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Why I'm Not Allowed On Twitter Unsupervised Any More: A Photo Essay

Key Notes:

Since this was posted I discovered that the books had briefly been available in the UK under the name Peter Beagle rather than Peter S. Beagle in the mid-90s, which is why they didn't show up on the British Library search

The article by Tor.com @torbooks: Peter S. Beagle Has Finally Regained the Rights to His Body of Work

If you want our gorgeous limited edition, I believe there are still a handful left (except for the US and Canada, sorry lads), and you can get it here. I'm not kidding when I say I got a little teary-eyed when these showed up.

[Image Description: A tweet thread from the Gollancz twitter dated 20th July 2022, which goes as follows -

Tweet 1: You may have seen that we're printing a Brand New Edition of The Last Unicorn. We're very excited! I was asked to tweet about it. I wasn't asked to do it quite like this, but I also wasn't asked NOT to do it like this, and I have the twitter login so whose fault is that? (Thread emoji, and gif from the film Scream reading 'The Call is coming from inside the house!')

Tweet 2: Imagine, if you will, you are a small child in the UK during the late 80s/early 90s. You might look a bit like this, or you might have had parents who didn't choose suffering (ask my mum about The Saga of the Hat) (an image of a small girl approximately 3 years old wearing a blue dress and a big white hat)

Tweet 3: Imagine you have a cool older cousin, one who, as you get age, introduces you to fantasy films like Ladyhawk and The Princess Bride and has a post the whole family knows as 'the vampire and the naked lady'. She's extremely responsible for the way you turn out as an adult.

Tweet 4: One year, for your birthday, this cousin buys you a video. It's the first video that is yours, not to share. It has a bright yellow cover. The butterfly scares you. But you watch it on a loop. You don't realise how special it is, but it's a seed that burrows into your brain. (An image of a VHS of The Last Unicorn)

Tweet 5: A decade or so later, in your teens, you rediscover it. None of your friends have heard of it, despite also being fantasy-inclined. That's odd, you think. Is this an outlandishly weird title? Then you get older and you realise: no, it isn't. (Principal Skinner meme reading 'Am I out of touch? No, it's the people who don't know about The Last Unicorn who are wrong')

Tweet 6: Time and tech march on, you get a DVD of the film. You realise it's got Christopher Lee in it! And Angela Lansbury! Your mum tries to get you to listen to songs by America other than the soundtrack, but the only one that really sticks is the other one they did about a horse. (Gif of Walter White from Breaking Bad singing along to Horse With No Name)

Tweet 7: You realise that the film is based on a book. Like The Princess Bride, which you've also read (after spending longer than you're proud of trying to find an unabridged edition). 'Neat,' you think, 'I'll have to read that!'

Tweet 8: And then you can't find it. Because, as mentioned previously, you're in the UK. The Last Unicorn was published for the first time in 1968. But, if you look at the British Library's National Bibliography (super neat resource btw), that was, uh, about it. (screenshot of the search results from the National Bibliography showing four editions of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, one from Gollancz in 2022, one from IDW in 2019, one from Tachyon Publications in 2018, and one from Bodley Head in 1968)

Tweet 9: The Tachyon edition is the unfinished first draft of the story. The IDW edition is a gorgeous graphic novel. But in terms of the novel? I don't know how many reprints it had (if anyone knows, I'd love to find out), but there's a good chance it went out of print in the 70s.

Tweet 10: The film, however, was released in 1982. Although it didn't make it to the UK until 1986. Conservative estimates could put that between 10 and 15 years since the book was last available in the UK. This gives you a generation in the UK who only know the story through the film! (A screenshot of the IMDB page showing the different release dates for The Last Unicorn around the world)

Tweet 11: The screenplay was written by Peter S. Beagle, and made by the legendary animation directors Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass. That's right, the guys behind Thundercats and 2 out of the 3 films based on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Tweet 12: The Book has been in print in the USA (and possibly all of North America) constantly since its publication, so it seems baffling that people in the UK haven't heard of it. As the internet became more prominent, however, it became easier to just... import a copy of the book.

Tweet 13: But! This also isn't quite as simple as you think. You see, until last year the rights to The Last Unicorn were tied up in legal limbo. And the US edition of the book contained changes that Peter wasn't happy with. (Link to the Tor.com article about the rights)

Tweet 14: Back to you, the 80s/90s kid, who is now an adult, happy that unicorns are A Thing again and you're living your best life. You're very easy to buy presents for. Your partner despairs of unicorns. You get a job working in books about magic and space. (unicorn emoji and photograph of a collection of unicorn memorabilia, including three different versions of The Last Unicorn)

Tweet 15: You mention that one day you would like to publish The Last Unicorn. That if you did, you would like to do a really beautiful edition of it. And you would like it to be purple. Because since the film is what you know, you associate it with purple.

Tweet 16: And, after taking a very circuitous route, here we are! This is the original text, that was first published in 1968. Reading it after you have only seen the film is the strangest experience - like being introduced to a very dear friend that you have never met before.

Tweet 17: Peter's screenplay kept the voice of the story so well, you can hear the characters when you read the book. But now there's so much more depth, softness and warmth to it. The butterfly doesn't seem so scary any more. And, it's beautiful. And it's purple. (Image of a hardback edition of The Last Unicorn, with a black base, purple background, and a linocut image of the unicorn in her wood. On the black cover underneath is a foiled unicorn with the moon and butterfly, the page edges are sprayed purple, and the endpapers are black with silver butterflies)

Tweet 18: Anyway, I've taken you on a three day trip that could have been done in a single tweet, but that's what happens when you let me drive. This edition is the limited exclusive one only available through the Gollancz Emporium and you can preorder here: (link to Gollancz Emporium)

Tweet 19: But there is also a standard edition available through all booksellers! You'll be getting the author's preferred text, with an introduction from Patrick Rothfuss. There's also a brand new audiobook and it will be available in eBook for the first time ever.

Tweet 20: It's like going from famine to feast, and I wasn't able to talk about this for months so now I am able to talk about it, I'm going to make the social media team cry. UNICORNS. SPECIAL EDITION. PURPLE. The End.

Tweet 21: Additional behind the scenes bonus detail - I did take this cover to the art meaning while wearing a unicorn onesie.

Tweet 22: The comms team wrestling me away from the twitter account: (gif of Ross from Friends shouting 'Stop typing! Stop typing!')

End ID]

[nerdslikeme]

When you show the design department an unhinged idea you scribbled in a notebook at midnight, and they translate it into ART

[nerdslikeme]

BLOG: An End-of-Year Reflection

I took some time at the end of the year (uh.... start of the year) to look at where I've been, and what I want to focus on ahead.

It’s been a while (about two years in fact) since I’ve had time to sit down and write a blog post – book recs have been tricky enough! The last six months in particular have been really quite intense, and I’m extremely glad I had a block of time booked off over Christmas to try and catch my breath. Back in October, I celebrated my two-year anniversary at Gollancz, and then on the 1st November, I…

[nerdslikeme]

You can get your COMPLETELY FREE tickets here!

If it helps convince you one way or another, I will be the stressed and hyper moderator, quizzing my boss and colleagues to within an inch of their lives for your benefit and entertainment!

EVENT KLAXON: Ask an Editor - How to Get Published

Orion Books, UK Publisher of the year in 2021 at the British Book Awards, is running a FREE EVENT next Wednesday, 29th June 2022. Three editors across different areas of the business - SFF, commercial and literary fiction, and non-fiction - will be giving some insight into their roles, what they look for in a submission, and answering audience questions.

Link to follow in the post below!

[nerdslikeme]

EVENT KLAXON: Ask an Editor - How to Get Published

Orion Books, UK Publisher of the year in 2021 at the British Book Awards, is running a FREE EVENT next Wednesday, 29th June 2022. Three editors across different areas of the business - SFF, commercial and literary fiction, and non-fiction - will be giving some insight into their roles, what they look for in a submission, and answering audience questions.

Link to follow in the post below!

[nerdslikeme]

BOOK REC: Rich People Problems - Kevin Kwan

The final CRAZY RICH ASIANS book continues to be perfect holiday fodder, but brings in some history of the Young family to give us context to what we've seen until now.

Author: Kevin Kwan (twitter / website) UK Publisher: Corvus Genre: Contemporary fiction, satire See Also: Crazy Rich Asians | China Rich Girlfriend Nicholas Young’s grandmother Su Yi is on her deathbed. While he rushes to be by her bedside, he’s not the only one. The entire Shang-Young clan has convened from all corners of the globe to stake claim on their matriarch’s massive fortune. With…

[nerdslikeme]

RELEVANT LINKS:

About Hodderscape

About the Prize

How to Enter

Make sure to read the submissions guidelines carefully. The closing date is midnight UK time on 30th September 2022.

If you would like your worok looked at before you submit, I offer editorial services - please get in touch and I would be happy to help!

SCIENCE FICTION UK DEBUTS WRITING PRIZE

It is all go in the SF fiction community at the moment as Hodderscape have announce their debut writing prize in collaboration with the Science Museum.

Hodderscape are the SF imprint for Hodder and Stoughton, and they publish authors such as Becky Chambers, Stephanie Garber, T.J. Klune, Micaiah Johnson, Chloe Gong… They’re a big old deal.

           The prize      

                                                   First place

£4,000

A full critique of your work

A six-month-long mentoring programme with Hodderscape Editorial Director Molly Powell

An introduction to three literary agents

Runner up

£2,000

A full critique of your work submitted

The rest of the shortlist will receive a cash prize of £800, and feedback from the judging panel.

           How to enter      

Writers will be able to submit their entries via a landing page which will open on 4 June 2022 and close at midnight on 30 September 2022. Check back in June to find out more

Applicants will be able to submit entries of 10,000 words consisting of the opening of a novel that fits into the science fiction genre and a 500-word synopsis

Writers must be unpublished and not represented by a literary agent, and residents of the United Kingdom

A shortlist will be announced at the Science Museum’s Lates on 26 October 2022, and the winner will be selected in January 2023 by a panel of well-known SF authors and industry figures.

Unlike the Gollancz submissions, this is only open to unrepped authors in the UK, and has a cash prize but no guarantee of representation or publication.

[nerdslikeme]

SCIENCE FICTION UK DEBUTS WRITING PRIZE

It is all go in the SF fiction community at the moment as Hodderscape have announce their debut writing prize in collaboration with the Science Museum.

Hodderscape are the SF imprint for Hodder and Stoughton, and they publish authors such as Becky Chambers, Stephanie Garber, T.J. Klune, Micaiah Johnson, Chloe Gong... They’re a big old deal.

           The prize      

                                                   First place

£4,000

A full critique of your work

A six-month-long mentoring programme with Hodderscape Editorial Director Molly Powell

An introduction to three literary agents

Runner up

£2,000

A full critique of your work submitted

The rest of the shortlist will receive a cash prize of £800, and feedback from the judging panel.

           How to enter      

Writers will be able to submit their entries via a landing page which will open on 4 June 2022 and close at midnight on 30 September 2022. Check back in June to find out more

Applicants will be able to submit entries of 10,000 words consisting of the opening of a novel that fits into the science fiction genre and a 500-word synopsis

Writers must be unpublished and not represented by a literary agent, and residents of the United Kingdom

A shortlist will be announced at the Science Museum’s Lates on 26 October 2022, and the winner will be selected in January 2023 by a panel of well-known SF authors and industry figures.

Unlike the Gollancz submissions, this is only open to unrepped authors in the UK, and has a cash prize but no guarantee of representation or publication.

[nerdslikeme]

RELEVANT LINKS:

About Gollancz

Open Submissions Details

OPEN SUBMISSIONS - SFF AND HORROR NOVELS

ALERT FOR ALL WRITERS OF ADULT FANTASY, SCIENCE FICTION AND HORROR NOVELS

Gollancz - the oldest dedicated SFF and Horror genre imprint in the world, UK Imprint of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2021, UK publisher of Joe Hill, Brandon Sanderson, Joanne Harris, Joe Abercrombie, Kristin Cashore and Jonathan Sims - is open to unagented submissions from authors who have not previously been published in the UK from 1st June 2022.

The submissions are open for 30 days, closing at 11:59 pm UK Time on the 30th June.

This is an incredible opportunity - it has been a long time since Gollancz was open to unagented submissions, so if you have a novel ready to go, make sure to get it in.

You do NOT have to be based in the UK to submit, you just have to have not been published in the UK previously.

If you have a novel waiting to go, submit it now!!

Go Go Go!

(Please note, while I do offer editorial services, I won’t be able to provide these for any books you intend to submit for this, as I will be involved in the process. I’m happy to have any questions you have about it, however!)

[nerdslikeme]

OPEN SUBMISSIONS - SFF AND HORROR NOVELS

ALERT FOR ALL WRITERS OF ADULT FANTASY, SCIENCE FICTION AND HORROR NOVELS

Gollancz - the oldest dedicated SFF and Horror genre imprint in the world, UK Imprint of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2021, UK publisher of Joe Hill, Brandon Sanderson, Joanne Harris, Joe Abercrombie, Kristin Cashore and Jonathan Sims - is open to unagented submissions from authors who have not previously been published in the UK from 1st June 2022.

The submissions are open for 30 days, closing at 11:59 pm UK Time on the 30th June.

This is an incredible opportunity - it has been a long time since Gollancz was open to unagented submissions, so if you have a novel ready to go, make sure to get it in.

You do NOT have to be based in the UK to submit, you just have to have not been published in the UK previously.

If you have a novel waiting to go, submit it now!!

Go Go Go!

(Please note, while I do offer editorial services, I won’t be able to provide these for any books you intend to submit for this, as I will be involved in the process. I’m happy to have any questions you have about it, however!)

[nerdslikeme]

BOOK REC: Deepwater King (The Deepwater Trilogy #2) - Claire McKenna

I kept this book on my tbr pile for so long to savour it, because I wanted time to really enjoy it properly. And then I took even longer to review it because I struggled to find the best background for the beautiful cover!

Author: Claire McKenna (website / twitter) UK Publisher: HarperCollins Genre: Fantasy See Also: Monstrous Heart Since losing her great love to the Queen of the Sainted Isles, Arden must fulfil an impossible promise before she can return home – she must complete the dangerous Rite that will return Jonah’s spirit to the abyssal Court of the Deepwater King. This sets her off on a journey far out…

[nerdslikeme]

OPEN SUBMISSIONS - SFF and Horror!!

ALERT FOR ALL WRITERS OF ADULT FANTASY, SCIENCE FICTION AND HORROR NOVELS

Gollancz - the oldest dedicated SFF and Horror genre imprint in the world, UK Imprint of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2021, UK publisher of Joe Hill, Brandon Sanderson, Joanne Harris, Joe Abercrombie, Kristin Cashore and Jonathan Sims - is open to unagented submissions from authors who have not previously been published in the UK from TODAY, 1st June 2022.

YOU CAN FIND SUBMISSION INFORMATION HERE

The submissions are open for 30 days, closing at 11:59 pm UK Time on the 30th June.

This is an incredible opportunity - it has been a long time since Gollancz was open to unagented submissions, so if you have a novel ready to go, make sure to get it in.

You do NOT have to be based in the UK to submit, you just have to have not been published in the UK previously.

If you have a novel waiting to go, submit it now!!

Go Go Go!

(Please note, while I do offer editorial services, I won’t be able to provide these for any books you intend to submit for this, as I will be involved in the process. I’m happy to have any questions you have about it, however!)

[nerdslikeme]

BOOK REC: Aurora's End (The Aurora Cycle #3) - Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufmann

I remember getting the first instalment in this trilogy for Christmas in 2019 and being giddy about it. Finally finishing AURORA'S END and the series was a little emotional, and not just because of the weepy bits in the book.

Authors: Amie Kaufman (website / twitter) and Jay Kristoff (website / twitter) UK Publisher: Rock the Boat Genre: Science fiction, YA See Also: Aurora Rising | Aurora Burning The squad you love is out of time. Prepare for the thrilling finale in the epic, bestselling Aurora Cycle series about a band of unlikely heroes who just might be the galaxy’s last hope for survival. Is this the end?…

[nerdslikeme]

BOOK REC: Hollowpox (Nevermoor #3) - Jessica Townsend

Another instalment of the Nevermoor series is here! I'm very late reading it (which means I don't have to wait so long for the next one)! I'm also concerned Jessica Townsend might be psychic!

Author: Jessica Townsend (twitter) UK Publisher: Orion Children’s Books Genre: Fantasy, children’s fiction See Also: Nevermoor | Wundersmith Morrigan Crow is determined, daring and ready for a new challenge: to step into her destiny as a Wundersmith, master the mysterious Wretched Arts, and control the power that threatens to consume her. She and her friends are proud to be in their second…

[nerdslikeme]

BOOK REC: Hawkeye - Matt Fraction, David Aja

Like a lot of people, I watched the new Hawkeye series when it came out at Christmas. It just made me want to re-read the Fraction omnibus which clearly inspired it.

Author/Artist: Matt Fraction (website), David Aja (website / twitter), Matt Hollingsworth (website / twitter) UK Publisher: Marvel/Panini UK Genre: Superhero, action, graphic novel Like a lot of people, I watched the new Hawkeye series when it came out at Christmas. I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest Marvel fan – if anything at this stage I’m eking out the end of the sunk cost fallacy in that I…

[nerdslikeme]

BOOK REC: The Keeper of Lost Things - Ruth Hogan

I got THE KEEPER OF LOST THINGS as a Christmas present years ago, but kept not-quite reading it. It turned out, I was just waiting for when I needed something especially warm and gentle.

Author: Ruth Hogan (website / twitter) UK Publisher: Two Roads Genre: UpLit, romance, contemporary fiction Meet the ‘Keeper of Lost Things’… Once a celebrated author of short stories now in his twilight years, Anthony Peardew has spent half his life collecting lost objects, trying to atone for a promise broken many years before. Realising he is running out of time, he leaves his house and all…

[nerdslikeme]

BOOK REC: Threadneedle - Cari Thomas

You ever stumble across something which you know would have become your entire identity if you'd come across it when you were younger? Yeah, that's THREADNEEDLE.

Author: Cari Thomas (website / twitter) UK Publisher: Harper Voyager Genre: YA fantasy Within the boroughs of London, nestled among its streets, hides another city, filled with magic. ‘Magic and love. Love and magic. They destroy everything in the end …’ Anna’s Aunt has always warned her of the dangers of magic. Its twists. Its knots. Its deadly consequences. Now Anna counts down the days to…