My Stephen King Book Signing reflections

[RichardX]

Here are the ones that I can remember:

Toronto- a tortious drive. It was cold there. No surprise. Sitting with my wife in some type of Canadian shopping mall restaurant while several DTers partied at the bar. Wild time. I got my copies of Christine and Cujo signed. If I had been smarter, I would have brought more books as you could go through the line over and over. Complete anarchy.

Savannah, GA - there were no tickets. So first come, first serve. I show up about ten hours beforehand in a deluge. Not a soul to be seen. Got my copies of The Shining and Firestarter signed. King flipped through my copy of Firestarter and point out a bearded picture of himself on the flap. He bent the corner of the flap which would have been a grievance had it been anyone else. He made reference to his joke about looking like Francis Ford Coppola.

George Mason/Fairfax VA - Got my copy of It signed. Mostly painlessly but they strictly enforced some rule about one book per two tickets. A high school friend who didn't give a rat's backside about King brought some book he probably found in the discount bin. I dared him to drop it in the garbage can if King refused to sign but he wouldn't take me up on it.

Portland, ME - Ah the brights lights of Portland. This was a two tripper. You had to go up to get a ticket and then a few weeks later go to the book signing. A brilliant strategy to defeat any capitalist. I got a hair cut at the local mall and mentioned to the lady that I was going to the King book signing. She said "he is a strange looking man." Hard to argue. It was policed with a Gestapo like list of rules that they handed out. My daughter came with me and I took a copy of Thinner on the off chance King might sign it. No luck. The security detail took it from me and passed it around behind him. I have a fond recollection of my copy of Thinner being passed over his head. He did sign my copy of Revival.

Someplace in Maine. This was in a movie theatre. My wife and I went to a terrible Terminator movie there. King sat on stage and signed books. Old ladies were complaining because they were forced to leave their purses outside. King apparently believed they were going to assassinate him.

Nashville. Holy cow. Yankee Stephen King at the Ryman. Surreal. The benches were hard as concrete. One of those random chance signings where they hand out books after the event. Got two signed copies.

Washington DC. George Washington U. King was hilarious that night. Random signed copies.

Sewickley, PA - a swanky suburb of Pittsburgh. Another two-time visit. I showed up around 3AM. There was already a line. Got the ticket. Came back several weeks later for the book signing at some school.

Some college in NY famous because Chevy Chase had attended. Owen and Uncle Stevie. Took my son who was like five to increase the chances of getting a random signed copy. I remember him getting the book and opening to find that it was signed. He grinned like a maniac. He still refers to that as his copy.

[Randall Flagg]

Is that list in chronological order? Doesn't seem so.

[RichardX]

Is that list in chronological order? Doesn't seem so.

Not a chance. I think I met you at the George Mason event. In the bar of some hotel.

[mcbanick]

Richard any chance you could throw some years up for each event? Some of us newer to the game weren’t around for all of those… would love to know approximately when each event occurred…

[St. Troy]

Cool stories; thanks for posting.

[Roseannebarr]

Richard any chance you could throw some years up for each event? Some of us newer to the game weren’t around for all of those… would love to know approximately when each event occurred…

There is a list of events dates tickets etc… On this site. Somewhere

[Randall Flagg]

I looked and couldn't find a thread about King signing event dates. There is a thread with tips about going to a signing, and a thread with King book release dates, but no specific thread for actual dates of all signings. Perhaps someone with better search skills can find one.

[Ben Mears]

Some interesting experiences for you.
The only SK book I would be interested in having signed is my well worn first edition 'Salem's Lot paperback purchased at Walgreens in August of 1976.

[amd013]

So envious of you. I have never been to a "signing" event, although I did go to a talk in Milwaukee to promote Sleeping Beauties with Owen, but I did not get a signed copy.


To date, its the only SK related event I have been to, looking forward to KingCon later this year.

[Randall Flagg]

Some interesting experiences for you.
The only SK book I would be interested in having signed is my well worn first edition 'Salem's Lot paperback purchased at Walgreens in August of 1976.
Sometimes your thoughts are so esoteric.

[becca69]

I looked and couldn't find a thread about King signing event dates. There is a thread with tips about going to a signing, and a thread with King book release dates, but no specific thread for actual dates of all signings. Perhaps someone with better search skills can find one.

https://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?19816-Stephen-King-signing-events-master-list-spreadsheet&highlight=books

[RichardX]

Richard any chance you could throw some years up for each event? Some of us newer to the game weren’t around for all of those… would love to know approximately when each event occurred…

The Sewickley PA event was on June 8, 2016. By some miracle I still have a ticket. The best that I can remember it was a random signed handout of End of Watch. Got one out of two signed.

The Nashville event at the Ryman was a week later on June 11, 2016. He was introduced by Ann Pratchett who is an author and owns a local bookstore. The benches were rock hard! Got two of three signed.

The Savannah, Georgia signing was around Feb. 20, 2012. I got my first edition of the Shining and Firestarter signed. King flipped through the latter and found his picture to make his joke about Coppola. This one was crazy because they kept asking people to buy copies of 11.22.63 which would allow you to any other book signed. If only I had brought some extras.
https://www.wtoc.com/story/16971332/stephen-king-speaks-at-closing-of-savannah-book-festival/

The New York event was on Sept. 27, 2017 at Bard College. That was the Owen and Uncle Stevie appearance. Random handout. Got both copies of Sleeping Beauties signed.

Toronto. I think this was Oct. 24, 2013. They handed out presigned copies of Dr. Sleep. And then you were allowed to go through the line after the event. Unreal. I got him to sign Christine and Cujo. Should have brought more as he was in a signing mood.



Wash DC/George Washington University Nov. 12, 2014 - Revival tour. Random signed copies. Got two of three. Also Nov. 17 at Portland, ME. Got a couple more copies signed at a bookstore which he signed in front of at books a million. It was coming a deluge outside.

George Mason Sept. 23, 2011. Wow how time flies. This was over a decade ago. King signed my copy of It. The rule was one signed copy per two tickets. Made for a lot of bad relationships.
https://www.gmu.edu/news/2022-10/retro-mason-stephen-king-appears-fall-book-2011

[Randall Flagg]

[QUOTE=mcbanick;1277007]
George Mason Sept. 23, 2011. Wow how time flies. This was over a decade ago. King signed my copy of It. The rule was one signed copy per two tickets. Made for a lot of bad relationships.
https://www.gmu.edu/news/2022-10/retro-mason-stephen-king-appears-fall-book-2011
My recollection is a bit diferent. We had tickets to the the VIP social preceding the event. At the social King came out and mixed with the crowd. Asking for or getting an item signed during the reception was forbidden, and tightly, (but not draconian) regulated. King was not drinking alcohol but most everyone else was, and King was polite and moved throughout the room posing for dozens of photos.

When King left the room, I caught him in the hallway and since no one had a book handy, he signed my drink ticket stub.
As for the reading and signing, my wife and I had two tickets, and we each got a King book signed (mine was a 1st The Shining), and my wife as a favor to a friend got an orange Gunslinger proof signed. One of only two believed to exist in a signed state.

[mcbanick]

Love these stories. Thank you both for sharing. I didn’t realize that each the events RichardX listed were all relatively recent

[ajw2910]

Richard any chance you could throw some years up for each event? Some of us newer to the game weren’t around for all of those… would love to know approximately when each event occurred…

Toronto. I think this was Oct. 24, 2013. They handed out presigned copies of Dr. Sleep. And then you were allowed to go through the line after the event. Unreal. I got him to sign Christine and Cujo. Should have brought more as he was in a signing mood. [/url]

Was this the one where he was inducted into the Canadian booksellers HOF or whatever they called it? Clive Barker also spoke? If so, my wife and I went to this one. First one and only one I’ve ever gone to. Didn’t even know they handed out signed copies of books or that you could get any signed. Just went to see him and Clive speak and have a weekend with my wife.

[surly]

Was this the one where he was inducted into the Canadian booksellers HOF or whatever they called it? Clive Barker also spoke? If so, my wife and I went to this one. First one and only one I’ve ever gone to. Didn’t even know they handed out signed copies of books or that you could get any signed. Just went to see him and Clive speak and have a weekend with my wife.

Different events.
The one you are thinking of happened around the time LISEYS STORY was released, so 2006-ish? they were selling copies of LISEYS STORY in the lobby, but none were pre-signed.
it was a good event and it was very cool to see the presentation, but no signings of any kind at that one. I was in the seat behind King for the event, and a couple of people approached him to sign something, but Tabby was running a strong interference game that day and wouldn't allow it.

[ajw2910]

Ah ok, thanks for the info. I was thinking there was no signing but it’s been a few years now and my memory isn’t what it once was……..

[DoctorZaius]

My reflection comes from an event sponsored by Waterside's Booksellers back on November 30, 1998 at the Circle Cinema in Brookline, Massachusetts. King was reading from Bag of Bones. Sparkling cider was served at the event. King would only sign Bag of Bones, and we were told he would only inscribe. This was great because my wife and I were getting married the next summer, and both of being high school English teachers, we had decided that instead of numbered tables at our wedding we would have tables representing our favorite authors, with the center piece being a hardcover edition of one of our favorite books (the King table, the Puzo table, etc.) - of course, we had hoped for a special message from King.

When we finally got to King we were able to engage in a brief conversation where we told him how our vocational high school has a lot of reluctant readers and how we use a lot of his works in class (Eyes of the Dragon, The Mist, Shawshank, Carrie, and an assortment of short stories). He thought that was great and he asked our names and then inscribed our book "To Greg and Denise: Keep Teaching My Books!" When it came to our second book, my wife explained our wedding idea, which he also loved, and he graciously added a note "To the special person attending Greg and Denise's wedding. Enjoy the festivities!" My friend still has it. We really lucked out. It was a great night!

[Ari_Racing]

My reflection comes from an event sponsored by Waterside's Booksellers back on November 30, 1998 at the Circle Cinema in Brookline, Massachusetts. King was reading from Bag of Bones. Sparkling cider was served at the event. King would only sign Bag of Bones, and we were told he would only inscribe. This was great because my wife and I were getting married the next summer, and both of being high school English teachers, we had decided that instead of numbered tables at our wedding we would have tables representing our favorite authors, with the center piece being a hardcover edition of one of our favorite books (the King table, the Puzo table, etc.) - of course, we had hoped for a special message from King.

When we finally got to King we were able to engage in a brief conversation where we told him how our vocational high school has a lot of reluctant readers and how we use a lot of his works in class (Eyes of the Dragon, The Mist, Shawshank, Carrie, and an assortment of short stories). He thought that was great and he asked our names and then inscribed our book "To Greg and Denise: Keep Teaching My Books!" When it came to our second book, my wife explained our wedding idea, which he also loved, and he graciously added a note "To the special person attending Greg and Denise's wedding. Enjoy the festivities!" My friend still has it. We really lucked out. It was a great night!

Great story! Congrats!

[jon10g]

I've been to three signings, all in London. One for Bag of Bones and two for Lisey's Story. Forgot to take a camera both times like an idiot! Got the limited edition of 999 signed (again stupidly I sold it when I got rid of most of my collection). He told me that he had only signed a couple of them before.

[RichardX]

Richard any chance you could throw some years up for each event? Some of us newer to the game weren’t around for all of those… would love to know approximately when each event occurred…

Toronto. I think this was Oct. 24, 2013. They handed out presigned copies of Dr. Sleep. And then you were allowed to go through the line after the event. Unreal. I got him to sign Christine and Cujo. Should have brought more as he was in a signing mood. [/url]

Was this the one where he was inducted into the Canadian booksellers HOF or whatever they called it? Clive Barker also spoke? If so, my wife and I went to this one. First one and only one I’ve ever gone to. Didn’t even know they handed out signed copies of books or that you could get any signed. Just went to see him and Clive speak and have a weekend with my wife.

Clive Barker wasn't at the Toronto event that I attended. It was Margaret Atwood as I recall.

[ajw2910]

I believe she interviewed SK but I seem to recall Clive Barker spoke prior. I just remember him in some multi-colored outfit. I found a poster from that event but can’t find the program that I’m sure was handed out. I’ll keep looking…..

[ajw2910]

Found a link that shows the speech Clive gave at that award……

https://www.clivebarker.info/newsstephenking.html

[Rahfa]

He's actually done more in the last 10+ years than I would have thought.

So the events I've been too -

2002 Pleasantville NY for DT V, although this wasn't really a signing. There was a Q+A with Janet Maslin I think, and then we got copies of the book. There was a reception but he wasn't feeling well.

2003 (?) Pleasantville again - for Buick 8. Watched Cujo with him in attendance and then got a signed book.

2008 (?) Harvard - this was a signing for Best American Short Stories. Huuuuge crowd, loooong line, looooooong wait. No inscriptions, just sigs. I actually asked him to personalize the book and he just grunted at me.

2012 (?) Portsmouth, NH for Full Black, No Stars - very well-run event for a small bookstore. I tried to make stupid small talk and he grunted again.

2014 (?) Bridgton, Maine - again a well-run event, this time I avoided small talk and just said "thanks" and moved along. But then outside after the event he came out and a few people and me tried to see if he'd sign more by following him to his car and even in the moment it just felt gross. That was the moment that started to turn me off collecting.

I feel like I'm missing one, but maybe that's it.

[Randall Flagg]

Rahfa, In think the Brighton Maine event was in July (12th?) 2015

[Herbie_Marsten]

The Pittsburgh Event e-mail information:

Stephen King Ticket Sales Information
for June 8, 2016 appearance!
Please read carefully*View this email in your browser

The Penguin Bookshop Presents...

"An Evening with Stephen King"

***
Wednesday, June 8th, 7:00PM
Doors will open at 6:00PM
Event will be held at:
Sewickley Academy's Rea Auditorium
315 Academy Avenue
Sewickley, PA *15143
*

•*Due to capacity limits, each person is allowed to purchase a maximum of 2 tickets.*

•*Purchasing a ticket guarantees entry to the event as well as a hardcover edition of END OF WATCH.*As a special bonus, a limited number of attendees will randomly receive signed copies, so we wish you luck! *All books (signed and unsigned) will be distributed at the end of the event. **

•*Seating will be assigned.*Purchasers of the Premium tickets (limited) will be seated in the first two rows of the auditorium. *Those*who purchase General Assigned Seating tickets will be assigned a specific seat (no specific seat requests will be allowed)*and we will*fill the rows in the order that the tickets are*purchased. While we will try our absolute best to accommodate groups of 2 next to each other, there is a possibility that you and your plus one will be seated in different rows (though likely close together, directly in front/behind each other).

•*Ticket sales will take place on three consecutive days:
-Sunday, April 17th, *11AM - 3PM at the Penguin Bookshop only
(no on-line or phone orders).
-Monday, April 18th, *10AM - 6PM at the Penguin Bookshop only
(no on-line or phone orders).
-Tuesday, April 19th*starting at 10AM we will begin selling any remaining tickets over the phone.
-We will not be selling any tickets on-line.

Note: We will NOT take phone calls on April 17 or 18.

•*Ticket Prices:
$38.00 General Assigned Seating*
$50.00 Friends of the Penguin priority seating* (limited availability)*
*2 seats will be donated to the Sewickley Academy Auction.

We are unable to offer refunds for any reason.

All tickets include a copy of*End of Watch.

Stephen King will pre-sign 400 copies of*End of Watch,*which will be handed out randomly after the conclusion of his talk. NO ONE IS GUARANTEED A SIGNED BOOK.

Stephen will be talking, reading from END OF WATCH, and doing a Q&A. *He will NOT be signing books at this event. *Event will last approximately one hour. *

For all of you who are*coming to Sewickley for the Sunday, April 17 in-store ticket sale, we ask that you are considerate while waiting in line outside the store, that you do NOT save spaces for friends/family, that you respect the community, and that you are patient and kind to all those concerned with the ticket sales at the Penguin Bookshop.