Folio Society to release Mort?

[abumonkey]

I spotted this news on the LibraryThing site:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/222594

It seems to be saying that a Folio copy of Mort will be released fairly soon?

There's also a teaser of several new pics for new (non Pratchett) books and speculation that one of them might be for Mort:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/219618

Anyone else heard anything? There's nothing on the Folio site as far as I can see

Abu

 

[The Mad Collector]

It is there if you know where to look, along with one of the illustrations

I've been trying to get them to publish Terry's work for years and now they are finally at least doing one of them.

 

[abumonkey]

So when do you think it will be released? I don't want to miss a chance to get a copy but am not sure how to keep track of it - any tips (other than daily checks)? Where did you find that art work out of interest?

On a more personal note and aimed at The Mad Collector, I grew up in Shropshire (Newport) and visit there a lot still - any suggestions for good book shops? I visit Much Wenlock and Ironbridge once in a while, but where else is good for a look around?

Abu

 

[The Mad Collector]

Much Wenlock probably has the best selection in the county it depends what you are looking for. In the south of the county Aardvark Books is the best although just over the border in Herefordshire it has a Shrewsbury postcode although frankly when I get that far I just keep going to Hay on Wye

When next in Ironbridge drop in, my shop is next door but one to the bookshop

 

[abumonkey]

I will do The mad Collector!

Hay is still great for a visit but a lot less so (book wise) than it was a few years ago I think. But there's some great food and pubs, and the surroundings are ok I guess so I'll get over it!

 

[The Mad Collector]

More info from the Folio newsletter

Mort is coming. After months of trying to keep the publication of our new edition of Terry Pratchett's Mort a secret, our very own Editorial Director let it slip during an interview with Monocle.

One of the most loved titles in the enormously popular Discworld series has received the Folio treatment. This collector's edition features colour illustrations by Omar Rayyan, printed endpapers and an illustrated slipcase. Available online for purchase, with your member's launch price, from midday (UK time) Tuesday 10 May.

It is followed by a further slightly worrying throwaway line

And in keeping with the delightful and always surprising Discworld there might be another gift for Pratchett fans just around the corner ...

 

[The Mad Collector]

and another picture

 

[RathDarkblade]

So....... this is only available for purchase within the UK, then?

*headdesk*

 

[The Mad Collector]

The Folio Society sends books all over the world Rath, so anyone can buy it and you no longer have to be a member to buy the books. I'll post a link to the book when it becomes available but for now here is a general link to the society

http://www.foliosociety.com

 

[RathDarkblade]

Um, what do you mean by saying that I don't have to be a member? I'm confused. I just tried (as an exercise) to order an Arthur C Clarke. (Just trying without providing any card details or details about myself etc.) But the website told me that I have to log in.

So... I have to be a member? Or...?

 

[The Mad Collector]

OK, I think you have to create an account with them same as you would with Amazon and then sign into that account. I'm a member anyway so already have an account and have had for many years and my laptop logs me in automatically so haven't tried to buy something without being logged in.

As for membership
Up until recently you had to take 4 books a year to qualify for membership of the society and you could only buy from them if you were a member. They changed the rules a couple of years ago so that anyone can buy books but if you do buy 4 books in a year then you are counted as a member for the next twelve month and get discounts on books as they are released and a free book each year when you buy that years 4 titles. It's all explained in the link below

http://www.foliosociety.com/pages/membership

 

[abumonkey]

Thanks for that info Mad, I didn't know how it worked either!

Abu

 

[Dingleberry]

It's up and available to buy on-line now! In fact there are two Folio Society editions of Mort, a standard one and a limited leather-bound one which is limited to 500 numbered copies. The limited edition is a facsimile of the special volume that Death hands to Mort, as described in the book itself, i.e. bound in black leather with the word 'Mort' in gold letters on the spine. The standard edition is £35, the limited £120. You don't have to be a member of the Folio Society to buy them and they do post to anywhere overseas. There are only 378 of the limited editions remaining since the books became available on-line four hours ago!

 

[Tonyblack]

Thanks for the info and welcome to the site!

 

[Dingleberry]

Thank you!

People have been describing the two FS Mort volumes on LibraryThing. Both volumes seem very popular. Apparently the limited edition is selling so fast they're preventing people ordering more than one copy!

 

[The Mad Collector]

I managed to get a limited edition one although there were only 206 left when I placed my order

Links to books

Standard edition
http://www.foliosociety.com/book/MOR/mort

Limited edition
http://www.foliosociety.com/book/LMO

 

[RathDarkblade]

Sigh. And, of course, the limited edition is now sold out. That's what I get for working during the day, rehearsing in the evening to work with the MSO (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), and sleeping at night... and *then* getting here. *kicks self*

Another "and, of course"... of course, since the prices are in GBP, the same prices are twice as expensive for us Antipodeans. So instead of paying 35 GBP for the normal book, I have to pay $75 AUS; and instead of 120 GBP for the Limited Edition book, I have to pay $250 AUS. Or, at least, I'd have to pay it if it wasn't sold out - there are now -4 copies left???

I didn't think it was possible to have negative amounts of books, but there you go. It's Bloody Stupid Johnson at work again! :twisted:

 

[Dingleberry]

Sorry to hear you missed out, Rath. The whole of the limited edition is reported to have sold out in twelve hours, an unheard of record for the Folio Society. There are already copies of the limited edition for sale on eBay, Amazon marketplace and abebooks.com at crazy prices from £350 to £600. This may be understandable because of market forces: tens of thousands of ardent Pratchett fans and only 500 copies produced. What is completely incomprehensible is that Discworld fans are paying up to £60 on eBay for the Folio Society's standard edition of Mort, which is still available to anyone who contacts the Folio Society direct (you don't have to be a member) for half this price. The standard edition is still a very attractive volume with the same illustrations, bound in silver-embossed velveteen cloth rather than the gold-blocked black leather of the facsimile, and with silver instead of gold for the endpapers and slipcase. But please, everyone, don't pay more for it than you need to: if you're after the standard Folio edition, order your copy direct from the Folio Society (go to their website or phone) and don't get ripped off!

 

[RathDarkblade]

Sigh... again...

I tried to order the book again, but I am hesitant - for two reasons:

1) I already have the book (a second edition, IIRC - thankyouverymuch). So I'm not sure how this copy differs.

2) When I tried to order, the website (which tells me that it is in Australia), first says that the book is $74.95. OK... then I order it and it automatically adds "A Folio Notebook - the Shifting Sands" into my cart and refuses to let me delete it. All right, but the notebook is $0.00. Fine.

But then, when I go to check out... what do I see but a $15.00 fee for "Delivery". What's this for? Especially when it's supposed to come to me from within my own country? :| I'm pretty sure that the Book Depository doesn't charge for delivery, and it also delivers quicker than 28 days... hmm. Is this a standard charge? :|

I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain - I just don't order books online very often, so I don't know.

 

[Dingleberry]

Hi Rath, I've been a member* of the Folio Society since 2009 so know quite a bit about them and how they work. They're a small publisher of fine editions which they design and produce themselves, commissioning a series of illustrations for every work, so not remotely like TheBookDepository which is just a conveyor belt seller of books, owned by Amazon. The FS is based in London, so all their books are sent out from the UK, hence the postal charge, which is standard. Bear in mind also that their books are well made hardbacks (proper sewn bindings, expensive acid-free paper) that come in slipcases so they're heavier than most books including usual trade hardbacks. Their Discworld series should look pretty impressive once all the books are lined up on a bookshelf. The 'Shifting Sands' notebook is a nice freebie, worth about A$25 or so, also a sewn-binding with acid free paper, so I wouldn't delete it: you could always sell it on eBay.com.au or give it to a friend as a present if you don't want it yourself. I imagine you'll be delighted with it if you go ahead and order it: a standard Folio Society edition is better than most other publisher's 'deluxe' editions, and Omar Rayyan's illustrations for Mort are just wonderful.

(*there's nothing too exclusive or arcane about being a member of the Folio Society: anyone who buys four books a year or spends above a certain amount on a lesser number automatically becomes a 'member' which entitles you to certain discounts, around 10%, on new volumes for an introductory period, and access to sales and special offers throughout the year)