Predator Cities re-published in the U.S.A

For various reasons Mortal Engines and its three sequels (or The Predator Cities Quartet, as they are now collectively called) have been unavailable for the past couple of years in the U.S.A.  During that time I've had lots of e-mails and facebook queries from American readers wondering how they can get their hands on them.

Now, at long last, I can give them an answer which doesn't involve second hand copies or expensive imports, because in June 2012 Scholastic will be releasing these snazzily-jacketed new paperbacks:

There's an interesting disjuncture between the first two and the last two covers (though maybe that's a reflection of the books themselves). The first two echo the heavily decorative, steampunk-y covers of the US editions of Fever Crumb and A Web of Air, which is fine (the U.S Fever Crumb (right) is one of my favourite covers ever) but I think Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain are a great new approach, full of atmosphere and detail,  and hinting at the landscapes and action within.  And I love the way that the symbols which David Wyatt designed for the Lost Boys and the Green Storm have found their way onto the Limpet's nose and the controls of that flying machine...  

I guess that, as books which are nearly ten years old, the Predator Cities Quartet may not be piled high on booksellers' front tables, or widely advertised, but they should be available from bookstores and all the usual online sellers as of next week.  Please spread the word! 

Mortal Engines: New Look, New Series Title.

There are some changes coming to the world of Mortal Engines. As of next month the original quartet will be re-launched in the UK with new covers, and a new series title: PREDATOR CITIES.  Here are what the new versions will look like:

The covers are certainly an improvement on the previous ones, which had no illustrations at all. Personally I far prefer the original covers or the David Wyatt ones, but I'm heaven knows how old and I guess these are aimed at, y'know, the kids...  The Bookzone For Boys blog has a very generous assessment of them, and some interesting responses from young readers, here.

The Predator Cities series title is a good move, I think, and this is a good time to make the change as the series will be re-published in the USA next month, too (with yet more new covers, which I'll post here shortly).  If I'd set out to write more than one book when I started Mortal Engines I expect I would have come up with a series title back then, and perhaps it has been a handicap to the books that they didn't have one. Also, it was always my intention that the Fever Crumb books would be a separate series with a slightly different feel, so it makes sense to split them off from Predator Cities.  Perhaps the Fever books will end up with a series title of their own one day.

(Of course, the chances of me actually remembering to call them Predator Cities after thinking of them as The Mortal Engines Quartet for ten years, are minimal.)

Lunch with all the Agents (and OUP's superhuman crew).

To Oxford last week, where those nice people at Oxford University Press treated me and that Sarah McIntyre to a slap-up lunch to celebrate the signing of the contracts for our forthcoming book Seawigs.  It turned into a bit of a Works Outing, since our agents were also invited and we all travelled up from London together on the 10.50 from Paddington.  This is me with my agent Philippa Milnes-Smith...

...and here's Sarah with hers, Jodie Marsh.

Once we reached OUP's impressive HQ we had no sooner clocked in...

...than we were whisked off out again for lunch and contract signing.  Here we are putting our names on the dotted line, in the august presence of our editor Liz Cross, who is wearing AN ACTUAL SEAWIG.  

Look! The dangly glass orbs hanging from Liz's wig contain a tiny Fimo McIntyre & Reeve...

It's great to be working with Liz at last, because way back when I was still a jobbing illustrator it was she who encouraged me to keep submitting re-writes of Mortal Engines to Scholastic, where she was then working. She'd left before the book was formally accepted for publication, but I still think of her as my first editor. (She didn't wear the wig in those days, mind...)  We'll also be working with another OUP editor, Clare Whitston, and Head of Design Jo Cameron.

And huzzah, Elaine McQuade, another familiar face from Scholastic, is now Head of Marketing and Publicity at OUP.  On Scholastic's super-efficient publicity itineraries Elaine was always referred to as EMQ, so we like to think of her as 'Er Majesty the Queen.

I can't wait to see Sarah's illustrations start to take shape, and we're both looking forward to getting to work with the OUP team on the book, which will be published next year.

Oh look, here's Sarah's account of the same day, with even more photos and much more detail.

Skarper

As a change from the Mortal Engines pictures I've been posting recently, here's a fine drawing of Skarper, the goblin hero of Goblins, drawn by William Widdas from Leeds...

...and here's a link to a recent review of the book by Simon Mason in the Guardian newspaper.