books

finished copies of books illustrated’s the starless sea

My copies of the Books Illustrated editions of The Starless Sea have arrived and they are stunning. The presentation of each volume is gorgeous and thoughtful with so many details. I keep petting the black leather honeycomb cover because it just feels so lovely and soft. These, along with the Books Illustrated editions of The Night Circus, are the most beautiful books that I own and it is an honor to have my stories contained in such packaging.

There are four different editions and as far as I know they are all still available here. (I believe there might be a few copies of their deluxe edition of The Night Circus as well.)

The illustrations by Anne Yvonne Gilbert are so beautifully detailed and layered, I am always so impressed by her ability to combine so many elements and moments into single illustrations and it is a joy to have her interpretations of so many moments from this book. (I am particularly delighted by her version of a certain Persian cat.) Limited edition prints of her illustrations from both The Starless Sea and The Night Circus are available here and here. 

I could go on and on about all the perfect details, from the repeating honeycomb motifs to the glorious hand-marbled endpapers in the prestige edition. I am endlessly grateful to Hilary and Mike from Books Illustrated and all of the artisans they work with to put these editions together, they are truly works of art. And, of course, Vesper likes them, too. 
By erin, ago

beautiful things for spring

Vintage UK has a beautiful new edition of The Night Circus as part of their Vintage Quarterbound Classics collection. It will be available starting today wherever books are sold in the UK. There are links here for retailers. (Some bookstores should have signed bookplates.) It is both immensely flattering and a bit surreal to have this book included in such company.








I had the honor of writing the introduction for the Folio Society centennial edition of Lord Dunsany’s The King of Elfland’s Daughter. My copies have just arrived and they are so incredibly stunning. This centennial edition is illustrated by Julie Dillon and also has a foreward by Neil Gaiman and the whole presentation is just gorgeous, from the slipcover to the endpapers. It is such a delight to see this story wrapped in such an incredible package. I now have five different editions of this book spanning a century and they are all enchanting in their own ways. (If you’ve never read The King of Elfland’s Daughter I highly recommend it, it is wonder-filled and wonderful.)

Spring is disguising itself as winter around here, with hail yesterday and a fresh coating of snow today. It is doing nothing to improve my sense of time but it is very pretty. Spending these unseasonably cold days writing and playing Dragon’s Dogma 2 and waiting for things to bloom.

By erin, ago

books illustrated’s the starless sea

Absolutely over the moon to be collaborating with Books Illustrated and Anne Yvonne Gilbert again as they work their magic on The Starless Sea.

This very limited special edition will be published in 2024 for The Starless Sea’s fifth anniversary. To keep up with the process as it unfolds including all future news regarding ordering information please sign up for the Books Illustrated Starless Sea mailing list here. 

By erin, ago

the books illustrated editions of the night circus

After being delayed by the snow my copies of the Books Illustrated editions of The Night Circus have finally arrived and they are even more gorgeous in person than I could have possibly imagined.

The illustrations by Anne Yvonne Gilbert are all incredible, I’m still obsessed with how magical and layered each one is. Every detail of the book has been so well thought-out and perfectly executed, they are truly works of art. My eternal gratitude to the entire Books Illustrated team.

Edited to add this beautiful, thoughtful unboxing of of all three editions from the lovely Patrick Fogarty:

By erin, ago

anne yvonne gilbert’s night circus illustrations

The Books Illustrated edition of The Night Circus has been coming together more quickly than I could have imagined and it has been astonishing watching their entire team, especially Anne Yvonne Gilbert, elevate this story into a stunning piece of art. I am continually blown away by Yvonne’s ability to layer so many elements and moments into single images, with so much texture and expression and detail. They are truly magical.

One of my favorite parts of this process has been seeing Yvonne’s initial sketches to get a glimpse of how she begins to conjure all of these layers. It’s like getting to peer behind the curtain at a magic trick in progress. Some illustrations have minor adjustments between sketch and final version, others remain almost precisely the same. Below are some side-by-side comparisons. The sketches are already so beautiful and then the colors breathe so much life into everything. I suspect most people would expect a lot of monochrome from an illustrated version of The Night Circus but these are just buzzing with color.

There are so many details that I adore, from Mme. Padva’s jewelry and Tsukiko’s cherry blossoms and Bailey’s dog to the way the circus tents loom in the background of certain images. And of course I am a little bit obsessed with Poppet’s perfect curls and the most delightful squirrels. (I cannot pick a favorite because they are all so wonderful but the Wizard in the Tree is possibly my favorite so far, it is so sumptuous and autumnal.)

There is still more to come, cloud mazes and bottles and other wonderments, and much more information on this very limited edition of The Night Circus can be found at Books Illustrated. You can sign up for their Night Circus newsletter & they post frequent previews on their Instagram.

You can find more of Anne Yvonne Gilbert’s beautiful artwork on her website.

By erin, ago