GREETINGS!

Welcome to the September issue of the Shanville Monthly -- though it might just as easily be titled the MOVIE issue, because this is the month for movie-related topics galore!!!! As I announced last month, Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (that has been confirmed as the title) has been brought forward, and will be hitting cinemas in the UK and USA on October 23rd this year!! (You can find release dates for other countries further down.) Following that news, August has been a whirlwind of a month on the media front, with something new about the movie seeming to crop up almost every day!! That means that I have all sorts of movie-related treats for you this month, from posters to a trailer to a clip of the film and more, so much more!!!! But I also have some very important book-related news (let's not forget, people, about the books!!!!). The question of what I'm going to be doing after The Demonata is finally answered!! There's exciting news for my American fans!!! A report of my appearances both at the Edinburgh Book Festival and in Trafalgar Square!!!! Tour updates!!!!! And... oh, good grief, let's just crack on with it or I'll be here forever!!



LIFE AFTER THE DEMONATA

The question that impatient fans have been asking me since Lord Loss first appeared a few years ago and I revealed that there were going to be ten books in the series, is -- WHAT COMES NEXT?!? Many were afraid that I planned to retire once I was done writing about demons (I've no idea why!!), or that I might take a long sabbatical, or that I might start writing soppy romance novels!!! Well, you can put your mind at rest if you're one of those, because here, in a nut shell, is what I have lined up for the next few years!

First, I will be releasing a one-off fantasy book in the UK (see below for its American release date) in May 2010, and the title is...


THE THIN EXECUTIONER


I'll be telling you a lot more about The Thin Executioner over the coming months. For now, all you need know is that it's a fantasy-style novel, very dark, inspired in part by my response to the war in the Middle East that we've been suffering through in recent years, yet also by one of my all-time favourite novels, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn!!! If that sounds like a strange mix, hopefully it won't seem quite so strange after you've read the book! It concerns a quest, mystical gods, grave-robbing, cannibalism, religious bigotry, and lots of other fun stuff like that!!!! And of course, given the title and that this is a Darren Shan novel, expect the chopping off of many, MANY heads!!!


Following hot on the heels of The Thin Executioner, in October 2010 I will be releasing simultaneously in the UK and USA (again -- see below for the exciting news if you're an American fan) the first of a four-book series all about...

MR CREPSLEY

The books will tell the orange-haired vampire's story, from when he was a boy, up until when he first met Darren Shan at the Cirque Du Freak. We will find out how he came to be a vampire, how he rose through the ranks, and why he ultimately turned his back on the clan when it seemed as if he was destined for glory. We'll also get an insight into his love life (and Arra Sails was NOT the only true love of his life!!), as well as catch up with lots of characters from my preivous vampire books, including the likes of Paris Skyle, Seba Nile, Vancha March, Gavner Purl, and of course... Mr Tiny!!!! It's a dark, twisting tale spread across almost 200 years, thrilling and heart-breaking in equal measures. More details about what is probably the most exciting prequel series ever released (make that definitely if you're already a fan of The Saga!!) closer the time!!

USA RELEASE SCHEDULE

One of the questions I get asked a lot by my American fans is why the books get released in the UK before the States. There's no great mystery -- Cirque Du Freak was originally published in the UK 18 months or so before it was published in America, so my American publishers have been playing catch-up from the start!! But the great news for my American Shansters is that they're going to pull even in the very near future!!! To catch up with the UK, this is what LittleBrown are going to do.

October 2009 -- Dark Calling goes on sale in the States (at the same time that Hell's Heroes goes on sale in the UK).

May 2010 -- Hell's Heroes goes on sale in the States (at the same time that The Thin Executioner goes on sale in the UK).

August 2010 -- The Thin Exeuctioner goes on sale in the States.

October 2010 -- the first Mr Crepsley book goes on sale at the same time in the UK and USA -- hurrah!!!!!!

And from that time on, hopefully all of my books will be released in those two great nations on the exact same date! It's taken a decade, but we're in perfect unison at last!!!! Well... almost -- just another year to go!!!



MOVIE TRAILER, CLIP AND POSTERS

The movie trailer for Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is now available to view on YouTube:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJL2wP1GagI


In response to the big question -- YES, I do like the trailer!!! As I've been saying all along, the movie is going to be VERY different to the books. For instance, you can see, even from this short trailer, that it has more humour in it than the books had. But at the same time it's recognisable as the world of the Cirque Du Freak which we all know from the books -- it has taken many liberties with the story (more than are actually apparent in the trailer), but most of the main characters are there, the darkness is there, and the freakiness is definitely there!!!

I know the differences will come as a shock to a lot of fans -- they certainly came as a shock to ME when I first read the script!! -- but we have to live with the fact that the movie is its own beast. It's not a true adaptation of the books, but a re-imagining of them. You can moan about what the movie-makers haven't done, in which case you're doomed to go away miserable -- or you can treat it as a whole new story and give it a chance to win you over on its own terms. As the author of the original books, I'm probably harder to please than anyone else in the world when it comes to the movie adaptation!!!! But when I sat down to watch the film (see report below), I left all of my memories of the books at the door and put them far from my mind -- and I suggest that everyone else who has read them should do the same thing!!

The first clip to be released from the film can also be found on YouTube (what on earth did we do before YouTube was invented?!?) by clicking on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHY-gBPT2cM


It's a 40 second scene of Darren and Steve fighting, and Mr Tiny also features prominently in it. (As played by Michael Cerveris, Mr Tiny is a bit bigger than as described in the books, but he's incredibly creepy!!!) I know some of you were worried, when you saw the trailer, that the Darren/Steve angle had been changed. But although the film changes much of the first three books, the core thread, of Darren becoming a vampire to save Steve's life, and Steve coming to hate Darren for "taking his place", remains intact.

I have also added an image of the first movie poster for The Vampire's Assistant to my site, and will be adding more posters and any other movie-related images that are released over the coming months in various countries -- so keep checking back!!! You can find the Movies page in the Covers part of the Vampires section of the web site, by CLICKING HERE.

In addition, you can find the international movie poster by clicking on THIS LINK HERE.



UNIVERSALLY YOURS!!

The official Universal web site for Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is now online. There's not a huge amount of material available on it yet, but you can check out the poster, trailer and some cool images from the film. I assume more material will be added ahead of the movie's release, over the coming months. To access the site, CLICK HERE.

In other Universal Studios related news... if you're planning to go to the Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Orlando this year, make sure you keep an eye peeled for one particularly freakish zone as you wander around!! To find out what I'm talking about, CLICK HERE.



SET REPORTS

There were several set reports released to the web over the past few weeks, from reporters who were granted access to the movie set while filming was taking place last year (they were embargoed from releasing the reports until now). They're very informative, and feature some photos too, so check them out!!

First, you can read the Shock Till You Drop report by CLICKING HERE

Next, you can read the JoBlo report here: http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=28093

Then, you can check out the UGO Movie Blog site, and this has a very revealing interview with John C Reilly. I hope that everyone who has been complaining about his casting reads this, then promptly hangs their head with shame!!!! CLICK HERE

There's another interesting article on IGN: http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/101/1014634p1.html

And on CHUD.com too, by CLICKING HERE

And finally on Dark Horizons: http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/14929/set-visit-cirque-du-freak-

Some of the information is repeated on these sites, but the reports are all worth checking out, as each one comes at the story in a slightly different way, with interestingly different results. Are you excited now?!? Huh?!? Are ya?!? ARE YA?!?!?



INTERNATIONAL RELEASE DATES

Below you can find the planned global release dates for Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. Please note, some of these dates are subject to change, and all dates are decided by Universal -- I have nothing to do with the release schedule. At the end, some countries are listed with no release date -- these countries are part of the schedule, but a date has not been confirmed yet. As Universal update me over the coming months on any planned release dates or changes, I will adjust this list accordingly.

TERRITORY RELEASE DATE
HUNGARY 22-Oct-09
U.S.A. 23-Oct-09
UNITED KINGDOM 23-Oct-09
MEXICO 30-Oct-09
BELGIUM 04-Nov-09
NETHERLANDS 05-Nov-09
RUSSIA 05-Nov-09
GERMANY 26-Nov-09
FRANCE 02-Dec-09
AUSTRALIA 07-Jan-10
NEW ZEALAND 07-Jan-10
PERU 14-Jan-10
BULGARIA 15-Jan-10
KOREA 21-Jan-10
ROMANIA 22-Jan-10
POLAND 29-Jan-10
ESTONIA 05-Feb-10
PANAMA 05-Feb-10
VENEZUELA 05-Feb-10
BRAZIL 12-Feb-10
DENMARK 12-Feb-10
SWEDEN 12-Feb-10
ARGENTINA 18-Feb-10
LEBANON 18-Feb-10
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 18-Feb-10
COLOMBIA 19-Feb-10
FINLAND 19-Feb-10
ICELAND 19-Feb-10
NORWAY 19-Feb-10
EGYPT 24-Feb-10
CZECH REPUBLIC 04-Mar-10
SLOVENIA 04-Mar-10
SWITZ. (G) 04-Mar-10
AUSTRIA 05-Mar-10
LATVIA 05-Mar-10
CROATIA 11-Mar-10
GREECE 11-Mar-10
ISRAEL 11-Mar-10
CYPRUS 12-Mar-10
LITHUANIA 12-Mar-10
PORTUGAL 18-Mar-10
SERBIA & MONTENEGRO 18-Mar-10
JAPAN (Toho Towa) 19-Mar-10 tbc
SOUTH AFRICA 19-Mar-10
SPAIN 19-Mar-10
TURKEY 19-Mar-10
CHILE 25-Mar-10
HONG KONG 01-Apr-10
ITALY 02-Apr-10
CHINA
INDIA
INDONESIA
MALAYSIA
PHILIPPINES
SINGAPORE
SWITZ. (F)
TAIWAN
THAILAND
UKRAINE
VIETNAM



MY OPINION OF THE MOVIE

Finally, for now, there's the small matter of my opinion of the movie, which I have now seen, and I am pleased and relieved to be able to report that...

I LIKE IT!!!!!

I saw it at a private advance screening with Bas, my agent and some of his team. I don't want to talk too much about it this far ahead of its release, except to confirm that I DO honestly like how it's turned out. As I've been saying since Day One, it is VERY different to the books -- many characters have been dropped or changed, many plot-lines have been discarded or altered, the logic of the vampires and vampaneze has been tinkered with. But, having said that, it does capture the darkness and freakiness of the Darren Shan universe -- anyone worrying that it's going to be overly humourous, or that there won't be any fighting or death, need put those particular concerns well to the side!!! It's far sleeker than the books, with the stories condensed, and it moves rapidly along -- but, given that this is a mainstream Hollywood feature, I think those are all positives. The actors are perfectly cast (everyone who criticised John C Reilly will be left with serious egg on their face!!), it's pacy, there's a nice mix of laughs and tension, the Little People are crazily cute...

Hmmm... so much for not saying much!!! I'm going to stop there before this spirals completely out of control!! I'll post more about the film closer to its release date, or afterwards, when you guys have seen it and are able to form their own opinions. For now, I'll finish by saying that, in my honest opinion (and, in case any of you are of a cynical bent, I am NOT under any sort of contract to compliment the film -- I'm free to say exactly what I think about it), it's a dang fine, darkly fun movie, one that will hopefully serve as a skillfully cast hook to draw lots more readers into our ever-growing club. Does it cover all the ground of the books? No, and it was never intended to. Does it give newcomers a fair taste of what the world of the books is like, and encourage them to delve further into that world by reading the books after they see the film? Yes, and that for me has always been the major function of the movie. A bonus, for fans of the books who are willing to accept this for what it is as opposed to what they might wish it was, is that this gives you a different spin on certain story and character aspects -- rather than being a straightforward, dull adaptation of the books, it's something strangely familiar yet completely new, and I always like exploring new territory!!!

Oh, and whatever else, I think the film has one of the best opening titles sequence that I've ever seen!!! If they handed out Oscars for the titles at the beginning of movies, I think this one would be a shoo-in!!!!!!



HELL'S HEROES SPECIAL EDITION

"What the hell," you're probably asking yourself right now as you stare at the grisly image above, "is THAT?!?"

Well, the answer, my bloodthirsty friend, is that it's the front and back covers of the special limited "demon skin" edition of Hell's Heroes which my UK publishers, HarperCollin, and Waterstones are releasing to celebrate the conclusion of The Demonata!! Only 50 (yes -- fifty!!!) of these are being published. Each book will feature an unbelievably cool, demon-skin effect cover, and each will be numbered 1 to 50, and signed by Darren Shan. Unlike most special edition books, these will NOT be made available for sale to the general public -- they truly will be the most collectable, hard to find editions of a Darren Shan book EVER!!!! In fact, this kind of redefines what a limited special edition of a book actually means!!!! "So, if they're not for sale," I hear you cry, "how the hell can we get hold of a copy?!?" Well, here's how it's going to work:

5 copies are being given to Darren Shan (YES, baby, YES!!!!).

34 copies are being given as gifts to individuals chosen by Waterstones.

1 copy will be auctioned on eBay in October, with all proceeds going to a charity of Darren Shan's choice (there will be more info about this in the next edition of the Shanville Monthly).

And 10 copies (this is the bit YOU have been waiting for!!) will be given away as prizes in a competition being run by Waterstones!!

In brief, the competition runs from August 6th to midnight September 16th. It is open to anyone living in the UK and Ireland (sorry, everyone else, but I don't make the rules this time round!!). Only one entry per household. To enter, you will have to name your favourite demon from my series, and in 50 words or less say why you like them so much. A panel of Waterstones and Harper Collins judges will choose the 10 winners. In addition to winning a copy of the special edition of the book, the winners will all be invited to come to my signing at Waterstones Bluewater on Saturday October 10th at 10.10a.m. (by now you should be picking up on the TEN vibe of this competition!!!). If you're able to come to Bluewater (you'll have to make your own way there -- transport and accomodation costs are not part of the prize), you'll get to meet me just ahead of the signing, to be personally presented with the book by me, and to have your photo taken -- if you can't come, don't worry, the book will be posted to you.

You can find a full set of the rules and terms and conditions by CLICKING HERE.

To enter the competition or pre-order your copy of the normal edition of Hell's Heroes, or to get any of the other 9 books of The Demonata at a seriously cool discount, CLICK HERE.

To see a larger picture of the special limited edition of Hell's Heroes, click here.



ONE AND OTHER

http://www.oneandother.co.uk/participants/DarrenShan

In August, I managed to secure a place on the 4th Plinth in Trafalgar Square, as part of the Anthony Gormley One & Other installation. For those who don't know, the 4th Plinth is a plinth in one of the corners of Trafalgar Square in London, on which works of art are placed. For three months this summer, the sculptor Anthony Gormley has taken over the plinth, and he has put a different person on it, every hour of the day and night, to talk about anything they wish to discuss, or do anything else that they wish to do (as long as it's decent, of course!!). It has caused quite a big stir -- thousands of people have turned up to watch the volunteers, and footage regularly appears on the web and TV.

I appeared at midnight, Saturday 22nd August, finishing at 01.00 on Sunday 23rd August. I checked in with the One And Other staff just over an hour before I was due to start, signed release forms, and did an interview for the project. Then, 5 minutes before midnight, I climbed onboard a cherry picker, and was driven through the Square and deposited on the Plinth. To my surprise, some fans had turned up, even though they only heard about it close to the event (I wasn't informed about my appearance until the Thursday before the weekend, so I didn't have much time to tell people about it). I spent the next hour reading out some of my favourite extracts from my books, along with a reading I hadn’t done before anywhere else. It was hard work, because I didn’t have an amplifier — I had a microphone for the web, so that was fine, every word was picked up, but those in the Square had to strain to hear me over the noise of traffic, passers-by, and some hecklers who were loitering nearby — but who, to be fair, didn’t pester me when I failed to respond.

One of the most amusing parts of the night happened when I paused to chat a bit with the crowd between readings. I was asking where people had come from, and one woman (I couldn’t really see here because of the lights) shouted out, “Do you like burgers?” I was a bit bewildered, but replied that yes, I did. Then she shouted, “Do you want to see MY burgers?!?” And I realised she meant to flash me!!!! Now, while I’m all for free expression, and would be quite happy to view a pair of “burgers” most other times, I didn’t want to be caught ogling a half-naked woman while doing a live, televised event which was being watched by people all around the world!!!!! So I swiftly averted my gaze and pushed on!!!!

The hour flew by. For the most part I treated it like a normal event, though I was always aware that it wasn’t. Then, at the end, I spent a couple of quiet minutes staring around the Square, and the enormity of it hit me. I’ve wandered through Trafalgar Square many times in my life, climbed up the lions, fed the pigeons before they were driven out, lingered by the fountains. But I’d never viewed it by myself from the plinth before, and most probably never will again. This was a true, once-in-a-lifetime experience. It felt a bit like a dream as I stepped back onto the cherry picker, one which I was absolutely delighted to have experienced. After popping back to sign the Plinthers’ book, I then met up with the fans who had come, chatted with them, posed for photos (there was a homeless man sleeping on the long bench where I was signing, which felt surreal!!), and signed all the books that they had brought along, finishing up about 01.45. I was amazed by their dedication — they had come from places as diverse and (in some cases) far away as Kennington, Potter’s Bar, Ealing, Bedford and Portsmouth!!!

If you missed the event, you can still view it online (the whole hour) by clicking on the following link: http://www.oneandother.co.uk/participants/DarrenShan



NEW COVERS

I have added the cover for the UK edition of City of the Snakes (the third and final book of my adult series, The City) to my D B Shan site (as I've said in an earlier issue of the Shanville Monthly, I will be merging the two sites in the near future, when the adult books will be coming out under my Darren Shan name, but for the moment they still exist independently of one another). I think it's a cool little number!! To check it out, CLICK HERE.

Meanwhile, on the Darren Shan site, I've added the cover for the Taiwanese edition of Dark Calling to the Demons part of my site: CLICK HERE.

I've also added several new covers to the Vampires part of my web site, from China, Finland, Japan, Slovakia and Taiwan. You can check them out by CLICKING HERE.

In addition, I've added several new covers to the American page of the Vampires Covers section. These are all from the second generation run of covers, being produced ahead of the release of the movie. The new covers are being released as the old editions go out of print, so they won't all be released in strict chronological order -- which is why you can find a new cover for book 11, even though there are currently no new covers for books 7 to 10!!! I'm really pleased with the new covers -- I think the cover for book 11 is extremely creepy (it's of Mr Tall -- take note of the flecks coming off of him, giving the impression that he is coming apart!!), while the cleverness of the new book 6 cover makes me grin with admiration each time I look at it!!!

I have also added the cover for the Movie Tie-In edition of Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, which binds together the first three books of the series, and features a cover based on the poster for the movie. You can find it in the Other Covers section of the page. To check out all the new covers, along with all the old covers too, CLICK HERE.



HOW MANY?!?!?

I often get asked how many books in total I have written. To be honest, I lost track several years ago, and though I kept meaning to do a quick tally, I kept forgetting. Recently, in Bantry, I was asked the question again, and this time I recalled it when I got home. So I flicked back through my records and added up all of the books that I have "finished" -- I put "finished" in quotation marks, because this figure includes books which are still at the first draft stage, or at an early editing stage. i.e. It's a list of every book that I have completed at least a first draft of. But a first draft is only a starting point for a novel -- a complete first draft isn't the same as a complete, fully edited book!! But, for the record, the number of books which I've done at least a first draft of currently stands at...

53!!!

That includes the 22 books of The Saga and The Demonata, Koyasan, my 3 D B Shan City books, The Thin Executioner and the four Mr Crepsley books -- i.e. 31 books which have been or are soon to be published.

What of the other 22, I hear you cry!! Well, 3 of those are part of a new, multi-book series which I'm working on, which will hopefully be my follow-up to the Mr Crepsley series -- so if that works out, that leaves 19 books. I'm hopeful of publishing 2 of those in the near future as adult books, and there are another couple of my adult novels which might one day make the grade. As for the other 15? Well, there are some I'm still hopeful of bringing out at some point or other, but which currently aren't on the agenda. And I might cannibalize a few others in the future, i.e. take ideas from them and incorporate them into other novels. And there are probably a few which will never see the light of day in any kind of format -- they exist now purely as technical exercises, stories which helped me find my way and develop as a writer.

The thing is, you never know as a young writer where an idea is going to lead, or what you might end up doing with it further down the line. That's why I think it's important to write as much as you can when you're starting out, even if it doesn't seem worth the effort at the time. No completed first draft is EVER a waste -- at the very least, you will learn a lot about the writing process. But also, when you complete a first draft of a story, you can carry it forward with you, to return to whenever you wish. I've built up a nice list of unpublished titles, and that's a comfort -- I know, should the ideas ever dry up in the future, that I can go back and work on an old book if necessary. Or if an old idea calls to me again after lying dormant for many years, I can return to it and pick up where I left off. A completed first draft is like a bank account -- it's money in the bank, money you might be damn glad of one day, even if it doesn't seem like very much at the time. Everyone knows that it's a good idea to save some money to put aside against a rainy day. Well, it's the same with stories and books. In my experience, your brain is at its most imaginative and fruitful in your late teens and 20s, so if you can put it to work at that age and commit lots of ideas to paper, you might well end up reaping the benefits later on in life. Good writing, I think, is about marrying the imagination of youth with the experience that comes as you get older -- but that's made a hell of a lot easier if you committed your ideas to paper as a youth, rather than just thought a lot about them!!!!

The moral being -- if you want to be a writer, don't spend too much time thinking about it -- WRITE!!!!



EDINBURGH

I had an amazing time in Edinburgh again this year, as usual. My event was at 10.00 Tuesday morning, which I thought was a bit too early — I couldn’t see many people climbing out of bed to see me, especially as this was my 10th year at the Festival and quite a few of them would have seen me in action before!!! Also, many schools in Scotland had started back, so I thought that would impact on numbers too. I was hoping for maybe 300 people (the tent holds 500 or thereabouts). But to my delight, I got a full house!!!! Then, after my event, most of those stayed to have their books signed — normally, when I do a later event, a lot of people have to leave to go for dinner, get home, etc. But the early time actually worked in our favour, and most of the crowd were able to stay on — which meant I was signing for four hours!!!!! I had to be moved a few times, as other authors needed to use the tents where I was signing!! Exhausting, but exhilarating at the same time!!! The perfect way to mark my 10th festival in a row!!



TOUR NEWS

Below you can find details for my tour plans in 2009. School events are for invited schools only. Public events are usually open to anyone, but usually you need a ticket to enter, so please contact the shop or event managers in advance to ensure a seat if you're interested in coming -- events usually last up to an hour, and I always sign after an event. Public signings are open to anyone who comes along -- and I am always happy to sign as many books of mine as people choose to bring along with them. Signings are normally scheduled to last an hour, but I always stay to sign for everyone who comes, so they usually last much longer than that -- the average for the last few tours has been 2 and a half hours per signing session!!!!
u.k./ireland


u.k. and ireland
OCTOBER

TIME

VENUE
Thursday 1 10.30a.m School event at Rich Mix Cinema, Bethnal Green Road, London E2.
Thursday 1 2.00p.m. School event as part of StarLit Festival in Shoreditch, London -- for more info, CLICK HERE.
Thursday 1 6.30p.m. Launch party in Central London. Invited guests only.

Friday 2 10.40a.m. School event at Ropetackle Arts Centre, Little High Street, Shoreham-By-Sea.
Friday 2 4.00p.m. Public signing at Waterstones Brighton Clock Tower, 71-74 North Street, Brighton BN1 1ZA. (Although the official start time is 4.00pm, I will try to start signing earlier, probably about 3.30pm, so please get there early if you can!)
Friday 2 7.00p.m. Public event at Chichester College, Westgate Fields, Chichester, PO19 1SB. For tickets or more info, contact Waterstones, The Dolphin & Anchor, West Street, Chichester PO19 9HD.

Saturday 3 10.30a.m. Public signing at Waterstones, 11A Union Galleries, Broadmead, Bristol BS1 3XD.
Saturday 3 4.00p.m. Public event at Central Library, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3HQ. Contact venue for more information and tickets. [email protected]

Sunday 4 12.00p.m. Public signing at Borders, 34 Coliseum Way, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire Oaks, Cheshire CH65 9HD.

Monday 5 11.00a.m. School event at Bramhall High School, Seal Road, Stockport.
Monday 5 4.00p.m.

Public signing at Simply Books, 228 Moss Lane, Bramhall SK7 1BD.
Monday 5 7.00p.m. Public event at Waterstones, 91 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2BW. Contact store for more information and tickets.

Tuesday 6 11.00a.m. School event at Wetherby High School, Hallfield Lane, Wetherby, West Yorkshire.
Tuesday 6 4.00p.m. Public signing at Waterstones, 17 Newport Crescent, Middlesborough TS1 5UA.

Wednesday 7 10.30a.m. School event at Dyke House School, Mapleton Road, Hartlepool, Teeside.
Wednesday 7 4.30p.m. Public signing at WHSmith, Gateshead Metro Centre, Gateshead NE11 9YR.

Thursday 8 11.00a.m. Public signing at Borders, Unit 7, Gallagher Retail Park, East Dock Street, Dundee DD1 3JS.
Thursday 8 4.00p.m. Public signing at Waterstones, Unit 1, Thistle Marches, Stirling SK8 2EA.
Thursday 8 7.30p.m. Public event at Wishaw Library, Kenilworth Avenue, Wishaw ML2 7LP. For more information and tickets, contact Margaret Bell: [email protected]

Friday 9 10.30a.m. Schools event at Adelaides Auditorium, 209 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4HZ.
Friday 9 4.00p.m. Public signing at Borders, 98 Buchanan Street, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow G1 3HA.

Saturday 10 10.10a.m. Public signing at Waterstones, Bluewater Shopping Centre, West Village, Greenhithe, Bluewater DA9 9SE.

Sunday 11 11.00a.m. Public signing at Easons, Unit G1, The Pavilion Shopping Centre, Swords, County Dublin.
Sunday 11 3.00p.m. Public signing at Easons, Level 3, Unit 12-14 Dundrum Town Centre, Sandyford Road, Dundrum, Dublin 14.

Monday 12 10.30a.m. Schools events at Ashbourne Library, Killegland Square, Ashbourne, County Meath.
Monday 12 3.00p.m. Public signing at Waterstones, Scotch Hall, Marsh Road, Drogheda.
Monday 12 7.00p.m. Public event at Blanchardstown Library, Civic Centre, Blanchardstown Centre, Dublin 15. Contact library for more information and tickets. [email protected]

Tuesday 13 10.00a.m. Schools event at Dunamaise Arts Centre, Church Street, Portlaoise, County Laoise.
Tuesday 13 4.00p.m. Public signing at Easons, 9 O'Connell Street, Limerick City.

sweden


sweden
Friday 23 10.15a.m. School event in LUND, Sweden. Part of the LiteraLund Book Festival. See their web site for more info: http://www.litteralund.se/
Friday 23 12.00p.m. Shool event in LUND, Sweden. Part of the LiteraLund Book Festival. See their web site for more info: http://www.litteralund.se/
Friday 23 2.15p.m. Conference event for adults in LUND, Sweden. Part of the LiteraLund Book Festival. See their web site for more info: http://www.litteralund.se/
Saturday 24 12.00pm Public event in LUND, Sweden. Part of the LiteraLund Book Festival. See their web site for more info: http://www.litteralund.se/

u.k./ireland


u.k. and ireland
NOVEMBER

TIME

VENUE
Friday 13

TBC

Schools event at the Wyvern Theatre, part of the Swindon Ten Youth Festival Of Literature. http://www.swindontenyfl.net/events.html

Saturday 21 TBC Public event with Eoin Colfer at the Wexworlds Festival in Wexford, Ireland. A one-off event in which Eoin Colfer and I will be chatting with each other on stage. It could get messy -- but in a good way!! For more info, check out the Wexworlds site: http://www.wexworlds.net/



2010 TOURS

I know it's a long way off, but I've already booked up for a couple of international tours in 2010! In March, I will be visiting Dubai for the first time, and I will also be returning to Hong Kong. Dates, times, and more information to follow in a later edition of the Shanville Monthly.

IT'S A WRAP

And that's it for September!! Phew -- what a month!!! And what a Shanville Monthly!!!! I think this might be the most jam-packed issue ever!! It's certainly one of the most exciting!!!!! I need a little rest after going through all that, though I suspect the next couple of months are going to be pretty hectic too, as the build-up to the release of the movie gathers pace, and as I set out on tour in the UK and Ireland with the final ever book of The Demonata!!! It's a busy, buzzy time in the world of Darren Shan, and that's just the way I like it!!!! But don't worry -- I'll be back here soon with the October update, regular as always -- some things never change! Since I head off on tour at the end of September, I'll be posting the next issue of the SM a few days earlier than normal. Until then, happy dreams about the end of The Demonata and the release of the movie, and all my bloody best, Darren Shan x x x