale as used. This is cutting directly into the author's royalties.
There have always been sellers of used books and even some like you who
sell some of both. However, I doubt you sell many used copies of books
that are only a few days or weeks on the market.
Now, people who have to read a new book as soon as it comes out but
don't keep them, get a new book from Amazon at a big discount, read it
in a few days, then they put it up for sale again on Amazon where they
got it in the first place, and sell it for a few dollars. Before Amazon
added this 'feature' buyers would have bought a new copy at a good
discount but the author would have still gotten royalty credit, now
they can buy a barely used copy and the author gets no royalty credit.
This is creating a downward spiral of sales that the authors get no
credit for, making it harder for them to sell additional books to the
publishers, and to make a living.
I sell used books, some of the 'used' books I sell have never been
previously owned. Some books I sell I have bought at or near the time
they come out at full or discount new retail (like when I come up for
one of your signings), other books I buy off the bargain tables at
Barnes & Noble and then get signed. I realize the authors don't get
royalties for the book I buy off the bargain tables but at least these
books have been through the normal sales cycle and customers who wanted
a 'new' copy have already purchased theirs. One of the things that
bothers me is that the time between release of a new title in hardback
and when it shows up on the remainder table is shortening. A couple of
years ago, one of Dan Simmons' books showed up on the remainder table
only six months after it was released. It used to be at least a year
before books hit the remainder tables and for some publishers it was
even longer.
I like to make money, but I also like it when the authors can make a
living writing their books and then having them sold. I usually don't
sell books cheaply, I'm usually not going to take away a sale from a
new copy of a book that the author would get royalty credit for because
my copy isn't going to compete against a discounted new priced copy or
even in most cases, a full retail priced copy. By the time I list for
sale a used or bargain table book, the paperback will be out and few
people other than those who want a signed copy or just have to have a
hardback will be looking for the hardback.
Ron Larson
www.red-dragon-books.com
Email: Ron@re-dragon-books.com"
From the Office
I'm sure you'll all be glad to hear that, after the last two _long_
articles I've written, this one is going to be pretty short. A
collection of bits and pieces, actually.
At the end of last month I went to the World Fantasy Convention with a
few of the staff. It was a lovely convention, made even better by
having a chance to catch up with a number of old friends. There
was, as usual for that gig, lots of conversation and good times.
I picked up a bit of news from two of our favorite authors that I
thought would be of interest.
During a late night chat with Steven Erikson and Ian Esslemont (the two
creators of the Malazan world) I got the word about what some of their
upcoming work is going to be. The final book in Steve's
outstanding Malazan Book of the Fallen came out this year, completing
the story that he started ten novels ago (!). For me, the payoff
was everything I could have hoped for but I have been wondering what
was next. It seems that Steve is under contract for six more
books set in the Malazan world. The planned structure is two
three-book stories and the first is going to be set in the distant past
of the history outlined in the Book of the Fallen. Among other
things, readers can look forward to seeing Anomander Rake as a
(relatively) young man and watching the events unfold that set the
ground work for a big slice of the conflict that takes place thousands
of years later. The second series will be set after the events in
the Book of the Fallen and will, in part, focus on Karsa Orlong (who is
one of my favorite characters -- Steve's as well. Check out this
cool essay on the topic http://www.stevenerikson.com/index.php/the-problem-of-karsa-orlong/
).
Ian is also working hard. His next novel, ORB, SCEPTRE, THRONE,
is set to come out in the UK in January. It will bring us back to
Darujhistan and the continent of Genabackis, reacquaint us with Kruppe,
and show us the aftermath of the destruction of Moon's Spawn. On
top of that, he's working on a followup as we speak.
Another notable element at the convention was possibly the worst cold
I've _ever_ had. It started the last night of the con and pretty
much put me on my ass for three days. Then more folks at the
store got it, including Jude and Naamen. All in all, quite a way
to cap the convention, move into the holidays, and make this newsletter
crazy-late.
Speaking of moving into the holidays, the combination of the
convention, the cold-from-hell, and work in general meant that everyone
here completely failed to notice that November 3rd was the 14th
anniversary of the bookstore. I think we finally noticed it
around the 10th or so. We thought about doing some sort of
celebration late but it just seemed silly. And so, please mark
your calendar for the beginning of November, 2012 -- which will be our
15th anniversary and a "Very Big Deal".
In case you're wondering how the business is doing and whether we'll
even be around a year from now, don't wonder. Yes, the book
business is hard, and, yes, the economy sucks, but . . . sales are up
from last year and, just last week, I signed a new, five-year lease (at
quite reasonable terms; seems our landlord likes us). So, don't
worry, we'll be around for a while yet.
With that, let me wish you all a lovely Thanksgiving and a good start
to the holiday season and our quickening slide into 2012.
- Alan Beatts
Top Sellers At Borderlands
Hardcovers
1. Children of the Sky by Vernor Vinge
2. Aloha From Hell by Richard Kadrey
3. Reamde by Neal Stephenson
4. Snuff by Terry Pratchett
5. A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin
6. The Departure by Neal Asher
7. A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber
8. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
9. In Other Worlds by Margaret Atwood
10. Zone One by Colson Whitehead
Mass Market Paperbacks
1. One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire
2. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
3. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
4. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin tie with A Clash of Kings by
George R.R. Martin
5. Feed by Mira Grant
6. Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold
7. Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
8. Deadline by Mira Grant
9. Evolutionary Void by Peter F. Hamilton
10. Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Trade Paperbacks
1. Kingdom of Gods by N.K. Jemisin
2. Briarpatch by Tim Pratt
3. The Bible Repairman and Other Stories by Tim Powers
4. Ganymede by Cherie Priest tie with After the Apocalypse by Maureen
McHugh
5. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
Book Club Info
The QSF&F Book Club will meet on Sunday, December 11th, at
5 pm to discuss the second part of A GAME OF THRONES by George R.R.
Martin. Please contact the group leader, Christopher Rodriguez,
at cobalt555@earthlink.net, for more information.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club will meet on Sunday, November
20th, at 6 pm to discuss UNCERTAIN PLACES by Lisa Goldstein. The
author will be on hand to participate in the discussion!
The book for December is GRAVITY'S RAINBOW by Thomas Pynchon.
Please contact bookclub@borderlands-books.com for more information.
Upcoming Event Details
Shaenon Garrity, NARBONIC: THE
PERFECT COLLECTION VOL. 1 (Coucous Collective, Trade Paperback, $17.00)
Saturday, November 19th at 5:00 pm - We're so excited to welcome local
artist and author Shaenon Garrity as she presents the first print
collection of the infamous webcomic "Narbonic", which stars the
cuddliest mad scientists ever! Shaenon has also written and drawn
the two volumes of "Skin Horse", "Trunktown", "Li'l Mell" and much,
much more. There will be cupcakes, comics and craziness, and we
hope you'll be here.
Zach Weiner, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME: A SATURDAY MORNING BREAKFAST
CEREAL COLLECTION (Breadpig, Trade Paperback, $18.00) Sunday, November
27th at 5:00 pm at Borderlands Cafe, 870 Valencia Street -
Join us in the Cafe to meet Zach Weiner, creator of the webcomic
SATURDAY MORNING BREAKFAST CEREAL, in his second Borderlands
appearance! THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME features comics from the entire
archive, but focuses on 2011. It also completes the
choose-your-own-adventure begun in book 1, SAVE YOURSELF, MAMMAL!
We're delighted to welcome Zach back to Borderlands.
Borderlands event policy - all events are free of charge. You are
welcome to bring copies of an author's books purchased elsewhere to be
autographed (but we do appreciate it if you purchase something while at
the event). For most events you are welcome to bring as many
books as you wish for autographs. If you are unable to attend the
event we will be happy to have a copy of any of the author's available
books signed or inscribed for you. We can then either hold the
book(s) until you can come in to pick them up or we can ship to
you. Just give us a call or drop us an email. If you live
out of town, you can also ship us books from your collection to be
signed for a nominal fee. Call or email for details.
Dispatches from the Border
Editor - Jude Feldman
Assistant Editor - Alan Beatts
All contents unless otherwise noted are the property of
Borderlands Books
866 Valencia St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-824-8203
http://www.borderlands-books.com
Comments and suggestions should be directed to editor@borderlands-books.com
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