Beginning tomorrow, 3/6, and running fourteen days through 3/19, Justina Robson's magnificent sci-fantasy novel Keeping It Real (Quantum Gravity, Book 1)
will be on a "quality paperback table" in every Borders Books store in the US. This is a table display with other books and, I believe, we're talking outside the SF section and mixed with general fiction. I've very excited (very!) by this promotion and very curious to see how it goes. (That a major media outlet is publishing a review of Keeping It Real three days into this effort doesn't hurt either - nice coincidence that!)So, the fact that there isn't a Borders Books in my entire state is a bit of a downer. In view of this, I would very much appreciate hearing of any and all sightings in various Borders around the US of A. Please let me know where you saw the book, how it was displayed, how many were on hand, what you thought of it, etc... I'd love to post some pictures to this and the Pyr blog too, so feel free to put those digital camera phones to good use and email me the results!
Update: And just in time for the promotion, Justina Robson writes to let me know she has a brand new livejournal blog, beginning with a thoughtful entry on writing for elves and fairies and the snobbery of the literary elite. Everybody go check it out.
16 comments:
Lou,
I'll gladly keep an eye on the Borders here in Tempe (next door to Phoenix) AZ. Noticed last week they were prominently displaying Night Shade Books' GREY by Jon Armstrong on the new trade PB releases table.
Robert
That's a better cover than the UK edition that I got last year. :-)
Hey Robert, AL - thanks to both of you! Al, I liked the UK cover but felt that it only addressed the science fiction aspects of the novel and in a way that was very 1999 Matrix. I needed to communicate the fantasy angle to US readers. How to do that? How to do that? Hmmm. Add an elf!
And I love the sort of "Moulder and Scully" pairing of the couple that resulted too.
I've been looking forward to the release of this book, so I'll definitely be checking in at my local. For what it's worth, I used to work at Borders. The QP table is generally in the front of the store. There's kind of an open foyer just inside the doors, before you get to the stacks and racks, near the information table. The area is designed to maximize browsing, and has a number of hip-high tables. There's one for New Hardback, New QP and New MM, as well as sections for bestsellers, special promotions (purchased by publishers or something)and special deals, like the 3for2 deal they run on the local schools' summer reading lists. The tables aren't organized by genre, just by format, so you'll have Keeping It Real mixed in with chick lit and thriller and nonfiction. I think it's a great way to present genre work to the general public, because the first thing everyone does when they get there is browse through that whole section. I'm really excited.
Tim, thanks so much for the description. That was exactly what I thought it was, but this was worked out between my marketing department and Borders, so I wasn't exactly clear on which table the "quality paperback table" was. I think this is the absolute best position for this book. My own copies arrived late last week, and I keep taking them off the shelf and staring at them, trying to see them as if I was just hitting it for the first time, you know. Looking at the cover, then turning it over to see what off the back leaps out at me first. Fortunately, "a thrill-a-minute yarn full of sex, elves and motorbikes" seems to leap out the strongest. It's the same size as the other blurbs, but in red and about 1/4 down the back cover, right where my eye hits. So, striking white cover, cool Matrix-y woman, smug elf, turn over, see continuation of stark white design, and look "sex" "elves" "motorbikes!" What's not to love?
First, great news and congrats!
If I get to the Borders near me, I will see what my camera phone can do.
Thanks Robb. Just heard from a friend in San Rafael that the book was still "on order" in the Borders there, so now I am really antsy for a sighting.
It's still "on the way" at the Tempe AZ Borders...
Robert - much appreciated!
A little off-comment, but the other day I saw a copy of Joel Shepherd's Crossover in the Waterstone's at the bottom of Fleet Street.
Hey Dave,
Yeah, Waterstone's has these titles prominently displayed in all their stores for a bit. Very happy about that.
Still waiting for the book to arrive at the Tempe AZ Borders (though they do have a copy of FF1 for sale).
Should I start picketing the store??? Just say the word...
Robert
Hi Robert,
Turns out that the promotion has been pushed back to 3/27, although Borders should have the books in stock next week. I will post again when I'm sure it's underway. In the meantime, I really apprecate your vigilance - a big help~!
I didn't see your comment, Lou, before looking for it at the local Borders. Alas, it was not there, and was listed as not being in print yet.
I will look once the book is published for it.
I was by my local Borders the other day, and they listed Keeping It Real as not yet published, as they had when I checked a day or so after this post. So I'm glad to hear the promotion has been pushed back, rather than just fumbled.
Incidentally, speaking of Commonwealth imports, I see from rasfw that Greg Egan hasn't managed to ink a deal for his latest novel in the US market. Shame that...
(Hmm, looks like that failed on the first post attempt, trying again. Forgive me if it went into a mod queue, it put me right back to the post function with my text there, and a non-displaying captcha...)
Hi Redag.
Yeah, the promotion is still going ahead. Copies are just making their way into stores now. I see Ingram has the book, and B&N.com and Amazon.com show as in stock and I see the latter is shipping. Should be in stores next week. I'll blog the (rescheduled) promotion - set to start March 27th now - closer to the start date.
Post a Comment