Ancillary Sword coming October 7, 2014

So, the other day a blogger posted their predictions for next year’s Hugo ballot for Best Novel. (Strikes me as a bit early in that game, but hey, de gustibus, and if that’s what they enjoy thinking about and writing about, I genuinely wish them all the enjoyment the topic can afford them.)

Flatteringly enough, they considered Ancillary Sword to be a likely candidate. Unless, of course, AS turns out to be an utter disaster. Or unless it didn’t actually come out this year–they cited the lack of a pre-order button on Amazon and the lack of marketing push to be signs that perhaps the book would be delayed.

So. Just so it’s clear. I’ve been largely silent on the Amazon business, but I’ll say explicitly here that yes, Orbit is part of Hachette, and all of that Amazon vs Hachette business is indeed affecting my books. Amazon is delaying shipment of paper copies of Ancillary Justice, and has removed the pre-order button on Ancillary Sword. It has nothing to do with the book not coming out on time.

(I am not happy with Amazon right now, and have stopped buying anything at all through them. I probably won’t go back to it if I can possibly help it. But I haven’t called for any kind of Amazon-avoidance, largely because I’m pretty sure a lot of readers are more or less locked into Kindle at this point. Personally I’d have advised against getting into that position to begin with, but cost is a factor there, with vanilla e-readers being cheaper than the tablets that let you run various bookstore apps, and besides I can’t tell you all how to run your book-buying lives. So, buy your books wherever works best for you.)

The marketing push? Well, you know, you push too early and by the time the thing comes out everyone’s either sick of it or has forgotten. Push too late and you don’t get the buildup you want in time for release. Early reviews are only just now coming out. Things are moving along as they should be.

At any rate, here are a few of those early reviews: Publishers Weekly liked it, Kirkus liked it. There’ll be a (starred, I’m told!) Library Journal review come September. There was a lovely review in RT Book Reviews, which I can’t link to because it’s in the latest issue.

Here’s the publisher’s page.

So. Mark your calendars! Ancillary Sword will be out on October 7.

I’ll be doing some signings in the St Louis area in the week or two following its release, by the way, so watch this space for times and locations.

14 thoughts on “Ancillary Sword coming October 7, 2014

  1. G
    Ghost Rider 6 says:

    I had noted the lack of a pre-order option for Ancillary Sword at amazon.com and had suspected the reason for it (which you just confirmed above). But, needless to say, I will find it, in some format, when the time comes. Also needless to say, I too am unhappy with Amazon. A business decision that results in the business’s customers being unable to purchase a product they want strikes me as a pretty fucking dumb decision.

    In any case, best luck with the new book, Ann. Looking forward to reading it.

  2. G
    Ghost Rider 6 says:

    Oh, and earlier, trying to get a release date for AS, I went to your Wikipedia page and saw the photo of you wearing a red gown and a 1000-watt smile, holding the Rocket. Pretty spiffy. šŸ™‚

    1. Ann says:

      Oh, is there a photo on the entry? That’s awesome! There hadn’t been one before. šŸ˜€ (And it is pretty spiffy!!)

  3. G
    Ghost Rider 6 says:

    I have to confess that I’d not read any of your work prior to reading “Ancillary Justice”. But as I often try to do when I discover a “new” author, I’ve tried to learn as much about you as I can. (Don’t worry; that’s not like cyber stalking or anything. šŸ™‚ )

    The links to your short works in the Bibliography section here have been most helpful in that regard, and I thank you for including them. I’ve been quite pleased with those I’ve read so far. I found the profile of you from Riverfront Times interesting, and I thank you for that link, also. And I’ve been working my way back through your older blog entries.

    I have to admit I’ll be taking a short hiatus from reading you, though…I picked up Scalzi’s “Lock In” on its release date but have been holding it for the long weekend, to read at more or less one sitting. I suppose you received an ARC of it and have already read it. Lucky you.

    Enjoy your holiday weekend, Ann, as I plan to enjoy mine. Ah, authors do observe holidays, don’t they?

  4. Peter C. says:

    This is a bit off-topic, but are there any plans for a hardcover edition of Ancillary Justice? Maybe to coincide with the release of Ancillary Sword?

    AJ is a great book and am looking forward to AS.

    1. Ann says:

      Not that I know of, so certainly none to coincide with the release of AS. It would be awesome, though. Maybe someday!

      1. Peter C. says:

        I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a Subterranean Press extravaganza so as to do it the justice it deserves.

  5. n
    neil says:

    Having just read Ancilliary Justice, which finally put into context a short story I received from a tor.com mailing, I decided to visit this site.
    I was really pleased to find that Ancilliary Sword in on schedule. I am a kindle user, but a little bit of IT literacy enables me (and anyone else) to use it as a general purpose reader.
    I was disgusted, but not surprised, to read about Hachette and Amazon throwing their teddies out of the pram. Today, 6 Sept 2014, both amazon.com and amazon.co.uk (which they try to force me to use), have prebuy buttons for Ancilliary Justice. It is pleasing to see the book cheaper in GBP than USD! I remember buying us paperbacks at 1$=1Ā£ (delivery extra) when the exchange rate was 2$=1Ā£.
    Is there an alternative to amazon for ebook buyers outside the USA? I don’t care about format, tho’ epub is best.

    1. Ann says:

      It should be available in various places outside the US as an ebook. I recently got an email from someone not in the US or the UK who said they’d been able to find AJ through Kobo, and presumably AS will be available from them when it comes out. I’m not sure who else sells ebooks outside the US, though, I’ll have to look into that.

  6. Filippo Bia says:

    Dear Miss Leckie
    i’m an italian reader and i have come to know your work from tor.com and some other sites that i follow on internet. In Italy the SF situation is pretty static (to say the least), so thanks God for the ebook existence to let me read in english such great authors as you.
    By the way, i’ve read AJ in a few days and i have enjoied every single page of it, the characters are amazing, the idea of the ancillaries is great and i think is a sign of how much is vital for SF to find new ways and “scope” for new stories.
    I’m thrilled already for your next book and, as a matter of fact, i want you to know that in Amazon site for italy (amazon.it) AS is bookable.
    Keep it up with your great work!
    Filippo Bia

  7. K
    Kat says:

    Hi Ann,

    I tried to pre-order Ancillary Sword through Audible today, only to find that it wasn’t listed at all (when searching through Audible). A google search found an Audible listing for Ancillary Sword, which says it exists, but is not available in my region.

    I assume this is due to the Amazon/Hachette fight, since Audible is now owned by Amazon? Does that sound correct? (I noticed there is still no pre-order button on Amazon.)

    Happily, my local bookstore does have an advance order button!
    http://www.murderbooks.com/book/9780316246651

    Most of my “reading” these days, unfortunately, is via audio book thanks to busy life and long commute. And I really enjoyed the way the audio book was done for Ancillary Justice. Do you happen to know whether Audible plans to make Ancillary Sword available in the United States?

    Thanks!
    Kat

    1. Ann says:

      I honestly don’t know the answer to this question! I’ll check.

      1. g
        gary says:

        Any update on when AS will come to Audible? Just finished AJ and wanted to go straight into the next book but can’t find it.

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