“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.”
Last week the circus came to town! This wasn’t just any circus, this was a pre-publication party for Erin Morgenstern and her upcoming novel, The Night Circus (coming in two short weeks, on September 13, from Doubleday).
The Night Circus is magic and mystery rolled into one – it’s a story of of that fine line between reality and illusion, the thirst for superlatives, and the undeniable call of love.
Reps from RandomHouse/Doubleday had invited booksellers, press, bloggers, librarians, etc. to attend a kick-off celebration in Concord. Why Concord? Bailey, one of the main characters hails from there (here), although Le Cirque des Rêves becomes a world-wide event. When you understand how the circus appearances are scheduled, it all falls into place.
The event was held in a field at a wonderful local farm and market; striped tents full of people dressed in black and white (with a splash of red) stood in contrast to the sun setting on a field of sunflowers. Black and white striped runners atop crisp red tablecloths highlighted stacks of pre-release books. It was time for the circus to begin.
We chatted with the RandomHouse reps and caught up with other bloggers and booksellers (some of whom had driven many hours to get to Concord), then enjoyed farm-fresh food – salads, appetizers, and heavy noshes to satisfy. There were sweets to be enjoyed, and a huge vat of kettle corn, perfect for an evening at the circus.
The organizers had engaged entertainers to mingle with the guests – a fortune teller (complete with crystal ball!), mime (very gifted in balloon creations), a juggler (who was willing to teach me a trick!), and an amazing magician (who didn’t give up any of his secrets).
The biggest thrill, of course, was getting to meet the author and sharing the excitement about this upcoming title. Rather than Erin herself reading from The Night Circus, we were treated to an excerpt from the audiobook; this is read by Jim Dale, who narrates so wonderfully the Harry Potter books (but, do not be mislead — this is not Harry Potter!) Our Doubleday rep introduced the editor of the book, Alison Callahan, who in turn introduced the author. Erin Morgenstern spoke a bit about writing her novel, and profusely thanked the booksellers for the early buzz for her book. She graciously signed copies of ARCs as we made our way to the front of the line, entertained by the roving performers along the way.
If you aren’t already following her, you can find Erin Morgenstern on twitter, “like” her author page on Facebook, and visit her website for more information. Check out her blog, Flax-Golden Tales, for literary vignettes and photos posted each Friday – you’ll soon be pulled under the spell of The Night Circus!
Thanks to Ann K., Lesley V., and all the good people who made this party happen!
Oh, and if you’re in the Boston area on October 16 – or in the mood for a road trip – come on over to The Concord Bookshop where Erin will read from and sign The Night Circus!
Look at you balancing that ball on your finger!! That looks like such a fun event!!
How fun!!!!!!!
A great post about a fun night!
Oh, what fun!
Such a great night – so glad to be there with you!
Great post about a wonderful night. So glad to meet you in person!
Oh WOw what FUN! This looks like an incredible event and I am SO impressed with your ball skills. ;O)
How fun and you learned a trick. I love this event…what a great way to promote the book. I would totally attend…and I bet Wiggles would be mesmerized by the balloon animals.
What a fun event! Thanks for sharing so many photos with us too!
Awesome! I just received a copy of this book and can’t wait to read it.
I just finished this book, and thought it was amazing! It sounds like you had one heck of a great time at this launch party and I would have loved to have been there. I also hope that you get a chance to read the book soon. It was magical and surreal, and just a very interesting concept with great execution.
What a cool event. It looks like so much fun.
[...] fun site where pictures of people were acting out their favorite scenes from the book! I loved it! A visit to The Night Circus! Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics This entry was posted in Book [...]
Ack! SO JEALOUS! Heather is going to loan me her book, and I cannot wait to read it. Now, the thing with Jim Dale. I did so love him with Harry Potter. But recently I listened to another book narrated by him and I had to DNF it. Will I ever be able to listen to him reading any other book? I’m a little scared.
Kathy -The juggler/clown started the ball spinning, I’m just taking the glory
Beth F – it really was! And the author is so gracious and modest. Wait until the book hits the stores!
Marie – good to see you there!
Alison – have you read the book yet? I didn’t get it at BEA, but got an early copy via my bookshop job — such a great read.
Katie – believe it or not, the rest of my bag of kettle corn lasted through the weekend (maybe it was a magical bag and kept re-filling?)
Sarah – you, too — and thanks to Gayle for making the connection.
Pam – again, I have to confess that I’m like Charley McCarthy – just the puppet in this pose
Serena – they were the most involved animals/bouquets, etc that I’ve ever seen
Beth – the post is a little picture-heavy … hope I captured the mood.
Anna – you won’t do much else, once you start THE NIGHT CIRCUS – read, read, read!
zibilee – I have read it, I guess I wasn’t clear about that – and, yes, your description is perfect! It’s so much more than “magic,” isn’t it!?
carol – I wish I had taken a photo of the tents from afar, it looked really cool in the middle of the field.
Sandy – ah, I know what you mean, that you’ll forever connect Jim Dale with *those* books. Well, you won’t be disappointed in the print edition – fantastic!
I am SO jealous! What a cool event to have been invited too! I’ve been trying everything to get a copy of this book (didn’t snag one at BEA) without any luck!
Man, I am so over the moon jealous. NEED to get my hands on a copy of her book. This has to be the coolest author event.
How very cool!
What an awesome thing to be invited to! Way to have an “in” with the quality publishers, and YUM, local farm food!
I can’t tell from various reviews if this would be appropriate for a 7 y.o. girl (who devoured all the HP books within one year). She also counts “A Wrinkle in Time” as a favorite book, if that provides any insight. What do you think? Thanks!
I want to go! Why do I always want to go to these after the fact? I thought of you every time Concord was mentioned in the book….