GREETINGS!

Welcome to the October edition of the Shanville Monthly!!! This is going to be an incredibly busy month for me -- I launch Book 6 of The Demonata in the UK, while Blood Beast debuts in America and Hungary. On top of my long-organised tour of the UK (during which I'll finally be revealing the name of D6 and the cover!), I'm also doing a tour of Canada!!!! I've had lots of requests for a tour from Canadian fans over the last few years, so I hope lots of you turn up at my public events to make me feel welcome!! In other news, there's been a wonderfully creative response to the Design A D6 Cover And Title competition which went live in the UK and Ireland in the middle of September -- check out the entries and prepare to be amazed! There are new interviews, photos and covers from around the world, all uploaded to my site for your discreet perusal. Oh, and make sure you double-check my tour schedule for the UK if you're thinking of coming to any of events -- I've added several new events, and had to cancel one (in the ASDA store -- they were installing a new ordering system that week, so we thought it would be better to come to the store at another time). There's loads more, so I'm going to stop typing and leave you to scroll down and enjoy!!!



CANADA TOUR -- THIS MONTH!!!!

I'm coming on tour to Canada this October!!!! Sorry about the late heads-up. I normally like to give fans a few months notice, and give them a chance to "pitch" for me to come to their area, but this proposal from my Canadian publishers only came through recently, and if I hadn't seized the moment, it would have been at least October 2008 before I could come!! I've been looking forward to visiting Canada for a long time, so I hope lots of you turn out to greet me!!!! The dates and places where I'll be coming are listed below:

Monday, October 15: morning – School event - details TBC.

Monday, October 15: 7:00 pm – PUBLIC event at Highlands Community School, 3150 Colwood St, North Vancouver. arranged by Vancouver Kidsbooks. Tickets are $5 and you can book them through their web site: http://www.kidsbooks.ca/

Tuesday, October 16: 9:00 am – School event at Cloverdale Library.

Tuesday, October 16: 11:00 am – School event at Strawberry Hill Library.

Tuesday, October 16: 7:00 pm – PUBLIC event at St. James Community Square, 3214 West 10th Ave. (corner of 10th and Trutch), Vancouver. arranged by Vancouver Kidsbooks. Tickets are $5 and you can book them through their web site: http://www.kidsbooks.ca/

Wednesday, October 17: 7.00 pm - PUBLIC event at Indigo Yonge & Eglinton, 2300 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, M4P 1E4 Canada. phone: (416)544-0049. web: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/ho...etails/278

Thursday, October 18: morning - speaking to Indigo staff at a seminar.

Thursday, October 18: 1.30 pm - School event, details TBC.

Thursday, October 18: 4.30 pm - intimate PUBLIC event at The Flaying Dragon Bookshoppe, 1721 Bayview Ave., Toronto, Ontario, M4G 3C1. This is only going to be open to 40 fans, and the store are offering first choice to their loyal Shan-fans (i.e. fans who have bought my books there in the past). It's possible that some others MIGHT be able to be accommodated, but they can't make any guarantees. If interested, you MUST contact the store in advance and register your interest -- if a place becomes available, they will try to fit you in. phone: 416-481-7721. web: http://www.theflyingdragon.ca/



UK - BOOK 6 CAMPAIGN

Book 6 of The Demonata goes on sale on October 1st -- hurrah!!! Normally my books come out a week or two early in the UK, but this time we've tried to hold copies back, to keep it a total secret -- I haven't even received my own copies yet!!! From October 1st, you should be able to find D6 in almost any book shop in the UK or Ireland. Or, if you prefer to order online, you can get it from Amazon UK by clicking here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Beast-Demonata-Darren-Shan/dp/0007231326/shanville

To help spread the good word about the book, my UK publishers, HarperCollins, have created a VERY cool trailer for Book 6 of The Demonata, featuring the vocal talents of Rupert Degas. You can check it out by clicking here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=vxJBeUg__Z4

HarperCollins also created a special micro-site for Book 6 of The Demonata, mainly to promote a truly brilliant competition. They gave artistic fans a chance to design their own D6 title and cover. The two winners (one chosen by fans, the other by me) will each receive a Nintendo DS Lite and 2 games for it. PLUS the two winning covers will be included in the Book 6 paperback edition when it is released in June 2008!!! It's a truly fantastic, once-in-lifetime prize, and the entries have been of an incredibly high standard!! The closing date was September 28th, but fans will all have a chance to vote for their favourite cover, starting October 1st! Click on this link to see the stunning efforts, then click on it again after October 1st to cast YOUR vote -- and tell your friends to vote too!!

http://www.darrenshanchallenge.com/



BATH COMPETITION WINNERS

I will be revealing the title and cover of Book 6 of The Demonata for the first time ever at my event at the BATH FESTIVAL on Saturday, September 29th at 10.00a.m.. It's going to be a special day for everyone who comes, but my publishers, HarperCollins, made it EXTRA special for ten lucky people, by running a competition last month and inviting each of the ten winners to come and see me before the event in Bath, where they will receive a free, signed copy of Book 6 -- as well as two free front-row tickets for my event!!! Because of the age limit (16 or under), there were less entries than I normally get for competitions -- 120 in total -- meaning everyone who entered stood a good (1-in-10) chance of winning!! And those winners are:

PAUL CARROLL.
REBECCA WINSTANLEY.
JACK GORDON.
ROSIE CORNISH.
CLARE BRIDGER.
MICHAELA HINKS.
SAM WEST.
JACK EVANS.
STEPHEN GASSON.
LISA-MARIE LINDSAY.
STEVEN DICKSON.
SHANNON JAMES.

There were 12 winners in the end, rather than 10, because a couple of the 10 originally drawn were unable to come to the event -- they'll both still get a copy of the book, but we thought it would be nice to give their place at the event to other winners. Congratulations to all those who won -- I look forward to seeing (most of) you in Bath, and regrets to those who weren't so lucky -- maybe you'll win next time!



AMERICA - NEW RELEASES

October is a VERY important month for me in the States, with LOTS of activity on the Shan-front!!! First up, Blood Beast, book 5 of The Demonata, goes on sale in October. The official release date is November 1st, but it should be available in most states from early October. You should be able to buy Blood Beast in any good book store, or else you can order it online:

AMAZON BLOOD BEAST

BARNES & NOBLE BLOOD BEAST

The paperback edition of Slawter also goes on sale in the States this month. Again, you can buy it in your local store or online:

AMAZON SLAWTER

BARNES & NOBLE SLAWTER

Finally, the third Cirque Du Freak Boxed Set also goes on sale in October. Featuring the mass-market paperback editions of books 9 to 12 of my vampire series, this is the perfect, most economical way to buy the final third of the hottest, bloodiest teen Saga ever!!! Look for the boxed set in your local shop, or buy online here:

AMAZON BOX SET 3

BARNES & NOBLE BOX SET 3



BLOOD BEAST HITS HUNGARY!!!

Good news for my Hungarian fans -- according to my "spy" Gyuszi in Hungary, Blood Beast is due to be released there on October 26th -- just in time for Halloween!!! And there's more good news -- I'm going to be returning to Hungary on tour in April 2008!!! There will be more details about this closer to the time, so keep checking back, or keep an eye on the Mora - my Hungarian publishers - site at : http://www.mora.hu/



UK SAGA BOX SET

A boxed set of the first half of The Saga of Darren Shan goes on sale in the UK and Ireland on October 1st. This collects the first 6 books of the series in a stylishly designed "box" cover. This is the perfect way to buy the first half of The Saga if you don't already own it -- or if you want to buy someone the perfect Christmas present!!! The boxed set should be available in most shops, or you can order it from Amazon by clicking here: BUY BOX SET HERE



BLOOD BEAST NOMINATED FOR NICKELODEON AWARD!

NICKELODEON KIDS' CHOICE AWARDS UK

As I revealed last month, Blood Beast has been shortlisted for the first ever UK Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award!!!! This is a huge honour -- there are only 4 books on the shortlist, and the other 3 are all women -- Holly Black ("Spiderwick Chronicles"), Jacqueline Wilson and J K Rowling. The award is voted for entirely by fans, so I suspect Miss Rowling will walk away with it by a LONG mile!! But it's amazing to even be nominated for such a high-profile award! This is the most prestigious award I've ever been shortlisted for, and even if I don't win, I'm delighted to have made the final four. You can find out all about the awards, which also include movies, bands, songs, video games, etc, by clicking on the following link. It also provides details on how to vote, so I hope you lot give me your backing -- we're outweighed vastly by the armies of Potterites, but if we have to go down, we can at least go down fighting ... or, rather, voting!!!!!!!!

NICKELODEON KIDS' CHOICE AWARDS UK

For anyone in the UK and Ireland who hasn't yet read it, you can buy Blood Beast in just about any book shop, but if you prefer to buy online, you can also get it through Amazon.co.uk. Just click on the following link -- AMAZON UK - BLOOD BEAST



NEW INTERVIEW

I was interviewed recently by fellow author, Cynthia Leitich Smith. It's a fairly lengthy interview, and she asked interesting questions, so hopefully you'll find my answers interesting too!! You can check it out by clicking here: CYNTHIA LEITICH SMITH INTERVIEW


NEW PHOTOS

I've added LOADS of new photos to my site, from 2006 and 2007, some from book tours, but most from holidays. I've also reorganised the photos section, to make it neater and easier to navigate. You can check out the new pics, and the hordes of older snaps, by clicking here: PHOTOS GALORE!!!

NEW COVERS

I've also added a lot of new covers to my site. First, in the Vampires section, I've added new covers for Canada (seven covers in total!!), Croatia (an original, super-cool cover, featuring artwork unique to the Croatian edition!!), Japan, UK, USA and Vietnam. You can find them all by clicking here: VAMPIRE COVERS

In the Demons section, I've added covers from Italy, Japan and Taiwan. Click here for them: DEMON COVERS


RAREBIT FIEND

I don't often promote books by other authors, but this is one case where I'm happy to make an exception. Rarebit Fiend was a newspaper comic strip by Winsor McCay which appeared in the early years of the 20th century. McCay was a comics and animation genius -- his Little Nemo strip was one of the greatest comic strips ever, his political cartoons are still among the most famous ever drawn, and he pioneered many filming techniques which others (particularly Walt Disney) later took credit for.

In Rarebit Fiend he explored the wild, murky world of dreams -- each strip features a weird, wonderful, sometimes terrifying dream, and the dreamer always wakes at the end blaming the dream on eating some Welsh Rarebit before going to sleep!!! Some of the strips have been reprinted in various collections over the decades, but now, for the first time ever, they've ALL been collected in one huge, amazing book. It's pricey, but considering how much material you get (some of it on DVD), it's a bargain. This would be a magnificent Christmas present, either for yourself or somebody else -- there's more imagination and style in this baby than in just about any modern-day comic!!! If you're interested, check out the web site, then buy it ASAP -- this comes with my very highest recommendation!!! http://www.rarebit-fiend-book.com/



BOOK 6 U.K. TOUR

I'm undertaking a tour of the UK in late September/early October, to promote the release of Book 6 of The Demonata. It's a nice mix of public events, school events, and signing sessions. If you can come along to any of them, please do -- I always love to meet my fans!! And do feel free to bring as many of my books to be signed as you wish -- time permitting, I never mind signing as many books as fans bring along!!!!

Saturday 29th September
10.00a.m. PUBLIC event at the Bath Festival of Children’s Literature. http://www.bathkidslitfest.co.uk/

Sunday 30th September 12.00p.m. PUBLIC signing at Waterstones, Unit 1, West Mall, Castlepoint, Bournemouth BH8 9UY. phone: 01202 548566.

Monday 1st October

09.00a.m.


School event at Woodlands Community High School, Southampton.

Monday 1st October 1.00- 2.00p.m PUBLIC signing at Waterstones West Quay Shopping Centre, Southampton SO15 1QE. phone: 023 80232118.

Monday 1st October 4.00p.m. PUBLIC event at Waterstones, The Brooks, Winchester SO23 8QY. enquiries to John Cook: [email protected] or phone: 01962 866206.

Tuesday 2nd October 09.15a.m. School event at Toynbee School, Ampfield, Winchester. Arranged by Waterstones Winchester.

Tuesday 2nd October 11.00a.m. I will be signing stock at Waterstones, 10-11 The Swan Centre, Eastleigh, SO50 5SF. You probably won't be able to come and meet me at the store, but if you want to buy books in advance and leave them to be signed and personalised by me, talk to the people in the store.

Tuesday 2nd October 3.00p.m. I will be signing stock at Waterstones, Commercial Road, Portsmouth. You probably won't be able to come and meet me at the store, but if you want to buy books in advance and leave them to be signed and personalised by me, talk to the people in the store.

Tuesday 2nd October 6.30-7.30p.m. PUBLIC event at The Hayling Island Community Centre, Hayling Park, Hayling Island. Tickets available through: The Hayling Island Bookshop, 34 Mengham Road, Hayling Island, Hampshire, PO11 9BL. phone: 023 9246 6620.

Wednesday 3rd October 10.30a.m. School event at Worthing High School, West Sussex.

Wednesday 3rd October 4.00-5.00p.m. PUBLIC signing at Waterstones, 28 Montague Street, Worthing, BN11 3HA. phone: 01903 234148.

Thursday 4th October 10.00a.m. School event at Ryton Comprehensive, Tyne and Wear. Arranged by Borders, Unit 7 Team Valley Retail Park, Gateshead NE11 OBD.

Thursday 4th October 1.00p.m. School event at Cramlington Community High School, Northumberland. Arranged by WH Smith Metro Centre.

Thursday 4th October 4.30p.m. PUBLIC signing at WH Smith, 57-59 Cameron Walk, Metro Centre, Gateshead, Tyne on Wear, NE11 9YT. phone: 0191 4932266.

Friday 5th October 10.00a.m. Schools event at Kendal Leisure Centre, Burton Rd, Kendal, LA9 7HX. Arranged by Waterstones, 7 Westmoreland Centre, Kendal LA9 4LR. phone: Tel: 01539 741771. Although this is for schools, since it is a public venue, individuals will be able to come too -- please contact Waterstones for tickets if interested.

Friday 5th October 3.30p.m. School event at Ripley St Thomas C of E High School, Lancaster.

Friday 5th October 6.30p.m. PUBLIC event in County Hall, Preston. Arranged by Borders Books, Deepdale Shopping Park, Blackpool Rd, Preston, Lancashire PR1 6AF. phone: 01772 703 856 or email: [email protected]

Saturday 6th October 10.00a.m. PUBLIC informal signing at Borders, 95-96 Briggate, Leeds LS1 6NP. I'm here to sign stock for the shop, but if you come along, I'll happily sign for you while I'm there.

Saturday 6th October 11.30a.m. PUBLIC signing at Waterstones, 61-62 Bishopgate Walk, The Riding Centre (shopping centre), Wakefield WF1 1YB.

Saturday 6th October 3.00p.m. PUBLIC signing at Waterstones, 93-97 Albion Street, Leeds.

Sunday 7th October 12.00p.m. PUBLIC signing at WH Smith Arndale Centre, Manchester, M4 3AD.

Sunday 7th October various I will be signing stock at the following stores:

Waterstones Deansgate - approx 2.15p.m.

Waterstones Trafford Centre - approx 3.00p.m.
You probably won't be able to come and meet me at these two stores, but if you want to buy books in advance and leave them to be signed and personalised by me, talk to the people in the stores.

Sunday 7th October 4.00p.m. PUBLIC signing at Borders, Fort Shopping Park, Cheetham Hill Rd, M8 8EP. 01618330208. I'm here to sign stock for the shop, but if you come along, I'll happily sign for you while I'm there.

Monday 8th October 10.30a.m. School event at St Peter’s Memorial Hall, St Olavs, York.

Monday 8th October 4.00-5.00p.m. PUBLIC signing at Waterstones, 28-29 High Ousegate, York YO1 8RX. phone: 01904 628 740.



CANADA TOUR - OCTOBER 2007
Monday, October 15 12.30 pm School event at Windsor Secondary, North Vancouver.

Monday, October 15 2.15 pm School event at Argyle Secondary School, North Vancouver.

Monday, October 15 7.00 pm PUBLIC event at Highlands Community School, 3150 Colwood St, North Vancouver. arranged by Vancouver Kidsbooks. Tickets are $5 and you can book them through their web site: http://www.kidsbooks.ca/

Tuesday, October 16 9:00 am School event at Strawberry Hill Library.

Tuesday, October 16 11:00 am School event at Cloverdale Library.

Tuesday, October 16 1:37 pm School event at Semiahmoo Secondary.

Tuesday, October 16 7:00 pm PUBLIC event at St. James Community Square, 3214 West 10th Ave. (corner of 10th and Trutch), Vancouver. arranged by Vancouver Kidsbooks. Tickets are $5 and you can book them through their web site: http://www.kidsbooks.ca/

Wednesday, October 17 7.00 pm PUBLIC event at Indigo Yonge & Eglinton, 2300 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, M4P 1E4 Canada. phone: (416)544-0049. web: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/ho...etails/278

Thursday, October 18 morning speaking to Indigo staff at a seminar.

Thursday, October 18 2.00 pm School event at The York School, Yonge St.

Thursday, October 18 4.30 pm PUBLIC event at The Flaying Dragon Bookshoppe, 1721 Bayview Ave., Toronto, Ontario, M4G 3C1. This is only going to be open to 40 fans, and the store are offering first choice to their loyal Shan-fans (i.e. fans who have bought my books there in the past). It's possible that some others MIGHT be able to be accommodated, but they can't make any guarantees. If interested, you MUST contact the store in advance and register your interest -- if a place becomes available, they will try to fit you in. phone: 416-481-7721. web: http://www.theflyingdragon.ca/

Friday, October 19 1:20 pm School event at Glenhaven Senior Public School, Mississauga.



IT'S A WRAP

And that's it for October! I'll definitely be ready for a break after all that touring!!!! I plan to enjoy my Halloween most thoroughly this year! But as tiring as the touring will be, I know I'm going to have a great time -- I'm really excited about unleashing D6 on the world (it's one of my own personal favourites!), and also about visiting Canada for the first time. Being on the road will mean I have limited access to my emails and web site for the first half of the month. I won't be able to add the D6 cover to my site until mid-October, but you'll be able to find it on http://www.darrenshanchallenge.com/ or on the YouTube page -- Collins are going to add the image to the trailer after October 1st. I hope you all have a great month, and that if you live near a spot where I'm coming on tour, that you'll come along to say hello!! I'll be back a bit before the end of October to do the slightly early November issue of the Shanville Monthly and to bid you all a happy Halloween. Until then, take care and see if YOU can guess the title of D6 before its release on October 1st!!!! All my bloody best, Darren Shan x x x