Michael Komarck has turned some of the best epic fantasy illustrations we’ve ever seen for Steven Erikson’s Gardens of the Moon. We’ve just finished going through all of the art, making sure of its placement, approved the dust jackets for the limited and lettered editions, as well as the interior text for the book itself. Early this week our designer, Gail Cross, will upload all the files to our printer’s ftp site, and this long awaited project will finally be roughly 4-5 weeks from publication. Thanks to everyone for their patience. When you see the finished books, we think you’ll feel rewarded for your faith.

As soon as Garden heads to the printer, Michael will start work on book two, Deadhouse Gates… As a reminder, we do not expect to have copies of Gardens available to large online retailers or wholesalers. Your only way to snag a copy will be direct from SubPress.

We’re hard at work on our schedule, and are pleased to give you the early word on two titles that we’ll be publishing in 2009. First up is Robert Bloch’s Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper (tentative title), which contains all of his Ripper related fiction, from the novel Night of the Ripper, to his stories A Toy for Juliette (written with Harlan Ellison) and others.

The treat for hardcore Bloch fans will be the first ever publication of his Star Trek script, A Wolf in the Fold. We’ll be reassembling the Lost Bloch gang (David J. Schow, Stefan Dziemianowicz, and possibly Bernie Wrightson) so we’re confident it’ll be a gorgeous book that does the author’s legacy proud.

2009 is shaping up to be the year of Jack Vance at SubPress. In addition to the tribute anthology, Songs of the Dying Earth, and a major general collection (Wild Thyme, Green Magic), we’ve just reached agreement to publish Jack’s autobiography (This is Me, Jack Vance!), which will feature a lengthy photo section in addition to the raconteur’s tales of an adventuresome life most of us can only dream of.

Look for ordering information on these unannounced projects early in the new year.

We’re in the final stages of getting Joe Hill’s Locke & Key ready for the printer. We’ve proofed the scripts, as has Joe, and the color comic section is complete. At this point, our designer is coordinating with two of our printers (one for the color section, one for the scripts and binding). As soon as those ducks are in a row, in the next couple of weeks, L&K is off to the printer.

Please note: We have had some cancellations of the limited and lettered edition for this title, so may well have a handful of copies available for sale after publication.

A Fantasy Medley is right on track for its March 2009 publication date. The interior is fully designed and has already been through the final proofing. The signature sheets are on their globetrotting adventure, having visited the Emerald Isle for C.E. Murphy’s signature and are currently in the Great White North with Kelley Armstrong’s pen. Robin Hobb and Kate Elliott are eagerly awaiting their turns, which we anticipate will be by the end of the year and then it’s off to the printer Medley goes!

We have our sample copies of The Shadow of the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafon) and Muse of Fire (Dan Simmons) sitting on our desks in the office here at Subterranean, and they may well be the most beautiful books we’ve ever produced. From the design of the dust jacket (yes, the dust jacket!) of Shadow, with a second image on its reverse side, to the amazing and apropos interior illustrations by Vincent Chong, to the quality of the paper and binding, to say nothing of the tale upon the pages, Shadow is one of the finest productions of the year.

Muse is no slouch either, with one of John Picacio’s best dust jackets, the book printed in two colors throughout, and a tale we believe is destined to be a modern classic. Please note that Muse is selling very well. The limited is long gone, and 1300 of the 1500 trade copies are already spoken for.

Some very good news for those who’ve been waiting so patiently for our two volume limited edition of George R. R. Martin’s A Feast for Crows to be published. We’ve long since approved everything, including printed-but-not-yet-bound copies of the books. Once the finished books are finished — likely in the next week — we’ll send off to have the slipcases manufactured. If all goes according to plan, we’ll be shipping finished copies of the books sometime in January.

The limited edition of Neil Gaiman’s newest masterpiece, The Graveyard Book, is marching steadily toward publication. We’ve approved all of the interior and special art section proofs, and are awaiting the special custom marbled paper that the book will be bound in. We’ve been told it’s shipping to our printer from the UK this week. If that holds true, we should have finished books before the end of the year, and then will only need to wait on slipcases before shipping to customers.

Our shippers are still hard at work on Charles de Lint’s Woods and Waters Wild. As soon a that title is done, they have the following books in the warehouse, all ready to go out:

– Skeleton in the Closet and Other Stories (Robert Bloch);
– The Six Directions of Space (Alastair Reynolds);
– Those Who Went Remain There Still (Cherie Priest);

…and the following finished, at our printer and awaiting pickup:

– The Shadow of the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafon);
– Muse of Fire (Dan Simmons);
– Kilimanjaro (Mike Resnick);
– The Last Science Fiction Writer (Allen Steele).

We’re finishing out this week by sending two stellar sf collections to the printer: A is for Alien collects all of Caitlin R. Kiernan’s short sf with a number of full page illustrations by Vince Locke, and a nearly 19,000 word chapbook (B is for Beginnings) that accompanies the limited edition.

Also headed to the printer is Jack McDevitt’s mammoth (over 200,000 words) gathering of tales, Cryptic. As Publishers Weekly just noted, Cryptic is “Never predictable in outcome, conflicts are resolved by a well-formed argument that enables the well-aimed blaster…” Those in the market for some strong traditional sf tales need look no further.

Over at Subterranean Online, we’re capping off the fall issue with a real corker — one of Alastair Reynolds’ fine space opera novellas, read by Sam Mowry. Head over and check out Thousandth Night, which was the jumping off point for Al’s most recent novel, House of Suns.