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Pretty, innit?

And what, some of you are no doubt wondering, is it supposed to be?  Why, it's the special souvenir sheet to be produced by the American Philatelic Society, and to be distributed to all attendees at the APS Tiffany Dinner in Hartford on Thursday, August 14, at which I'll have the signal honor of serving as keynote speaker.  (I've been able to maintain a certain degree of humility about this, I can assure you, because I haven't lost sight of the fact that I'm there as a surrogate.  They'd really like to hear Keller, who’s a far more distinguished philatelist than I, not least because his discretionary income is so much more abundant than my own.)

The souvenir sheet shows four classic stamps, each of which figures in one of the four Keller books.  There's Austria 1a, printed on both sides.  There's Spain 399, Goya's Maja Desnuda, whose charms brightened Keller's lonely adolescence.  There's Martinique 1, which kicked off a special interest in that island's stamps.  And finally there's Sweden 1; Keller bought it and four of its fellows in Hit & Run, spending all his cash just before the whatchamacallit hit the fan.

How, you may be asking yourselves, can I get my hands on one of these?  Well, if there are any extras, and if I can get my own hands on some of them, and indeed if I can bring myself to part with them, I'll offer them for sale, no doubt at an extortionate price.  That's pretty iffy, and there's an easier and far less hypothetical way to get one of these sheets for yourself.  All you have to do is go to the dinner. 

Here's the scoop, as explained by a philatelic friend of mine:

"The Tiffany Dinner is a fund-raising activity of the American Philatelic Society, held in conjunction with the Society's annual convention. We have the good fortune to have Larry Block as guest speaker this year, and we look forward to a great presentation on John Paul Keller's stamp collection. While by far the greater share of attendees will be members of the Society, the event is open to the public, and I believe tickets are still available. Cost is $125 per person, of which $50 is a charitable contribution (the Society is a 501(c)3 organization).”

"If you're interested further, additional details including the menu are on the APS web site, together with  on-line ticket purchase, at  https://www.stamps.org/stampshow/Tickets.htm.”

"If you have any questions beyond that with respect to the dinner or the American Philatelic Society, you can call the APS directly, at (814) 933-3803 x 207."

$125 is, to be sure, a lot of money to pay to hear me talk.  Add in a first-rate meal in good company, plus that dandy souvenir sheet, and the price becomes a tad more reasonable.  Obviously, those of you with at least a passing interest in philately will find the whole proposition more attractive than those of you whose interest is limited to reading about Keller, but all I'm doing is letting you know what your options are.  You can work out for yourselves whether this is something you'd enjoy. 

Oh, before I forget:  If you look carefully, you may notice that the second Keller book is identified on the souvenir sheet as "Hit Line."  And yes, it should be "Hit List."  And I know it, and so do the people who'll be producing the sheet; they'd caught the error even before I could bring it to their attention, and it'll be fixed when the little darlings roll off the press.  There won't be any upside-down airplanes, either.

What else did I want to report?  Well, of the 700 serially numbered copies of the Philatelic Edition of HIT & RUN, I believe we have four remaining, and they may well be gone by the time this newsletter gets out.  We can still supply Author's Copies, identical to the others except that they are designated A/C 1 through A/C 100.  That makes them scarcer than the regular numbered copies, and a good number of them have already gone to friends and family.  I'll bring along whatever's left to Hartford---unless you snap them all up before then.  (I'll be doing a noon signing at the convention on Friday, August 15, the day after the Tiffany dinner.) 

Now's probably a good time to thank all of you who've had nice things to say about HIT & RUN.  I've never had better reviews---here's one from Otto Penzler that just ran in today's New York Sun---nor have I ever drawn a more enthusiastic email response from readers.  I'm delighted the book works for you, and figure it's only fair to respond to the question so many of your emails (and not a few reviews) have raised---i.e., will there be any more books about Keller.

I don't know.

There, I said it and I'm glad.  After Hartford, I'll come back home, put my stamps away, and fly to Paris, not to return until the middle of September.  The website bookstore will be closed while I'm gone, so if there's anything you want (besides world peace and a real understanding of the infield fly rule) it would be a good idea to order it before, say, August 10.  (You can place orders while I'm away, and they'll be processed and filled in order of their receipt, as soon as we're once again open for business.)

By the time we're back, MANHATTAN NOIR 2 will be published by Akashic Books.  I received my author's copies the other day, and am hugely pleased with the book.  And I'm not alone; Publisher's Weekly gave the book an enthusiastic starred review.  You'll have no problem finding copies at online or brick-and-mortar bookstores, and we'll have autographed copies available in LB's Bookstore.  As with the first MANHATTAN NOIR volume (click here to order your copy), we'll be charging a slight premium over list price, to avoid direct competition with our bookseller friends.

And that's a wrap.  I'll see some of you in Hartford, others at Baltimore Bouchercon in mid-October.  And others somewhere else, sooner or later, because who knows what the future holds?  I don't, that's for sure.  And neither does Keller.

LB