Patrick Ness - Diary

Free brand new Chaos Walking short stories!!

Thu, 16 May 2013 23:18:56 +0000

As promised, the brand new Chaos Walking short stories are now online for fans of the book. Australia has its own site to get them here, and the rest of the world can get them here!

Hope you like them. They're meant as companions to the book, so it's best to read each book first. The New World is that one about Viola coming to New World and works best after reading Knife; The Wide, Wide Sea takes place just before the first Spackle War and stars Mistress Coyle, so best read after Ask and the Answer; and Snowscape stars Lee and Wilf and takes place after the end of Monsters of Men (so definitely read Monsters of Men first!). Hope you like them, love to know what you think.

Greetings to the new commenters, now back to my lovely New Zealand/Australia tour...

Dr Who video and NZ/Australia tour!

Sun, 12 May 2013 09:47:52 +0000

I'm just about to leave for two weeks in New Zealand and Australia (so there might not be updates for a bit, though I do hope to have info on how to get the new Chaos Walking short stories up very soon)), but before I go, the video of me talking about my Doctor Who short story is up! Have a look, I say Doctor Who type things and am dressed perhaps slightly too casually.

In other video news, someone's put up a clip of my Carnegie speech last year where I defend teenagers. Much better dressed in this one, too.

And if you're in Australia or New Zealand! Come see me! Here's the schedule:

Auckland Writers and Readers Festival

16 May - 1230pm, Schools Event (might be sold out)

17 May - 530pm, Free YA reading event with Libba Bray, Kate de Goldi & Paula Morri

18 May - 1pm, Solo Crane Wife event (do please come, I get nervous when it's just me!)

Melbourne Writers Week

20 May - 615pm, Evening paired event with Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Sydney Writers' Festival

23 May - 4pm, Big Read event with Lauren Beukes, Sheila Heti, Nicolas Rothwell, Annette Shun Wah and Arnold Zable.

25 May - 1130am, Solo event about Crane Wife (see above for coming along!)

26 May - 1130am, Storytelling event with Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Greetings to the new commenters!

I wrote the new Doctor Who short story!

Tue, 07 May 2013 11:12:17 +0000

Oh, yes, I did. It's for the Fifth Doctor and is part of the e-book short story series Puffin are running all year, with people like Eoin Colfer and Philip Reeve each writing a brand new story featuring one of the Doctors. Mine's called Tip of the Tongue and is out 23 May. The link has where you can pre-order in the UK, Australia and the US. Then in November, all 11 stories are going to be collected in a book. Cool stuff, let me know what you think.

I should have info soon on how fans of Chaos Walking will be able to get the new stories electronically. In the meantime, greetings and I'm off to New Zealand and Australia soon, so hope to see some of you there.

UK Chaos Walking rejackets out today with new short stories!

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:07:30 +0000

Today is official publication date for the new UK rejackets of Chaos Walking. Aren't they pretty? And they each come with a Chaos Walking short story. The Knife of Never Letting Go has "The New World" short story, The Ask and the Answer has a brand new story "The Wide, Wide Sea" featuring Mistress Coyle, and Monsters of Men has a new story "Snowscape" starring Wilf and Lee which takes place after the end of Monsters of Men. Hmmm...

Also tonight I'm at Bristol BookSlam with Matt Haig. Tickets are only £5 on the door, so if you're West Countrywards, come and see us. Greetings to the new commenters and more soon....

US news! And other things

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:39:48 +0000

I've been on the road for the last 10 days, which is why no updates! But I return with news that I'm definitely going to be in America this year for book stuff! I'll be on a dystopia panel in June in Chicago with Veronica Roth, Cory Doctorow and Lois Lowry (though this could be librarians-only, I'll let you know!), but then I'm back in September for the National Book Fair and a bunch of other things, which I'll post here as soon as it's all finalized.

In the meantime, don't forget the rejackets of Chaos Walking in the UK with brand new short stories "The Wide, Wide Sea" and "Snowscape" (which features Wilf and Lee and a surprise at the end). You will be able to get the stories online, too, details as soon as I know them, but that part's definite.

And of course I've been promoting The Crane Wife (which has split opinion like no other book of mine! Fun!) and dropping hints for More Than This, which comes out in the Autumn. Busy!

Be sure to check me out in Bristol next week for Bristol Book Slam and take a look here for all the details of my New Zealand and Australia tour in May.

Finally, HUGE greetings to all the new commenters. I've tried to answer a few questions and would also like to extend special greetings to Ms Edholm and her class in Sweden who read A Monster Calls. More soon!

Australia and New Zealand tour in May!

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 14:41:15 +0000

Hey, I can finally announce all the days for my New Zealand and Australia visit in May, including events with folks like Lauren Beukes, Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Libba Bray.

I start at the Auckland Writers Fest, move on to Melbourne Writers Week and finish at Sydney Book Fest. And before people who live elsewhere complain, last time I did a tour, I went to Perth, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Auckland, Wellington, Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart, so it's not like I haven't got around! (Sorry, Adelaide, Darwin and Christchurch, one day). But the dates!:

Auckland Writers and Readers Festival

16 May - 1230pm, Schools Event (might be sold out)

17 May - 530pm, Free YA reading event with Libba Bray, Kate de Goldi & Paula Morri

18 May - 1pm, Solo Crane Wife event (do please come, I get nervous when it's just me!)

Melbourne Writers Week

20 May - 615pm, Evening paired event with Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Sydney Writers' Festival

23 May - 4pm, Big Read event with Lauren Beukes, Sheila Heti, Nicolas Rothwell, Annette Shun Wah and Arnold Zable.

25 May - 1130am, Solo event about Crane Wife (see above for coming along!)

26 May - 1130am, Storytelling event with Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Hope to see some of you there!

Sneak preview of cover and plot of More Than This!

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:35:00 +0000

I've just returned from some time away, and just in time to point you to the exclusive, first sneak peek of the cover of More Than This, my new YA novel out in the US, UK and Australia in September. Have a look, tell me what you think!

I'm also very busy promoting The Crane Wife, so do check out the Events pages. I've got a London event tomorrow night, for example, at the Book Stops Here and lots more to come, including things that aren't on there yet!

I'm also planning tours for More Than This, and I'll be coming to the US in September, so keep an eye out. Greetings to all the new commenters and LOTS more to come...

Hear me on the radio

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:50:05 +0000

I was on Open Book yesterday on Radio 4 with Mariella Frostrup. Have a listen here, if you like.

This week, my event at Mr B's is sold out, but be sure to check my Events page, as I'm doing tons more!

Greetings to the new commenters, more soon!

New Chaos Walking covers! With Two new short stories! Plus Twitter Fiction! Plus Hay!

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:02:35 +0000

BIG ANNOUNCMENT!! The Chaos Walking trilogy is going to be republished in May in the UK with all new covers, plus each one will have a Chaos Walking short story inside. Knife of Never Letting Go will have The New World, which is already available. The Ask and the Answer will have a new story called The Wide, Wide Sea, and Monsters of Men will have a new story (narrated by Lee) called Snowscape, which takes place after the end of the whole book. There'll be news soon on other ways to read these stories, but for now, check out the new UK covers!

Also, I'm this week's Twitter Fiction Author on the Guardian. The picture of me is AWFUL, the smuggest photo ever taken, but my Twitter story is a (short) bit of fun.

Finally, I'm also at the Hay Festival this year! Saturday, 1 June, I have a Crane Wife event with Matt Haig, and Sunday, 2 June, I've got a YA event (with a sneak preview of More Than This) in the morning. Come along, if you're Hay way. Greetings to the new commenter. More soon!

Telegraph interview and Open Book!

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:26:08 +0000

There was a really nice interview in the Telegraph of me talking about The Crane Wife, so have a look if you're interested. Also, I'm going to be on Open Book on Radio 4 on Easter Sunday, so if you all need a break from your families...

Just quick today as I'm back from holiday and buried in email, but webmaster Ralph has updated the Books pages to add Crane Wife, so see? I'm current. Greetings to the new commenters. Tons more to come.

London BookSlam with me and Will Self! And Auckland, too!

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:54:05 +0000

More Events to announce for The Crane Wife (and do check the Events page, which has everything in date order). First up, I can finally announce the tres cool event on 25 April. It's Bookslam in London! I'm there with Will Self, and it's the coolest book night in the world. Come and have a gander. Live music, great bar atmosphere, lots of a fun.

For those out west, a week later, I'm also at Bristol BookSlam on 2 May, with Matt Haig. Also cool. And in Bristol.

And THEN, I'm off to New Zealand! I'm at the Auckland Book Fest for two events, one solo on 18 May and a reading event for young readers the night before. There'll be Sydney and Melbourne events to come soon, too. Looking forward to it.

Greetings to the new commenters!

World Book Night event

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 07:50:14 +0000

I've added (yet another) event, so do check on the Events page, which I try to keep updated. You may know that The Knife of Never Letting Go is one of the World Book Night books this year, and they're putting on a huge big event with the BBC in Liverpool on 23 April. I'm going to be at it, along with Jeanette Winterson, Jackie Kay, Jasper Fforde and several others. Tickets are free, too, so check here.

I'll also be announcing soon a tour of Australia and New Zealand in May, so stay tuned!

More UK events and A Monster Calls US paperback out today!

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:51:21 +0000

Right, so I've got a few more Events (also added to the Events page) to tell you about for the The Crane Wife.

As previously announced, I'll be at Mr B's Book Emporium in Bath on 2 April, which is a very cool night indeed.

In London, I'll be appearing at The Book Stops Here, a book club night at The Alley Cat on 11 April. Details aren't quite up on their website yet, but keep checking.

In addition to AyeWrite on 16 April in Glasgow, I'll also be at the Main Street Trading Company Bookstore in the Scottish Borders on 17 April. Tickets here.

On 25 April, I've a got a really cool sounding second London event that I can't quite tell you about yet, but soon.

And on 2 May, I'll be appearing in Bristol at Bristol BookSlam with Matt Haig and Nikesh Shukla.

Aside from all that, the US paperback of A Monster Calls is out today, and it's gorgeous! Have a look. Greetings to the new commenters (even those I haven't uploaded) and more soon...

Videos of me talking about The Crane Wife

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:45:38 +0000

My terrific publishers Canongate have put up a page about The Crane Wife, including videos of me talking about it and reading from it, as well as the first chapter. Have a look! Three (or so) weeks to go until it's out in the UK and Australia.

Free new story by me for World Book Day

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 09:37:45 +0000

UK readers! There's a free YA app for World Book Day (today!) which has a brand new story by me - it's about demons, naturally - and a whole bunch of other people, too. The website's been quite busy this morning, so keep trying. And my story will be published in an anthology next year called Monstrous Affections, so the rest of the world will see it, too.

Let me know what you think! Greetings to the new commenters, more soon.