| American Gods Author Will Speak |
Writers on a New England Stage, the celebrated author series presented by The Music Hall and New Hampshire Public Radio in collaboration with Yankee Magazine and RiverRun Bookstore, announced bestselling author Neil Gaiman will take the stage on Wednesday, June 22, 2011, to discuss the just-released anniversary edition of his classic bestseller AMERICAN GODS. (Details below)
Neil Gaiman is listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography as one of the top ten living post-modern writers, and is a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama. He has long been one of the top writers in comics, and also writes books for readers of all ages.
His New York Times bestselling 2001 novel for adults, AMERICAN GODS, was awarded the Hugo, Nebula, Bram Stoker, SFX, and Locus awards, was nominated for many other awards, including the World Fantasy Award and the Minnesota Book Award, and appeared on many best-of-year lists.
Gaiman’s children's novel Coraline, published in 2002, was also a New York Times and international bestseller and an enormous critical success; it won the Elizabeth Burr/ Worzalla, the BSFA, the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Bram Stoker awards. Director Henry Selick made the film "Coraline,” with music provided by the band They Might Be Giants.
Said Writers on a New England Stage Executive Producer Patricia Lynch, “Neil Gaiman is a proflic genius, a true master in the world of fantasy, which exists in dreams, nightmares and life’s strange and beautiful encounters. We look forward to welcoming him to Writers on a New England Stage, with all his wit and scary beauty with his spectacular book AMERICAN GODS: The Tenth Anniversary Edition. Put simply, I can’t wait, it’s making my teeth hurt.”
About the 2010-2011 Writers on a New England Stage series
Writers on a New England Stage was created by executive producer Patricia Lynch, also executive director of The Music Hall, and is presented in partnership with New Hampshire Public Radio and in collaboration with Yankee Magazine and Portsmouth’s independent RiverRun Bookstore. Since 2005, the series has spotlighted a broad range of celebrated authors including Alan Alda, Mitch Albom, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Dan Brown, Isabel Allende, Stephen King, Barbara Kingsolver, E.L. Doctorow, Anita Diamant, Madeleine Albright, the late John Updike, Wally Lamb, Jodi Picoult, Greg Mortenson, and Cokie Roberts.
Next up in the series Writers on a New England Stage is Ann Patchett, the New York Times bestselling author of Bel Canto, with her new novel, STATE OF
Book Clubs and High School Guests of The Music Hall
At each Writers event, The Music Hall hosts local high school students selected by their teachers, who come free of charge to the event and get an opportunity to meet the author. The Music Hall welcomes local book clubs attending on the night to take part in a drawing to be guests at a private backstage book signing/reception with the featured writer.
Tickets and Signed Books
Tickets to Writers on a New England Stage: Neil Gaiman are $13 ($11 for members of The Music Hall), available through The Music Hall Box Office, located at 28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, over the phone at 603-436-2400 or online. Autographed copies of AMERICAN GODS (hardback edition) are available on the evening at The Music Hall or in the days following at RiverRun Bookstore. Books are $26.99 when reserved in advance through the purchase of a voucher at The Music Hall box office or at RiverRun Bookstore at
Writers on a New England Stage Series Sponsors: Auger Building Company, Inc.; Best Western Wynwood Hotel & Suites; Calypso Communications; New England Audio Tech, LLC ; Piscataqua Landscaping Company Incorporated; RMC Research Corporation; and Haunted Milk Design.
About the book – from publisher William Morrow
First published in 2001, American Gods became an instant classic—an intellectual and artistic benchmark from the master of innovative fiction, Neil Gaiman. Now, to mark the tenth anniversary of this modern masterpiece’s original publication, William Morrow is proud to present this special edition. AMERICAN GODS: The Tenth Anniversary Edition will consist of a new introduction from the author, the author’s preferred text—an additional 12,000 words throughout—and a bonus scene.
Shadow dreamed of nothing but leaving prison and starting a new life. But the day before his release, his wife and best friend are killed in an accident. Flying to the funeral, he meets Mr. Wednesday—a beguiling stranger who seems to know everything about the ex-convict. A trickster and rogue, Wednesday offers the grieving and vulnerable Shadow a job as his bodyguard. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts. Yet he soon learns that his role in Wednesday’s scheme is far darker and more dangerous than anything he’s ever known. For beneath the placid surface of everyday life a storm is brewing—a war for the very soul of
A modern phantasmagoria that “distills the essence of