Dan Rhodes Blog

How to Have a Top 10 Hit

theskyscraper — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:33:47 +0000

For the past few weeks, Amore Amore – the Italian edition of Dan Rhodes’ Anthropology – has been making itself comfortable in the upper reaches of the Italian paperback chart. It was even the Christmas number 3. In these troubled economic times, publishers the world over will be watching this unexpected development, and wondering how they can emulate this success. Well, we’re going to let them in on the secret. Here’s how to do it:

1. Acquire the rights to Anthropology by Dan Rhodes. Speak to the Canongate rights department about this. Be sure to pay a decent amount, to start things off on a friendly footing.

2. Get the right translator for it – someone who really gets the book.

3. Package it so it’ll be the kind of thing that booksellers want to stock, and people want to pick up.

4. Price it correctly. This is the part of the process where so many publishers fall down. It’s a short book, and this should be reflected in the price. The Italian edition is €5. Perfect. Do not get this wrong.

5. Get a superb publicist on to it – one who will get it featured in Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, and all the important local titles – particularly those with a youthful readership.

6. Sit back with a gin and tonic and wait for the book to set up camp in the Top 10. When it does, continue to sit back with a gin and tonic as you bask in the glory of success. Easy.

Thanks to Fiammetta, Martina, Daria and everyone else at Newton Compton for getting it right.

In other Anthropology news, several of the stories have been included in the Swiss anthology Mit Geschichten durchs Jahr, which has a story for every day of the year. Published by Diogenes, this is Anthropology’s first outing in German – though there is now sure to be an unseemly stampede as publishers battle for the rights to the whole book. Let’s hope they won’t have to call a krankenwagen.

That’s enough about past glories. Eagle-eyed Rhodes-watchers will have noticed that we’ve been working around the clock and have come up with a dramatic new design for the site in anticipation of his new book, This Is Life, which is due out in a few weeks. More news on that as it breaks…

Happy reading.

Amore Amore

theskyscraper — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:06:49 +0000

That’s right – Dan Rhodes’ Anthropology is being published in Italy this week, in a new translation from our friends at Newton Compton. They’ve called it Amore Amore. And why not?

It seems the whole country is going Amore Amore crazy – Rhodes even has a full page in Italian Vanity Fair, where the stories are described as being “però piccolo”, which we can just about understand. “Il risultato è un affresco unico di sentimenti,” they go on to say, “che sfugge al chiacchiericcio, non alle sorprese.” All this is beyond our vocabulary, so unfortunately we can’t tell if this means they like it or not. We expect they do, though – how could they not?

In other news, Rhodes’ new novel, an epic blockbuster (definitely not però piccolo, this one) called This Is Life, is currently being hosed down in preparation for a March 2012 release.

Happy reading.

Bulgarian Babies

theskyscraper — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:36:57 +0000

We’re currently in the second week of a month long double celebration on the roof of the Dan Rhodes skyscraper, here in the heart of downtown Taipei. Here’s what it’s all about:

1. Little Hands Clapping is, at last, out in the US – so copies will no longer have to be smuggled in from Canada.

and

2. This month marks the fifteenth anniversary of Rhodes starting to write publishable stuff (Glass Eyes from Don’t Tell Me The Truth About Love, fact fans). Since then he’s written 386,000 words - one for every person living in Sanshui district of Guangdong Province in China, or two for every baby born in Bulgaria in 1920. But that’s enough putting numbers into Wikipedia – we’re heading back to the party, to drink cocktails, giggle, and skinnydip in our rooftop pool. We suggest you do the same.

Happy reading.

Taputtavat Pikku Kätöset

theskyscraper — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:20:12 +0000

We’ve hiked across the Sweden/Finland border for this month’s update. That’s right – Little Hands Clapping is now available in Finnish, in a typically handsome hardback from our friends at Sammakko. It’s a must read for those long winter nights. Obsessive Rhodes completists will also be glad to learn that he has recently co-translated a Finnish book about a foul-mouthed hedgehog. This is also from Sammakko. Here it is:

And if that wasn’t enough, the Italian edition of Little Hands Clapping is now out in paperback:

With no new Rhodes material due until the publication of This Is Life in March 2012, you could well find yourself wondering what to read in the coming months. There’s no need to panic, though – Rhodes has broken his strict no-blurbing rule and has publicly recommended the new book by Magnus Mills, A Cruel Bird Came to the Nest and Looked In. It’s great. Earlier this year he also found himself unable to resist blurbing Sixteen Shades of Crazy by Rachel Trezise, which is also great. And hats off to Faber for unearthing Twopence Coloured, a long-abandoned early novel by Rhodes favourite Patrick Hamilton. Guess what – it’s great.

Happy reading.

Klappa Händer Små

theskyscraper — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:25:07 +0000

Yes folks, it’s a Swedish Special this month. Rhodes has long been a fan of Sweden and the Swedes – here’s a list of just some of his favourite things about them:

1. ABBA, obviously. See their finest moment here.

2. The magnificent Martin Beck series of cop novels by Sjöwall and Wahlöö. More about them here.
3. Bodies Without Organs – Earth’s most bafflingly named sunshine pop act.

4. Björn Borg, mainly because when he became famous he didn’t just buy an island, he bought an archipelago. Some people have natural panache.

5. And, of course, ‘Don’t Bore Us, Get To The Chorus’ by Roxette – a record he’s so unaccountably fond of he even gave it a supporting role in The Little White Car. We’ll stop there.

However, until now his admiration for the Swedes has gone unrequited, as they have joined together in their refusal to read his books. Hopefully this is all about to change, though, with the publication of Little Hands Clapping by our good friends at Basil. Translated as Klappa Händer Små, this excellent illustrated edition is sure to become this autumn’s must-read from Malmö to Kiruna. Next time you happen to bump into Max Martin, Britt Ekland, Stakka Bo or Dolph Lundgren, don’t be surprised if they have a copy under their arm.

And look, here’s a trailer:

You’ll probably need cheering up after that. Here’s the above-mentioned Bodies Without Organs to help out. Rhodes was at this very concert, which is reported to have been one of his favourite live sets ever:

Happy reading.

Probably not coming soon to a town near you

theskyscraper — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:31:38 +0000

After a gruelling four-stop, two-nation world tour, Rhodes has finally come to the end of his live commitments for the year, and unless any earth-shattering invitations come in he’ll be keeping a low profile until the inevitable media bonanza surrounding the launch of his seventh book, This Is Life, in spring 2012. He has exclusively contacted us and asked us to thank everyone who came along to the events (apart from the intensely tiresome person sitting behind him in Cardiff, who distracted everyone within a ten foot radius with his incessant droning).

In other news, Little Hands Clapping will be published in Sweden and Finland in the coming weeks, and will be out in the US in the autumn. Details to follow.

Also, Little Hands Clapping is now out as an audiobook. It’s available here, from Audible - so now you can read Rhodes’ book with your eyes shut, or while gliding through the streets in your Lexus.

We don’t know for sure what he’ll be up to in the coming months, but we expect he’ll be hanging around in various exotic locations with his famous acquaintances. Speaking of which, we’ve managed to unearth this picture of him enjoying some quality time with his dear friend Meryl Streep:

Happy reading.

Cardiff Calling

theskyscraper — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 20:29:19 +0000

Nobody ever believes us when we tell them, but it’s true – Dan Rhodes has never done a reading in Cardiff. That’s all about to change, though. On July 21st he’ll be part of the In Chapters night at the Millennium Centre, premiering some brand new stuff on the evening’s theme – carnivals. A mixture of music, fiction, poetry and whatever else, Rhodes will be joining musicians Richard “Mynci” James and Gareth “The Gentle Good” Bonello, as well as Rhymin’ Rhian Edwards, John “L” Williams and probably a bunch of others. See you all there. Details here.

In other news, word has reached us of history’s most peculiar party. Last month, in Noosaville, Australia, something unusual entered the water supply and a bunch of otherwise rational people ended up convinced that it would be a good idea to theme a party around Rhodes’ 2007 novel Gold. Implausible as it may seem, this photograph has not been tampered with:

We wish them all a speedy recovery.

Happy reading.

The ink is drying…

theskyscraper — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:17:36 +0000

We are finally able to exclusively confirm the rumours that have been sweeping the business for months - Dan Rhodes has written a new novel, and it’ll be published by Canongate in March 2012. But what will this surefire million-seller be called? The exclusives just keep on coming. Find out below:

The beret and the Eugène Carrière painting suggest that it’s going to be another Parisian romp. We’ll see…

We strongly suspect that the title This Is Life is a nod to this song by the mighty Daniel Johnston. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time Rhodes has snuck a Daniel Johnston reference into a book.

And now we’re going to shut up about it until it’s back from the printers.

We hope you can stand the wait.

Happy reading.

Discover the ugly truth about Dan Rhodes

theskyscraper — Sat, 21 May 2011 08:29:21 +0000

Dan Rhodes will be in conversation with Stewart “Comedy Vehicle” Lee at the Stoke Newington Literary Festival on Saturday 4th June at three in the afternoon. You really should be out of bed by then – so no excuses, Londoners. Come along and gape at Rhodes as he mumbles, contradicts himself and ultimately crumbles under Lee’s pitiless interrogation. The audience will be invited to contribute to his horrifying public collapse by asking him stuff too. Booking info lives here.

This is coming hot on the heels of his sell-out London show with the wonderful Barry Yourgrau at the Idler Academy, which, perhaps predictably, culminated in scenes of mass hysteria unseen since the days of the Beatles. We’ve hacked into Rhodes’ camera and extracted this memento of the big night. Here’s Barry:

Quite why Rhodes never wins awards for his photography is beyond us.

Happy reading.

Dan Rhodes to invade London

theskyscraper — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 11:14:36 +0000

Rhodes is coming down from the hills and returning to London for what we calculate to be his fourth reading there in the past eight years. The capital truly belongs to him. This will be the official launch of the Little Hands Clapping paperback, and you are invited. We are delighted to announce that Rhodes will be joined by an extremely special guest - Barry Yourgrau. One of Rhodes’ all-time favourite writers, Barry will be making his London debut. A must-see, we reckon.

It’s all happening at The Idler Academy, 81 Westbourne Park Road, on Thursday 19th May. More details, booking info, etc, can be found on our Readings page. [UPDATE: This is now sold out. Another London date will be dramatically announced next week].

In other news, Rhodes has just returned from his annual pilgrimage to The Laugharne Weekend. He was billed on the posters as ‘Daniel Rhodes’, so apologies to anyone who made the trip to Carmarthenshire in the hope of seeing the author of vampire fiction of that name, only to end up disappointed. Still, there was plenty of other stuff to enjoy, not least these two characters, who sum up Rhodes’ feelings about the royal wedding .

And as ever, Rhodes – an established starmaker – has returned with a new musical recommendation for you all. Last year he single-handedly propelled Y Niwl to international fame, and this year it’s the turn of Trwbador to hold on to their hats as they are catapulted to the top of the hit parade. This is great:

Happy reading.