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Interview #856: Brandon Sanderson’s Blog: A MEMORY OF LIGHT Release Events, Entry #4
Brandon Sanderson
ITEM #3: BYU MIDNIGHT RELEASE
At 12:00 a.m. on January 8th, I will be doing the world’s first signing for A Memory of Light . Numbers 1—100 will be given out at this signing. (Though everyone who comes will get a numbered copy unless they run out of books.) All numbers will be given out in the ORDER YOU ARRIVE TO WAIT IN LINE IN. Let me make this clear. It doesn’t matter how early you preorder. Numbers will be given out based on line order. Details follow.
Harriet McDougal, Robert Jordan’s editor and wife, will also attend. However, she will most likely retire to her hotel before the release at midnight. More details will follow later.
The line will start forming at the northwest entrance here:
In past years, people have started lining up even a few days ahead of time, so the BYU Bookstore is going to be handing out numbers to people in line to take some of the pressure off you. They will start doing this MONDAY MORNING at 7:30 a.m. Book #1 will go to the first person in this line at 7:30, #2 to the second, and so forth. You can only buy ONE copy of the book in the low numbers per person waiting. (In other words, if you are there in line, you can’t buy #1—10 by yourself. You have to have ten people if you want to do that.) If you need multiple copies but don’t have multiple people, that’s fine—we’ll give you #1 and then some higher numbers. This restriction goes for anyone in the first hundred spots.
Here are some more details from the bookstore:
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Numbered tickets will be given out on Monday, January 7th, beginning at 7:30 a.m.
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Numbered tickets will be given out in the ORDER YOU ARRIVE TO WAIT IN LINE.
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You may hold a place in line for NO MORE THAN ONE PERSON for NO MORE THAN ONE HOUR. (The line will be largely self-policing, and exceptions will have to be decided mutually.)
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If you’re camping out ahead of time, be aware of the following issues:
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Between December 14th and January 7th, campus services will be reduced.
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The Wilkinson Center will be completely closed each night between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., after midnight on Fridays, after 11:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and after 5:00 p.m. on Sundays.
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It will also be closed all day on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, and after 6:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
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This means NO BATHROOM ACCESS during the hours the Wilkinson Center is not open. And many services in the Wilkinson Center will not be operational even when it is open.
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Also, if you plug something into an exterior outlet and blow a fuse like happened last time, no one will be around to fix it.
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Sorry about this! We tried to arrange a way for the camping line to relocate to a local campground, but they will be either under construction or otherwise unavailable.
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We salute your dedication.
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Each person in line will only receive ONE ticket for ONE numbered book. ONE numbered book per ONE numbered ticket per person.
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You will be asked to prepay for your book to receive a numbered ticket. If you have already prepaid, bring your receipt or confirmation number to claim your number, but that doesn’t affect which number you receive. Please check in at the guest table to make sure your paperwork is in order for the book distribution.
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Once you have paid for your book and received your numbered ticket, you are free to leave until right before 11:30 p.m., BUT:
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The northwest entrance of the BYU Bookstore will be opened at 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. (exact time is yet to be determined) when the A Memory of Light Release Party will begin. Please check back here for more details as the day approaches.
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There will be games, a drawing for prizes, and treats!
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Beginning at 11:30 p.m., fans will be asked to line up, in order, according the numbered ticket that they received.
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If you are not in your numbered location by 11:45 p.m. you will be asked to get in the back of the line. - Once you have received your numbered book, you are free to leave or stick around to have the book personalized by Brandon.
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The current plan is for people to be called up in groups according to their book numbers. So you don’t have to wait in line the whole time; you can relax, go for a Denny’s run, whatever. If you miss your number being called, go up with the next group after you get back.
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Brandon will personalize up to three books per person in each signing group. If you would like to have him personalize more than three, then please wait until all the signing groups have had their chance.
The bookstore has asked me to get there a bit early so I can be finished signing and numbering all the books by 9:00 or so. Once I am done, they will let everyone in and we’ll have a meet & greet where you can talk to me, ask me your burning questions, take pictures, etc. (The idea is that this will help the personalization line move more quickly after midnight.) There will also be things like trivia contests going on during this time.
Around 10:30 I will do a reading and/or a general Q&A, and at around 11:15 there will be a prize drawing. Then at 11:30 they want everyone to line up again in preparation for midnight, as explained above.
I will personalize as long as I can, but I expect this to be the largest crowd ever at a signing, and previous events have finished after 3:00 a.m. Since all of the books will be pre-signed and numbered, everyone will get a numbered edition if they come. As I’m local, you can always just come, pick up a book, and leave—then get it personalized at some other signing when things aren’t so crazy. This will probably be a busy event, but it should be very easy to just come, get a pre-signed/numbered book, then buy it and take off without waiting in any lines after midnight.
Now, here’s the important part. It’s hard for stores to judge how many copies to order for this sort of event, and I’m worried that BYU might not order enough. THEY MIGHT RUN OUT. Therefore, they are letting you preorder to be assured you get a book. If you preorder, you get $8.75 off the cover price and you are guaranteed a book. If you don’t preorder, it’s first come first served. If a lot of people preorder, they will get in more books to make sure everyone who ordered early is covered.
So, for this event, I strongly encourage you to call and buy your book ahead of time. It will save you money and will make things easier for us. Let me say one more time, however, that you do not get your number based on when you preorder. You get it based on when you arrive in line, starting at 7:30 a.m. Preordering just guarantees that you get a copy, not that you get a low number. Still—please, please preorder soon so they can be sure to have enough books for the event.
Details:
BYU Bookstore, Provo, UT
12:00 a.m. January 8th (Monday night/Tuesday morning) (book released)
~9:00 p.m. January 7th (doors open)
7:30 a.m. January 7th (numbers distributed)
Preorder by calling (801) 422-2400 or (800) 253-2578, or by going to the BYU Bookstore website. (For the shipping option, choose “pick up at service desk.”) You’ll need to bring your receipt or confirmation number to the midnight release and stand in line with everyone else in order to get your number.
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