Breaking the Silence

Over the past many months, I have watched the stories circulating the internet about me with horror and dismay. I’ve stayed quiet until now, both out of respect for the people who were sharing their stories and out of a desire not to draw even more attention to a lot of misinformation. I've always tried to be a private person, and felt increasingly that social media was the wrong place to talk about important personal matters. I've now reached the point where I feel that I should say something.

As I read through this latest collection of accounts, there are moments I half-recognise and moments I don’t, descriptions of things that happened sitting beside things that emphatically did not happen. I’m far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever. 

I went back to read the messages I exchanged with the women around and following the occasions that have subsequently been reported as being abusive. These messages read now as they did when I received them – of two people enjoying entirely consensual sexual relationships and wanting to see one another again. At the time I was in those relationships, they seemed positive and happy on both sides.

And I also realise, looking through them, years later, that I could have and should have done so much better. I was emotionally unavailable while being sexually available, self-focused and not as thoughtful as I could or should have been. I was obviously careless with people's hearts and feelings, and that's something that I really, deeply regret. It was selfish of me. I was caught up in my own story and I ignored other people's.

I’ve spent some months now taking a long, hard look at who I have been and how I have made people feel. 

Like most of us, I’m learning, and I'm trying to do the work needed, and I know that that's not an overnight process. I hope that with the help of good people, I'll continue to grow. I understand that not everyone will believe me or even care what I say but I’ll be doing the work anyway, for myself, my family and the people I love. I will be doing my very best to deserve their trust, as well as the trust of my readers.

At the same time, as I reflect on my past – and as I re-review everything that actually happened as opposed to what is being alleged – I don't accept there was any abuse. To repeat, I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone.

Some of the horrible stories now being told simply never happened, while others have been so distorted from what actually took place that they bear no relationship to reality. I am prepared to take responsibility for any missteps I made. I’m not willing to turn my back on the truth, and I can't accept being described as someone I am not, and cannot and will not admit to doing things I didn't do.

Little, Big

Web Goblin here.

Two years and five blog posts ago, we were introduced to the 25th Anniversary edition of Little, Big or, The Fairies' Parliament, by John Crowley, with art by Peter Milton.

At the time, there were 300 numbered editions, all of which had been pre-sold some dozen years earlier. Deep Vellum has since managed to produce another 65 copies of which around 40 are available for purchase.

Additionally, around 200 copies of the trade hardcover are still available. This is the "green edition" featuring a dust jacket containing an essay by Mr. G.

Deep Vellum is offering a 10% discount code, "littlebig40", which can be used for the trade edition, numbered edition, and/or for a poster between now and the equinox, September 21.

More details here.

Labels: John Crowley, little big or the fairies' parliament, webgoblin words

Heritage Auction wrap up

I'm starting to hear that the money that came in from the Heritage Auction is going out to people and doing what I hoped it would do, which is make life easier for artists and writers.

So this is a reminder to those of us who may have bought comic art long ago, often directly from the artists, when it was cheap, that now it's worth hundreds of times what was paid for it, the artists never see any of that. 

Tracking down the artist and sending them a share will be a welcome gesture.

Or donating to The Hero Initiative, who are helping many elderly and infim comics creators, or to the Authors League Fund, or (if you are in another country) seeing if there is a charity that helps artists and/or authors that you could donate to would be a good thing to do. 

(And for those who don't know what this is about, it's about this: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2024/03/in-which-i-can-now-worry-significantly.html)

Labels: Authors League Fund, heritage Auction, Hero Initiative

The Dead Boys Detective Agency. It is a very silly name. But accurate.

 

April 25th. DEAD BOY DETECTIVES. It's really good -- it's funny, it's smart, it's scary, and it even has a few familiar faces...

(And no, you won't be cheating on Sandman or Good Omens if you watch it...)

Labels: Dead Boy Detectives

In which I can now worry significantly less about something terrible happening to 126 things...

 I spent yesterday in Dallas, at the Heritage Auction headquarters -- I had decided to auction off some artwork and memorabilia to benefit two charities (The Authors Literary Fund and the Hero Initiative, which help authors/writers and comics creators who have fallen on hard times or who need help), and, just as importantly, I wanted to give something back to the artists whose art I was entrusting to new custodians. 

It seems to me fundamentally wrong and inequitable that art that artists sold for $50 or a hundred dollars thirty or forty years ago now sells for hundreds or thousands of times that amount, but the artists, most of whom are old, some of whom are no longer working or not working as they were, never see another penny. I decided the best way to change that would be to set an example, and show people another way of doing it.

Here's the New York Times article before the auction: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/23/arts/design/neil-gaiman-auction-collectibles.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Xk0.5PkB.9iQtuvn6Bwof&smid=url-share

And here's me in Dallas two nights ago, walking around the exhibition before the auction with Robert Wilonsky from Heritage, with guest appearances by my oldest friend Geoff Notkin, whose fault this all is: 

and for the very curious, the whole live auction is also up on YouTube. I tell a lot of stories about the things that are up for auction.

The auction made a lot of money, and it's going to do a lot of good, and that makes me very happy. Thank you to all the lovely helpful people at Heritage Auctions, to all of the bidders, lucky or otherwise, and to all of the artists, craftspeople and geniuses without whom it could never have happened.

Labels: artists, auctions, Authors League Fund, geoffrey notkin, Hero Initiative

For Two Nights Only: A Christmas Carol

Thirteen years ago, I put on a Victorian Suit and a false beard and I read Dickens' prompt copy of A Christmas Carol at New York Public Library. It was a wonderful, sold out performance, introduced by Molly Oldfield, who told us all about Dickens's reading routine.

I looked a bit like this.

And the book looked a bit like this.

The reading of A Christmas Carol has become the most popular of the NYPL's audio downloads, and they repost it regularly. Here's the one from 2019:
https://www.nypl.org/blog/2019/12/19/listen-neil-gaiman-reads-christmas-carol

For years people have been asking if I was ever going to do it again. This year, back while the writers of the WGA were on strike, my assistant Rachael asked if I'd do it, and if I did, could she document it? I said yes, and it's becoming a thing.

It's going to be a Christmas Extravaganza, with carol singers and suchlike, signed books for sale and all sorts of goodies planned. I'm hoping we can get Molly Oldfield over to New York to introduce it once again.

When I was a boy, I saw Welsh actor Emlyn Williams being Charles Dickens on stage, a one man show I've never forgotten.

Here's the town Hall page for the 18th: https://thetownhall.org/event/neil-gaiman-performs-a-christmas-carol-12-18

Here's the page for the 19th: https://thetownhall.org/event/neil-gaiman-performs-a-christmas-carol-12-19

The ticket presale starts on Thursday Nov 2nd at 12 pm, and regular tickets go on sale on Friday at 10:00 am.

Labels: a christmas carol, Charles Dickens, false beards, Town Hall

Unboxing the most expensive book I have ever paid for...

I just filmed a little unboxing-and-enthusing video. It's for the 25th Anniversary editions of Little, Big or, The Fairies' Parliament, by John Crowley. Illustrated (or rather, with Art by) Peter Milton. 

Most of the edition was pre-sold long ago, but a few hundred remain. You can buy them at https://store.deepvellum.org/products/little-big and they will go too fast. It was, I would hazard, worth waiting the extra 15 years for. 

My essay is on the dust-jacket of the Green edition. Lots more information about all of this to be found at https://littlebig25.com

(And to clarify, it's the most expensive book I've ever paid for, because of the reasons explained in Ron Drummond's blog at https://littlebig25.com/PR-210915.shtml, and not because you have to pay that price to get it. For you, it's $135 until there aren't any left and then watch rare book dealers make a killing on the copies they bought...)

And no, the actual copies HAVE NOT YET SHIPPED. This is an advance copy for me to inspect.

....

Also, I'm now on Mastodon. Follow me at @neilhimself@mastodon.social -- and there's an invitation waiting for you at https://mastodon.social/invite/kP5BRV9s. My first ever Mastodon post has a Good Omens photo from yesterday. Expect more mysterious backstage photos there -- and here -- for a while...

Labels: little big or the fairies' parliament, mastodon, unboxing

A joint statement from Amanda and me

Hullo,

(Amanda is posting this on her blog as well.)

After many years of marriage, we have made the difficult decision to divorce. While we will no longer be partners in marriage, we will remain in one another’s lives as co-parents committed to raising our wonderful son in a loving and compassionate environment. We deeply appreciate everyone respecting our family’s privacy so we can focus on our son as we enter this new chapter in our lives.

Thank you.

Everything you've hoped is true!

The rumours are true. Well, the good ones are, anyway. Netflix is delighted and thrilled that so many of you, all over the world, have been watching and loving Sandman, which means that the thing we were all hoping would happen...?

It's happened.

And that's not all! You dared to Dream (and, y'know, kept asking me when and whether they were ever going to show up). And it's happening! The Sandman profile icons are coming to Netflix! Let joy be unconfined!

(I'm going to be Goldie. No, Matthew. No, Goldie.)

Labels: Future Seasons, I couldn't have done it without you, Sandman on Netflix

Just a note to say...

Just a note to say that this blog has become rather dusty and abandoned over the last two or three years. But I think it's time for me to use it a lot more. At least until Google notices that they still own Blogger, and close the whole thing down.

Hullo. Welcome back.

This is a good place, on the whole, this blog. I started it in February 2001, for American Gods. This was the first entry.)

Here is an Edward Gorey drawing called The Happy Ending, to celebrate the New Beginning.