I wrote you a question before. And I thought it would catch your atention so much that you would post it in your journal or the Complete FAQ journal.
It didn't, but it's OK.
In a certain way, I'm repeating my question. But I'm trying it from another point of view.
I'm from Chile (I'm thinking on how many other chilean will have written you a question through this site; I guess I'm the only one; whatever, I'm rambling again)
That shouldn't be a problem. You are a worldwide renown author. I have read you and I know at least other 20 people who have too. But it seems sometimes we are the only ones.
Anybody would think --given your quality, your importance to the Fantasy gender (if such a thing exists) and Literature in general, and specially your Fame and the impressive amount of huge and important awards (World Fantasy and Hugo come into my mind)-- that you should be normally published. But here, in this surrealist country, only your comics can be found --and even these are not as much as one would like-- and the few books (Good Omens, Smoke & Mirrors, Neverwhere) are imported by the same comic stores that know you. The book stores, who should know about Coraline, American Gods, Stardust (and THEY should know about GO, S&M and Neverwhere too) don't know you, your work or even that you exist. I could understand that if you
a) were a recent writer, a newcomer
or b) you weren't a successful writer
And both statements are false. In fact, being the both of them true, I cannot understand how they don't have any work of yours.
But what I think is worse, comic stores haven't your last books either. So I have two proposals:
A) COME HERE AND PROMOTE YOURSELF!!
Sorry. This is important for me. But seriously, I still suggest you an (South) American tour.
Or (and this can be more useful) B) Tell who is the publisher in Spanish of your last works (it's not NORMA, I checked their webpage) so I can mail THEM and beg for they bring you here. I --almost obviously-- don't have problems to read english texts, but I'm not the only one who wants to read your works.
And it's not fair for us.
Assuming your first question was "when are you coming to Chile?" I tend to think of those questions as being covered by the FAQ "When are you coming to..." section and tend not to answer them individually -- the WHERE'S NEIL (working again right now) and this blog will normally let people know where I am and what I'm doing.
Now, the Spanish publisher of most of the books is definitely Norma, as stated in the FAQ. They publish American Gods, Stardust, Good Omens, Smoke and Mirrors and many others.
Not sure if Norma will be publishing CORALINE or not -- I simply don't remember. But it wouldn't surprise me if they were.
I'd love to do another South American tour. It would be great to go back to Brazil and Argentina (although I worry about my friends in Argentina these days), and I'd love to visit Chile. The only problem is time: there's only one of me, and I can only do so much, and also write everything.
Next year -- 2003 -- I'm going to do some French signings in paris in a month from now (two signings on Wednesday the 22nd of January -- a lunchtime one at the Virgin Megastore Champs - 52 av des Champs Elys�es - 75008 Paris and then an evening one at 18:30 at Mille Pages - 174 rue de Fontenay - 94300 - Vincennes. The Angouleme Festival follows immediately -- it looks like most of what I'll be doing in terms of talking and signing will be on Friday the 24th).
Then most of April will be spent doing a tour of Europe for Coraline -- many publishers are bringing it out then. I'll get the list of dates and countries as soon as I can.
After that, everything's sort of up in the air, depending rather on whether DEATH goes into production or not. Lots of invitations to go to a number of book festivals, the only one of which I've accepted is an invitation to NEW YORK IS BOOK COUNTRY. Lots of requests from publishers all over the world to go and do some promotion in the latter half of the year, none of which I think I've agreed to. (I could be wrong.)
The British Council trip to Singapore has had to be postponed, due to Dave McKean's schedule. Not sure when it will happen, but it WILL happen. The requests to start visiting Australia have now started -- I think it's a very good bet that I'll do an Australian signing tour some time in the next 18 - 24 months.
Also, while I take your point about coming out to Chile and promoting the work, I'm less likely to visit somewhere where they don't know who I am and don't buy the books, than I am visit somewhere that they do know who I am and are buying the books in quantity and are already clamouring for me to come out. As you say, it's not fair. But it's the way the world works.
So if the Chilean contingent (there are at least 434 of you who are reading the site, according to the stats section of this website's counter, by the way) want to start convincing the world of Chilean publishing and bookselling that they want and need me, rather than waiting for me to come over, that might be a good way to spend your time. And it'll probably get me to Chile (Poland/Hungary/Greece/Japan etc) quicker.
Hope this helps.