Rob Wilkins in Australia

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#1
Rob Wilkins, Sir Terry Pratchett's long time personal assistant, business manager, and close friend*, will be in Australia next week!

Rob will be signing copies of The Shepherd's Crown and talking about his work with Terry at the following events:

Adelaide - Tue, Sep 29th, 12.30pm-1.30pm, at Dymocks Adelaide, 135 Rundle Mall
Melbourne - Wed, Sep 30th, 6.30pm, at Dymocks Melbourne, 234 Collins Street. Tickets are free, but must be booked via http://www.trybooking.com/Booking/Booki ... eid=161340

Although Rob may not be visiting any other cities on this particular trip, he may very well be back as a guest at Nullus Anxietas VI in August 2017.

* And, of course, International Man of Mystery (in his special guest appearance at Nullus Anxietas V)

http://eepurl.com/bAo1y5
 
#4
Was he ever announced as a guest at the Irish Convention?

I suspect the Australian trip is going to be quite short, but yes, it'd be a hard haul (on Rob's body) to get to Ireland by next Friday.

No idea about a US trip, sorry. This one wasn't even announced officially until last week, and I only knew about it (in my capacity as chairperson of the next Australian Discworld Convention) about a week before that.
 

RathDarkblade

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#6
Molokov said:
Rob will be signing copies of The Shepherd's Crown and talking about his work with Terry at the following events:

Adelaide - Tue, Sep 29th, 12.30pm-1.30pm, at Dymocks Adelaide, 135 Rundle Mall
Melbourne - Wed, Sep 30th, 6.30pm, at Dymocks Melbourne, 234 Collins Street. Tickets are free, but must be booked via http://www.trybooking.com/Booking/Booki ... eid=161340
Booked! :) Can't wait to meet Rob in Melb on Wednesday! ;) Thanks for the heads up, Molokov! :laugh: plus a-whole-bunch-of-other-emoticons-that-signify-joy ;)
 
Jul 27, 2008
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#7
Molokov said:
Was he ever announced as a guest at the Irish Convention?

I suspect the Australian trip is going to be quite short, but yes, it'd be a hard haul (on Rob's body) to get to Ireland by next Friday.

No idea about a US trip, sorry. This one wasn't even announced officially until last week, and I only knew about it (in my capacity as chairperson of the next Australian Discworld Convention) about a week before that.
No but there was a chance that Sandra from DisworldCon may have been there if so Rob would have as well, as Bernard from the Emporium is going.
 

Catch-up

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#8
Thanks Molokov! I will see if there's some way I can find out if he'll be coming this way.

Rath, you are so lucky! He's absolutely wonderful. We'd like a full report please. :laugh:
 

RathDarkblade

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#9
Yay! I'm lucky!!! :laugh: *does the Happy Dance of Joy(TM)* :laugh:

I've never met Rob Wilkins. I have no idea what to expect. Perhaps I should wear a suit-and-tie and behave with complete decorum... but some people find that sort of thing very stuffy. :( Any ideas?
 

Penfold

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#10
Just be yourself Rath, Rob is a genuinely nice guy and has met all sorts. The first time I met him was at a radio show where Terry was on the panel. I was dressed in a tatty army surplus parka that was a couple of sizes too large and he didn't bat an eyelid. :laugh:

EDIT: The offer of alcohol also works wonders. ;)
 

RathDarkblade

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#14
:eek: That is indeed a very generous offer of a scholarship. Kudos to Sir Terry's estate for thinking of the offer. :)

As it happens, I'd been working on two books for the past ten years (ever since I finished my second degree). I'd been writing for the past 20 years, had published a few short articles here and there, and have been considering publication of a book for some time. Therefore, some advice would definitely not go amiss... but I've not been sure of where to turn.

Perhaps 'tis time to consider going back to school... *BWG*
 
#16
Quick followup on some questions asked earlier in this thread:

@Catch-up: Rob doesn't know when/if he'll be back in the US. He went over for San Diego Comic-Con this year, but it was a quick trip, mainly press stuff in advance of The Shepherd's Crown release, although Harper Collins did give away samplers at their booth.

@Who's Wee Dug: Rob and Sandra won't be at the Irish Convention this weekend - he would have liked to have gone, but given this trip, he only gets back to the UK on Friday, and he's jetting out again on Monday, so it didn't make sense this time around. He did have lovely things to say about both the Irish and German conventions, however.
 

raisindot

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Oct 1, 2009
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#18
RathDarkblade said:
:eek: That is indeed a very generous offer of a scholarship. Kudos to Sir Terry's estate for thinking of the offer. :)

As it happens, I'd been working on two books for the past ten years (ever since I finished my second degree). I'd been writing for the past 20 years, had published a few short articles here and there, and have been considering publication of a book for some time. Therefore, some advice would definitely not go amiss... but I've not been sure of where to turn.
RathDarkblade, it's damn hard to get a publisher (or even an agent) to publish a book--particularly a fiction book--if you don't have solid connections to a publisher or if your book isn't the next "50 Shades of Sh'ite." . I had to do the old "send out query letters / synopsises etc" to more than 50 publishers, and only 7 or 8 or them were interested. A few of them were actually interested in publishing the book but the editorial changes and/or conditions of marketing they required made me say "Screw it" so I ended up self-publishing on Kindle and print-on-demand. It's less "prestigious" then having someone else put it out there, and you don't get the "literary journal" reviews that publisher-published books get but at least you get 100% editorial control and you can really on your own wits--social media, friends and family, whatever- to publicize it.

If you want to learn more, PM me.
 

RathDarkblade

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#19
Done! Raisindot, please check your PM. :)

Had a very pleasant evening with Rob Wilkins and other DW fans. Found out that there is a DW club in the state I'm at (Victoria). Unfortunately, they are not as yet organised enough to have one permanent address, like the Sydney or Adelaide or Perth clubs. Alas.

There is no news currently, other than that the Discworld Atlas will be coming out in Australia on October 21. Rejoice and mark the date in your diaries, Aussie DW fans! :laugh:

I asked RW how the Discworld Atlas might differ from The Discworld Mapp, The Streets of Ankh-Morpork etc. He was first said that, while the earlier volumes were illustrated by Stephen Player, the current one will be illustrated by Kidby. He further added that while the earlier volumes had a more medieval "feel" to them, the atlas's illustrations (and content) will "feel" more Victoriana (or, at least, this is my interpretation - and I'm tired with no coffee). :laugh: Either way, it sounds good to me. ;)

*****WARNING WARNING DO NOT READ ON UNLESS YOU WISH TO BE SPOILED*********


*****WE WARNED YOU*********




*****WHI NØT HÄF A HØLLIDAI THYS YEÄR IN WINTRY FINLÄNDT*********




******FINLÄNDT, LÄNDT ØF FØRRESTS ANDT SNØW ÄNDT MANI Ä MØØSE*******



********WE APOLOGISE FOR THE PREVIOUS DAWDLING. THE POSTER RESPONSIBLE HAS BEEN FIRED******



There is some talk of a Discworld encyclopedia, but this is as far as it's got so far. I am not sure how it would differ from L-Space or the Discworld wiki, but I am not so callous as to immediately dismiss the idea as fluff.
Whether it will progress to anything, we will have to see.

Beyond that, I am sworn to secrecy and cannot reveal anything. Lips are sealed, sorry. :(
 
#20
RathDarkblade said:
Had a very pleasant evening with Rob Wilkins and other DW fans. Found out that there is a DW club in the state I'm at (Victoria). Unfortunately, they are not as yet organised enough to have one permanent address, like the Sydney or Adelaide or Perth clubs. Alas.
Well the Victorian Discworld Klatch do have a FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Victori ... rldKlatch/ but if you're not on Facebook, you might just have to rely on Suzie emailing you :) They really only started getting organised as a social group after Nullus Anxietas V this year but it seems to be going well. Prior to this, the Victorian group of fans seemed to only get together to run conventions (Nullus Anxietas I, II and IV).

As for a 'permanent address', if you mean, a cafe or pub where they get together regularly, yeah, I think you're right, the VDK haven't quite worked that out yet. But I know most of the people involved, and they are good people :) Keep an eye on what's happening because a variety of social events is always good fun.
 

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