Joyland: New novel - June 2013

[herbertwest]

Somone posted the following on twitter :
"Thrilled to read in The Times today that Stephen King has new books set for release. THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE, DR. SLEEP and JOYLAND."


What is JOYLAND?

I guess that it's from the interview that Neil Gaiman did with King, and that is available in the UK Sunday Times Magazine today. Apparently, it's also with Joe Hill!

[mae]

The article is online but it's subscription-only: http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/Magazine/Interviews/article1008100.ece

[mae]

Here is that tweet:

https://twitter.com/#!/flawed_critic/status/188986388643983361

Thrilled to read in The Times today that Stephen King has new books set for release. THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE, DR. SLEEP and JOYLAND.

Another tweet:

https://twitter.com/#!/candicetripp/status/188973927723315201

Big fat Stephen King piece in the Sunday Times Magazine today. I can't wait for Joyland and Dr Sleep.

[Ari_Racing]

https://p.twimg.com/Ap-DF94CEAASYou.jpg

[mae]

Awesome, thanks! Would love to read the whole thing, too, but "an amusement-park serial killer"? Sounds dark.

[nocny]

so, is he writing it with Hill?

[mae]

Doesn't look like it.

[nocny]

I guess that it's from the interview that Neil Gaiman did with King, and that is available in the UK Sunday Times Magazine today. Apparently, it's also with Joe Hill!

I wonder what herberwest meant.

[mae]

Hill is also interviewed.

[nocny]

oh, thanks a lot :-)

[Ben Mears]

This sounds interesting. Hopefully more of a carny setting than a chain amusement park.

[Heather19]

Sounds really good!

[Stockerlone]

Sounds great.
http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/joyland-abandoned-amusement-park-10.jpg

[skyofcrack]

From SK's official site:

Following up on Neil Gaimain's interview in the (UK) Sunday Times mentioning a new novel to be titled Joyland about an amusement park serial killer, Stephen has given the thumbs up to officially report that this is indeed a work in progress that has been completed but will need to be edited. There is no official publisher or publication date set at this time. We will update you as more official news becomes available.

[nocny]

so, he has 2 books finished and The Wind wasn't even published yet :D Great!

[mae]

So the move to hold back Doctor Sleep till 2013 makes even less sense now.

[you ever seen a ghost?]

unless they put it out in the fall, but it doesn't really look like things are going that way...

-justin

[nocny]

maybe we will get old Bachman book in the fall ;)

[herbertwest]

Well, i believe that they said NO NOVEL in 2012.. no?

[nocny]

don't remember anything like this.

[Bev Vincent]

The Wind Through the Keyhole is in 2012.

[nocny]

I think herbert meant "except Wind" ;)

[Merlin1958]

So the move to hold back Doctor Sleep till 2013 makes even less sense now.

Well, actually there was an oblique reference to the circumstances in the Neil Gaiman interview. Something about an Agent negotiation regarding "Dr. Sleep".

Edit: Read for yourself. A fairly entertaining article with thanks to the post-er!!!


http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?14871-Neil-Gaiman-interviews-Stephen-King

[Randall Flagg]

Stephen King: "my agent is dickering with the publishers about Dr. Sleep (sic), that's the sequel to The Shining..."

[mae]

Well yeah I guess Scribner wanted that second week of November when a new King book has been published for the last several years. Definitely doubtful that Joyland would be ready to be published then if King just finished writing the first draft.

[skyofcrack]

Both Doctor Sleep and Joyland sound like novels that should be released around Halloween time. Maybe we'll get a two-fer next fall. :biggrin:

[Empath of the White]

I'm amused to hear that he has pet turtle. :D Joyland sounds interesting. I wonder if it'll be set in a decrepit old amusement park or one that is still in use.

[herbertwest]

I think herbert meant "except Wind" ;)

Exactly. So Marsha never said that there will be no King novel in 2012 after THE WIND?
edit : i guess that was : "Doctor Sleep won't be out until 2013 but whether something else comes out before then hasn't been decided."

[beam*seeker]

Joyland sounds awesome, combing Stephen King with amusement parks and serial killers. Trifecta!

[Merlin1958]

From what I can gather "Dr. Sleep" is done and ready for publication except, for Agent haggling and "Joyland" is not quite finished. So, it seems she was on the mark and TWTTKH will be the only book for 2012!!

[mae]

I hope Joyland is dark dark dark. Violent and dark. But not supernatural. It sounds like it may well be that. Sort of a Full Dark, No Stars/Black House type book.

[beam*seeker]

I hope Joyland is dark dark dark. Violent and dark. But not supernatural. It sounds like it may well be that. Sort of a Full Dark, No Stars/Black House type book.

I'd be down with that.

[Heather19]

I hope Joyland is dark dark dark. Violent and dark. But not supernatural. It sounds like it may well be that. Sort of a Full Dark, No Stars/Black House type book.

I hope so to! I'm actually super excited about this one. The premise sounds really good.

[johnsmith87]

Yes yes yes, just heard about this. Sounds awesome! Should be a fun ride. :thumbsup:

[Jimimck]

Yup, I'm on board with a dark dark dark book too!

Please, oh please, don't let S&S get anywhere near a limited version of this if there is going to be one....

[Merlin1958]

For some reason "Burnsie" working at an Amusement park comes to mind!!!

[skyofcrack]

"Doctor Sleep won't be out until 2013 but whether something else comes out before then hasn't been decided."

They're marketing Doctor Sleep here as King's next novel so it'll probably come out in the Spring of 2013 while Joyland in the Fall of 2013.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61q0J6PIduL._SL500_AA300_.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61xr8cfNtOL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[Clacke]

Joyland to be published under the Hard Case Crime imprint in June 2013:

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/new-stephen-king-novel-hard-case-crime.html


A new novel by Stephen King, Joyland, is to be published by Titan Books imprint Hard Case Crime in June 2013.

The book will be released as a paperback first, with e-book to follow at a later date. King said: "I loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we're going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being. Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book."

The title, set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.

Hard Case Crime editor Charles Ardai bought world rights in the title, with King's novel The Colorado Kid previously released under the imprint. The deal does not affect King's relationship with his usual UK publisher, Hodder.

Ardai said: "Joyland is a breathtaking, beautiful, heartbreaking book. It's a whodunit, it's a carny novel, it's a story about growing up and growing old, and about those who don't get to do either because death comes for them before their time.

"Even the most hardboiled readers will find themselves moved. When I finished it, I sent a note saying: 'Goddamn it, Steve, you made me cry.'"

[biomieg]

That sounds very promising! Thank you Clacke.

[Stockerlone]

´The book will be released as a paperback first, with e-book to follow at a later date.:orely:

[Jimimck]

Does an initial paperback release bode well for a hardback down the track? Should we be expecting a limited edition at some stage?

[mae]

Hopefully like with The Colorado Kid the hardcover will follow too.

[herbertwest]

Cant wait!

http://www.hardcasecrime.com/books_bios.cgi?title=Joyland

[biomieg]

Does an initial paperback release bode well for a hardback down the track? Should we be expecting a limited edition at some stage?

Maybe PS Publishing will do something special, like they did with the Colorado Kid.

*edit: what Pablo said, in other words (I missed his post).

[Ben Mears]

Based on the publisher my guess is Joyland will likely be more along the lines of a novella which isn't a bad thing considering some of SK's best work has been in that format.

[mattgreenbean]

I was glad he did the Hardcase novel, it got me to read some of the other Hardcase books which I really liked. Fifty-To-One was a pretty fun read.

[RichardX]

I was hoping for a full blown horror novel. This sounds more like a short "project". Should be enjoyable as always but not exactly what I expected from the early information.

[Heather19]

Yeah, I really want something super scary too! Which this doesn't really sound to be but more like a murder mystery. Still sounds good though and I'm really excited for it. And maybe its just me but I'm glad he's not releasing it in e-book right away.

[mikeC]

What about audio version? come one meow.

[DanishCollector]

Well, Doctor Sleep is a full-blown horror novel, so there's that one to look forward to regarding being scared:)

[Heather19]

I hope so! I want a super scary book! :lol:

[Ricky]

Me too! King's gotten a little "soft" with the last few books, in my opinion.

[Ben Mears]

Joyland to be published under the Hard Case Crime imprint in June 2013:

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/new-stephen-king-novel-hard-case-crime.html


A new novel by Stephen King, Joyland, is to be published by Titan Books imprint Hard Case Crime in June 2013.

The book will be released as a paperback first, with e-book to follow at a later date. King said: "I loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we're going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being. Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book."

The title, set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.

Hard Case Crime editor Charles Ardai bought world rights in the title, with King's novel The Colorado Kid previously released under the imprint. The deal does not affect King's relationship with his usual UK publisher, Hodder.

Ardai said: "Joyland is a breathtaking, beautiful, heartbreaking book. It's a whodunit, it's a carny novel, it's a story about growing up and growing old, and about those who don't get to do either because death comes for them before their time.

"Even the most hardboiled readers will find themselves moved. When I finished it, I sent a note saying: 'Goddamn it, Steve, you made me cry.'"


Not that it would make a huge difference but setting the story in another small Maine town would have been cool. Either way I like the concept.

[mae]

I think PS simply must publish a companion edition to The Colorado Kid. Hopefully in a faster fashion than that book.

[mystima]

saw this and thought of here.

http://news.yahoo.com/stephen-king-returns-artistic-envy-explained-143000597.html

[Merlin1958]

I hope so! I want a super scary book! :lol:

The description of the book brings "Burnsie" from BH in his "Carny-days" That should be pretty freaking scary!!!!

[mtdman]

I hope so! I want a super scary book! :lol:

The description of the book brings "Burnsie" from BH in his "Carny-days" That should be pretty freaking scary!!!!

That sounds very cool. And scary.

[TCCBodhi]

I guess ebook can be ruled out......although the source IS USAToday.

http://books.usatoday.com/bookbuzz/post/2012-05-31/no-e-book-edition-for-new-stephen-king-thriller/704793/1

Never mind, it does say TBD.

[herbertwest]

Everybody is saying that there will be no ebook edition, but that's not what i read.
He said that they were holding off ebook, FOR THE TIME BEING... and the publisher said that it would come later..

Am i wrong??

[DanishCollector]

I'm happy with just the Hard Case Crime book...I'm not into eBooks, unless they are originals (Riding the Bullet, Ur, Mile 81).

[Heather19]

I hope so! I want a super scary book! :lol:

The description of the book brings "Burnsie" from BH in his "Carny-days" That should be pretty freaking scary!!!!

I really need to read Black House.



Everybody is saying that there will be no ebook edition, but that's not what i read.
He said that they were holding off ebook, FOR THE TIME BEING... and the publisher said that it would come later..

Am i wrong??

That was my assumption. I think it said in one of the articles that they were just waiting awhile to release the ebook version. That way hopefully getting more people to buy the actual book. Honestly I'm all for that. I worry that books are going to become obsolete in the future and that makes me sad.

[Brice]

That will NEVER happen Heather! :)

[Heather19]

I hope not! But we might be the only two :lol:

[frik]

Everybody is saying that there will be no ebook edition, but that's not what i read.
He said that they were holding off ebook, FOR THE TIME BEING... and the publisher said that it would come later..

Am i wrong??

No, you're not, Jeremy.

sk

[Ben Mears]

Holding off on an ebook is probably SK's way of helping out a small speciality publisher. He clearly has an affection for these type of books and wants his readers to share the experience. I'm actually more enticed by Joyland than Doctor Sleep.

[Stockerlone]

Someone posted in the German Horror Forum:

"From a reliable source I learned that "Joyland" is already in the translation.
May well be that it appears to coincide with the original version. "

:onfire:

[mae]

It's somewhat surprising they'd announce a novel a whole year in advance. If it's pretty much ready, why wait so long. I doubt it would create any competition for Doctor Sleep, as it's a short paperback novel for a niche publisher.

[jhanic]

According to Ms Mod at the SKMB:


The date for Joyland is set as June 2013 regardless of when Doctor Sleep comes out.

John

[Randall Flagg]

Thus the 4th, 11th, 18th or 25th...presuming a Tuesday release.

[johnsmith87]

Pictures of the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans...can't help but think of Joyland.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/katienotopoulos/photos-of-the-abandoned-six-flags-new-orleans

[Ricky]

Those pics. are very creepy. :scared:

I guess amusement parks are just some of the places that you always associate with tons of people/activtiy. And to see it so...abandoned? Both eerie and sad.

[Roseannebarr]

Those pics. are very creepy. :scared:

I guess amusement parks are just some of the places that you always associate with tons of people/activtiy. And to see it so...abandoned? Both eerie and sad.


Amazing pictures. Thanks for the post!

[Randall Flagg]

Wierd that if this stays on track for June 2013, it will only be ~90 days in advance of Doctor Sleep.

[mae]

According to Ms. Mod over at the official forums, Joyland is locked into that date no matter what. It's a more obscure paperback-only release so maybe they think it won't get the attention a "real" King book would, so for most casual readers Doctor Sleep will be the next King novel, not Joyland.

[Randall Flagg]

According to Ms. Mod over at the official forums, Joyland is locked into that date no matter what. It's a more obscure paperback-only release so maybe they think it won't get the attention a "real" King book would, so for most casual readers Doctor Sleep will be the next King novel, not Joyland.
Where was it stated that it is to be a paperback?
<-----Confused.

[nocny]

In the press release. All Hard Case Crime books are paperbacks.

[Randall Flagg]

Shame on me.


A new novel by Stephen King, Joyland, is to be published by Titan Books imprint Hard Case Crime in June 2013.

The book will be released as a paperback first, with e-book to follow at a later date. King said: "I loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we're going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being. Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book."

[mae]

The original press release from SK.com and HCC: http://www.stephenking.com/promo/joyland/press_release/

As I said when this was first announced, I'm really hoping for a companion hardcover to The Colorado Kid from PS Publishing, or maybe HCC put one out themselves, with the original cover art.

[Merlin1958]

In the press release. All Hard Case Crime books are paperbacks.

Not to argue or anything, but I have a US 1/1 HC of Hard Cases The Colorado Kid". Or do I? time to check the shelves!!!

[mae]

In the press release. All Hard Case Crime books are paperbacks.

Not to argue or anything, but I have a US 1/1 HC of Hard Cases The Colorado Kid". Or do I? time to check the shelves!!!

Hard Case Crime didn't publish The Colorado Kid in hardcover, though they do seem to have a few book in hardcover: http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_adv_b/?search-alias=stripbooks&unfiltered=1&field-keywords=&field-author=&field-title=&field-isbn=&field-publisher=hard+case+crime&node=&field-p_n_condition-type=&field-feature_browse-bin=2656020011&field-subject=&field-language=&field-dateop=&field-datemod=&field-dateyear=&sort=relevanceexprank&Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.x=39&Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.y=7

[Merlin1958]

In the press release. All Hard Case Crime books are paperbacks.

Not to argue or anything, but I have a US 1/1 HC of Hard Cases The Colorado Kid". Or do I? time to check the shelves!!!

Hard Case Crime didn't publish The Colorado Kid in hardcover, though they do seem to have a few book in hardcover: http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_adv_b/?search-alias=stripbooks&unfiltered=1&field-keywords=&field-author=&field-title=&field-isbn=&field-publisher=hard+case+crime&node=&field-p_n_condition-type=&field-feature_browse-bin=2656020011&field-subject=&field-language=&field-dateop=&field-datemod=&field-dateyear=&sort=relevanceexprank&Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.x=39&Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.y=7

You're gonna make me actually get up and look, aren't you? LOL


Edit: OK, it is a "Large Print" edition by Random House for Hard Case Crime. You are right, of course. Silly me!!! LOL

[nocny]

Hard Case Crime didn't publish The Colorado Kid in hardcover, though they do seem to have a few book in hardcover: http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_adv_b/?search-alias=stripbooks&unfiltered=1&field-keywords=&field-author=&field-title=&field-isbn=&field-publisher=hard+case+crime&node=&field-p_n_condition-type=&field-feature_browse-bin=2656020011&field-subject=&field-language=&field-dateop=&field-datemod=&field-dateyear=&sort=relevanceexprank&Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.x=39&Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.y=7


Strange, the idea for Hard Case Crime is to publish "looking old" pulp paperbacks.

[Bev Vincent]

http://img2-3.timeinc.net/ew/i/2012/09/19/Joyland_510x816.jpg

[mae]

Amazing! :excited:

Now if they'd just release that as a hardcover, too, like Cain's new novel.

[mae]

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2012/09/20/stephen-king-joyland/

2013 will be a double whammy for Stephen King fans. The big headliner may be Dr. Sleep, the Shining sequel slated for Sept. 24, 2013, but King’s other much-anticipated novel Joyland comes three months earlier in June from publisher Hard Case Crime. Joyland takes place in a small-town North Carolina amusement park, where college student Devin Jones arrives at the park to work as a carny for the summer, but he ends up experiencing much more than he bargained for when he confronts the legacy of a vicious murder and the fate of a dying child.

EW got a peek at the cover of Joyland before anyone else. Check it out below! The original cover painting is by Glen Orbik.

Not only is King going retro with the setting of his upcoming novel, he’s also sticking to a tried-and-true format. “I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts,” he said in the press release. “I also loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we’re going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being. Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book.”

Charles Ardai, editor of Hard Case Crime, promises a layered, genre-crossing story. “Joyland is a breathtaking, beautiful, heartbreaking book,” he said. “It’s a whodunit, it’s a carny novel, it’s a story about growing up and growing old, and about those who don’t get to do either because death comes for them before their time. Even the most hard-boiled readers will find themselves moved. When I finished it, I sent a note saying, ‘Goddamn it, Steve, you made me cry.’ ”

What do you think of the cover? Which are you more excited about — Joyland or Dr. Sleep?

[mae]

A comment by Charles Ardai over at the EW story:


There might be a hardcover edition at some point down the line, just as there might eventually be an e-book edition, but initially it's coming out only in paperback, just like so many great mystery, crime, and horror novels did back in the old days.

It's an affectionate tip of the hat to the things of the past, the sort of books we loved, and Steve loved, when we were young and great reads were found in paperbacks in wire spinner racks at the drugstore. Like a movie made in black-and-white, or that great collection of Beatles recordings released in classic mono rather than stereo, it's a way of re-experiencing something we've almost lost, almost forgotten...which ties in with some of the themes of the book. Readers who get into the spirit of the thing will find a very enjoyable experience waiting for them.

[mae]

More info from Ardai about the novel, via Lilja:


Yes, JOYLAND. It’s coming out in June 2013, and it’s perfect summer reading. It’s actually set partly on a beach, in the summer, so you have no excuse not to buy a copy and take it with you to the beach next summer. (I do realize that by the same reasoning you should only read FRANKENSTEIN in a castle during a lightning storm, but never mind.) We’re keeping the book under wraps until we’re closer to the publication date, so you won’t get any spoilers from me, but I’ll tell you it’s about a college student who gets a summer job working at a small-town amusement park and discovers some very strange things going on. Anyone who wants more info can find a bit on our website, www.hardcasecrime.com. I’ll tell you this: I’m a hardboiled sort of guy, but I was crying by the end of JOYLAND. Anyone who can read this book without shedding a tear shed is made of stone.

[Merlin1958]

Shame, I have a fairly strict rule for my collection. No paperbacks!!! Goes back to my commuting days and lack of funds!!! LOL

[mae]

Yes, paperbacks are abhorrent, but whaddaya gonna do. Hopefully, Ardai is hinting that indeed they'll put out a hardcover later on, hopefully with the same great cover.

[Merlin1958]

Yes, paperbacks are abhorrent, but whaddaya gonna do. Hopefully, Ardai is hinting that indeed they'll put out a hardcover later on, hopefully with the same great cover.

What do you think the odds are that they go the same way as "The Colorado Kid" with a large print HC?

[mae]

That I don't know, but Ardai's comment makes me hopeful we'll see a hardcover edition.

[Randall Flagg]

Looks like the release date is 6/4/2013


Excerpt Here (Coming Soon) (http://www.hardcasecrime.com/books_bios.cgi?entry=bk112&type=excerpt)

[Randall Flagg]

http://www.stephenking.com/promo/joyland/press_release/joyalnd_cover_art.jpghttp://www.thedarktower.org/custom/images/1348193135-joyalnd_cover_art%20large.jpg

[Jimimck]

Not sure if this is what RF was trying to post above (I just see a red X box), but cover is up and about...

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f257/jimimck/joyland_zpsac602808.jpg

Borrowed from Lilja's site.

**EDIT** OK so I'm an idiot for not seeing this further up the thread! I'm leaving it here though cos its cool!

[Randall Flagg]

Not sure if this is what RF was trying to post above (I just see a red X box), but cover is up and about...

**EDIT** OK so I'm an idiot for not seeing this further up the thread! I'm leaving it here though cos its cool!
I was trying to post a rather large image of the cover 830x1331. Check the post out now. Hopefully it worked.

[Jimimck]

Yup I see it now.

[mae]

The book is now up for preorder; http://www.amazon.com/dp/1781162646/ No page-count as yet.

[Jimimck]

Cool thanks. Order placed.

[herbertwest]

Random guess : 200-300 pages.

[Brainslinger]

Shame, I have a fairly strict rule for my collection. No paperbacks!!! Goes back to my commuting days and lack of funds!!! LOL

I don't understand that. Aren't paperbacks, by their nature, cheaper and easier to transport? Or are you saying that you spent so much on them back in the day for that very reason you would end up more broke? (If there are degrees of 'brokeness'.)


Yes, paperbacks are abhorrent, .

No offence, but they really are not. Sure, the covers can crease and wrinkle a bit over time (a big bit if you have a bag related mishap*.) but I think that 'lived' look appealing. (It can be annoying if you've just bought it and manage to crease it though.)

From a funding POV, they're a brilliant invention for those of us on a budget. I'll admit, I rarely wait for the paperback when a new King book comes out though. As way of example, I got into the Dark Tower books relatively late (i.e. after Wizard and Glass was published, so I've still been a fan of the series for years now. ;) ) so I have the first four books of the series in paperback. The rest in hard-back, since I bought them shortly after they were published. I understand that disparity would annoy a lot of fans, but I'm strangely happy with it for some reason and feel no need to hunt down the hardbacks so they all match.

Concerning the cover of this new book, I like it. The woman's head looks a bit odd though. (I wonder if they'll keep that publishing style this sidd of the pond.) Possibly a bit disproportional or as if it were pasted onto the body later, or something.

*I.e. if you put something else on top, make sure the cover is closed properly. A folded cover isn't what I meant by 'crease and wrinkle a bit over time '. Ouch.

[Ivo]

You looked above the neck?

[Merlin1958]

Shame, I have a fairly strict rule for my collection. No paperbacks!!! Goes back to my commuting days and lack of funds!!! LOL

I don't understand that. Aren't paperbacks, by their nature, cheaper and easier to transport? Or are you saying that you spent so much on them back in the day for that very reason you would end up more broke? (If there are degrees of 'brokeness'.


Yes, paperbacks are abhorrent, .

No offence, but they really are not. Sure, the covers can crease and wrinkle a bit over time (a big bit if you have a bag related mishap*.) but I think that 'lived' look appealing. (It can be annoying if you've just bought it and manage to crease it though.)

From a funding POV, they're a brilliant invention for those of us on a budget. I'll admit, I rarely wait for the paperback when a new King book comes out though. As way of example, I got into the Dark Tower books relatively late (i.e. after Wizard and Glass was published, so I've still been a fan of the series for years now. ;) ) so I have the first four books of the series in paperback. The rest in hard-back, since I bought them shortly after they were published. I understand that disparity would annoy a lot of fans, but I'm strangely happy with it for some reason and feel no need to hunt down the hardbacks so they all match.

Concerning the cover of this new book, I like it. The woman's head looks a bit odd though. (I wonder if they'll keep that publishing style this sidd of the pond.) Possibly a bit disproportional or as if it were pasted onto the body later, or something.

*I.e. if you put something else on top, make sure the cover is closed properly. A folded cover isn't what I meant by 'crease and wrinkle a bit over time '. Ouch.


My "thing" is that I had to read PB in the B0s because I was commuting, and now, well, i have limited myself to HC's. It's my preferred method of reading. OK. by you?

[Brainslinger]

My "thing" is that I had to read PB in the B0s because I was commuting, and now, well, i have limited myself to HC's. It's my preferred method of reading. OK. by you?

Of course. I was just curious is all. No criticism or offence to you intended.

[mae]

As a bibliophile and a collector, paperbacks really hold no value to me. Except the old Night Shift paperback, which was my first ever King book, and that just has nostalgic values.

[Ricky]

I love paperbacks. They're just more "intimate" to me. Plus, paperbacks smell better than hardbacks. :lol:

[Brice]

I love most all books, paperbacks or hardcovers. Paperbacks are more convenient for when you don't want your nicer books getting messed up which they invariably will with enough (even very careful) readings. Hardcovers are easier to take care of and make last well. For me at least the really nice hardcovers and limiteds are on a more personal level a symbol or a reminder of a life I won't go back to....when I was young I could and did carry everything I owned in one bag traveling around the country. I was also essentially and sometimes literally homeless. The more stuff I have to weigh me down the more determined I am to not go back especially if I really want to keep it all. Also I was rather deprived in a lot of ways in my youth and it gave me an appreciation for nice things. I do not like to deprive myself of anything I want.

[Merlin1958]

My "thing" is that I had to read PB in the B0s because I was commuting, and now, well, i have limited myself to HC's. It's my preferred method of reading. OK. by you?

Of course. I was just curious is all. No criticism or offence to you intended.

Sorry. I didn't intend to come off as "snarky".

PB's are of course just great. I guess it was more a personal choice that once I had reached a certain level of financial security, I could treat myself so to speak. Sort of like "When I was young I always ate PB&J for lunch. Now I eat steak". I've been fortunate.

Again, my apologies it came off snotty.

Edit: HC's were tough to fit in my briefcase on the train. So I went with PB's. Reading HC's equals no goddamn LIRR commute!! LOL

[Brainslinger]

Sorry. I didn't intend to come off as "snarky".

It's okay, don't worry about it. Tone is often difficult to follow in a post. That goes for me too!

And I'd agree there's nothing quite like a hardback book as a reading experience. I just like both in different ways, I guess.

[Merlin1958]

Sorry. I didn't intend to come off as "snarky".

It's okay, don't worry about it. Tone is often difficult to follow in a post. That goes for me too!

And I'd agree there's nothing quite like a hardback book as a reading experience. I just like both in different ways, I guess.

Thank you for being so understanding. You're a gentleman and a scholar!!!

[mae]

Amazon has Joyland at 304 pages. Pretty lengthy. Now I freaking need a hardcover edition! Incidentally, that's the same page-count of Blaze.

[mae]

Audiobook up for preorder now, too: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1442359919/

[Stockerlone]

JOYLAND - German HARDCOVER is up for preorder now.........
17. Juni 2013

http://www.amazon.de/Joyland-Stephen-King/dp/3453268725/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1353833996&sr=8-2

http://www.randomhouse.de/content/edition/covervoila/146_26872_131883_xl.jpg

Amazing...
1. No 4 letter title
2. Cover is not sooo ugly
3. HARDCOVER edition
4. 17. Juni 2013

[herbertwest]

In the latest Lilja & Lou Podcast, someone mentionned about how the pitch of JOYLAND sounds similar to SKYBAR. Which i totally forgot about :


From Rocky's website :
"Skybar
Description
Young boys decide to go up on tho the haunted Skybar roller coaster and get more than they bargained for. Ten of them did not come out alive and of the two survivors, only the narrator remained sane.

King contributed only the first four and the last paragraphs.
Published
1982 - The Do-It-Yourself Bestseller - A Workbook (King's part amounted to 5 paragraphs)
People
Name Description
Callahan, Brant Said that the freak show was only a fake. Died on the Skycoaster
Dupree, Pop Owner of Dead Eye Shootin' Gallery
Frachers, Eddie Member of the White Dragons
Howardson, Dewey Friend of Kirby. Owner of a Sonoco service station
Kirby, ? Friend of the Storyteller (Who's name we do not know)
Stayner, Randy 7th grader who was murdered at the Skybar Amusement Park. Thrown from the SkyCoaster
Wilkenson, John Friend of Kirby
"

[mae]

Other than the similar setting I doubt the two have anything in common.

[nocny]

I don't see any similarity.

[Niels]

Dutch hardcover and paperback announced. June 6th 2013, 304 pages.
Hardcover will be in a limited edition (no details, yet).

Hardcover, €24,95. ISBN : 9789024559770
Paperback, €19,95. ISBN : 9789024561551

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/5246/37272045i.jpg

[Ben Staad]

Dutch hardcover and paperback announced. June 6th 2013, 304 pages.
Hardcover will be in a limited edition (no details, yet).

Hardcover, €24,95. ISBN : 9789024559770
Paperback, €19,95. ISBN : 9789024561551

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/5246/37272045i.jpg

I like that cover! Thanks for posting.

[mae]

Very nice indeed. Here's hoping for a quick announcement of a US hardcover.

[Bev Vincent]

Simon & Schuster Audio has cast Michael Kelly to read the Joyland Audiobook.

Here's the PW review: http://pwne.ws/10Lq55N

[mae]

That link also has a synopsis that I think is new:


A haunted carnival funhouse gives a supernatural spin to events in Thriller Award–winner King’s period murder mystery with a heart. In the summer of 1973, 21-year-old college student Devin Jones takes a job at Joyland, a North Carolina amusement park. Almost immediately, a boardwalk fortune-teller warns that Devin has “a shadow” over him, and that his destiny is intertwined with that of terminally ill Mike Ross, a 10-year-old boy who has “the sight.” Shortly after Devin meets Mike, Mike makes a cryptic comment: “It’s not white.” This proves a vital clue when Devin begins investigating an unsolved murder committed four years before at the carnival’s Horror House, and quickly stumbles into more than he bargained for. King (The Colorado Kid) brings his usual finesse to this tale’s mystery elements, and makes Dev’s handling of them crucial to the novel’s bigger coming-of-age story, in which Dev adapts to the carny life and finds true romance.

[you ever seen a ghost?]

you want to see something funny?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/co-ed-topless-pulp-fiction-society-new-york-city-photos_n_3061653.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

about the third picture in, some topless woman is reading a proof copy of Joyland.

-justin

[Coulrophobia]

you want to see something funny?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/co-ed-topless-pulp-fiction-society-new-york-city-photos_n_3061653.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

about the third picture in, some topless woman is reading a proof copy of Joyland.

-justin


Is that why they call it Hard Case Crime???

[Ari_Racing]

LOL. I've been following that topless group for sometime already. :)

[Randall Flagg]

http://www.thedarktower.org/custom/images/1365863014-slide_291400_2325760_free.jpg


http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/291400/slide_291400_2325730_free.jpg?1365696179211

[Coulrophobia]

I am surprised this was allowed in Central Park.

[Roseannebarr]

http://www.thedarktower.org/custom/images/1365863014-slide_291400_2325760_free.jpg


http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/291400/slide_291400_2325730_free.jpg?1365696179211

My wife is laughing at me. She showed me the picture and i said look she is reading Stephen Kings new book. I didnt even know they were topless until she pointed it out. She said i need a new hobby!

[Coulrophobia]

My wife is laughing at me. She showed me the picture and i said look she is reading Stephen Kings new book. I didnt even know they were topless until she pointed it out. She said i need a new hobby!

:) LoL

[needfulthings]

[QUOTE=Randall Flagg;769971]http://www.thedarktower.org/custom/images/1365863014-slide_291400_2325760_free.jpg


http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/291400/slide_291400_2325730_free.jpg?1365696179211

I think it's time to go trolling! I already have the bait.
:nana:http://imageshack.us/a/img341/3808/dscn7217r.jpg

[Joe315]

I am surprised this was allowed in Central Park.

Surprisingly, its not illegal to be topless in NYC.

[Coulrophobia]

I am surprised this was allowed in Central Park.

Surprisingly, its not illegal to be topless in NYC.

Interesting Boobies are ok but drinks above 16oz a million dollar fight.

[Randall Flagg]

I am surprised this was allowed in Central Park.
NYC is pretty liberal about reading a book in the park...

[Coulrophobia]

I am surprised this was allowed in Central Park.
NYC is pretty liberal about reading a book in the park...

They seem quite perky for just reading. This might be a great campaign for "Reading is Fun-damental". They could hand out pasties with the logo.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ8ROveg1PRJ77gEMmpqDb-BzoRcz9Gs-68enDkAZJAQhHlkyy4cZAxZ2cy

[Coulrophobia]

I think it's time to go trolling! I already have the bait.:nana:http://imageshack.us/a/img341/3808/dscn7217r.jpg

I am going to go buy the t-shirt, and sit in the park.
http://i1.cpcache.com/product/388517630/white_tshirt.jpg?height=150&width=150

[Coulrophobia]

I am surprised this was allowed in Central Park.

Surprisingly, its not illegal to be topless in NYC.

New York Penal - Article 245 - § 245.01 Exposure of a Person

Legal Research Home > New York Laws > New York Penal (PEN) > New York Penal - Article 245 - § 245.01 Exposure of a Person



§ 245.01 Exposure of a person.
A person is guilty of exposure if he appears in a public place in such
a manner that the private or intimate parts of his body are unclothed or
exposed. For purposes of this section, the private or intimate parts of
a female person shall include that portion of the breast which is below
the top of the areola. This section shall not apply to the breastfeeding
of infants or to any person entertaining or performing in a play,
exhibition, show or entertainment.
Exposure of a person is a violation.
Nothing in this section shall prevent the adoption by a city, town or
village of a local law prohibiting exposure of a person as herein
defined in a public place, at any time, whether or not such person is
entertaining or performing in a play, exhibition, show or entertainment.


It is entertaining. lol

[mattgreenbean]

My first thought was, what? it's out already. Then my girlfriend say's, what you looking at there?

[Randall Flagg]

This section shall not apply to .... or to any person entertaining or performing in a play,
exhibition, show or entertainment.
Looked like an "exhibition" to me.

[barlow]

Any word of a large print hard cover for this one yet?

[Randall Flagg]

Any word of a large print hard cover for this one yet?
Positive rep for that comment/question.

[CyberGhostface]

So reading the summary, is the woman on the cover unrelated to the story and just there because of the "Pulp" connection?

[Bev Vincent]

No -- she's related to the story.

[Ben Staad]

No -- she's related to the story.

Should I look back in the thread for a review or do you have this elsewhere? I'm really looking forward to this book BTW.

[Bev Vincent]

I know this from other sources.

[Ben Staad]

I know this from other sources.

Thanks for the reply.

[needfulthings]

In any case "NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER"
or should that be "in any HARD CASE?
http://imageshack.us/a/img688/7991/img404r.jpg"

[nocny]

Polish cover if anyone want to see ;)

http://stephenking.pl/stephen_king/ksiazki/joyland_2.jpg

[herbertwest]

I prefer this one!

[Brainslinger]

Yes. That's something special.

[EXPLORER]

http://www.thedarktower.org/custom/images/1365863014-slide_291400_2325760_free.jpg


http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/291400/slide_291400_2325730_free.jpg?1365696179211

My wife is laughing at me. She showed me the picture and i said look she is reading Stephen Kings new book. I didnt even know they were topless until she pointed it out. She said i need a new hobby!
"
I definitely noticed they were topless, HOWEVER, My main thought and concern was, "Where did they get a copy of that book already?".

[Kingfan24]

I know some of you would hesitate to deal with me but I assure you I will NOT BE A HASSLE. I know a lot of you are going to the signing event in July and I would LOVE to buy a potential extra copies of Joyland Mr. King signs. Please pm me if you are willing to do this!

[Lilja]

Titan and Hard Case Crime is releasing 3 different editions of Joyland in hardback. Two signed by King. Read more here:
http://liljas-library.com/article.php?id=3552

Lilja

[Ben Staad]

This is exciting news!

[evilash]

I just ordered the lettered edition in traycase signed by King for 150 GBP!! That is super cheap for a lettered edition #/26!!!!

[Ari_Racing]

Missed the lettered! F*ck! Ordered S/L

[mae]

Got my order in for the signed. Nice cover!

http://dyn4.media.titanbooks.com/products/7153/Joyland-front_710x255.jpg

Now to Amazon to cancel my paperback.

[Roseannebarr]

Got my order in for the signed. Nice cover!

http://dyn4.media.titanbooks.com/products/7153/Joyland-front_710x255.jpg

Now to Amazon to cancel my paperback.

Cancel :( never. you can never have to many. the cover is going to be different!

[mae]

Nah, I only really care that it's hardcover. I don't have the first edition of The Colorado Kid for the same reason. Paperbacks bah!

[cit74]

if anyone was able to order more than one s/l and willing to sell me a copy please PM - i just missed this one

[Cook]

Wow, I never saw this one coming, and I'm away from home so I missed it.
Oh well... I'm on the hunt if anyone wants to sell a S/L'd. please PM me.

[Jimimck]

if anyone was able to order more than one s/l and willing to sell me a copy please PM - i just missed this one

If anyone hasn't picked up on this great tip, if you change the region from UK to US on their main site, http://titanbooks.com/ you may still n
Be able to order a copy of the signed edition!

Go. Now!

[cit74]

if anyone was able to order more than one s/l and willing to sell me a copy please PM - i just missed this one

If anyone hasn't picked up on this great tip, if you change the region from UK to US on their main site, http://titanbooks.com/ you may still n
Be able to order a copy of the signed edition!

Go. Now!

I never came back here to update the thread - just kept to the other joy land thread

[Ben Mears]

Excellent review by Kevin Quigley...
http://www.fearnet.com/news/review/book-review-joyland-stephen-king

[Roseannebarr]

Missed the lettered! F*ck! Ordered S/L

I could have ordered the lettered, but i dont collect lettered books. then i thought how stupid at that price i could of started collecting lettered books. But i did order extra S/L copies!!!! Missed out on the lettered as well :(

[Bev Vincent]

Entertainment Weekly review (http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20702666,00.html)

Originally posted May 22, 2013 -- Published in issue #1261-1262 May 31, 2013

[Merlin1958]

Entertainment Weekly review (http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20702666,00.html)

Originally posted May 22, 2013 -- Published in issue #1261-1262 May 31, 2013

Many thanks for that, Bev!!!

[mae]

A short excerpt: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/23/stephen-king-joyland-excerpt_n_3326641.html

[Bev Vincent]

My review (http://www.onyxreviews.com/king-joyland.html), which will also be in CD #70 along with an interview with Charles Ardai.

[jhanic]

A good review. Great job, Bev!

John

[Ben Mears]

Thanks Bev. Doctor Sleep will get the headlines but I have a feeling Joyland will be the more satisfying read of the two.

[Merlin1958]

Well done review, Bev!!! Thanks for posting!!!

[Bev Vincent]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXkelkL8yEM

[RandyinAK]

Missed the lettered! F*ck! Ordered S/L

I could have ordered the lettered, but i dont collect lettered books. then i thought how stupid at that price i could of started collecting lettered books. But i did order extra S/L copies!!!! Missed out on the lettered as well :(

So are you parting with any of your extra S/L copies?

[Bev Vincent]

Why Cling to the Past? Exclusive essay by Stephen King's publisher about Joyland (http://boingboing.net/2013/05/29/why-cling-to-the-past-exclusi.html)

[ChristineB]

That was an awesome read, thanks Bev.

[harrison ryan]

That was an awesome read, thanks Bev.

+1

[mikeC]

It's crazy that people are pissed about the no kindle thing. I don't think they should even have to respond to the crying.
How could you not "get it"? Hard case crime=paperback, beach reading, etc.
It's not like it's a 1000 page hardback that weighs 4 lbs.

[jhanic]

On the SKMB, one person posted that, due to physical incapacity, she is unable to read a printed book and can only read an eBook. Until she was able to get a Kindle, she had to give up reading. Seems like a decent reason to complain.

John

[Ben Mears]

On the SKMB, one person posted that, due to physical incapacity, she is unable to read a printed book and can only read an eBook. Until she was able to get a Kindle, she had to give up reading. Seems like a decent reason to complain.

John

In this instance the audio book would be a reasonable option for her.

[subie09lega]

Good suggestion, I always forget about the audio books.
[/QUOTE]In this instance the audio book would be a reasonable option for her.[/QUOTE]

[Tito_Villa]

Just to let people in the UK know that Waterstones has Joyland in stock, or at least they did in the 2 stores I went into today!

[Ari_Racing]

The US edition, right?

[Tito_Villa]

It has US, Canadian & UK prices on the back

[Ari_Racing]

Cool. Thanks. :)

[mikeC]

On the SKMB, one person posted that, due to physical incapacity, she is unable to read a printed book and can only read an eBook. Until she was able to get a Kindle, she had to give up reading. Seems like a decent reason to complain.

John

In this instance the audio book would be a reasonable option for her.

Obviously I wasn't talking about a person with a physical incapacity. I'm sure Steve had that in mind when he allowed the audio edition to be made.
I don't think Charles Ardai wrote an article defending the physical only publishing of the book bc of a physical incapable person. Ibelieve it was for the run of the mill complainers that can't get everything that they want. That's what I was talking about.

[Randall Flagg]

Posted elsewhere but here is my no spoiler review:

I am not a professional writer or book reviewer (like our very own Bev Vincent), but I wanted to give a few thoughts on King's new novel "Joyland". Since I received an advance copy here is my chance:

Joyland is a wonderful story.

Stephen King tells a tale that is a perfect “Hard Case” crime novel.

King’s story is an almost perfectly written narrative. No chapter breaks here, just a wonderfully sweet, almost (but not quite) maudlin story by Devin Jones. Jones is a 21 year old virgin who almost duplicates King himself when he was 21. An alternate universe finds “Jones” (King) as a tall gawky man who still is perceptive, and caring, yet heartbroken by his first love leaving him.

Taking a summer break from college, Jones works at “Joyland” a semi-permanent amusement park/carnival that is a dying breed.

Crushed by the rejection of his college love, Jones becomes enthralled with the “Carny” life; intrigued by a murder mystery, and invigorated by a prescient terminally ill boy and his mysterious mother.

Tightly written, EVERY word King wrote is wonderful, and there is nothing wasted or extraneous

Go get it!

[mae]

Washington Post review: http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/joyland-by-stephen-king/2013/06/02/db1ef6f4-cb2e-11e2-9245-773c0123c027_story.html

[jhanic]

Saturday's Wall Street Journal had a very complimentary review. I couldn't find it on-line (I don't have an on-line subscription.)

John

[mae]

USA Today: http://books.usatoday.com/book/young-love-is-one-of-the-prizes-in-%E2%80%98joyland/r851626

Indiewire: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/5-things-tate-taylor-needs-to-do-to-get-the-adaptation-of-stephen-kings-joyland-right-20130604

[Bev Vincent]

'Hard Case Crime' Founder Charles Ardai Talks JOYLAND Novel, Movie And More (http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=80860)

[Merlin1958]

'Hard Case Crime' Founder Charles Ardai Talks JOYLAND Novel, Movie And More (http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=80860)

Very interesting!! Thanks, Bev!!!

[mae]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/07/joyland-stephen-king-_n_3403018.html?ir=Books

Under the Covers is an ongoing series where we talk to book cover designers about the inspiration behind their work. For this feature, we interviewed Max Phillips, who designed the book cover for Stephen King's new novel, Joyland (you can also read an exclusive excerpt of Joyland here).

In your own words, what is this book about?
It's a carny novel, it's a novel about growing up, and, as you might expect, a novel about terror. All of us go through terrors growing up; in our hero's case, the terrors have an objective correlative in the person of a deranged killer. But there are also more insidious fears in life, and the book is also about a young man confronting some of those.

What was the mood, theme or specific moment from the text you depicted with this cover?
Our heroine wanted to penetrate a mystery, and here we see her realizing she may have succeeded.

What inspires your design?
Most designers are visual omnivores. If it's got words or images, I look, and if it's got both, I look harder.

What is your previous design experience, with books and otherwise?
I've designed a little of everything: branding systems, packaging, user interfaces, typefaces, children's toys. Most of my career has been spent doing various kinds of corporate design, but way back in the 80s I did a few book jackets as well. They weren't much fun. The Hard Case Crime stuff is, in part because I'm not working for a client. I'm working with my partner, and Charles and I have very similar visions of what the line should look like. The great thing about collaborating with Titan is that they're driven by love for the same sorts of things we love. Achieving a mind meld's pretty easy.

What was the biggest challenge in designing this cover?
Same as with all our books: how do you make it look old when it's new? We limit ourselves to typefaces and styles of lettering that were readily available in publishing art departments 60 or 70 years ago. We try to keep the layout a bit quick and rough, because the old paperback originals art directors didn't have a lot of time, and they didn't have a lovely suite of digital tools for fine-tuning an image. But it's very, very hard to find artists who have the skills and the understanding to paint in the classic paperback manner. Glen Orbik's a rare bird: someone who's passionate about the old pulp stuff and has a stunning set of painterly chops to carry it off.

Did you consider different ideas or directions for this cover? Are you happy with the final decisions as it ran?
We're very happy with the final image. We chose it because it had tension and visual impact and, to be blunt, sex appeal. And to be even blunter: because it left room for me to put the type in. We give our artists a lot of freedom, and they reward us with some stunning work, but sometimes we've got to remind them that a cover ought to include the title and the author's name.

What is the most important element of a successful book cover?
There are at least two things a cover has to do. First, it has to stop you, among thousands of book covers that also want to stop you. Second, it has to capture the spirit of the book, so that if you're someone who'd enjoy the book, you'll be drawn to the cover.

What are some of your favorite book covers?
Book jacket design has never been better, and I couldn't possibly list all my favorite designers: Rodrigo Corral, Peter Mendelsund, Jonathan Gray, John Gall, Will Staehle, Paul Sahre, to name a few. But a lot of my favorites are from the last century. In the 60s David Gentleman did an amazing set of paperback Shakespeares for Penguin with tinted wood engravings. Celestino Piatti designed over 6,000 titles for the German publisher DTV: plain white books with plain black type and small, intensely colorful gauche illustrations. When you had a display of those in a bookstore, the customers really had something to look at.

Do you judge books by their covers?
Everyone does. That's what covers are for.

http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/301732/slide_301732_2544434_free.jpghttp://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/301732/slide_301732_2544435_free.jpg

[jhanic]

I LOVE those preliminary drawings!

John

[herbertwest]

So do I!

[Brainslinger]

My copy arrived today! I'll leave it for a bit as I've got a couple of library books to plough through. Nice pulpy design.

[mtdman]

I for one am glad Stephen King is such a huge fan of audio books. Although I liked this book enough to actually consider reading a hard copy.

[mae]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jun/17/stephen-king-joyland-pirated

As new, pirated ebooks of Stephen King's print-only new novel Joyland begin to circulate online, researchers in Germany are investigating a new piracy prevention method which could alter a story's text to deter illegal copying.

Joyland, the coming-of-age story of a college student who works at a fun fair where a murder has been committed, was released earlier this month through small press Hard Case Crime. King said last year that he "loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we're going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being", a move which attracted predictable criticism from readers online, who have given the well-reviewed novel one-star write-ups on Amazon.com without having read it. And despite King's wishes to focus on the paperback, pirated ebook copies are already available online.

Hard Case Crime publisher Charles Ardai was sanguine about the news, saying that "as a publisher, you try to prevent it or to stamp it out when you discover it, but it's like the 'war on drugs' – good luck. Seize a boatload of heroin, and what does it get you? There are more boats, there's more heroin."

He told US publishing website GalleyCat that even if an official ebook edition had been released, it would most likely have been pirated as well, and "in the end you have to rely on the good behaviour of the vast majority of the audience".

"I see no reason to think that pirates represent more than a small fraction of all consumers," said Ardai. "That doesn't mean we don't care about piracy – we do. But it's just one of the many punches you have to learn to roll with in the rough-and-tumble world of modern publishing."

At Germany's Fraunhofer Institut, meanwhile, researchers are looking into new protection measures for ebooks. The new ebook digital rights management (DRM) system would, reported PaidContent, change certain words in the text of a pirated ebook – "invisible" could become "not visible", for example, and "unhealthy" become "not healthy" – so that an individualised copy could be traced.

According to the institute's Dr Martin Steinebach, the initiative, called SiDiM, which is backed by a subsidiary of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association, has been greeted with scepticism, "not so much from the publishers but from the authors".

"Naturally they fear that their elaborate writing will be scrambled by automatic replacements," he said, stressing that the technology was still under evaluation. "In general publishers tend to be quite open to watermarking," he continued. "Our current solution for ebooks is based on image watermarking of illustrations, and we got a lot of publishers embracing this as an alternative to hard DRM."

One of the authors who has reacted warily to the news is Lloyd Shepherd, who wrote about his online encounter with someone who pirated his novel The English Monster last year.

"It requires material changes to be made to the text in order for it to work," he said. "Given how authors will tussle with copy-editors day and night over the difference between a comma and a semi-colon, I can see that being quite a problem."

"It may even run into problems with intellectual property," he added, "as I'm guessing the author would need to grant a licence to the publisher to make changes to the text – presumably without checking each one first – without recourse to the author. I can't even imagine how you'd word that in a contract."

Shepherd also wondered how "another method of identifying piracy" would help the books industry, given that users on sites such as Mobilism – where last year he found someone offering a reward for anyone prepared to produce a free ebook version of The English Monster – "are openly encouraging each other to acts of piracy, and publishers seem basically unable to stop it".

"And once you've identified the artefact as having been pirated, what then? What if it's a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy of an originally pirated file? Do you take the music industry approach and run a few high-profile court cases, and then deal with the fallout of being portrayed as corporate bullies?" asked Shepherd.

He believes the only ways to tackle book piracy are cultural and economic. "You address it culturally by banging away, year after year, on how creators are people earning a living who should be compensated fairly – authors have a big part to play in that, by being present in social media and book forums, by being very obviously human beings capable of being damaged and not faceless entertainment 'brands'," Shepherd said. "You address it economically by taking a long, hard look at issues like ebook availability in international markets – the old geographic rights model has been fatally undermined by international data networks, and the licensing regime has to react to that."

The award-winning Nick Harkaway, author of Angelmaker, was less concerned about textual changes, suggesting that it would be "pretty simple" to find words which could be switched, "unless you're talking about a work of staggering poetic precision". His problem would be "much more visceral".

"I hate with a fiery passion the idea of making the text spy on the reader," he said.

Harkaway called the new system "a clever technical fix and "a very silly idea".

"The whole concept is forlorn because filesharing – piracy is a crime of violence and horror, filesharing is more like fly tipping – may not actually do any harm, and some evidence suggests it helps sales," he said.

"The criminalisation of the reader is probably not the best model for the publishing industry generally, and it creates an adversarial relationship which increases the likelihood of copyright infringements; what one program can do, another can inevitably undo, and this particular version of the system raises the possibility of a 'scrambler' filesharing program which randomly alters additional words so that any subsequent court case must acknowledge the possibility, however faint, that the text did not, in fact, come from a given person but merely looks that way because of the scrambler – producing ever more garbled versions of the text."

Steinebach said the "first and natural reaction" to SiDiM from authors was "fear" about how the integrity of the text would be affected. "But about 15 years ago, when audio watermarking, now a standard with many applications, was introduced, the reaction of musicians was similar," he said. "We simply need time and evaluation cycles to find the best solution."

[mattgreenbean]

This made me think of Joyland: http://www.weather.com/travel/creepy-abandoned-theme-parks-20130320
Not that it has anything to do with the book, just that the article is titled Creepy Abandoned Theme Parks.

[mae]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/books/review/joyland-by-stephen-king.html?_r=0

Thrilled to Death
‘Joyland,’ by Stephen King
By WALTER KIRN
Published: June 20, 2013

The usual portal for wickedness and darkness in modern American horror fiction is youthful sexuality. Surging hormones summon demons. That’s why big-breasted baby sitters, once they’ve tucked the kids in and phoned their boyfriends to tell them to sneak over, had best keep an eye out for slashers on the stairs. That’s why campgrounds full of teenagers in shorts so often lure scar-faced intruders from the woods. Who are these monsters? The thwarted and the spurned, their psyches warped by repression and rejection. They feed for a while on others’ erotic vitality but are ultimately defeated by these same energies in the form of some brave lass or lad who drives a stake or fires a lucky shot, restoring health and order to the world.

This is the basic pattern behind “Joyland,” Stephen King’s nostalgic new summer novel about the adventures of a lovelorn college boy in a haunted Southern amusement park. The book delivers chills, not shocks, and is silly-scary in the manner of a yarn that a sophomore might tell a freshman while toasting marshmallows around a fire. It’s an exercise in mock-Gothic Americana whose tone is more important than its plot, mostly because it barely has a plot, only occasional drafts of chilly menace. For most of the book, there’s not even a villain, just a diffuse sense of fairground creepiness that takes the place of a specific evildoer.

Our all-American hero is Devin Jones, a sensitive boy who’s since become a man and wants to tell us about that crazy time back in the innocent 1970s when he crossed a developmental threshold, simultaneously losing his virginity and gaining a mournful sense of life’s fragility. Devin, who dreamed of being a novelist but ended up as a writer for magazines, comes across as a version of King himself, which lends his narration a winking, intimate quality. The reader suspects Devin’s reminiscences of his formative summer at the carnival called Joyland stand for the sentimental education of the famous author of spooky novels.

Joyland is a quaint, old-fashioned establishment that offers rickety rides, rigged games of skill and other lurid but finally tame diversions, including a tunnel-of-love-like make-out spot, the Horror House. It was the scene of a murder a few years earlier when someone — someone still at large and possibly lurking — killed a young woman named Linda Gray and threw her body from a rattly car onto the dark tracks. Her restless ghost has never left the scene, sometimes materializing in souvenir pictures taken by a crew of girl photographers who give the park a naughty, sexy vibe. For Devin, the ghost is an instant source of intrigue and a welcome distraction from his obsession with an unavailable girl back home.

This is fairly light stuff, but what adds a layer of interest is King’s affection for the slang and customs of the midway. He’s an amateur anthropologist of carny life, relishing the rituals and folkways of a class on its way to near extinction: “I learned the Talk; I learned the geography, both above and below ground; I learned how to run a joint, take over a shy, and award plushies to good looking points.” A ride, in this lingo, is a “spree,” and a contest that’s stacked against the player is a “butcher’s game.” A bathroom is, for some reason, a “donniker.”

Between the lines is an implied critique of the sanitized, corporate, Disney-style amusements that have supplanted the grass-roots titillations of an earlier, cruder era. Through Devin, who senses that Joyland’s days are numbered, King is lamenting the disappearance of a certain type of candid hucksterism not all that different in spirit from pulp fiction. Both forms of entertainment offer audiences the same delightfully democratic cheap thrills.

As Devin learns from the masters of the trade who adopt him into their fraternity, the corny seductions of the carnival play on an abiding human desire to be honestly manipulated and charmingly ripped off. A failure with girls, who seem to find him bland, he could erotically profit from this wisdom, but his gallant good nature inhibits him, which may be related to his subsequent failure to make it as a novelist (a not entirely reputable profession that also involves taking people for a ride). Devin’s true knack is cheering up the kiddies, especially while costumed as a huge dog, which, in the parlance, is known as “wearing the fur.” It’s a noble calling, as Devin’s boss explains to him in a rather wooden speech that may as well be King’s own manifesto as a slinger of the ink:

“This is a badly broken world, full of wars and cruelty and senseless tragedy. Every human being who inhabits it is served his or her portion of unhappiness and wakeful nights. . . . Given such sad but undeniable facts of the human condition, you have been given a priceless gift this summer: you are here to sell fun.”

There’s not a lot more to “Joyland” than that, good fun. Even the impotent slayer of young women, once he’s unmasked by a freshly deflowered Devin, who’s finally discovered his male mojo thanks to a worldly older woman, is offered as a frightened object of pity. The novel is like a plump wad of cotton candy; it fills the mouth with fluffy sweetness that quickly dissolves when the reader starts to chew. That’s by design. King’s ambition this time around isn’t to snatch us and hold us in his grasp but to loft us up high, then briskly set us down the way a Ferris wheel does. Or a first love.

Walter Kirn is the author of “Up in the Air” and “Lost in the Meritocracy.” He is the national correspondent for The New Republic.

[Bev Vincent]

How I Edited It: Charles Ardai, on Stephen King's "Joyland" (http://www.omnivoracious.com/2013/06/how-i-edited-it-charles-ardai-on-stephen-kings-joyland.html)

[Stebbins]

How I Edited It: Charles Ardai, on Stephen King's "Joyland" (http://www.omnivoracious.com/2013/06/how-i-edited-it-charles-ardai-on-stephen-kings-joyland.html)

:thumbsup: thanks for that, Bev.

[mae]

http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-writer-mistaken-for-stephen-king-20131010,0,6270560.story

Canadian writer Emily Schultz published her first novel, “Joyland,” in 2006 on ECW, a small press based in Toronto. A coming-of-age tale set in a video-game arcade, "Joyland" did not make bestseller lists or sell in large quantities. So Schultz was rather surprised when her publisher reported a surprising recent sales bump.

And it was all thanks to Stephen King.

King published his own novel called “Joyland” back in June. And his novel, which takes place in an amusement park, is not available as an e-book, so Amazon customers eager to download King's “Joyland” may have mistakenly assumed Schultz's ebook is what they are after.

Schultz, who lives in Brooklyn, said by phone Thursday that ECW reported a sales bump of about 200 books in the week King's novel was released -- and the Amazon reviews tell a similar story of mistaken identity.

Despite the fact she has “always loved Stephen King novels,” Amazon user Marcia feels differently about “Joyland.” In a customer review posted for Schultz's book, she said the novel “was a rambling stream of consciousness mess... [and] for a person who reads several books a week, it was annoying to say the least.” The problem is, Marcia wasn't reviewing a Stephen King novel at all.

“If you buy a book and it's not what you thought you ordered,” Schultz said, considering the handful of negative reviews “Joyland” has received from confused readers, “you're going to approach it in a different way.”

Schultz is taking it all in stride, but the extra sales don't necessarily make up for the bad reviews. “If Stephen King gets five bad reviews from people who thought they were getting my book, it wouldn't affect him at all,” she says. “But my book, my first novel and on a small press, those five bad reviews might affect it a lot.”

After the book promotion tour for “Joyland” ended, Schultz used the domain name to host an online literary magazine, also called Joyland. The website (for which, in the interest of full disclosure, I will mention I was until recently an editor) hasn't received the same King bump as Schultz’s novel. Brian Joseph Davis, Schultz's husband and co-publisher, reports that based on the metrics, they only received 10 visits from users searching for King's “Joyland” in the last month.

Schultz's new novel, “The Blondes,” will be published in the U.S. by St. Martin's Press in the fall of 2014. It is too soon to say when, or if, Stephen King will also be publishing a book called “The Blondes.”

[Bev Vincent]

Joyland has been nominated by the Mystery Writers of America (http://theedgars.com/nominees.html) for an Edgar Allan Poe Award in the Best Paperback Original category:


The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow Paperbacks)
Almost Criminal by E. R. Brown (Dundurn)
Joe Victim by Paul Cleave (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)
Joyland by Stephen King (Hard Case Crime)
The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood (Penguin Group USA - Penguin Books)
Brilliance by Marcus Sakey(Amazon Publishing – Thomas and Mercer)

[Ben Staad]

Congrats Mr. King!

[Bev Vincent]

Hard Case Crime announced on January 27th that it will be releasing JOYLAND as an e-book edition in April 2014 and a "mass market" paperback format on May 27, 2014.

[you ever seen a ghost?]

i thought it was already in mass-market paperback?

-justin

[herbertwest]

That's also what I thought... a "smaller" format then?

[Bev Vincent]

Yes -- the original version was the more recent "tall" paperback.

[Stebbins]

Joyland has been nominated by the Mystery Writers of America (http://theedgars.com/nominees.html) for an Edgar Allan Poe Award in the Best Paperback Original category:


The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow Paperbacks)
Almost Criminal by E. R. Brown (Dundurn)
Joe Victim by Paul Cleave (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)
Joyland by Stephen King (Hard Case Crime)
The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood (Penguin Group USA - Penguin Books)
Brilliance by Marcus Sakey(Amazon Publishing – Thomas and Mercer)


I hope he wins, and would think it is a shoe-in. To be fair, I have not read the others, but Joyland was so phenomenal.

[webstar1000]

The Collector is shipping slipcases today or tomorrow he said. Single purchases are going out first. I can't wait to see it:) They are really eye catching I think!

[needfulthings]

Hard Case Crime announced on January 27th that it will be releasing JOYLAND as an e-book edition in April 2014 and a "mass market" paperback format on May 27, 2014.
http://imageshack.com/a/img822/7385/slbv.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img820/5365/zhui.jpg

[needfulthings]

Yes -- the original version was the more recent "tall" paperback.
http://imageshack.com/a/img823/5973/nccu.jpghttp://imageshack.com/a/img820/1075/pckh.jpg

[mae]

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2014/06/18/joyland-stephen-king-emily-schultz/

Last year, Stephen King published a mystery novel called Joyland. Soon after, ebook sales for a book by Emily Schultz spiked.

This mystery’s solution is a simple one: Schultz published a novel, also called Joyland, back in 2006. King released his book as paperback-only when it was first released, to honor the pulp fiction that inspired his novel. Many unsuspecting customers on Amazon accidentally bought the ebook version of Schultz’s book instead of King’s.

Now the royalties are in, and Schultz is detailing her buying spree in a blog, “Spending the Stephen King Money.” It turns out, King doesn’t mind at all.

“I’m delighted for her, and I’m going to order her book,” King told EW.

In addition to posting photos of what she buys (the new St. Vincent album, a haircut for her husband), Schultz is trying to guess whether Stephen King would approve of each purchase. For example:

PURCHASE: The deductible on bumper repair.

COST: $200

NOTE: The cause of the damage is somewhat mysterious. We think it happened during garbage removal.

WOULD STEPHEN KING LIKE IT: Cars, mysterious garbagemen, feelings of vengeance—of course he would!

Some buyers of Schultz’s book were confused and gave it poor reviews on Amazon, which Schultz responded to individually in her online magazine, also called Joyland.

“I asked Amazon to change their search results to keep people from buying the wrong book but never heard back,” Schultz wrote on her blog. “Apparently there were a lot of confused readers as this week I got a—for me—big royalty check for those mistaken books. I’m not so upset anymore.”

“Those negative reviews on Amazon do really hurt, especially since they’re not so much for my work, or even Stephen King’s book, as they are for a wrong ‘product,’” Schultz told Melville House. “So this is my way of getting over that.”

[Roseannebarr]

That was a fun story, I am glad you posted it! I was going to do the same

[mae]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1783295325/


Joyland (Illustrated Edition) Hardcover – September 8, 2015
Hardcover: 296 pages
Publisher: Hard Case Crime; Ill edition (September 8, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1783295325
ISBN-13: 978-1783295326

Anyone know what this is?

[herbertwest]

Illustrated edition apparently... interesting !
I'll ask my contact at the publisher!

[Joe315]

Saw this posted on another site.

http://www.amazon.com/Joyland-Illustrated-Stephen-King/dp/1783295325/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420562368&sr=1-8

[mae]

That's the same as I posted above. Still no concrete info anywhere.

[Joe315]

>< doh! I should learn to read!

[herbertwest]

I never got any reply but Liljas has some more infos
>>> http://www.liljas-library.com/article.php?id=4441


Hardcover Edition from Hard Case Crime to Feature Never-Before-Seen Art by Glen Orbik, Robert McGinnis, Mark Summers and Pat Kinsella.

Hard Case Crime, the award-winning line of pulp-styled crime novels from editor Charles Ardai and publisher Titan Books, announced today that in September 2015 they will publish a new illustrated hardcover edition of their bestselling title of all time, Stephen King’s JOYLAND. The acclaimed coming-of-age story set in a possibly haunted small-town amusement park spent more than 25 weeks on the New York Times Best-Seller List in paperback and ebook format. Aside from certain extremely limited editions for collectors, however, no hardcover edition of the book has ever been published.

The new edition will feature a brand new cover painting by popular Hard Case Crime artist Glen Orbik, whose other covers for the series include books by Gore Vidal and Michael Crichton; a map of the Joyland amusement park illustrated in the classic ‘mapback’ style by Susan Hunt Yule; and more than twenty interior illustrations by acclaimed artists Robert McGinnis, Mark Summers and Pat Kinsella.

[Bev Vincent]

http://stephenking.com/promo/joyland/illustrated/images/joyland_illustrated_reveal.png

[Bev Vincent]

Press release (http://stephenking.com/promo/joyland/illustrated/joyland_illustrated_pr.pdf)

[Kingfan24]

Is this just a money grab by hard case? Do we really need another printing of this?

[Kingfan24]

Press release (http://stephenking.com/promo/joyland/illustrated/joyland_illustrated_pr.pdf)

404 error

[herbertwest]

Actually it's a 403 Forbidden page ;)

[Kingfan24]

Actually it's a 403 Forbidden page ;)

Sorry - just glanced at it quickly.

[Bev Vincent]

Still works for me.

[SystemCrashOverRide]

Still works for me.

Yeah I can't see it either. If it shows for you Bev, can you print screen the image and host it on imgur or another img hosting site and try linking that?

I for one would be interested in another Hard Cover of Joyland to put next to my Dolso cased S/L copy.

[mae]

The direct link won't work, you have to go through the website first: http://stephenking.com/news_archive/article487.html Once you have, it'll work.

But there's really no need for this if you already have the original hardcover.

[killjoy72]

Unless you wanted it for the new illustrations.

[mikeC]

This is awesome news! Love that cover too.

[Randall Flagg]

http://www.liljas-library.com/article.php?id=4441&ref=rss

http://www.liljas-library.com/img/other/joyland_hb_1.jpg

[Cordial Jim]

Great cover as usual from Orbik! Super excited about this release. The great Robert McGinnis is involved, too! He's done a bunch of great John D. MacDonald covers over the years. Can't wait to slide this book next to 11/22/63 and Doctor Sleep on my shelf. :)

[herbertwest]

New illustrated edition (that seem to be the ones from the previous limited edition?) available next month
>>> http://www.amazon.com/Joyland-Illustrated-Stephen-King/dp/1783295325/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438858743&sr=8-1&keywords=joyland+illustrated

[mikeC]

New illustrated edition (that seem to be the ones from the previous limited edition?) available next month
>>> http://www.amazon.com/Joyland-Illustrated-Stephen-King/dp/1783295325/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438858743&sr=8-1&keywords=joyland+illustrated

I'm surprised(disappointed) we haven't seen any new illustrations from this yet.

[amd013]

Has there been a change in the release date of the new illustrated edition? I got an email a couple of days ago from Amazon saying it was delayed. Looks like the release date is Oct 6 on Amazon, not sure what the original release date was.

[jhanic]

I got the same email. It looks to have been delayed a few weeks.

John

[herbertwest]

October 6th, according to amazon