Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
This is the Public Pre-Order page for the Curious King Edition of Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, illustrated by Gary Gianni with contributions from the original Radio/TV series.
“This planet has—or rather had—a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much all of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn’t the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.”
Don’t Panic! We have a cure for unhappiness, and it just so happens to be our upcoming edition of “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams, illustrated by Gary Gianni!
This has been a labour of love for nearly two years now and is without doubt one of the most iconic pieces of Sci-Fi literature written. Securing the rights to publish a fine press version of this hilarious tale has been a genuine highlight for me since I started Curious King back in 2021. It is without doubt one of my publishing holy grails and I still have to pinch myself that it’s actually here!
To have Gary Gianni agree to illustrate this book was another incredible win, and to my mind he is absolutely the perfect person to take this on, and his work has certainly proved me right.
The design process has been long and intimidating, and I have been back and forth on literally all of the designs you see here, and there may still be some tweaks before it goes into production. However, overall I am incredibly happy with how each tier has turned out, and the value each one presents. We have really pushed each tier to it’s limits whilst trying to keep prices sensible.
I’m also very happy to announce that we will have some of the original The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy cast from the original radio show contribute to this release with signatures and afterword. The radio series preceded the novel, so thought it only right to have them involved. I didn’t want any ties to the movie, for obvious reasons…
I could quite happily talk about the beginnings and process of this release until the cows come home, but I know a of lot you are here to see what these things look like and how much they cost, so please go ahead and read on:
Born on March 11, 1952, in Cambridge, England, grew up with a keen interest in science fiction, humor, and technology. His early life in Brentwood, Essex, was marked by his creativity and love for writing, which he nurtured throughout his education. Adams attended St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he joined the Footlights, a famous student comedy group. Though he initially struggled to make a career as a writer, his determination paid off in the late 1970s, when he wrote The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a quirky science fiction comedy that would go on to define his career.
Professionally, Adams is best known for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, which began as a BBC radio show in 1978 and was soon adapted into a novel, television series, and various other media. He continued to expand the Hitchhiker’s series with sequels, including The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, the Universe and Everything, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, and Mostly Harmless. The series became a global phenomenon, celebrated for its witty exploration of life, the universe, and absurdity, and includes Adams’s famous advice on coping with the unknown: “the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is 42.”
Adams’s life extended beyond writing. He was a devoted environmentalist, passionate about technology, and fascinated by the intersections of science and philosophy. In the 1990s, he co-founded The Digital Village, a multimedia company, and wrote Last Chance to See, a nonfiction book documenting endangered species worldwide. He was also an early adopter of technology, advocating for Apple products and the internet long before they became mainstream. Adams passed away unexpectedly in 2001 at the age of 49, leaving a lasting legacy of wit, wisdom, and a sense of wonder that continues to inspire fans around the world.
When I originally got the nod from the publisher that the estate had approved our request (which I genuinely didn’t think would happen) my mind went immediately to art as it always does. Who to take on a mantle of this size? I almost instantly went to Gary Gianni in my mind. The book does an incredible job of portraying a character who has gone from mundane normality, to complete mind-blowing insanity and is rather annoyed about it in an amusing way. My goal was to try and capture Arthur Dent as the “straight man” among all of the weird and wonderful things he experiences and sees.
Gary has done over 30 illustrated B&W pieces and 16 colour paintings for this edition, our most lavishly illustrated book to date. His work is absolutely phenomenal and hits the tone of the book perfectly. Both the B&W and colour pieces are printed on the page rather than as tipped in images and has allowed both sets of images to work within the text.
About the Editions
Each colourway is limited to 375 copies (750 in total). Printed Letterpress by Phil and Robert from Hand & Eye Letterpress on Munken Lynx Rough Ultra White 150gsm and is 276 pages in total. The colour images have been offset printed onto the page by Gomer Press, and the typography and B&W illustrations overprinted by Hand & Eye.
Quarter bound in Black Metallium Wicotex cloth and has hand marbled boards by Freya Scott of Paperwilds. The cover design has two colours of foil stamping, gold and white. The label affixed to the spine is the same marbled paper with another two hits of foil stamping. Handbound by the artisans at Ludlow Bookbinders.
The slipcase is also covered in the same cloth used on the spine and comes with another marbled paper label affixed on the back. There are two stamped designs on either side of the case, the classic “Whale” and “Petunia’s”.
This edition is signed by the contributors and the artist Gary Gianni.
Pre-order price: £185
Published price: £200
Each colourway is limited to 375 copies (750 in total). Printed Letterpress by Phil and Robert from Hand & Eye Letterpress on Munken Lynx Rough Ultra White 150gsm and is 276 pages in total. The colour images have been offset printed onto the page by Gomer Press, and the typography and B&W illustrations overprinted by Hand & Eye.
Quarter bound in Champagne Metallium Wicotex cloth and has hand marbled boards by Freya Scott of Paperwilds. The cover design has two colours of foil stamping, gold and white. The label affixed to the spine is the same marbled paper with another two hits of foil stamping. Handbound by the artisans at Ludlow Bookbinders.
The slipcase is also covered in the same cloth used on the spine and comes with another marbled paper label affixed on the back. There are two stamped designs on either side of the case, the classic “Whale” and “Petunia’s”.
This edition is signed by the contributors and the artist Gary Gianni.
Pre-order price: £185
Published price: £200
Limited to 250 copies, the Deluxe Edition is letterpress printed on Munken Lynx Rough Ultra White 150gsm in two colours by Phil and Robert from Hand & Eye Letterpress and is 276 pages. The colour images have been offset printed on the page by Gomer Press, and the typography and B&W overprinted by Hand & Eye Letterpress.
The book is fully bound in white goatskin with an oval hand-flecked black leather onlay across the spine and boards. The cover has then also been stamped with two colours of hot foil to complete the design. The endpapers have been double-hand marbled by Freya Scott of Paperwilds and the top edge of the book has been hand coloured by the artisans at Ludlow Bookbinders.
The enclosure is capped with two hand flecked pieces of leather and is covered with a durable white buckram. There is also a matching wormhole design on both sides of the slipcase stamped in two colours of hot foil.
This edition is signed by the contributors and the artist Gary Gianni.
Pre-order price: £560
Published price: £585
Limited to just 26 copies, the Lettered Edition is letterpress printed in two colours by Phil and Robert from Hand & Eye Letterpress on Mohawk Superfine 148gsm and is 276 pages in total. The colour images have been offset printed on the page by Gomer Press, and the typography and B&W overprinted by Hand & Eye.
The design is based on an actual Hitchhikers Guide from the story and based on 80’s technology when the book came out.
The enclosure is covered in a pewter grey leather and has 42 individual “keys” recessed into the front board. The front and the spine also have “screens” made up of leather onlay with foil stamping, and a Perspex covering to finish the design.
Inside the book is fully bound in green leather and represents the “inside gubbins” of the guide. There are three passes of all over foil stamping and the design is based on the motherboard from an Acorn BBC Microcomputer System from 1981. The front board also has a hand speckled leather onlay and has hand-flecked edges to all three sides of the bookblock.
This edition is signed by the contributors and the artist Gary Gianni.
Pre-order price: £2500
Published price: £2750
The rights-holder period for owners of Publishers Rights (Lettered and Deluxe #1-150) is now closed!
There are 100 copies of the Deluxe Edition up for sale without Publishers Rights, and a further XX Deluxe Editions WITH Publishers Rights. The copies that come with Publishers Rights will be assigned at random on November 27th at 15:00GMT.
There are also 3x Lettered Editions available following the closing of the Rights Period. Those who have applied for the Lottery (via an email to support@curiousking.co.uk) will be notified at 21:00GMT on November 26th. These will need to be purchased by November 27th otherwise they will go to other applicants.
We’re looking at Summer 2025 for shipping on this release!
