Subterranean Press reports that a handful of copies of their limited edition of Fevre Dream, illustrated by Justin Sweet, have been returned to them by distributors and are available for sale from their store. These copies will almost certainly fly fast, so if you’re interested, get to it before it’s too late.
Via GRRM (who expresses his love of librarians), we learn that the American Library Association has announced its 2009 Recommended Reading List. Heading the list for science fiction is Hunter’s Run, a novelco-written with Daniel Abraham and Gardner Dozois. Congratulations to all three writers!
George R. R. Martin’s official website has been updated with new cover art for a foreign edition of A Clash of Kings, as well as a pair of new entries to the "Not a Blog", in which GRRM puts copies of Windhaven on sale, discusses resolving issues with the Dabel Brothers calendar, and shares some of his views on the job of proof reading texts in relation to the upcoming Songs of Dying Earth.
George R.R. Martin has given a lengthy response on the situation with Dabel Brothers Production’s 2009 A Song of Ice and Fire calendar. Many who have ordered it are still awaiting copies, especially those who paid for a deluxe edition signed by GRRM. George has explained what he knows and answers the most common questions, while promising to do everything he can from his end to speed up the process of fixing the situation. He reiterates that DB Pro have the license for the 2010 and 2011 calendars as well, and that Michael Kaluta is hard at work on the illustrations for the next calendar.
We have added a new podcast interview to the So Spake Martin collection, conducted during the recent COSine convention by the gamers at Thac0 Podcast. Focusing on the games and other products produced for Wild Cards and A Song of Ice and Fire, there’s a bit of discussion on GRRM’s level of involvement in various licenses and some interesting details regarding negotiations with HBO for the proposed series.
Green Ronin reports that the A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying game has been approved by George R.R. Martin and is now at the printer, with an expected publication date of March. They also discuss the follow-up products, including the Narrator’s Kit, the Peril at King’s Landing adventure, and the A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide.
Valyrian Steel reports that all domestic and international orders of the Longclaw replica sword, have now shipped with only a couple of exceptions, whom have been contacted via e-mail. Examples of the sword are still available for order, and the response from those who’ve already received their swords has been very favorable.
Via George R.R. Martin’s “Not a Blog”, we learn that Jim Ludwig’s (owner of Dark Sword Miniatures) infant daughter was found not breathing. Though rushed to the hospital, the outlook for recovery is not good. Jim asks George and his readers to keep his daughter Lillian in their thoughts and prayers.
Update: GRRM has posted a message from Jim Ludwig, announcing the death of his daughter Lillian. Our condolences to Jim and his wife.
George R.R. Martin reports on his “Not a Blog” about the aftermath of the demise of small press publisher Meisha Merlin, which included having to deal with warehouses full of tens of thousands of books. Wildside Press got hold of most of the titles, but thirty thousand books are still left and are likely to be pulped and recycled. Wildside was kind enough to allow GRRM to get the remaining copies of Tuf Voyaging in the warehouse, and he’s now offering it to readers at a discounted price of $19 for the trade hardback, $99 for the slipcased limited edition, including shipping.
Tuf Voyaging is a fantastic collection of linked stories, featuring the rather unique character Haviland Tuf, a merchant captain who comes to command the most powerful ship in the galaxy and proceeds to use its vast resources to solve problems on various planets in the Thousand Worlds setting, the most detailed of GRRM’s SF settings. Many of the stories are terrific examples of science fiction, and we definitely recommend it to fans of GRRM’s work.
Dark Sword Miniatures has posted two new greens from Jeff Grace from the George R.R. Martin Masterworks series: Mance Rayder and Rattleshirt. Also posted is an image of a very limited sorceress from Tom Meier, not a part of the Masterworks line, but which would fit in very nicely with the line.
Valyrian Steel has announced that the replica display sword version of Longclaw is now shipping domestically, and will soon be shipping internationally. At the same time, Dabel Brothers Productions has begun shipping the 2009 A Song of Ice and Fire calendar, and many have already received it with very positive remarks concerning the art by Michael Komarck.
The Winter Is Coming blog, started by a fan to cover the Game of Thrones pilot production for HBO, has apparently scored a copy of the script and has posted a synopsis (including information concerning the planned title sequence) and his thoughts on it. Interesting reading, to say the least.
George R. R. Martin’s official website has been updated with more books that can be ordered directly from GRRM, new cover images, and pointers at his “Not a Blog to two interviews to promote Busted Flush (US, UK), the latest Wild Cards novel.
On his Not a Blog, George R.R. Martin not only confirmed that he has a story in the forthcoming Songs of the Dying Earth anthology, but that the story’s title is, “A Night at the Tarn House”.
At his “Not a Blog”, George R. R. Martin reports that that the Jack Vance tribute anthology co-edited by Gardner Dozois and himself, Songs of Dying Earth, has been delivered to Subterranean Press. Besides a preface from Vance himself, Dean Koontz will provide an appreciation. Story contributors includeGRRM, Neil Gaiman, Tad Williams, Dan Simmons, Robert Silverberg, Glen Cook, Tanith Lee, Jeff VanderMeer, and many more.