It’s February and I wanted to keep you all abreast of what we’ve got going on right now. Some good news, some bad news, some news news.
Now the dust has settled on the pre-order of The Fifth Season, it’s been a whirlwind of orders and queries! I was really pleased with the response to our second full publication, it’s difficult following up on something as loved as Joe Abercrombie’s “First Law” but I think the Amethyst Edition comes across really well.
It was a very quick sell out of the Lettered and Numbered so quickly, and whilst the Standard Edition is taking longer (it doesn’t look like it will be long now) I’m glad everyone who wanted a copy on release day was able to secure one.
Plenty to talk about, so I’ll start with Production updates:
The Blade Itself
Finished at the printers (you may have seen some videos on Nomad Letterpress Instagram on this) and safely tucked up at Ludlow Bookbinders. Unfortunately the original estimation of April shipping isn’t going to happen as we’ve had a delay on the artwork.
To make this edition as perfect as possible, the art needs to be and feel right. Myself and Tommy have decided to go back to the drawing board on the interiors and start again. With the incredible dustjacket to live up to, Tommy wants to make sure these come out great.
I’m sending out a note written by Tommy to Blade customers which I hope reiterates both of our desires to do the best job possible on this book.
I don’t have a concrete date yet for shipping, but it’s likely to be Q3 this year now. I hope this isn’t too disappointing for any of my collectors, but rest assured it will be fantastic when finished! We are able to make progress on binding while the art is being finished so it should be a swift turnaround once handed in.
The Fifth Season
We’re well underway with the Fifth Season following pre-order, and the printer is in the process of securing the plates ready for printing. This will be two colour printed throughout at Nomad Letterpress on both Munken Rough Cream 120gsm (Standard and Numbered) and Magnani Mouldmade Pescia 130gsm (for the Lettered and Roman Numeral).
John Anthony Di Giovanni is still working away on the art and is progressing to interiors. I hope to share the updated/final dustjacket soon – it’s largely similar to the original one with a few last changes and touch ups.
I don’t have any specific dates for when this will be complete and ready to ship yet as I don’t have my hands on all the art and a concrete binding slot, but the plan is definitely this year. Q4 seems most likely at this stage.
What’s happening with the Roman Numeral edition I hear you shout?! I’m close! I’m rather pleased with this one so far, and hope it lives up to the stature of a “Roman Numeral” edition. I’m hoping to have my hands on the final prototype in the next couple of weeks, it’s just taking a bit of time to pull it together. My plan is to do a RN for each book in this series (not something I will likely do again), so anyone interested in purchasing will need to commit to buying all three as and when they are released.
Hyperion
Since TFS has pre-ordered I’ve been able to focus some of my limited time towards Hyperion, which feels good. I’m really excited about this one as I absolutely love the story. I’ve made a decision regarding a Standard Edition for this series and I’ve decided against it for a few reasons. I know some will be disappointed with this, but it isn’t a decision I’ve taken lightly. I’m sticking to my original decision to increase the numbered. I’m sure there will be a more affordable edition of the Hyperion done in the near future…
I had a really positive meeting with my artist Jaime Jones to discuss the art direction. Jaime is one of the most exciting artists of his generation and is going to do phenomenal job on this. As mentioned he’s doing 8 colour plates and 20 B&W interiors, and we were on the same page when discussing scenes and imagery from the first book.
My current plan is to pre-order sometime in May/June once I have finalised the prototypes and have the dustjacket in hand. My aim with this is to move to binding Q1 2024 with delivery early Q2 2024 if all goes well (which doesn’t often happen in this industry!).
Again I am exploring a Roman Numeral for this title, but if I do produce one, I will not be doing so for books 2-4.
Future Publications
Without wanting to rest on my laurels, I have been busy! I am about to sign up one of my all time favourite novels. It’s an absolute classic from a sadly deceased author, but one much-loved (particularly in the UK). I don’t really want to say much more about it as I’ll no doubt give it away with more hints, and I’ve probably said to much for some of the sharp book sleuths that follow Curious King. I will announce this one soon though, a couple of weeks maybe? Keen to get this out there as I won’t be able to keep it under my hat for long.
This isn’t the Sci-Fi series I alluded to previously, this is something else. Regarding the Sci-Fi series I alluded to, that’s still just being alluded to at the moment. Nothing concrete has happened since we last spoke.
There are still lots of projects I’m really keen to sign-up. Some I’m pursuing, some I’m not (don’t really have the time) I rather have a lot on my plate, and I should maybe focus on what I’ve got already. We’ll see.
That’s it for now. I’m excited about 2023, there will be more content, more updates, more announcements and lovely published books to (eventually) hold.
