Today, HarperCollins announced a new multi-book deal with Neil Gaiman focusing on children’s books.
The five-book output will begin on January 8th with the release of Chu’s Day, a picture book about a Panda named Chu who has an outsized sneeze. (Inspired by the famous Sneezing Panda video, perhaps?) Chu’s Day will be illustrated by Adam Rex, the author of Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich. A sequel will follow.
The deal also includes three middle-grade titles, one of them a sequel to Odd and the Frost Giants, one of them a new title called Fortunately, the Milk, which will feature art by Skottie Young, the artist behind Marvel Comics’ Oz book retellings, and which the release heralds as “an ode to the pleasure and wonders of storytelling itself.” The third book is currently untitled.
[News via Publishers Weekly]
squeeeee!!!!!!!!!
I like his children’s books, there’s definitely things there for adult readers. But I’m really waiting for the sequel to American Gods. Oh well…
So Neil is now, officially, a kids book writer? I know there’s money in it, but something for the over 25 crowd would be nice, every now and then.
The third book is probably Lettie Hempstock’s Ocean (working title), unless it was part of a previous deal. And with the tv series on the way, I’m sure American Gods 2 is already under works as well.
I don’t really think Gaiman is writing kid’s books and YA just for the money, as he could pretty much retire right now if he wanted to. I guess that’s just what he wants to write right now.
He did say in his twitter that he is working on a sequel for American Gods, which he will work more urgently now for the TV series, since the series is planned I think as 6 season with American Gods as the first one. I really hope it will come out soon. I like his other works too though wheter kid’s books or graphic novels so I’m happy in anything he publishes anyway.
Very disappointing. I expected some more substantial projects from Gaiman. In my eyes, his star has been falling since 2008
Gaiman used to be my favourite writer, still finishing Sandman comics, but that’s due to other reasons.
I love his short stories, the guy has so many cool ideas in his mind and I guess that’s why he writes for children now, even his stories for kids are really for adults as well (kind of like Pixar movies I guess) but I miss the stuff for adult readers.
I don’t want American Gods 2, I want something new from that wizard, not some forced mash up of words.
Gaiman has not actually written anything substantial for a long time. I read Susanna Clarke’s brilliant ‘Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell’ and thought that was the kind of novel that Gaiman should have written, but ever since ‘American Gods’ he seems to have backed away from longer and more ambitious fantasy projects for adult readers.
Well actually it seems I got it wrong and Lettie Hempstock’s Ocean is an ‘adult’ novel. Also he just announced today that there’s a Sandman prequel in the works that will show what happened just before Preludes and Nocturnes. Between these and the sequel to American Gods, there should be enough non-kids material to satisfy everyone…
toffie@7: Why should a sequel to American Gods be ‘a forced mash up of words’? There are already three good stories set in the same world (Anansy Boys, Monarch of the Glen, Keepsakes and Treasures), I’m sure there’s room for some more.
Atrus@9: Anansi Boys was already stretching it in my opinion (like Neverwhere, but even the world was not new) and besides it wasn’t a direct sequel to story where Shadow triumphs over the end of the world, can that really be continued with the same epicness in the story with bigger stakes, can it repeat a hero’s journey? I don’t really think so.
I’m not really mad or anything, just kind of dissapointed.
The Sandman prequel, there might be some cash in there as well. The only saving grace might be that Sandman comics were pretty diverse in settings and stories in the format itself.