Book Deal Announcement!!

From the Titan Books website - as I'm still kinda speechless...

Titan Launches Original SFF Initiative with First Time Author

In the week preceding key science fiction and fantasy convention, EasterCon, Titan Books are delighted to announce the acquisition of worldwide rights to a fantastic debut fantasy novel and its sequel by first time writer, Danie Ware.

In searching for fresh talent to kick-start Titan’s new SFF enterprise, editor Cath Trechman unearthed exactly the kind of inventive manuscript she is looking for from within the Titan Entertainment group itself: a fantasy story written by historical combat enthusiast Danie Ware. As the publicist and event organiser for Titan sister company and cult entertainment retailer Forbidden Planet, Danie is already known and respected by many in the SFF community and has been writing epic fantasy at every opportunity her busy work schedule allows.

The currently untitled novel following Ecko, a cybernetics-enhanced warrior, is scheduled for publication in 2012. Cath Trechman says “Danie has created an extraordinary fantasy world, filled with rich, vibrant characters, and a story that is thrilling, compelling and wonderfully unpredictable. We at Titan feel very lucky to have found such a remarkable talent so close to home.”

(Ummm - Squeeee?!)

Who Owns A Book?

Yesterday’s signing – and the conversation that followed in both staffroom and pub – has made me ask myself a question.

Who really owns a book?

It it's written by the Author, represented by the Agent, bought by the Publisher, polished by the Editor - and then Printed (one way or another), promoted by the Publicist, reviewed by the Bloggers, featured in the Press, sold by the Bookstore, bought by the Public and promoted all over again… breathe, dammit... whose is it, really? What if you add digital publishing and certain online retailers to this cycle and it becomes more complex still? (Or less, depending upon which side of the till you’re standing. Charlie Stross put this one better than I ever could).

And that's not forgetting the self-published authors; the cover artists, and blurb-writers, the fan-bases and bloody, bloody Facebook… everything folds in together and the list goes ever on.

Eventually, with fortune and planning, the whole thing comes full circle – and the Author comes in to talk to the Public. As a friend of mine used to say, 'Everybody wins'.

But does that answer the question?

The face of publishing is changing. We’ve glimpsed it in the darkness – where new hopefuls or talented artisan writers are treated like monkeys, given peanuts for selling soul and talent to organ-grinders who want only profit… and the backlash has been substantial. I'm sure we all remember a certain gentleman in Frey Flannel.

I’m always reassured that the moment one faction steps in and demands sole ownership, the fight rises to topple their monopoly.

Watching Joe talking about and reading from ‘The Heroes’ yesterday – watching the responses of and questions from his fans – has made me realise something. Not about fighting (though we talked about that too) but about the real owners of a book.

Who owns a book? The characters. That's where the passion is; if the cycles turns properly, then they live in the hearts of minds of everyone, Author to Public, all the way round. (It's when they don’t that it seems to go tits up). To coin a popular phrase – it's character driven, the whole damn thing.

And that's how it should be.

Witness: -

With thanks to Joe, his Heroes, Gollancz - and the team at FP Bristol.

Titan Books: New Website

This week, my colleagues downstairs at Titan Books have launched a shiny all-new site.

Titan specialise in the good stuff - film, TV and music tie-ins, illustrated books, hot fiction and cool graphic novels - titles like The Simpsons, Supernatural, Batman, Star Wars and Mark Millar’s Kick-Ass... you'll find many of them on the Forbidden Planet site too, oddly enough.

Their marketing team are Bookseller Awards short-listed and they've been having fun with the digital and social media thing - look out for the Hammer Glamour app for the iPhone and iPad and for Titan on twitter at @TitanBooks.

The new site, as well as keeping you updated with all the hot titles forthcoming from the Titan presses, features a blog offering such goodies as exclusive interviews (Mark Millar, Joe Simon) and guest posts (Scroobius Pip, Robert Graysmith) - plus sample chapters, exclusive sneak previews, video clips of games and films, quizzes and behind-the-scenes news from the Titan staff. And don't miss the competitions page - for thirty days from August 2nd there will be a new competition featured on the site daily. Get your mitts on an X-Box 360, original artwork, props from hit shows like CSI and Firefly, as well as signed books, DVDs and CDs.

And, of course, there's the forthcoming events page - making sure you don't miss out.

Go have a nose for yourself at www.titanbooks.com!

Wallace & Gromit - Cracking Comics on the iPhone!

This is ten kinds of cheeky (cheesy?) nepotism - but I'm chuffed as fuck to see our own in-house publishers getting ahead of the game. Make yourself a cuppa... and have a read...

Titan Publishing brings Wallace and Gromit to the iPhone - after the BunVac 6000 and the Techno Trousers, it's only fitting they should be pioneers of a whole new Titan technology.

The first batch offers scripts by Dan Abnett (Legion, Nova, The Authority) and Simon Furman (Transformers, Terminator 2 Comic), plus there will more released in the forthcoming weeks.

You can download four Wallace and Gromit stories right now - ‘The W-Files’, ‘Parts & Labour’, ‘Big in Japan’ and ‘Where there’s Muck there’s Brass’ - each one £0.59 ($0.99) and packed with bonus goodies.

And bless Ned Hartley, editor, for this: -
“It’s really exciting to see Wallace and Gromit at the forefront of such a cracking new technology. Although I secretly suspect that Wallace would be more comfortable with the type of apple that comes with cheese.”

It's also quite exciting to see stuff happening right under (all right above) my nose... at Titan Towers itself!

Creatures of the Pool

To promote the release of Ramsey Campbell and Bryan Talbot’s new book Creatures of the Pool, FORBIDDEN PLANET and PS PUBLISHING have gathered a horror-host of talent together for a one-off spook-tacular signing. This will be a free-form, open event, bringing guests out from behind their tables and giving their fans a chance to meet them and talk about their work. Come and meet: -

• Doug ‘Pinhead’ Bradley
• Ramsey Campbell
• Peter Crowther
• James Hannah
• Angus Mackenzie
• Bryan Talbot
• Rio Youers

You can discover why Gavin Meadows gives guided tours of Liverpool; find out what brought settlers to the Pool, what used to take place in the cellars of Whitechapel – and what drove Virginia Woolf's uncle mad. As Gavin and his partner Lucinda delve deeper, they're confronted by the truth behind the legends and they encounter what has always lived under the city. Read Creatures of the Pool – and find out what will come up from the dark…

As well as works by both Ramsey Campbell and Bryan Talbot, there will be an array of fantastic books on hand to be discovered and signed – including titles by all the guests present. This is Horror of Horrors – a FP/PS event to remember!