Vincent Chong has turned in the full color and duotone art for Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s masterpiece, The Shadow of the Wind. The illustrations include five full-color plates — see samples as the Shadow page — as well as ten duotone images spread throughout the book, which will be printed on 80# Finch, in two colors. We’re doing everything we can to make this one of the nicest limited editions we’ve ever produced, including a surprise image to be discovered by eagle-eyed readers. Shadow is currently undergoing one final round of proofing while we wait for the author to fit the signature sheets into his overfull schedule. We’ll announce a specific date for the book as soon as we’re able.

Our edition of Robert E. Howard’s Kull: Exile of Atlantis is proving to be one difficult book indeed. In addition to a number of corrected illustrations by Justin Sweet, we’ve had to coordinate the full color art section, as well as the image that will adorn the custom slipcases and special stamping on the book. Kull is currently at the printer, and should be shipping in just a couple of months.

We’ve just finished the final round of proofing for Naomi Novik’s Throne of Jade, and have the signature sheets in hand, so look for that title to be sent to the printer in the next week or so, where it will join What the Mouse Found and Yellow Dog (Charles de Lint); Skeletons (Ray Bradbury); The Jack Vance Reader; Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy (including an exclusive chapbook by Joe Hill); and more!

On the contract front, we just received agreements for The Last Colony (John Scalzi); Marionettes, Inc. (a collection by Ray Bradbury); a new collection by Greg Egan; Wild Thyme, Green Magic (a collection by Jack Vance); and and are in the process of finalizing deals for a number of other projects.

While shipping Neal Stephenson’s classic, Snow Crash, we decided not to fill all the distributor and large online retailer orders we had on file for the book. Instead, we held back the last 75 or so copies to sell to our direct customers. In the three weeks since the book shipped, we’ve seen that quantity dwindle to fewer than 20, so if you’re of a mind to experience the travails of The Deliverator, and read one of the most influential books of the latter half of the Twentieth Century, we suggest you might want to get your order in. Finally, kudos to Patrick Arrasmith, whose timeless illustrations for the novel have drawn strong praise in the emails we’ve received.

Stephenson fans take note — we will be working more with Neal in the future. Details coming as soon as the contracts have been inked.

Michael Komarck has just sent us three additional rough illustrations for Steven Erikson’s Gardens of the Moon. Here’s one, from chapter two, for those interested. We expect finished versions of all of the art in just a few short weeks, at which point we’ll be hustling this book into production.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Subterranean Online. First up, we have Part One of a new novella by SubPress favorite Norman Partridge. Hit the pavement with “Road Dogs,” but be sure to pack the proper armament. Meanwhile, Joe R. Lansdale’s Unchained again, this time on the subject of Henry Kuttner. If that’s not enough new material, take a quick look at Kealan Patrick Burke’s review of Thomas Ligotti’s worthy gathering of tales, Teatro Grottesco.

In other Subterranean Online news, we’ve just acquired a novelette by SubPress favorite David Prilll, while Mike Resnick, in addition to his regular Lucifer Jones tales, is hard at work on another future African novella for us (”Shaka II”), and we have invites out to a number of folks we think you’ll be pleased to see in Subterranean’s online pages.

We’ve created a special site to promote all of the editions (HarperCollins, Bloomsbury, Subterranean) of Neil Gaiman’s forthcoming stunner, The Graveyard Book. New features will be posted over there regularly, but to start with, you’ll find an interview with Neil on the main page, details on the various editions (Subterranean and Bloomsbury, thus far) sprinkled throughout the site, as well as some samples of Dave McKean’s illustrations for the book. Head over and have a look.

Oh, and the image on this page? It’s one of the rough draft covers for the book, many of which will be featured in an exclusive section at the back of the Subterranean Press limited edition along with Dave McKean’s rough sketches. Keep your eyes peeled. In the next week or so we’ll post a fuller list of the features exclusive to our edition, which promises to be one of the best Gaiman limiteds yet produced.

We’ve just posted another round of Ebay auctions, including recently discovered items such as Crooked Little Vein (Warren Ellis); the Pearls from Peoria limited edition (Philip Jose Farmer); as well as some recent books such as Interworld (Gaiman and Reaves). Some start at bargain prices, some are listed at retail price. Head over and have a look.

Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves’ delightful YA novel, Interworld, is in stock and shipping. With over 450 of the 500 copies already sold on publication, it won’t last long.

Limited HC:

$60

Forty years have passed since Brian Lumley’s first story appeared, and he’s written a good many words of Mythos fiction, including critically acclaimed and award-nominated work, stories that have appeared in prestigious magazines such as Fantasy & Science Fiction, and hardcover volumes from publishers all over the world from the USA to China and the United Kingdom to Russia. But while Lumley’s novels are all currently available, many of them in hardcover format, his Mythos short stories and novellas have until now remained uncollected. Haggopian and Other Stories, the second volume of his Best Mythos Stories, rectifies that situation.

Lettered HC:

$200

Signed HC:

$40

Our shippers are picking up Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves’ Interworld today, and will begin shipping immediately. Roughly 450 of the 500 copies are already gone, and we have yet to receive some distributor orders. If you’re interested in picking up a copy, and helping out Michael Reaves in the process, you might want to snag a copy pronto. Thus far, we’ve sent checks for more than $4000 to Mr. Reaves to help him with his medical expenses, with much more $$ to follow. Thanks to everyone who has purchased a copy of Interworld. Your generosity is much appreciated.

On September 13, 1998, John Scalzi sat down in front of his computer to write the first entry in his blog “Whatever” — and changed the history of the Internet as we know it today.

Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded collects some of the best and most popular Whatever entries over the history of the blog, from some of the very first entries right up into 2008. It’s a decade of Whatever, presented in delightfully random form — just the way it should be.

Limited: 1000 numbered copies, signed by the author: $35
Lettered: 26 traycased copies, signed by the author and Wil Wheaton, author of the introduction: $250