Okay, so remember how I posted the US cover for Leviathan ? Well, it turns out that there has been a change . . .

So this will be the actual cover in the United States:

Behold the gloriousness. It’s steampunky, baroque, and very, very shiny.

But, you may ask, why did this happen? From where comes this entirely new cover?

Well, I just work here. The writer’s job is to write and the publisher’s job is to publish, and covers are a key part of publishing a book. Which is not to say that I haven’t been consulted, but I’m not privy to all the pressures that come from Sales, Marketing, Major Accounts, and all the other Powers That Be. So I’m not sure exactly what happened to the old cover, except that it may have been deemed a bit . . . young.

The thing is, I loved that cover and I love this one too. But I will admit that this cover is more adult-friendly and, for lack of a better word, literary. Both of which are good things, though I’m a bit sad to lose the manga-ness.

But we must remember: adults are very delicate. Like horses, they are afraid of loud sounds, sudden movement, skateboards, the internets, slang, and getting band names wrong. So in order to bring more people gently into the fold of Leviathan reading, Simon & Schuster has decided to use a cover that won’t ruffle anyone’s fragile sense of adultiness.

And hey, I’m a big tent kind of guy. So welcome everyone, and I hope you like this new cover as much as I do.

Note 1: To my readers in the UK, you’re still getting this cover, and I don’t know yet which way France and Australia will go.

Updated Note 2: Turns out that Sammy Yuen, the overall designer of the book, created this new cover based on some of the elements drawn by Keith. (That’s Keith Thompson, the illustrator of the book.)

Leviathan comes out October 6, and you can preorder it at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, or at independent book stores everywhere.

Canadian Update: For you folks up north, it’s the same cover as above, and you can pre-order from Amazon.ca or Chapters Indigo.

Because one cover is never enough, behold the United Kingdom cover for Leviathan!

Unlike the US cover, this image is based on one of the black and white illustrations in the book. Keith added color and a few extra elements.

For the sake of comparison, here’s the previously revealed US cover:

No official word yet as to whether the Australian and French covers will be one of these, or a different image entirely!

I like ALL the covers so far. What do you guys think?

In celebration of my birthday, I give you the US cover of Leviathan . . .

Frequently asked questions:

What? This is the first book of my next series, which will include three novels and one full-color guidebook, The Manual of Aeronautics.

When? Book 1 comes out October 6, 2009. The other two novels come out in October of 2010 and 2011.

Where? It will be published (almost) simultaneously in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. No waiting! We’ve also sold rights to France and Taiwan, so far.

Who? It’s by me, silly. But it also includes 50 awesome illustrations by the artist Keith Thompson, most of them full page! This amazing cover is also by him. I’ll be posting samples here every month, and they will astonish you.

Why? Why is it illustrated? Because back in 1914, almost all books were illustrated, and I wanted it to look and feel like a book from that period. Plus, there are so many weird animals and machines in the world of Leviathan that I wanted to show them.*

WTF? Okay, Leviathan is set in an alternate world in which Charles Darwin discovered biotechnology. So the British Empire was built on the backs of strange, fabricated beasties. Living airships! Fighting kraken! Message lizards!

Um, but what’s that thing on the cover? That’s a Clanker contraption. You see, the Germans and Austrians in my world use machines instead of beasties. Cool walking machines!

Aren’t you sick of answering all these questions? Yes, and it’s my birthday. So enjoy the cover. I’m out of here.

Can’t I ask one more question?
Sure, but that was it. Ciao for now!

____________________
*Also, I wanted an excuse to go to Comic-Con

I was at Simon & Schuster the other day, and saw this gratifying stack of advanced readers’ copies:

Yes, there are ARCs of Leviathan at large in the world.

Watch this space, for soon the cover will be revealed!

This is going to be a big year for me. Leviathan is my first new series to come out since Uglies appeared way back in . . . 2005!

For you ancient history buffs, the first books of both Midnighters and my so-called “New York Trilogy” (So Yesterday, Peeps, and TLD) appeared in 2004. So it has been a long time . . .

Anyway, here’s what happens this year:

April 28 (a mere 3 weeks away!)
The paperback edition of Extras is released! Now, at long last, you can line up all four books in matching editions. You can pre-order now, from Amazon, Powell’s, B&N, or Indie Bound.

The cool thing about the Extras paperback is that it contains previously unseen chapters from Leviathan, complete with delicious artwork!

May 1
Starting in May, the first of every month will be Leviathan Art Day. That’s right, I’ll be blogging one piece of art every month until the book comes out.

But don’t worry. You won’t be utterly spoiled by this, because there are FIFTY (50) pieces of art in the first book of Leviathan. So much art.

Be prepared for the artiness!

May 30
Advanced readers’ copies for Leviathan are given out at Book Expo America! And I’ll be there to sign them. (To those of you not in the book trade, this is merely frustraing, I know. But it’s cool for me.)

June 2 (minor update)

Mind-Rain, an anthology of essays about the Uglies series, appears in stores! Here’s the cover:

August 1
The Geektastic anthology goes on sale! Edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci, this collection includes stories by M.T. Anderson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Tracy Lynn, Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Barry Lyga, Wendy Mass, Garth Nix, Lisa Yee, Sara Zarr, and me. We’re all writing about the geeky proclivities that made us who we are, from role-playing games to Quizbowl.

It’s going to rock, geekily.

August 21-25-ish (minor update)

Justine and I will be at the Melbourne Writers Festival!

October 6
The publication of Leviathan!

This is, of course, the big day for me. I’ve been working on this book for four years (I started it before I started Extras) so it will be mind-bendingly exciting.

Along with the book will come a world-spanning tour. (Well, spanning from the US to the UK, Canada, and Australia.) For three weeks or so, I’ll be traveling around and meeting you guys in person. I don’t know yet where I’m headed exactly, but watch this space in August and September for details.

More about Leviathan in later posts, of course.

Astonishingly, you can already pre-order it from Amazon and Indie Bound, but B&N and Powell’s don’t have it yet.

October 28
The release of the Grand Unified Edition of the Uglies Series, also known as The Collector’s Set. It looks like this:

Pretty, is it not?

December

Sleep. Constant sleep.