Release Dates for Redshirts and Fuzzy Nation Paperback
Posted on December 15, 2011 Posted by John Scalzi 20 Comments
Because I want you to be able to plan ahead!
Redshirts hardcover: June 5, 2012
Fuzzy Nation mass market paperback: March 27, 2012
Also, 24 Frames Into the Future: Scalzi on Science Fiction Film will be available in February, although I don’t have the specific dates on that yet. It’ll definitely be available at Boskone 49, however, where I am scheduled as the Guest of Honor.
There, now you’re on top of it all.
Yay!! Is it known if eBook versions of Redshirts will be available the same day?
I can’t imagine they will not be.
I already have the hard cover Fuzzy Nation, so no paperback for me!
Huh. I would have thought for sure that FN would recieve a Trade Paperback treatment. Do you know what goes into those sorts of decisions?
Andrew:
I’m not sure why you would think that. With the exception of Old Man’s War, which was a special case, all my hardcovers from Tor have gone into mass market paperback directly.
Darn. Red Shirts comes out a week after my wedding. I was so hoping for a signed copy as a present.
But most importantly, will Wil Wheaton be doing the audiobook version? (ohpleaseohpleaseohplease…)
Ridshirts will be just in time for my Mom’s birthday! How thoughtful of you.
It just struck me as the type of book that would move down the line. I’ve got several of your books as MMPBs, but I have been late to the game.
I guess I know what I’m getting for my birthday . . . how nice of you to schedule Redshirts so conveniently.
I second Nathan 3:49– no paperback FN for me– I own the hardcover!
(Somewhat O/T, but I don’t know where else to put this: referring to people’s posts by their time makes them sound like a sermon:
“And the question went out, and the people did ask: ‘Will there be a trade paperback version of this book?’
“And the answer came back, according to Scalzi, Chapter 4, verse 7: ‘Nay, nay! All of my books are rendered directly unto mass market paperbacks!’
“And the people did rejoice, knowing that their bookstores would soon be laden with Scalzi fiction.”
Does that mean another book tour? *gets excited about another seattle road trip*
I’m sure it’s been answered before, but do you happen to know why we still have to wait 6 months more for Redshirts? If the editing is done and the artwork, too, is each word of the manuscript proudly couriered from the publisher to the printer via specially-trained emus whilst the trees are lovingly harvested and carefully pulped with the tears of English students whilst the typographic characters are cast in a secretive process handed down father-to-son in an unbroken lineage from Johannes Gutenberg whilst the the new lane of the freeway for the distribution trucks is inspected and approved whilst the bookstores’ security systems are scrutinized by former members of J.K. Rowling’s Aurors’ Squad whilst the editors of the New York Times Review of books who can’t stand science fiction are distracted with bright shiny rumors of a newly-discovered manuscript of a tell-all book about the Algonquin Round Table by Dorothy Parker?
David: Printing a hardcover takes longer than you might think. A mass market (and trade for that matter) paperback is just a cardstock cover glued to a stack of paper. With a hardback, you have to have the dust jacket printed, the heavy cardboard cover (usually cardboard with a cloth/textured overlay glued on) made (and in many cases, imprinted) and the book printed – then the insides are attached to the cardboard cover and the jacket folded over that. Yes, it’s highly automated, but it still takes longer to make a hardback. Also remember that in most cases the book PUBLISHER does not equal the book PRINTER. Printers have their own production schedule that’s usually set up well in advance. The release is usually also timed to coincide with advertising/marketing campaigns and (hopefully in this case) when an author is available to tour to support the release. Yes, it’s going to be a LOOOOONG 6 months (unless you’re blessed to obtain an ARC somehow (Hey TOR folks – I’m available for pre-publication evaluation! :) :) ), but it’ll be worth it I suspect :)
When is Redshirts coming to audible.com? My Scalzi collection looks lonely without it.
Nice! Redshirts comes out on the first day of BEA.
I’ve already pre-ordered a copy for myself and one for my branch.
Wil Wheaton reading Redshirts doesn’t feel right — if there was one character on an away mission that you KNEW the writers wouldn’t kill off, it was Wesley Crusher ;)
Be prepared to sign them both at Chicon 7. I will wait till then to buy them so they cross the Atlantic only once.
Someone else hoping for the Audible release date for Redshirts :)
John,
Just bought and read in four hours, Fuzzy Nation….very tasty and a true classic in its own right….but, will you quit dicking around and write more stuff? ;-) It’s a terrible curse for me, being addicted to quality science fiction…finding someone who is worth the read is very hard to find these days, what with all the unicorn and teen vampire drivel that seems to get spewed out….
But seriously, I have immensely enjoyed your product and am impatiently waiting for more…just remember that sleep is highly over-rated…
Also, any new projects in the ‘Old Man’ universes? Really enjoyed the hell out what you have done and hope to read more before I die…LOL
Take care and thanks for the stories – I will do my part to help with the mortgage payments…