Latest Posts
Dean to participate in the 2020 Texas Book Festival
September 28, 2020
This year’s Texas Book Festival will take place as a virtual event with 16 days of programming on Oct. 31-Nov. 15. Festival organizers on Wednesday announced 15 authors who will be featured at the event.
Bestselling suspense writer Dean Koontz will present his latest novel, “Elsewhere.” Ghanaian American novelist Yaa Gyasi, who won a National Book Critics Circle award for her 2016 debut, “Homegoing,” will present the highly anticipated follow-up, “Transcendent Kingdom.” And comedian Michael Ian Black will present “A Better Man: A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son,” an examination of masculinity structured as a letter to his college-bound son.
Austin 360
More via these links:
- Announcing our 2020 Author Lineup!
- Texas Book Festival 2020 full lineup: Matthew McConaughey, David Chang, Julia Alvarez, more
- Texas Book Festival lineup: Matthew McConaughey, chef David Chang, other big names
The fate of the world is in their hands.
September 22, 2020
The Other Emily
September 22, 2020
Looks like Amazon.com has put up pre-order pages for trade hardcover and CD audiobook editions of The Other Emily slated for release on March 23, 2021. Sadly no other details than a category of “Thrillers & Suspense” are given.
What’s New & Updated September 21, 2020
September 21, 2020
I’m back from vacation and starting to get back into the groove of things. A new email newsletter and a new issue of Useless News helped.
- From the Desk of Dean: I heard it’s back-to-school time…
- Useless News, Autumn 2020
Where my ARCs at?
September 20, 2020
Where are the Elsewhere ARCs? I’ve literally seen just one Facebook post from someone who got their hands on one and that’s it. Nothing on eBay. Nothing on NetGalley. Just two weeks out and typically I’d have found one and read it well before now. Anyone have any ideas what’s different this time?
Goodreads Ask the Author
September 19, 2020
Dean’s doing an Ask the Author over on Goodreads. Don’t know how long it will last or how many questions he’ll be answering.
Whats New & Updated August 31, 2020
August 31, 2020
Another great addition to the collection this week. A near mint copy of Energumen #8 containing “that essay.” I’d previously had a very clean PDF version, but having an original in the collection is something I’ve been hoping to accomplish for decades.
- Updated cover image of Energumen #8 for “Dean’s Drive”
- From the Desk of Dean: We bought a new dishwasher…
- Moon of the Wolf by Leslie H. Whitten Ace Paperback cover to Stuff (column)
While I’ve got you here, I’d like to give you a heads-up that I’ve got a vacation coming up so please don’t expect any updates for the next two weeks. I might sneak one in, but no promises.
What’s New & Updated August 17, 2020
August 24, 2020
There are just a handful of “holy grails” when it comes to items I’m still looking for. Sure there are a bunch of items I could just spend more than I’d like to on this afternoon, but then there are others that I’ve just never, or only once before, seen for sale. Well, this week I got to check one of them off my list: The Drowned Man’s Reel by Charles de Lint with an introduction by Dean.
Previously I’d known that the National Library in Quebuec had one but accessing it was basically impossible. I’d seen a record of another one having been sold previously on eBay but that was well before I knew to look for it. But now, one of just the 100 released (not sold, but given away privately,) is in my hands. And it’s inscribed to the, I assume, original owner by Mr. de Lint.
So, not a lot of new content this week, but one of them’s a doozy!
- April 1969 Playboy cover to Stuff (Column)
- Updated details & image for “The Truth About Christmas”
Odd Thomas on the Stairs
August 24, 2020
What’s New & Updated August 17, 2020
August 17, 2020
What’s new & updated this week? Nothing. Other projects took priority this past week. However, I’m taking some time off this week so there should be a bunch of new items to announce next Monday.
What’s New & Updated August 10, 2020
August 10, 2020
Keeping it simple with some odds & ends this week along with a new entry for “From the Desk of Dean.”
- From the Desk of Dean: Unsolicited advice to young writers
- The Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLean paperback cover to Stuff (column)
- High Tension to Appendix E
- Locus #397 cover to “Because I have liked some of her work…”
- Screengrab from New Girl s01e19: Secrets to The Face
- Will Wilder: The Lost Staff of Wonders to Appendix Appendix D
What’s New & Updated August 3, 2020
August 3, 2020
The Duke collection is done along with some other great fanzine issues. Which, has caused a cascade of new purchases leading to new forthcoming entries since, in the case of the Stuff entry, I’ve found more reviews that need to be added to the site. As those items start to arrive, I’ll of course get those entries created.
- “Dreambird” in Galaxie, July 1969
- “Fair, accurate, and to the point.” (Unpublished letter)
- The House of Thunder Dark Harvest Advance Uncorrected Proof
- Locus Silver Anniversary Letter
- “Now, let me warn you…” (Letter)
- Stuff (column)
- “I know the following letter…” (Unpublished letter)
- “Because I have liked some of her work…” (Unpublished letter)
- Dr. Gerda Mundinger to Appendix F
- An interesting law firm in The Eyes of Darkness which later changed partners in the revised edition.
And, since the Duke material was both broken up into multiple updates, and some of the material didn’t merit their own entries, I did create this post which lists all of the items in the collection.
The Duke Locus Collection: What it contains
August 3, 2020
The wonderful librarians at Duke University were able to supply me with copies of the Dean Koontz material from the Locus Science Fiction Foundation Archives. While not every item gets it’s own entry, here’s the complete list of content for the record.
- December 18, 1987 Publishers Weekly pages from “Publishers Weekly The Author Series: Dean Koontz, Traveling many roads to the top of the charts”
- March 12, 1986 Los Angeles Times article “Writer Knows His Place—at the Typewriter”
- October 23, 1989 The Orange County Register “The Dean of Fantasy: How OC’s Dean Koontz toys with the Imagination”
- Face of Fear promotional PBK cover
- “Fair, accurate, and to the point.” (Unpublished letter)
- “It was good to see you in Tucson…” (Unpublished letter)
- “Nice seeing you at ABA.” (Unpublished letter)
- “Some news and a quibble.” (Unpublished letter)
- “Usually, I’m too shy to do this sort of thing…” (Unpublished letter)
- “I know the following letter…” (Unpublished letter)
- “Because I have liked some of her work…” (Unpublished letter)
Source: Locus Science Fiction Foundation Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
What’s New & Updated July 27, 2020
July 27, 2020
Four of the six letters from the Locus Science Fiction Foundation Archives are now up along with three new “From the Desk of Dean” columns. I was hoping to finish off the letters and get two other new surprises into this week but I just ran out of time. So, I’ll just tease them for next week.
- Books Are Everything #21 to Appendix G
- From the Desk of Dean
- Adventures with my Golden Retrievers
- Piano master and composer, David Benoit…
- What’s the best advice I’ve ever received?
- “It was good to see you in Tucson…” (Unpublished letter)
- “Nice seeing you at ABA.” (Unpublished letter)
- “Some news and a quibble.” (Unpublished letter)
- “Usually, I’m too shy to do this sort of thing…” (Unpublished letter)
What’s New & Updated July 20, 2020
July 20, 2020
Haven’t lined everything up yet for the letters from the Locus Collection but have I got some real goodies for you this week regardless including a 1970s proof and some original artwork that was way out of my budget.
- Adult titles added to Appendix H
- Josh Kirby A Darkness In My Soul Paperback Cover Illustration Original Art
- Devoted large print hardcover
- Hanging On proof
- Signalz by F. Paul Wilson to Appendix D
Elsewhere ARCs have been released
July 16, 2020
According to Bill Popper who posted this photo on Facebook of their copy, there are now ARC copies of Elsewhere out in the wild.
What’s New & Updated July 13, 2020
July 13, 2020
Just one update but for a very good reason…
Quite a while back I blogged about the Locus Collection now housed at Duke University. More than a year later I’ve managed to acquire copies of the Koontz-related material from that collection. It’s not a lot but it does contain six unpublished letters from Dean to editor Charlie Brown dated between 1977 and 1994. One of them includes a two-page appreciation of Sheri L. Tepper. Other topics include the film versions of Demon Seed and Watchers, along with the ceasing of his use of the Leigh Nichols pseudonyms.
Again, this isn’t a lot of new material but it’s unique and I want to do it justice. As a result I’m taking my time to get it right (the cross-references are going to be a nightmare,) and in doing so awaiting an answer I’ve sent back to the librarians at Duke. It’s possible I’ll get these items posted next week but it could take longer.
In the meantime, here’s the one new item on the site this week.
Happy Birthday Dean!
July 9, 2020
What’s New & Updated July 6, 2020
July 6, 2020
It seems like I’ve got just one update for you today but it’s hiding several items behind it. Basically I noticed that Dean’s published a bunch of stuff via email and social media all under the title “From the Desk of Dean”, So I decided to call that a “column” and list the seven items I’ve got so far under it. Check it out via the link above.
In other news, for those interested in stats here’s that latest:
- 726 guide entries
- 1,876 individual editions
- 2,809 images
- and this is blog post #1,245
What’s New & Updated June 29, 2020
June 29, 2020
I’ve got a massive backlog of cover scans to add to the site and sure, there’s still real “content” missing but I’ve got to admit adding images is way easier. So this week’s update is a bucket-load of images, mostly in the appendices. Enjoy.
- Later ACE edition of Toyman by E.C. Tubb cover image to Fear That Man
Appendix B: Notable Articles About, Appearances, Interviews, Parodies, and References
- 1985 World Fantasy Convention, Progress Report #3
- 1986 World Fantasy Convention newsletters
- 1996 World Horror Convention program
- “America’s Most Successful Least-Known-Writer” by Ed Gorman, Mystery Scene
- “Best-Selling Novelist Dean Koontz may be a Titan of terror but He’s a Timid Type at Heart” People Weekly
- “Born to Write” interview by Jessica Hatchigan
- “Collecting Dean Koontz” Firsts
- “Dean R. Koontz: Horror & Science Fiction Writer” Book and Magazine Collector
- Frankenstein: A Cultural History by Susan Tyler Hitchcock
- “His Truth is Stranger than Fiction” Entertainment Weekly cover image
- “King Versus Koontz: Style and Invasion” by Michael R. Collings Footsteps
- “Koontz Watch” Deathlream cover images
- “Pipe-Dreams and Possibilities” Stephen King is Richard Bachman
Appendix D: Books that have Koontz review quotes
- 141 cover images.
(Sorry, individually listing them here got to be just too much.)
- Myopia Special #1 by Richard Dent, Illustrated by Cezar Razek
- Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Others:
- Hide Me Among the Graves by Tom Powers to “Best books…chosen by Dean Koontz”