posted by Dan Guy Leila writes:Dan posted that the signing in DC will take place at 1pm - I know that the LoC event itself is free, but do those of us who want something signed have to bring or have anything besides a book (or stack of them)?To which Mr. G waxes:This is so mysterious. What kind of thing could people have or bring apart from books? Perhaps owl feathers in their hatbands, or black orchids in their buttonholes?Anyway. No, they should just come. And by special permission of Harper Collins there will be copies of The Graveyard Book available that day only. And to which I will only add: You do realize that you all need to show up with owl feathers in your hatbands and black orchids in your buttonholes now, right? (UPDATE: In fact, thanks to the largess of a fan, the first twenty-odd of you that I see so attired will receive a free copy of the UK edition of ODD AND THE FROST GIANTS, not yet published in the US.)

• Mr. G will be appearing at a fundraiser for the Open Rights Group on 24th October. The details are all on their site. They're charging 5 pounds to existing members, 10 pounds to the general public, and it's completely free to anyone who signs up to become a regular supporter of ORG between now and the event's date. Sounds like a good reason to support a good cause!
• Lucy helpfully writes to point out that details for the Manchester stop of THE GRAVEYARD BOOK UK Tour have now been posted.
• Details about the Scotland stop on THE GRAVEYARD BOOK UK Tour have been posted.
• UltimateDisney.com has up a nice interview with Henry Selick about NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS and CORALINE.

The RoboPanda was delivered at last, though its arrival was not without incident. Without further ado, I give you:The Arrival of the RoboPandaor, good fences make good neighborsbut good umbrellas make better bludgeonsWhen I arrived home this evening, I discovered two ragamuffins, of the sort increasingly infesting this once-fine borough, loitering by a large package on my stoop.As I drew closer, their eyes seemed to alight with a sort of nervous hope."I always wanted a panda," whispered the little matchstick girl.I recoiled; for a moment my confusion overwhelmed my revulsion. How could she know what was within?The answer was quickly revealed, and did not please me. Of all the meddlesome knavery!I brandished my umbrella and shook it vigorously at them in chastisement. Choice words were uttered then, you have my word on that!They fled, and I briefly pursued them.Having chased them off, I retired to my study to survey the damage.Thankfully, the shipment within was unmarred by their grubby little trespasses.How fortunate that I happened to have with me an acquaintance who is a professional photographer to capture the entire saga! Labels:  still looking for an AIML expert, get off my lawn you pesky kids, vote YES on Prop 3.14: turning ragamuffins into actual rags and/or muffins, suit up

posted by Dan Guy Updates for two events on Mr. G's upcoming US tour for THE GRAVEYARD BOOK:

• National Book Festival on 9/27:Event: 11:45am - 12:45pmSigning: 1pm - 2pm (This signing will almost certainly go on longer.)
• NYC on 9/30: Teachers College at Columbia UniversityHorace Mann Auditorium525 W. 120th StreetNew York, NY 10027908-991-2153Hosted by Barnes & Noble College. Event is free and open to the public, no tickets needed. Pre-signed books will be available for purchase.

The LA Times has posted a photogallery of the Rogue Artists Ensemble of 'Mr Punch'.For those few heathens who prefer their Journal feed to be 100% Neil, I have created an Exclusively Neil RSS feed. Mostly I wanted an excuse to play with Yahoo! Pipes.The response to my request for help with an Inform 7 has been an embarrassment of riches. I have received responses from professional IF7 developers and award winners, among others. I am, honestly, a little intimidated. If you don't hear back from me, please accept my heartfelt thanks for volunteering your time.The new Knight Rider show has a character named Charles Graiman? (What's next? Neil Vress?) Labels:  when the librarians come out of Congress it's all over, I don't have a pet hamster to name, you get what everyone gets: one thing signed plus as many copies as you buy here

posted by Maddy Gaiman Dear All Concerned Readers,Maddy and Holly Gaiman would like to officially state that they did NOT, actually, burn their house down. Or really any pillows, for that matter. They were merely using their artistic license to devise a somewhat interesting journal entry. The Midwest can be pretty slow in August.Have a nice day.Holly and MaddyP.S. OMG MADDY’S BIRTHDAY IS IN FOUR DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!☺☺☺☺P.P.S. Aren't we cute!?!?!?!

posted by Dan Guy Mr. G sends word that I should post the following:FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAnticipation: Press Release #11, August 2008Anticipation to present Special Category Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story Anticipation is delighted to announce that a special category Hugo Award will be given at the 67th World Science Fiction Convention to honour works in which illustrations are integral to the movement of the plot, whether or not text is present. This Special Category Hugo, to be called "Best Graphic Story", will cover any science fiction or fantasy narrative in graphic form appearing for the first time in 2008. It may potentially be ratified as an annual award in the WSFS Business Meeting at the convention in August of 2009.A Worldcon may choose to designate a Special Hugo to recognize a category of work for which there is no existing award, and in some cases special categories have gone on to become annual awards. Voting and administrative details will be handled the same way for both special and established categories. Recent special categories have included Best Website and Interactive Video Games. The World Science Fiction Convention has presented the Hugo Awards for achievement in science fiction for 55 years. They are named after author and editor Hugo Gernsback.The Hugo Awards nomination ballots will be released after January 1, 2009. In order to nominate for the 2009 Hugo Awards, you must have been an attending or supporting member of Denvention, the 66th Worldcon, or you must be an attending or supporting member of Anticipation. The Hugo Awards voting ballots will be released in the Spring of 2009. In order to vote for the 2009 Hugo Awards, or you must be an attending or supporting member of Anticipation.The 67th World Science Fiction Convention, known as Anticipation, will take place in Montréal, Québec, Canada from Thursday, August 6th through Monday, August 10th, 200. More information about Anticipation, including current membership rates, is available on our web site (http://www.anticipationsf.ca); you can also write to us for more information.He also sent a pointer to this article about a Craiglist job posting looking for people to ghost-autograph books for two lazy co-authors. The Boss states: Given the Guardian's suggestion that 50,000 signatures are required, and the money they're paying, I think we just have to look around for a signed edition of 50,000 somethings this autumn.Mr. G ends with a question: And.. house burned down? (He can't get to the Journal, only his email. Poor Boss.)SECRET PLANS UPDATE: I have two new secret plans for the site in progress at the moment, and I'm realizing that if I am going to finish them in time I am going to need a little help. If any of you have experience with AIML or Inform 7 programming, please drop me a line with pointers to past work in either area.Lastly, a few short bits:

• ComicMix has an article about Vertigo celebrating the 20th anniversary of Sandman.
• Colleen Doran has posted a beautiful commission of Morpheus and Lucifer.

Labels:  people consoling him on the loss of his house, it's like he never left, give Colleen Doran money so she'll do more A Distant Soil, apologies to LJ for lacking a cut tag

posted by Dan Guy A few short notes from your humble codemonkey webgoblin.Dave McKean was at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the world's biggest literary fest, this past week. Forbidden Planet has posted an excellent report which, in its thoroughness, makes one feel that one was there.Speaking of Mr. McK, Keanoshow, his collection of seventeen short works, is now available on DVD from Amazon.Amanda Palmer misplaced her favourite jacket in Hamburg on Tuesday, August 19th. Her amazing assistant, Beth, is attempting to replace it, presently without success.Elyse Sewell's fans managed to find her coat in Hong Kong once based only on a short description, so I don't see why we shouldn't be able to find Ms. Palmer's lost jacket. Please do keep your eyes peeled.(Or, if anyone knows where a replacement can me found, please contact Beth.) Labels:  the RoboPanda that always follows Neil -- it's got a ruined eye that's always open, keep on trying 'til you run out of cake, why yes I am listening to a single-artist playlist tonight

posted by Maddy Gaiman Hey there everyone!Maddy and Holly Gaiman here. The coolest sisters ever. Our father is in China… how sad is that!?! ?!?!?!?!! (Maddy just felt the need to add more punctuation marks to ‘Give it the Maddy Gaiman touch.’)Since he’s been gone we’ve had crazzzzy parties and practically burned the house down. But it all turned out okay, never fear! You see, it was a dark and stormy night and we were all alone and we thought, “Hey! Let’s have a little fun!” So we invited over the whole neighborhood and built a huge bonfire which wouldn’t light because of course it was a dark and stormy night. Note the stormy part. So we though, hey, we can just have a bonfire in the house! So we did. Luckily the part of the house that we burned down isn’t very important… I mean, Dad might miss having a bedroom, but we don’t mind it too much! Yep yep yep… so that’s what’s going on here…. Ok so maybe we don’t really have any news for ya’ll…Just that we’re SUPER COOOOOL and pretty much the BEST PEOPLE YALL WILL EVER READ A BLOG BY! Sooooooooooooooooo have a great day☺Oh and we were just kidding about the whole little burning down the house thing. If you’re reading this dad, don’t panic. Your room is fine. We just set a couple of pillows on fire. Labels:  we didn't start the fire, Why we shouldn't be left with the blog

posted by Dan Guy Webgoblin here, with another entry from the mailbag. Mr. G writes:Here are a few photographs from yesterday. I persuaded someone to let me in to an old amusement park type thing closed for five years (thus the thick layer of dust) and walk around with a little LED flashlight... and I took a few photos.I took a picture too. I went to get the lawnmower out of the garage (edited to add: my garage at my house) and discovered this on the floor:I'm not sure what it is. It appears to have fur and/or possibly feathers, and these things that are either bones, paws, or four beaks. (Which is, granted, unlikely, but, I mean, look at it -- why shouldn't it be a dead, mutant four-beaked thing?) Basically I have no clue what it is; I bet Sharon the Birdchick would know. It was really stuck to the floor. I had to bear down hard with the snow shovel to scrape it up.edited to add: Dear wonderful, helpful fans -- Please stop emailing Mr. G about what this is. I think we've covered all of the bases now. Yes, it's probably owl vomit or a decomposed shrew. My money is on shrew, though not literally, which it really should be because then you'd get a sense of scale. The owl vomit hypothesis is very cool, but that would have to be one seriously sneaky owl to get in, purge, and out in the short window* when I usually have the garage door open. I mean, we're talking about the Ethan Hunt of owls here, rappelling down from above disguised as a shrew. Either that or I'm going to find a dead owl in there next.* = Not an actual window; the garage has none.Barnes & Nobles is collecting reviews of THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. The Kirkus Review ends: Closer in tone to American Gods than to Coraline, but permeated with Bod's innocence, this needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child.Lastly, for those who wrote to ask what the "slash" in yesterday's entry meant -- and, honestly, I suspect that questions like that are just trying to egg me on -- I give you Mr. G writing on April 10, 2002:.....slash fiction is basically erotic fan fiction, normally TV series based, pairing off two (er or more I suppose) members of the same sex who don't normally couple for the cameras. From the "/" mark in the middle of "Kirk/Spock" or "K/S" fiction, which is where it all started. ("But Spock," said Kirk, huskily, realising, finally, irrevocably, what his true self had been trying to tell him ever since the beginning of season one, "it's so huge. And it's green." "And it would be logical for you to... touch it, Captain," said Spock. And so on. It's normally written by extremely nice ladies. I have several very sane, respected, and respectable friends who write slash fiction, and do not try to make me read it.) Labels:  Scooby Doo (guest starring Neil Gaiman), a Bigfoot hoax of my own, a blast from the past

posted by Olga Nunes A plea from Neil's scary godcreature, Ms Hayley Campbell:Hello all. This may sound like an odd request, but Neil has made odder ones in the past and he seems to get away with it...I have been asked to supply big beardy warrior types for a music video that promises to be a grand showcase of daftness - a 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' extravaganza of nuttiness! It's for Justin Hawkins of The Darkness and his new band, Hot Leg. Would you like to charge around in a big field by a castle wielding swords and whatnot? We're after medieval re-enactment types with their own costumes, weapons, vague sense of how to wield stabbing implements etc. The shoot will be in striking distance of London. You'll have to find your own way there but madness and MTV fame lie at the end of your journey, honest. We need as big an army as possible for one day and a select few for the other, when we'll be shooting the big fight scene with the band. I'll be there to a) stand around being cold, and b) tell you where you need to be. So here's what we need from you in an email to hawkins.video@gmail.com: - Your availability from Saturday 30th August to Tuesday 2nd September- A photo of yourself- A list of any weapons you're bringing along. If nothing else you'll be able to report back to Mr Gaiman that I'm not yet dead, and am still eating my greens. He might send you a fish or something as a thank you.I have it on good personal authority that Hayley is worth dressing up in chain mail for. Regards,Your Friendly Neighborhood Ex-Web Elf Labels:  Neil's scary godcreature, the circus phone tree, dressing up in chain mail for good causes

posted by Dan Guy The official feed now includes the byline at the top, as requested by several people using feed readers that don't display the author properly.For those who, like me, had trouble making out the words, here are the lyrics to "I Google You", posted by Mr. G in the comment thread to a blog post. The whole discussion there is interesting.Many people wrote in to offer suggestions for a collective noun for Johns, most of them thinking along similar lines. Among the most intuitive were: a flushing, a trick, and a gospel.Interesting search queries by which people arrived at neilgaiman.com over the past month: [oops nudity] - 51 hits, [community suffering] - 27, and [good omens slash] - 6. And now many more people will be ending up here for each of those.Lastly, let's go to the mailbag!From: John LorentzSubject: Sometimes Real Life Is Too StrangeNeil,A few nights ago, some crooks took advantage of some gullible people here in Portland by posing as Wells Fargo security guards and met people coming to make use of the night deposit slot at a local bank."The night deposit slot here is out of order. But if you'll put your deposit in this bag, we'll deliver it to another branch in the morning."On the news tonight, our local NBC affiliate (KGW) pointed out that this is exactly like a scheme described in AMERICAN GODS, giving the page number in the trade edition of the book and holding that page up to the camera. (They don't have the video up of the version of the story with the reference to your book--if they post it, I'll send you the link for when you finally return to good Internet service.)So if there's a sudden surge in sales of American Gods here in Portland, that's probably why.:)JohnThis is actually not the first time such news was reported here. Labels:  completely abandons the idea of writing lots of labels and goes to bed instead

posted by Dan Guy Mr. G asks that I plug the following:Thursday, August 21 at 7:30 PM at the Helen Mills Theater on 137-139 West 26th Street NYC 10001New York, NY -- On August 21, Cory Doctorow, award-winning author and co-editor of the popular blog Boing Boing and experimental writer / artist / musician Paul Miller, a.k.a. D.J. Spooky That Subliminal Kid team up for a multimedia speaking event benefiting the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Following their respective presentations, Doctorow and DJ Spooky will take the stage together for an open forum discussion about their work and the futurepresent each eloquently addresses across different media.Loose bits:Item 1 :: Today I ordered the RoboPanda.Item 2 :: One of my Secret Plans currently in gestation requires some medical supplies. If you work in a hospital, drop me a line. Medical supplies are go! Thank you all for your interest and help. (Side note: I had no idea Mr. G had so many veterinarian fans.)Item 3 :: I have received word that Maddy has agreed to do some blogging during this hiatus. All the world rejoices!Item 4 :: How cool was the fourth Coraline featurette? It featured the Other Father (voiced by John Hodgman) singing a song by They Might Be Giants (aka John Flansburgh and John Linnell). Three! Three Johns in one! Labels:  the perils of late-night blogging, I hear the Other Father is also a floorwax AND a dessert topping, what is the collective noun for Johns?, I promise I'm not going to ask you to steal drugs

posted by Dan Guy Hi, Web Goblin here. I will be guest-blogging for Mr. G as needed over the next four weeks while he's in China.I just wanted to get that out of the way at the start, as there's been some confusion. The following email touches on this and related matters, deserving an interstitial reply:I presume this will be intercepted and read by the guest bloggers, as Neil is apparently going to China to achieve (more) enlightenment at the Shau-lin monestary, or something. I may have missed a point or two."Ask Neil" still goes to Neil and Neil alone. If you want to contact me (the web goblin) you have to use the Site Inquiry form.Suggestions for the blog:Make the "post by" title at the TOP of the entry rather than at the bottom, and make it a bit higher contrast. That way, at the beginning of the post, we know who's talking. This isn't a problem when 98% of the posts are by Neil, but now that there's going to be a smorgasbord of posters, I'd probably help a lot to know at the beginning to know who was posting. So if Lorraine posted, for instance, talking about "her Dad" we'd know that it was someone other than Neil that was the subject.Done. Good call.The other thing is it would be cool to get a brief introduction to the players by name. Obviously you shouldn't post your name and address, or even real names. And Maddy, Holly, and Lorraine wouldn't need intros. But who's "Dan Guy"? Is he the same as "Web Goblin"? Just a single sentence, as deep as a playbook character introduction. Such as "I'm Jane, the person at Blogger who's responsible for rooting out all the annoying single-instance tags that Neil puts in his posts, bless him".As you wish.Dramatis Personae.in which a blog census is takenNeil :: The man, the myth, the legend. The man needs no introduction, obviously, but what about the latter two? I have some theories.To the left, Neil Gaiman. Neil sang and played bass in a punk band in 1977. He is suspected of having an army of clones.To the right, Gary Lightbody. Gary is the lead singer/lyricist of Snow Patrol. He was "born" in 1977.Warren Ellis hates Snow Patrol. [citation needed]  Warren Ellis hates clones.Is Gary Lightbody one of Neil's clones? The evidence seems incontrovertible.Lorraine :: The Fabulous Lorraine is Neil's assistant. Her past is shrouded in mystery.Some histories claim that she was born among a roving band of fiddling Roma-Australian (or Romaustralian) pirates and then left them to wander the Songshan mountains in search of the legendary Shaolin Warrior Assistant monks. Upon finding them she survived the Ten Trials of the Personal Assistant, the very least of which is opening a box full of sand without spilling a single grain on the carpet, and so was granted entry. After a decade spent training in seclusion she re-emerged, appearing no older than the day she had entered, and voyaged to America in search of a master worthy of her skills.Other histories claim that the newborn Lorraine was left at the gates of those Shaolin Warrior Assistant monks and was taken in by them and raised in their ways, learning to decipher a travel itinerary before she could talk and mastering the secret art of meat explosion before she could walk. On the day when she turned eighteen, having attained the level of "Fabulous" through her training, she departed the monastery in search of further challenges. Travelling West, she allowed herself to be captured by wandering Romaustralian fiddler pirates in order to learn their fiddling ways. Within a month she challenged their leader for supremacy, killed him with an explosive Chicken Cordon Bleu, and was crowned their Queen. Sadly, her fiddling prowess was soon so exemplary that word spread far and wide and other Romaustralian fiddler pirate Queens began arriving to challenge her, each invoking their right to Suzuki-at-Sunrise, a duel to the death. Rather than be forced to bloody her bow, the Fabulous Lorraine abdicated her crown and sailed to the new world in search of a master worthy of her varied talents.Which is the true story? It hardly seems to matter.Web Elf :: The Web Elf was once the webmistress of Mr. G's site, before her retirement. She was eventually outed as Olga Nunes. You can see pictures of her and everything. This is sad on one hand, because the Web Elf and the Web Goblin had all of these plans involving wearing masks and going incognito, but on the other hand what musician doesn't need a little free publicity? The Web Elf is brave and kind and did we mention brave? She is currently traveling the world, either following her muse or bringing her own muse to others.Web Goblin :: Hi. I'm the Web Goblin, aka Dan Guy. I took over when the Web Elf retired over a year ago. I wrote a bio over at the Neverwear store that pretty much covers it, I think.Mr. G sends the following from his cellphone:In Taipei airport there were toilets for men, women, enormous telephones, daleks and people feeding giant venus flytraps. Labels:  I do the weird stuff., I hope his phone doesn't have a browser, Really not planning on blogging so much -- it just keeps happening, Didn't mean that in a Westley sort of way

posted by Dan Guy The fifth and final Coraline featurette is now available.THE GRAVEYARD BOOK leads off the ABA Fall 2008 Children's Indie Next List. Looking at the rest of the list, it appears that if you want to target ages 4-8 then you're best bet is to have a naughty protagonist, especially if its an animal, whereas if you are writing for ages 9-12 then you should have "dragon" or "magician" in the title. Look for my new children's book, The Very Naughty Dragon Magician, this spring.Mr. G emailed me this picture of himself on the plane late last night. I assume he intended it to be posted, since he's never sent me pictures of himself before. Maybe he heard that the commenters on the LJ feed doubted that he needs a haircut and is offering evidence to back his claim? His plane didn't take off until the wee hours of the morning; hopefully he was able to get some sleep.A few people have written to ask how we are going to keep the RoboPanda a surprise. I thought I'd put it to a vote. Click on the option below that you wish to vote for; voting ends Monday at 11:59 PM.

• Option 1: Sanitize the blog. I can go back and delete all mentions of the RoboPanda from the blog before Mr. G gets home.
• Option 2: Use subterfuge. Mr. G will be expecting me to show up with a RoboPanda at the National Book Festival, so instead I'll show up at a different tour stop in a clever disguise.
• Option 3: Forget the element of surprise. It's too late. He's going to know. Just accept it.
• Option 4: Swap the RoboPanda with a real panda. The D.C. Zoo has a baby panda. I head out early with the RoboPanda, infiltrate the zoo, swap the RoboPanda for a real one, and then bring the camcorder to capture Mr. G's reaction when I present him with a real, live baby panda.
• Option 5: Ticky Box! Well, it's not, actually, due to concerns of possible feed conflict, but its heart is in the right place.

See results.Many thanks to all who contributed: Andrew G., Claire W., Eden of ComicsGirl, Shield of NeilGaimanBibliography.com, Gina T., Sandra S., Andrea McW., Jenna P., Crystal H., Shannon A., Catherine B., and Maria H.Anyone who is disappointed over missing out on the chance to contribute is encouraged to donate to the CBLDF. Labels:  rocking the vest, it's not a proof-of-life picture if he's not holding today's paper, Coraline movie, MySpace angle, their eyes helpfully glow red when they turn evil

posted by Olga Nunes Neil waved from China to pass on this request, on behalf of the stunningly talented Miss Amanda Palmer:AMANDA & DANGER ENSEMBLE SEEKING LONDON CRASH SPACE/REHEARSAL SPACE15-26th SEPTEMBERwe (me and 5 crazy Australians, AKA the danger ensemble, who will be with me all year performing on stage) are coming to London to prepare for our European tour and are looking for somewhere to crash close to central London!ideally you live in an amazing place with several vacant boudoirs atop a rehearsal studio (or a big garage) that you would like to give over to us from the 15th - 26th of September.we need a relatively comfy space - sharing beds is fine but we do need them.wireless internet is pretty essential. heating and being close to the tube would be a huge plus. it doesn't have to be a palace - we can improvise - if you know anyone on summer vacation or that has a space that can be made livable for a couple of weeks LET US KNOW!if you JUST have a rehearsal space idea or JUST a place to stay, indicate that. we may end up commuting if we don't find both in one place.in addition, if you can recommend/know of any cheap rehearsal studios please let us know, anything big enough to accommodate 7 people and a few string players moving around. bigger than a bedroom, smaller than a train station.in exchange?um. we'll make you dinner. buy you drinks, love you, we can hook you up with tix for the ICA show, any other european shows, free merch, and if you're into it, the whole ensemble will possibly also make out with you.steven from The Danger Ensemble is salivating in anticipation of your email so hit him up: tour@dangerensemble.com(From Amanda Palmer)They're urgently in need of last minute housing arrangements, so if you know of a spot let them know ASAP. (The sooner you email them, the sooner you can redeem your giant group hug.) Pass it on.Regards,The Artist Formerly Known As The Quite Official Web Elf Labels:  who actually did kill Amanda Palmer?, wee free webfolk, the circus phone tree

posted by Dan Guy FOUR WEEKS?!? Mr. G is going to be gone for four weeks?? I am as dismayed by this news as you. This is terrible. This is calamitous. This is... unexpectedly exciting?He has no idea how much trouble I can get into in four weeks.I have already begun formulating Secret Plans. This is the month. Tell your friends.The fourth Coraline featurette has been posted. This one is my favorite of the five, because of a certain cosmic alignment of talents hinted at by the title up there.I decided that none of you should be spared my attempts at humour in the labels, so I have gone back to work under the hood and the feed now includes them at the bottom! (Secret Plan #1: CHECK)Only the official feed includes the labels; all of the deprecated feeds, and the one straight from blogger, still lack them. (This means that if you are not seeing the labels at the bottom of each entry in your feed reader then you should resubscribe to the feed via the previous link. If you experience any issues, please contact me.Because I was feeling silly, I created a page on Fundable.com to raise money to buy Mr. G a RoboPanda. Fundable is cool because it only takes the money if the goal is reached. I thought maybe people could throw in $0.50 or a dollar, and I would post pictures of the look on his face when he got it -- but when I got to the end of the sign-up I learned that the minimum pledge was $10. And, I mean, $10 is a little much for a gag gift that's going to collect dust in the attic, likely scaring the fur off of Zoe the blind cat. I link to it now only because I spent so long photoshopping that image and hate to waste it.Edit: Two of you have already pledged $10! I.... I don't know what to say to that.Edit: Three! (Breaks into song: I cannot believe my eyes. / Are the fans collaboratively making buys? / Because it seems to me / some kind of insanity / is on the rise!)Eight Nine more nutjobs generous benefactors and this will actually happen.The question now becomes, do I give it to him in the box or do I take it out and put batteries in it and video his reaction when I place it on the signing table and it starts to dance?Edit: Well. That took just under two hours. You people are incredible. Look for video footage here at the end of September!New information for THE GRAVEYARD BOOK US Tour:Info for the NYC event:Teachers College at Columbia University - hosted by Barnes & Noble College525 W. 120th StreetNew York, NY 100277pmPhone: 908-991-2153Info for the Minneapolis event:Saint Paul's United Church of Christ Red Balloon900 Summit AvenueSt Paul, MN 551057pmPhone: 651-224-8320For more, check Where's Neil?. Labels:  features I should have implimented ages ago, Coraline movie, shenanigans, people with the same name, abject horror turning into opportunistic evil laughter

posted by Neil There is a packing frenzy going on. Everything that should have been done a week ago is getting done as I type this.I wish I wasn't a last-minute sort of person sometimes. I know my belief that time is stretchy can drive my friends, family, and even me, sometimes, a bit mad. But it's a bit too late to start worrying about that now.Also, I need a haircut....This is all the information I have about the US Graveyard Book reading tour dates so far. I'm putting them up right now even though there are a few that we don't have details on, because it's probably useful for all of you in planning things. The Webgoblin will keep WHERE'S NEIL updated, and I'm sure will post the information on the "TK" days as soon as he gets it from Harpers.The plan is that I'll be reading a whole chapter at each stop (maybe I'll read some other things too), answering questions and generally having fun. And there will be signed books.Don't write and ask questions about this. As we know more, it will get posted here and at Where's Neil. Promise.Saturday, September 27th Washington, DC National Book Festival, reading and signing (times TK)Tuesday, September 30th (publication day) – Chapter 1 New York, NY 7pmColumbia University – hosted by Barnes & Noble College 525 W. 120th Street New York, NY 10027908-991-2153Wednesday, October 1st – Chapter 2 Philadelphia, PA Tk evening event w Borders – location TBD Thursday, October 2nd– Chapter 3 Chicago, IL6pm Tivoli Theatre, hosted by Andersons Bookshop5021 Highland AveDowners Grove, IL 60515Contact: Anderson's Bookshop Naperville, 630-355-2665Anderson's Bookshop Downer's Grove, 630-963-2665Note: The venue is a beautifully restored 1920s movie palace with seating for 1000. This will be a ticketed event, 1 ticket = 1 book. After the reading and Q&A, ‘Stardust’ will be shown. Friday, October 3rd – Chapter 4 Seattle, WA 7pm University Temple United Methodist Church, sponsored by the University Bookstore1415 NE 43rd St.Seattle WA 98105206-545-4363Note: This venue seats 900. Saturday, October 4th – Chapter 5 Palo Alto 7:30 pmSpangenberg Theatre at Gunn High School, sponsored by Keplers780 Arastradero RoadPalo Alto, CA 94306-3827 Note: This venue seats 950. Sunday, October 5th –Chapter 6 San Francisco Children’s Breakfast SpeakerNorthern California Independent Booksellers Assoc. Regional Tradeshow Oakland Convention Center NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC3pm Sundance Kabuki Theatre, sponsored by Booksmith1881 Post Street at FillmoreSan Francisco, CA 94115415-863-8688Note: This venue seats 500, and this will be a ticketed event where 1 ticket = 1 book.Monday, October 6th –Chapter 7a Los Angeles, CA Tk evening event – location TBD Tuesday, October 7th – Chapter 7b Boulder, CO 6:30 pm Unity of Boulder Church, sponsored by Boulder Book Store2855 Fulsom St. Boulder, CO 80304Contact: Mandy King Phone: 303.447.2074 Note: This venue seats 600Wednesday, October 8th – Chapter 8 Minneapolis, MN Tk evening event with Red Balloon – location TBD***************Note to friends and family and people who need me to do things: I don't know how often I'm going to be able to get to my email over the next four weeks, nor the volume of email that'll be waiting when I do get to it, so if you need me urgently, call or email my assistant Lorraine, as whenever I do reach civilisation I'll check in with her first and she will tell me who needs me. Labels:  no time for labels dammit, Graveyard Book tour

posted by Dan Guy Mr. G is still "not blogging", I see.The third of the Coraline featurettes is now available for your viewing pleasure.I created a new GRAVEYARD BOOK countdown Google gadget months ago but I forgot to remind the Boss to post about it. Please send any bug reports to me.(A question for my peeps commenting on the LJ feed: Am I the only one who saw the title "Elfless in Gaza" last week and worried that the web elf had stumbled into a warzone during her travels abroad?)Inspired by the spirit of the late, great Othello Dodge, I have added my ancestral namesake to the graveyard. As a fan of the community that once sprouted up around the House of Clocks guestbook (en memoriam), I hope that you follow suit. Labels:  Coraline movie, I feel like Harley Quinn every time I write that, it's Neil's world -- we're just dead in it, I will name him George and I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him...

posted by Neil Right. Tonight I'm home, sitting on a sofa with my daughters who are watching the Olympics. This morning I went out and bought lots of lightweight, quick-drying clothes and other useful travel things, with my assistant Lorraine. (At one point during the clothes-buying part of things Lorraine helpfully said, "Boss, you're still wearing their pants. Why don't you go and change back into your own?" Which seemed like a sensible idea, so I grabbed my jeans and headed back to the changing room, overhearing the sales lady saying, "Is he a professor?" and Lorraine's reply of, "He's a writer. It's the same thing.")So I now have lots of new, light, easily washed clothes, many of them grey or white, which means I will spend much of the next four weeks feeling like I am in disguise.I don't know if I'll be able to post while on the road -- I'm going to be very much off the beaten track doing research for the next big project, and a lot of the time I'll be on foot in rural China, so I hope that Dan Guy The Webgoblin will be able to post as things happen, and news needs to go up. And then there's always Maddy (or even Holly).I've been talking to Harpers about the follow-up to Giving Away American Gods. The next plan is Giving Away Neverwhere, which will be done in some different ways to the way American Gods was done. I'm hoping it'll happen in September. More info, from me or thewebgoblin, as we get it.It looks like there's already a serious giveaway going on at http://fashion-piranha.livejournal.com/23000.htmlAnd I forgot to mention that it was indeed Béla Fleck who, reading on the blog that I wanted a Banjo-based Danse Macabre, recorded a version for Banjo and cello which is positively awesome, and which will be on the audio book. Right. Bed. Labels:  free book, completely abandons the idea of writing lots of labels and goes to bed instead

posted by Dan Guy As Mr. G is busy "not blogging" this week, it falls to me to inform you that the second Coraline featurette has been posted.Additionally, Focus Features is running a Coraline sweepstakes, by which you may enter to win a trip to the Coraline set in Portland, OR. (I encourage all of you not to enter, as I would like to win it myself.)Is there a word for when you think you made something up and then it appears in real life? There should be. It seems to happen to the Boss a lot, sometimes before the story is even published. (Such as preserveusfromthehouseofclocks.com, sadly down at present.) And now it seems to have happened yet again: friendsofthegraveyard.com Labels:  Coraline movie, posts that assure that the author is safe and has not been kidnapped by goblins at all, a Dickens reference that was funnier in my head I suspect

posted by Neil I'm not blogging right now -- barely using the internet as I try and catch up -- but this deserves a mention, and it's going to going on, one short Coraline promo video a day, all this week....Coraline promo video #1 Labels:  Coraline movie

posted by Neil Going offline for a few days to try and get stuff finished. But before I go...http://www.locusmag.com/2008/Hugo_Campbell_Winners.htmlCongratulations to everyone! Labels:  Hugo Awards, do not mock my prophetic powers foolish mortals etc