Under Heaven

Successful Auction

I just received the following from Mr. Kay’s publicist and thought I’d share with you all:

Toronto – March 26, 2010 To celebrate the launch of Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay’s much anticipated new novel, Penguin Group (Canada) announced earlier this month that the first book off the press, autographed by the author, was up for bids on Ebay.com. Signed and verified by the publisher, it included a product identification slip and letter from the printing press identifying the book as the first copy printed in Canada. The auction wrapped up with a bid of CDN $535 submitted by Neil Negandhi of Toronto.

Negandhi, a long time fan, has also won an auction of the first copy/first edition of Kay’s Lord of Emperors in 2000, and another for the first copy of Ysabel in 2007. “I’m really looking forward to diving into another one of Kay’s beautifully constructed stories, this time half a world away in ancient China. Supported by fascinating characters and settings, Kay’s thoughtful writing always elevates his work into memorable explorations of ideas,” he raved.

Kay will match the winning bid and Penguin Group (Canada) will contribute $500 for a final sum of CDN $1570 to be donated to Indigo Books & Music, Inc.’s Love of Reading Fund. The fund directly supports high-needs elementary school literacy programs across Canada.

Earlier this month, Penguin Group (Canada) launched www.guygavrielkay.ca, a website dedicated entirely to Kay’s oeuvre, and featuring an array of music files, artwork, and downloadable wallpaper and posters, plus a first chapter excerpt of Under Heaven, a journal by the author, Twitter and Facebook links, book synopsis, and Canadian tour information.

Under Heaven is on-sale in Canada this week. Inspired by the glory of Tang Dynasty China in the eighth century, Guy Gavriel Kay melds history and the fantastic into something both powerful and emotionally compelling. Under Heaven is a novel on the grandest narrative scale, encompassing the intimate details of individual lives in an unforgettable time and place.

Guy Gavriel Kay is the author of ten previous novels and an acclaimed collection of poetry, Beyond This Dark House. His work has been translated into twenty-two languages and has sold over two million copies worldwide. Kay has twice won the Aurora Award, is a three-time World Fantasy Award nominee, and is the recipient of the International Goliardos Award for his contributions to the literature of the fantastic. He is currently writing the screenplay for the second of his novels in development for film. Last Light of the Sun has been optioned by Chartoff Productions and Ravinett Productions.

Under Heaven Is Under Auction


I just received the following from Guy Gavriel Kay’s publicist. I wish I could bid on this book, but I know it’s beyond me. If you can’t pay your bills on time, you really shouldn’t bid on a book. No matter how much you might REALLY want to.

To celebrate the worldwide launch of international bestseller Guy Gavriel Kay’s much anticipated new novel Under Heaven, Penguin Group (Canada) is auctioning the first book off the press anywhere in the world, autographed by the author. Signed and verified by the printer and the publisher, this first copy includes a product identification slip and letter from the printing press identifying the book as the first copy printed in Canada. The auction begins March 18, 2010 on eBay, and closes March 25, 2010.

All proceeds from the auction will be donated to Indigo Books & Music, Inc.’s Love of Reading Fund. The fund directly supports high-needs elementary school literacy programs across Canada. Guy Gavriel Kay will personally match the winning bid to a maximum of $1000 (CDN). Additionally, Penguin Canada will match the winning bid to a maximum of $500 (CDN).

Under Heaven will go on-sale in Canada on April 3 and April 27th in the U.S. Inspired by the glory of Tang Dynasty China in the eighth century, Guy Gavriel Kay melds history and the fantastic into something both powerful and emotionally compelling. Under Heaven is a novel on the grandest narrative scale, encompassing the intimate details of individual lives in an unforgettable time and place.

Earlier this month, Penguin Group (Canada) launched a website dedicated entirely to Kay’s oeuvre, and featuring an array of music files, artwork, and downloadable wallpaper and posters, plus a first chapter excerpt of Under Heaven, a journal by the author, Twitter and Facebook links, book synopsis, and Canadian tour information.

Stoked


I’ve kept quiet about some of this until I knew it would happen. Several months ago I discovered a favorite author of mine, Guy Gavriel Kay, has his next novel, “Under Heaven” coming out and it’s set in Alternative World Tang Dynasty China. Once I recovered from shock (he’s always stayed in Europe before) I contacted his press agent and was given the go ahead to receive a galley for review purposes. The reviews will go up in China History Forum Online’s newsletter, The Historical Novel Review site (where I currently have “Ransom” by David Malouf reviewed), The Ron Empire, my facebook account, She Writes, GoodReads and anywhere else I can think of to put it. It hasn’t arrived yet, but I feel like a bird of prey hovering over my mailbox.

It did not come this morning. I hope it arrives by Friday as I will have two hours of mine-all-mine reading time that morning. Can we say excited? I thought we could. 🙂

New Novel

Anyone who has read my blogs will know I’m a huge fan of Guy Gavriel Kay. Well, he has a new novel due out in April, 2010. You can check out his site (the link is in this post’s title), but here’s a brief snippet:

UNDER HEAVEN will be published in April 2010, and takes place in a world inspired by the glory and power of Tang Dynasty China in the 8th century, a world in which history and the fantastic meld into something both memorable and emotionally compelling.

As with all of Kay’s books, I look forward to this one!