GREETINGS!

Welcome to the September issue of the Shanville Monthly, everyone. Sorry this one's a bit earlier than usual, but I'm just about to head off on holiday to Italy, so it was either put this out a bit early or a lot late!!! It's been a quiet enough month on the work front -- I did some more editing, and also did an event at the Edinburgh Book Festival, but then took nearly a week off after that to enjoy the best that the Fringe could offer, nearly overdosing on shows and comedians -- oh, how I love it!!!! This was my 9th year in a row at the Festival, and I still get a buzz every time I go back. This was also maybe my biggest crowd yet -- I was in the main tent, which holds 500 people, and it was almost full!! I had a great time, and signed LOADS of books. If I'm invited back next year (and I never take it for granted), it will be my 10th year in a row, so I'm hoping to do something an extra bit special. I have an idea in mind, but I'll need to work on it over the next few months to see whether it's feasible or not... But that's a concern for another day! Right now there's all the latest Shan news to report back on, and although there isn't a huge amount this month, there are a few tasty morsels to tuck into, as well as updated details for my UK tour (there are still some blanks to be filled, but most of the info is now in place, with the rest to follow in mid-September, when I'll update the tour details), and details for my American tour!!!!



NORWAY '09!!!

This one's hot off the press -- in fact, I only confirmed it this morning!!! I'm delighted to be able to announce that I will be coming on a short book tour to Norway in May 2009. My Norwegian fans have been extremely loyal over the years, and my books have done very well there since the early days, so it's a genuine pleasure to finally be able to come and visit. Fuller details will follow later this year or early in 2009.



PROCESSION PAPERBACK

On the D B Shan front, you might want to note that the smaller, less expensive paperback edition of Procession of the Dead goes on sale in the UK and Ireland from September 1st. It has the same cover image as the larger paperback, but the colours have been reversed, so the background is black and the drawing is in white. I think it looks even cooler this way!!! For those who don't know, my D B Shan books are novels aimed at older readers, i.e. as a rough guide, 16 years upwards. Procession of the Dead is the first book in a trilogy, although it can also be read as a stand-alone story -- you can find out more on http://www.dbshan.co.uk. You should be able to pick up the paperback edition in most stores (if you don’t see it on the shelves, you can ask the staff to order a copy in for you), or you can get it through Amazon UK by clicking here: BUY PAPERBACK FROM AMAZON



NEW COVERS

I've added new covers to the vampire part of my site from Brazil, Croatia and Lithuania -- and the Brazilian and Croatian covers feature brand new, original, very cool artwork!! You can check them out by clicking here: http://www.darrenshan.com/vampires/covers/index.html



U.K. & IRELAND TOUR

Please note, I have had to CANCEL my intended appearance at Books in the Park in Dublin in September. My apologies to anyone who was planning to come to it to see me. But the good news for fans in Dublin is that later in the month I'll be doing five (yes, FIVE!!!!) public signings in the area!!!!
SEPTEMBER

TIME

VENUE
Saturday 13 CANCELLED *CANCELLED* PUBLIC event at Books In The Park, Marlay Park, Dublin. *CANCELLED*

Thursday 25 a.m. School event at Aquinas Drammar school, Belfast.
Thursday 25 p.m. School event at Methodist College, Belfast.
Thursday 25 4.30pm PUBLIC signing at Waterstones, 44-46 Fountain Street, Belfast BT1 5EE.

Friday 26 11.00am School event at UCI Cinema, Blanchardstown, arranged by Borders, Unit 4 Westend Retail Park, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. contact the store if you are interested in booking places.
Friday 26 4.30pm PUBLIC signing at Borders, Unit 4 Westend Retail Park, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15.

Saturday 27 11.00am PUBLIC signing at Easons, 40 Lower O'Connell Street, Dublin.
Saturday 27 3.00pm PUBLIC signing at Easons, Unit G1, The Pavillion Shopping Center, Swords, Co. Dublin.

Sunday 28 11.00am PUBLIC signing at Easons, Unit 45/46, Liffey Valley, Clondalkin, Dublin 22.
Sunday 28 3.00pm PUBLIC signing at Easons, The Square, Tallaght Town Center, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

Monday 29 11.00am Schools event at Triskell Arts Centre, Cork. For more details or to book places, email: [email protected]
Monday 29 1.00pm Schools event at Triskell Arts Centre, Cork. For more details or to book places, email: [email protected]
Monday 29 4.30pm PUBLIC signing at Waterstones, Patrick Street, Cork.

Tuesday 30 am/pm Schools events at O'Mahony's Bookstore, O'Connell Street, Limerick. For more details, or to book places, email: [email protected]
Tuesday 30 4.00pm PUBLIC signing at O'Mahony's Bookstore, O'Connell Street, Limerick. http://www.omahonys.ie/

OCTOBER

TIME

VENUE
Wednesday 1 9.30am School event at Leon School and Sport College, Bletchley, Milton Keynes.
Wednesday 1 1.15pm School event at Ousedale School, Olney, Bucks.
Wednesday 1 6.30pm PUBLIC event at Waterstones, Midsummer Place, Milton Keynes. You will need a ticket to get into this event. For more details, contact Sara Dokham by phoning 01908395384.

Friday 3 11.20am School event at Gresham's Senior School, Holt, Norfolk.
Friday 3 2.00pm School event at Taverham High School, Norwich.
Friday 3 6.30pm School event at Sprowston High School, Norwich. Although this is an after-school event for children of the school, it MIGHT be possible for others to get tickets to it as well. If interested, contact Marilyn Brocklehurst for more details by phoning 01263 761402.

Saturday 4 10.00am PUBLIC signing at Borders, 146 LR Merchant's Hall, Chapelfield, Norwich, NR2 1SH.
Saturday 4 3.00pm PUBLIC signing at Waterstones, 36 Butter Market, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 1DW.

Sunday 5 11.00am PUBLIC signing at Foyles, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London SE1 8XX. This is my local book store in London!! This is also the first ever public signing that I have done in central London! (I've done events, but never a straightforward signing session!) Come along to the buzzing, family-friendly Southbank with your parents and make a day of it! http://www.foyles.co.uk/index.asp?
Sunday 5 4.00pm PUBLIC event at Stratford Circus, Theatre Square, Stratford, E15 1BX. Arranged by Newham Bookshop -- please contact the bookshop for more details. http://newhambooks.co.uk/

Monday 6 4.00pm Tea with winners of Leeds City Libraries competition winners.
Monday 6 6.30pm PUBLIC event at Leeds Art Gallery. For more details contact Debbie Moody by email: [email protected]

Tuesday 7 9.00am School event at High Archal School, Sedgley, Dudley, West Midlands.
Tuesday 7 1.45pm School event at Windsor School, Halesowen, West Midlands.
Tuesday 7 7.00pm PUBLIC event at Earls High School, Halesowen, West Midlands. for more info, or to book tickets, contact Ros Bartlett. phone: 01384376292.

Wednesday 8 9.55am School event at Brownhills Community Tech College, Walsall.
Wednesday 8 5.00pm PUBLIC signing at Borders, Manchester Fort, Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester M8 8EP. please note, I am also doing a Q&A talk at 4.00pm here, but it is for invited members only -- please contact the store if you are interested in attending the talk.

Thursday 9 9.30am School event at Barnsley Academy, Worsbrough, Barnsley.
Thursday 9 1.15pm School event at Fir Vale School, Sheffield.
Thursday 9 4.30pm PUBLIC signing at WHSmith, 45 High Street, Meadowhall Centre, Sheffield S9 1EN.

Friday 10 10.30am Informal PUBLIC signing event at Waterstones, Doncaster. this will be on during school time, which is why it is listed as being informal, but if you can come, or persuade an adult to come on your behalf, it will be business as normal as far as I'm concerned!
Friday 10 1.00pm Schools event at Doncaster Civic Theatre. For more details or to book places, contact Lyn Cooper on email: [email protected]
Friday 10 5.00pm PUBLIC signing at Asda, Owlcotes Centre, Pudsey, LS 28 6AR. this is my first ever signing in an Asda store!! If you live in the area, or in nearby Leeds, come along -- don't miss history in the making!!!!!

Saturday 11 11.00am PUBLIC signing at Borders, 9 Magdalen Street, Oxford OX1 3AD.
Saturday 11 4.00pm PUBLIC event at Cheltenham Literature Festival, in Cheltenham College Junior School. http://cheltenhamfestivals.com/whats_on/literature_festival.html

Sunday 12 2.00pm PUBLIC event at Ilkley Literature Festival. http://www.ilkleyliteraturefestival.org.uk/user/index.php


USA TOUR

Here are the details for my upcoming tour of the USA in October 2008. I will add more information in the October issue of the Shanville Monthly. If I'm coming to your area and you want to try and arrange for students from your school to be part of one of my school events, you should get a teacher/librarian to contact the store arranging the event -- I have provided web details for the stores wherever possible. Public events are normally open to everybody, although it's always a good idea to check with the store in advance, just in case there's a limit on numbers. Please note, contrary to what I said last month, I will not be travelling to LA on this tour -- we have replaced the LA leg with events in New Orleans. My apologies to my West Coast fans -- hopefully I'll get to swing back round your way next time!!!
OCTOBER

TIME

VENUE
Monday 20 a.m. School events arranged by Red Balloon book shop, Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Monday 20 7.00 p.m. PUBLIC event/signing at Red Balloon Book shop, 891 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105. http://www.redballoonbookshop.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp

Tuesday 21 a.m. School events arranged by Wild Rumpus book shop, MN55410. http://www.wildrumpusbooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp

Wednesday 22 a.m. School events in Kansas City, KS.
Wednesday 22 p.m. PUBLIC event/signing at a library in Kansas City, KS.

Thursday 23 a.m. School event in Dallas, TX
Thursday 23 p.m. PUBLIC event at Barnes & Noble, Dallas, TX.

Friday 24 a.m. School events in Austin, TX, arranged by BookPeople book shop, 603 N. Lamar, Austin, TX 78703. http://www.bookpeople.com/index.php
Friday 24 p.m. PUBLIC event/signing at a Haunted House, arranged by BookPeople book shop, 603 N. Lamar, Austin, TX 78703. http://www.bookpeople.com/index.php

Saturday 25 p.m. PUBLIC event/signing at a Haunted House, arranged by Books & Books book shop, Miami, FL. http://www.booksandbooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp

Monday 27 a.m. School events arranged by Octavia book shop, 513 Octavia Street (corner of Laurel), New Orleans, LA 70115. http://www.octaviabooks.com/index.php
Monday 27 p.m. PUBLIC event/signing at Octavia book shop, 513 Octavia Street (corner of Laurel), New Orleans, LA 70115. http://www.octaviabooks.com/index.php

Tuesday 28 p.m. PUBLIC event/signing in Phoenix, AZ.

Wednesday 29 a.m. School events arranged by Phoenix Book Company, Phoenix, AZ. http://www.phoenixbookcompany.com/
Wednesday 29 p.m. PUBLIC event/signing at Changing Hands book shop, 6428 S McClintock Dr, Tempe, AZ 85283. http://www.changinghands.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp

Thursday 30 a.m. School event arranged by The Bookies book shop, Denver, CO. http://www.netnewsdesk.com/thebookies/
Thursday 30 p.m. PUBLIC event/signing at The Tattered Cover book shop, Denver, CO. http://www.tatteredcover.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp

Friday 31 a.m. School events arranged by The Bookies book shop, Denver, CO. http://www.netnewsdesk.com/thebookies/

NOVEMBER

TIME

VENUE
Saturday 1 2.00pm PUBLIC event/signing at Barnes & Noble, Lone Tree, CO.




IT'S A WRAP

And that's it for September! As I said above, I'm off on hols at the start of the month, to Italy, one of my favourite countries to visit -- I've never managed to get there on a book tour, but this is my third holiday there in recent years. I'll have a busy couple of weeks when I get back, trying to tie up loose ends ahead of my mammoth October tours. If you've written a letter to me any time within the last month, or if you send me one within the next month or 5 weeks, expect a bit of a longer wait for a reply than normal!!! I'll be back here at the start of October with the next issue of the Shanville Monthly (I'll squeeze it in around my touring schedule, one way or another!!!) Until then, enjoy the new term if you're heading back to school -- and enjoy it even more if you're not!!! All my bloody best!!!! Darren Shan x x x