Category: Contests
- The Orbit Team - March 27th, 2009
Thanks again to everyone who came out to see Mike Carey and Kate Griffin at Forbidden Planet last night! It was a fantastic event and special thanks to Danie, Jon and the whole Forbidden Planet team for setting it up. Also, a big ol’ thanks to Gav, Graeme, Liz and Mark, and Simon and Mathew for coming by to say hi!
And for those who didn’t get a chance to attend the signing we’re giving you a chance to win 3 sets of signed copies of Thicker Than Water and A Madness of Angels. All you have to do to enter is email us at orbit@littlebrown.co.uk. Closing date is April 3rd. Good luck!
by The Orbit Team • 1 Comment • Posted in: All posts, Contents, Contests, Orbit UK, Signings and Events
- The Orbit Team - January 16th, 2009
Brandon Sanderson, who is completing Robert Jordan’s epic Wheel of Time series, is giving fans two chances to win a walk-on role in A Memory of Light and raise money for charity at the same time.
From his website:
I realized that we had something very special in the Wheel of Time book–an opportunity that shouldn’t be passed up. I wrote an email to Harriet, telling her about the charity that Pat had been using for his drive. It’s called Heifer International. Instead of just giving food to the poor, they go into developing countries, give them animals to care for, and teach them how to use the livestock to create a sustainable source of income and food. It’s a fantastic idea, and a worthy charity. I asked Harriet if she’d mind me auctioning off a character in A Memory of Light. She was behind that 100%. As some of you may know, Robert Jordan did something like this once, giving a walk-on part to a fan in one of the books. There are a LOT of people who need to be named in this story, and so why not let a few of those names and descriptions go to real people?
You can get the full details of both chances at his website here.
by The Orbit Team • Post a Comment • Posted in: All posts, Contents, Contests, Orbit UK
- The Orbit Team - January 15th, 2009
To celebrate the release of TWO amazing Karen Miller books this month, Hammer of God (US/UK), and, under the name K.E. Mills, The Accidental Sorcerer (US/UK), we’re giving you a chance to win signed copies of Karen’s first four books.
For the next four Mondays, we’re going to be giving away a series of signed books and all you have to do to enter is be a fan on Karen’s Facebook page.
Full details are on the fan page – hope to see you all there soon!
by The Orbit Team • 4 Comments • Posted in: All posts, Contents, Contests, News, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Special Offers
- Darren Turpin - December 3rd, 2008
Following an office re-shuffle here at Orbit Towers we’ve unearthed a batch of books that were put aside for a special occasion. December 25th or thereabouts is always pretty special for a variety of reasons, so we thought that we’d take the opportunity to spread a little joy with a seasonal Goodie-Bags Giveaway…
What’s in the bags? What’s in the bags?
A whole heap of good stuff! The number of Goodie-Bags will vary, as will their contents, but they could include some (although not necessarily all) of the following:
- - Proof (ARC) copies of Matter by Iain M. Banks (and possibly a signed hardback or two)
- - Proof (ARC) copies of Halting State by Charles Stross
- - Hardback copies of The Execution Channel by Ken MacLeod
…and all sorts of other assorted loot as well.
What do I have to do? What do I have to do?
The sweepstake is open to everyone who is a member of the Orbit UK e-bulletin list as of 5.00 p.m. (UK time) on Monday December 15th. If you’re already a member of the Orbit UK ebulletin list then you don’t have to do a thing; you’ll automatically be entered into the draw, as long as you don’t unsubscribe from the list before the sweepstake closing date.
On the other hand, if you’re not already receiving our regular eBulletins, then you’ll need to visit the ebulletin sign-up page and subscribe to the Orbit UK list to be in with a chance of winning a Goodie-Bag (and do feel free to subscribe to our US and Australian lists at the same time!)
When will I get my Goodie-Bag? Eh? Eh?
Well, if you’re one of the lucky winners, we’ll do our best to get your Goodie-Bag sent out in time for delivery before December 25th, but depending on where you live, your books might arrive a little later…
Standard competition rules apply, Orbit’s decision as to the number and contents of the Goodie-Bags will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into, etc.
by Darren Turpin • 5 Comments • Posted in: Contests, Orbit UK
- Darren Turpin - November 14th, 2008
Fantasy author J. V. Jones is running a photo-competition via her website and journal to mark the paperback release of A Sword From Red Ice [UK], the latest instalment in her Sword of Shadows saga.
Here’s a bit of the old explanatory from J. V.:
Here it is, the chance to win all sorts of goodies: a complete set of signed J.V. Jones books (seven and counting), artwork, cover flats, collectible (and extremely rare) galley copies, etc. You get the idea: extremely cool prizes will be given.
All you have to do is take a photo of yourself and A Sword From Red Ice. Mug it up for the camera, dress up, dress down, use experimental media, commandeer family and friends, get outside, stay inside, reenact a scene from the book, eat a sandwich, go on location to the bookstore or the woods. Whatever you do: Take a photo. Then send that photo [to J. V. - email address given in her Journal]. We’ll post it on the website, everyone can have their say, and may the best photo win.
Simple as that, folks, but please do visit JVJones.com (where a few early entries have been posted already) for full competition rules and the email address to send your photos to [N.B. Don't send your photos to us here at Orbit, in case we don't get a chance to send them on to J. V. before the deadline!]
by Darren Turpin • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contests, News, Orbit UK
- Alex Lencicki - September 5th, 2008
The Orbit US edition of Orcs is out next week, but the verdict is in on the cover model: UGLY. Which is, of course, exactly what we were going for when we hired the orc on the cover (we interviewed hundreds of orcs before settling on Walter, who had the perfect combination of pathos, anger and ugly.)
Walter’s visage has proven too ugly even for some of the genre’s most prominent critics. Jeff VanderMeer (who, let’s be honest, must have seen an awful lot of ugly covers in his years as an SFF critic) eventually decided he had to pretty up the orc.
Jeff writes:
“Just look at what a few randomly applied stars, flowers, smiley-faces, and the like can do to make a cover more humane! In fact, maybe Orbit should even run a “Beautify Your Orcs” contest. I bet readers would get a kick out of that.”
So inspired by Jeff’s suggestion, we’re asking you to beautify Walter. Here’s a link to a jpg image of the cover – Photoshop it, print it out and draw on it, scribble on it in MS Paint – then post the result to your blog or send us a copy of the image. To sweeten the deal we’ll send a copy of Orcs to the first five people to email their image to orbit@hbgusa.com .
Where did Walter come from, you ask? Our orc was sculpted by Nimba Creations, an FX firm that has created effects for films including King Kong, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Nightmare on Elm St.
Every wrinkle, scar, and pore on Walter was done by hand. And there are a lot of lovely details that you don’t see on the final cover – Walter’s slightly beseeching eyes and gloriously awful teeth. You can practically smell his breath just looking at him.
by Alex Lencicki • 2 Comments • Posted in: Contents, Contests, New Titles, Orbit US
- The Orbit Team - August 19th, 2008
We’re hugely excited about the recent release of Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series here in the UK. Shapeshifters, werewolves, vampires and mechanics? We were hooked!
And now there’s not one but two opportunity to win the entire series – Moon Called, Blood Bound, and Iron Kissed – and check them out for yourself. Visit LoveVampires.com and Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review for your chance(s) to win today!
by The Orbit Team • Post a Comment • Posted in: All posts, Contents, Contests, News, Orbit UK
- Alex Lencicki - July 31st, 2008
The Orcs are coming! And to help introduce them we’ve created an Orc Mail website and Orc widgets.
And… if you’re one of the first ten people to post an Orc widget to your website or myspace page, and you email us the link at orbit@hbgusa.com, we’ll send you a finished copy of the book when it’s available in September! (US residents only!)
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contents, Contests, Orbit US
- Darren Turpin - July 4th, 2008
Midnight on Monday was the cut-off point for entries to our Midnight Never Come prize quiz competition and Tuesday saw a flurry of activity as the overall winner and runners-up were selected (by means of our polyhedral plastic random number generating system) from amongst the fantastic volume of correct entries we received.
Thank you very much indeed to everyone who took part, and we do hope you enjoyed puzzling out the answers. All the winners were contacted earlier this week, so I’m afraid if you haven’t heard from us by now, then your luck wasn’t in… at least, not this time – do keep your eye out for more Orbit competitions in the future.
The overall winner – who will soon be enjoying a $500 spending spree with their book retailer of choice, as well as receiving a signed copy of Marie Brennan‘s Midnight Never Come – is:
Carmen R from Columbus, Georgia
And the ten runners-up, who will be receiving a signed copy of Midnight Never Come, are (in approximate order of distance from Orbit’s London HQ):
- Ian S from Dunstable, Bedfordshire
- Linda R from Mildenhall, Suffolk
- Susie A from Alsager, Cheshire
- Bill T from Huyton, Merseyside
- Brian S from Beverley, East Yorkshire
- Kathleen G from Haddon Heights, New Jersey
- Charlene C from Hymera, Indiana
- Mary W from Chicago, Illinois
- Kristy G from Orem, Utah
- Dawn L from Redwood City, California
Many congratulations to our overall winner and runners-up, and we do hope you all thoroughly enjoy reading Midnight Never Come!
by Darren Turpin • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contests, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- Darren Turpin - June 23rd, 2008
The sixth and final question in our Midnight Never Come themed prize quiz went live on Friday, on the Competition Gallery page over at www.midnightnevercome.com.
Correctly unravelling all six cryptic clues will grant you six entries to our email sweepstake. The competition will remain open for entries until midnight (GMT) on June 30, after which the over-all winner and runners-up will be drawn at random from the correct entries received.
So, you still have a week to puzzle out the answers and make sure you’re in the running for the £250 / $500 book voucher first prize..! What are you waiting for? www.midnightnevercome.com!
[P.S. Don't forget, if you wish to gain entry to Invidiana's court, you'll need to look to the moon...]
by Darren Turpin • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contests, Orbit UK, Orbit US
Thanks again to everyone who came out to see Mike Carey and Kate Griffin at Forbidden Planet last night! It was a fantastic event and special thanks to Danie, Jon and the whole Forbidden Planet team for setting it up. Also, a big ol’ thanks to Gav, Graeme, Liz and Mark, and Simon and Mathew for coming by to say hi!
