American Gods

I’m honored that for more than 15 years, I have called Neil Gaiman my friend. Not only is Neil probably the greatest living author of dark fantasy, in my modest opinion, he is one of the most generous and supportive and warm and loyal people on earth. Practically since the day his amazing novel American Gods was first published, in 2001, a legion of fans has been pestering him with questions about the people, the mythology, the places, and the stories in this massive volume. For some time, he’s been very kindly saying something along the lines of “Let’s wait until Les Klinger annotates it.” Well, that time is now! Yes, American Gods is “Project X” that I was teasing about.

I’m thrilled to announce that next Fall, William Morrow will publish Annotated American Gods, with my notes based in significant part on Neil’s manuscripts, journals, and research material as well as many other sources, including conversations with Neil and answers to the questions of “Who are all these unidentified gods anyway?”. I believe that this will be a large-trim edition, with the notes on each page in the margins, based on the 10th Anniversary edition text. Among other things, the notes will highlight all of the significant textual changes that were made for that edition. There will be black-and-white images of various people, places, and maybe even gods!

I’m very excited to be working on this and will keep you posted!

4 Comments

  1. Skip Zalneraitis on August 30, 2018 at 1:35 pm

    How wonderful!! Thank you!!

  2. Steve on August 30, 2018 at 5:33 pm

    Looking forward to reading this, so thanks! Am interested to learn more about The Three Sisters who appear in both American Gods and in The Ocean at the End of the Lane, both favorites of mine.

  3. Ron on August 30, 2018 at 6:44 pm

    Excellent, Les! That is something to really look forward to. I’m in!

  4. Max Magee on April 26, 2019 at 2:46 pm

    I knew it! 🙂

    Glad to hear that your talents will be on the case. If you need boots on the ground, I’m happy to help answer questions or collect evidence from local historical societies. I live in Madison, WI, and am familiar with Spring Green (House on the Rock) and the railways that crisscross southern Wisconsin.

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