Category: Contents
- Ellen Wright - January 31st, 2012
If you’re in the US or the UK, here are some of the places you can see Orbit authors in February, from bookstore signings to conventions.
February 2-4th: SFX Weekender
This convention in Prestatyn Sands, North Wales, will play host to several Orbit authors. Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Benedict Jacka, Michael Cobley, and Ken MacLeod will all be on panels and signing books (full schedule) — and we will have exclusive early copies of MacLeod’s Intrusion and Jacka’s Fated available. Plus, our own Anne Clarke will appear on the “How to Get Published” panel on Friday evening.
Saturday, February 4th
Gail Z. Martin at B&N Carolina Place Mall, Pineville, NC, 1 PM.
Mira Grant (with Stephen Blackmoore) at Borderlands Books, San Francisco, CA, 3 PM.
Friday, February 10th
Gail Z. Martin at B&N Morrison Place, Charlotte, NC.
Saturday, February 11th
Gail Z. Martin at Books-a-Million Concord Mills, Concord, NC.
Wednesday, February 15th
N.K. Jemisin (with Livia Llewellyn) at KGB Fantastic Fiction, New York, NY, 7 PM.
February 17-19: SheVaCon
Gail Z. Martin will be at this science fiction convention in Roanoke, VA.
Thursday, February 23rd
Kate Griffin & Benedict Jacka signing advance copies of their new books (both being published in March) at Forbidden Planet, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, 6pm
February 24-26th: MystiCon
Gail Z. Martin will be at this SFF and horror convention in Roanoke, VA — including a launch party for The Dread in the con suite at 7 PM on Friday.
Saturday, February 25th
Gail Carriger as keynote speaker at the inaugural Passion & Prose Conference, Long Beach, CA.
Walter Jon Williams at Page One Bookstore, Albuquerque, NM, 7 PM.
Sunday, February 26th
Gail Carriger at SF in SF, San Francisco, CA, 1 PM.
Gail Carriger at Borderlands Books, San Francisco, CA, 6 PM.
Monday, February 27th
Robert Jackson Bennett at Book People, Austin, TX, 7 PM.
Wednesday, February 29th
Yes, it’s a leap year! Gail Carriger will be kicking off her tour for Timeless at Powell’s Books at Cedar Hill Crossing, Beaverton, OR, 7 PM.
by Ellen Wright • Post a Comment • Posted in: Orbit UK, Orbit US, Signings and Events
- Anna Gregson - January 31st, 2012
Released in February is The Legend of Eli Monpress ( US | UK | ANZ) - Rachel Aaron‘s fantasy tale of the incorrigible thief who plans to pull of the greatest heist in history . . . If you’re a fan of K. E. Mills’ Rogue Agent series or Scott Lynch’s Lies of Locke Lamora then this is likely right up your street. You can sample the delights of an extract right here.
This edition contains the three titles The Spirit Thief, The Spirit Rebellion and The Spirit Eater – all in one handy volume and topped off with this gorgeous packaging from Sam Weber (see this great post here showing him at work in his studio on these very illustrations).
Take a minute to stop by Rachel Aaron’s attractive new site, where’s she’s posted some very interesting tidbits recently, such as this fantastic book trailer put together by our friends at Orbit France for the très sophistiquée French version of The Legend of Eli Monpress. Also, check out this extremely creative pictorial review for The Spirit Thief, part one of the Legend. Good effort!
Read on for the blurb and some great reviews: Read the rest of this entry »
by Anna Gregson • Post a Comment • Posted in: Extracts, New Titles, Orbit Australia, Orbit France, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews, Videos
- Rose Tremlett - January 20th, 2012
We are delighted that two Orbit titles have been shortlisted for this year’s Kitschies - awards that celebrate the most ‘progressive, intelligent and entertaining works of genre literature’, run by the excellent Pornokitsch website.
Jesse Bullington’s The Enterprise of Death is a finalist for the Red Tentacle for best novel, and the cover for Simon Morden’s Equations of Life is a finalist for the Inky Tentacle for best cover. Congratulations to Jesse and our very own designer Lauren Panepinto!
To celebrate we want to give you the opportunity to read these great books and judge for yourselves. We have 10 copies of each to give away. Just fill in your details below and we’ll pick the winner in two weeks time, the day before the winners are announced at the SFX Weekender 3 Kitschies Award Ceremony (sponsored by Kraken Rum, making it even more certain to be a great event).
Please read the full terms and conditions.
cforms contact form by delicious:days
by Rose Tremlett • 3 Comments • Posted in: Art, Awards, Contests, Covers, Giveaway, News, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Uncategorized
- Ellen Wright - January 19th, 2012
The Mystery Writers of America announced their nominees for the 2012 Edgar Award this morning, and Robert Jackson Bennett’s The Company Man (US | UK | ANZ) will be on the ballot for ‘Best Paperback Original’!
This comes on the heels of The Company Man‘s Philip K. Dick Award nomination, and almost exactly a month before the release of Robert’s new novel, The Troupe (US | UK | ANZ). The Troupe follows 16-year-old piano prodigy George Carole and the mysterious vaudeville troupe he runs away to join, whose performances have a strange effect on their audiences. George gradually realizes the troupe is not simply touring: they are running for their lives.
by Ellen Wright • Post a Comment • Posted in: Awards, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Uncategorized
- James Long - January 13th, 2012
UNCLEAN SPIRITS (UK | ANZ) is out (at last!) in the UK and our international markets this month. It’s the first novel in the Black Sun’s Daughter series by M. L. N. Hanover and we think you’re going to love it: a pacy, action-packed urban fantasy featuring Jayné Heller, a heroine who is strong and sassy, yet who often doubts her ability to tackle the burden that life has given her. As Kelley Armstrong so rightly says, she’s great!
Jayné Heller has always lacked a clear direction in life. She’s just dropped out of college and she really doesn’t get on with her family. So when her uncle Eric dies and leaves all his worldly possessions to her (which just so happens to include properties all over the globe, along with a considerable amount of cash) it seems that she has the chance to start her life afresh.
Except that this new-found wealth comes with a sinister price. It turns out that her uncle spent most of his life fighting a secret battle against ‘riders’ – evil spirits that take over human bodies and then control them. And it seems to be Jayné’s responsiblity to carry on this war from where her uncle left off . . .
UNCLEAN SPIRITS is available now and we’ll be continuing the series over the next few months: DARKER ANGELS comes out in February, VICIOUS GRACE in March and KILLING RITES in April.
Read a sample of UNCLEAN SPIRITS here!
Praise for UNCLEAN SPIRITS:
‘A strong beginning to an intriguing Urban Fantasy series, Unclean Spirits introduces readers to a fascinating new supernatural world. M. L. N. Hanover’s debut novel in the genre teems with promise, and I am excited to see where the next book leads’ - Book Smugglers
Between the novel’s energetic pacing, Jayné’s undeniable charm, and the intriguing concept behind the riders, Unclean Spirits is a solid entry in the urban fantasy genre’ - Fantasy Book Critic
‘Hanover’s treatment of the subject matter makes it a very entertaining book where the pages turn all too easily. I’ll be back for more and I reckon I’ll see you there with me’ – Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review
by James Long • Post a Comment • Posted in: New Titles, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK
- Jenni Hill - January 11th, 2012
We’re really pleased to reveal the cover for the second volume of Helen Lowe ’s epic fantasy series, THE GATHERING OF THE LOST, (UK|ANZ) which will be out this April! Click on the images below for the super high-resolution versions…
The covers have been designed by Duncan Spilling, one of our in-house designers here at Orbit, and we feel that they really get across the spirit of this fantastic series. The first book in the Wall of Night series, HEIR OF NIGHT (UK|ANZ), is coming out in paperback next week, on January 19th! HEIR OF NIGHT has also got a beautiful cover, we’re sure you’ll agree…
by Jenni Hill • 5 Comments • Posted in: Art, Covers, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK
- Ellen Wright - January 10th, 2012
The nominees for the 2012 Philip K. Dick Award, for science fiction paperback originals, were announced today, including three books from Orbit: The Company Man (US | UK | ANZ) by Robert Jackson Bennett, Deadline (US | UK | ANZ) by Mira Grant, and the Samuil Petrovitch trilogy by Simon Morden (comprising Equations of Life [US | UK | ANZ], Theories of Flight [US | UK | ANZ], and Degrees of Freedom [US | UK | ANZ]).
The award will be presented by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and the Philip K. Dick Trust to the winner at Norwescon in Seattle on Friday, April 6, 2012. The full list of nominees appears below.
- A Soldier’s Duty by Jean Johnson (Ace Books)
- After the Apocalypse by Maureen F. McHugh (Small Beer Press)
- Deadline by Mira Grant (Orbit)
- The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett (Orbit)
- The Other by Matthew Hughes (Underland Press)
- The Postmortal by Drew Magary (Penguin Books)
- The Samuil Petrovitch Trilogy by Simon Morden (Orbit)
by Ellen Wright • 3 Comments • Posted in: Awards, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- Kirk Benshoff - January 10th, 2012
I’m super excited to show you the cover to the omnibus of Brent Weeks’ Night Angel trilogy. I was so excited when I heard I was working on this project. We wanted to repackage this series in a way that communicated the epic adventure but also looked badass on a coffee table: an element of sophistication and collectability.
We eventually decided to do the black cover with the blind spot glossing of the pattern in the background, the Night Angel title and Brent’s name in foil and the sword front and center. The sword was the biggest challenge since we needed to bring to life something that’s only been described in text. After considering all of our options, which included thinking about having someone fabricate a Curoch to shoot, we eventually decided a photo illustration allotted us the most flexibility with regards to tweaking an editing the final image.
I had an absolute blast working on this project. Anytime I get to research weapons, makes me a very happy designer. After a bunch of rounds tweaking and fine tuning, we came up with what you see in the final design.
by Kirk Benshoff • 4 Comments • Posted in: All posts, Covers, Orbit US
- Tom Bouman - January 9th, 2012
I am thrilled to report that Will McIntosh is writing a novel for Orbit based on his stunning 2010 Hugo Award-winning short story “Bridesicle.” Three hundred years in the future, technology has extended the lives of the rich and attractive decades. The wealthy can arrange to be reanimated multiple times (with diminishing returns), while in cryogenic dating farms, dead women await lonely suitors to resurrect them and take them home. In this daring and big-hearted novel, the lovelorn navigate a world in which technology has found the outer limits of morality and romance.
Orbit will also publish a novel based on McIntosh’s short story “Defenders,” as well as a number of original short stories.
Will McIntosh is an acclaimed, unique voice in science fiction, and a writer of impressive range. His first novel was published by Night Shade, his second is forthcoming in 2012, and his short work has been widely anthologized. He has won a Hugo Award and an Asimov’s reader poll, and has received a Nebula Award nomination. A professor of psychology, McIntosh lives in Georgia.
by Tom Bouman • Post a Comment • Posted in: Deals and Deliveries, Orbit US
- The Orbit Team - January 7th, 2012
This competition is now closed. Winners will be notified by email.
To celebrate this week’s release of the majestic epic fantasy adventure that is Seven Princes (UK | US | ANZ) by John R. Fultz, we’re giving 7 copies of this title away absolutely free. To enter, all you need to do is fill in the form for your relevant territory, and 7 winners will be picked at random worldwide next week. Good luck!
by The Orbit Team • 1 Comment • Posted in: Contests, Giveaway, New Titles, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US
