This weekend we had a snowstorm big enough to collapse a few buildings, close highways, and kill people all through the Midwest. There were were reports of a lamb born with two heads that sang with the voice of a small child. Stars fell from the sky, there was a rain of blood, and people found that they could twitter 145 characters.

I also turned in the final version of The Wise Man’s Fear to the printers. I’m sure it’s just coincidence.

Now that I’m free from the shackles of editing, I can finally post last few auctions and donations. In the next few days we’ll have touching stories, interviews, books from celebrities, and all manner of awesome.

So stay tuned until the Dec 17th, because we’ve been saving some of the best for last.

Here’s what we have today…

A set of young adult books and a signed copy of The Last Unicorn.



Back in September, I answered a piece of fanmail that asked me what books I would recommend for YA readers.

It was a fun blog to write. It must have been a fun blog to read, too. As we racked up almost 500 comments from people eager to talk about their favorite YA books.

Then, when I was starting up this year’s fundraiser, a generous reader contacted me and offered to donate all the books I’d recommended to Worldbuilders. She suggested I auction them off as a set.

I said it sounded like a fun idea. So here they are.

In addition to the books, I’ve added something of my own. A copy of the 25th anniversary edition DVD of the Last Unicorn, signed by Peter S. Beagle himself.

To see more pictures or to bid on this collection of books you can follow this link.

A map of Alera and a hardcover first edition of First Lords Fury by Jim Butcher. The book is signed by Jim Butcher and the map is signed by Jim Butcher and the illustrator Priscilla Spencer.

Note: The Lesbian Unicorn, cool octopus and Valerie’s knights are being used for display purposes only, and are NOT included in this auction.

If you’re a map geek like me, then you have to love this map of Alera. Not only is it very posh, but it’s signed by both author Jim Butcher and the illustrator, Pricilla Spencer.

(If this auction gets out of your price range, you can buy signed copies of Priscilla’s map over here on this site. Sales of the map go to support Books For Boobs, a charity with the best name ever….)

Oh. And we’re including a book, too. It’s a first edition hardcover, signed by Jim Butcher himself.)

It’s pretty good if you’re into that whole epic fantasy thing.

To see more pictures or to bid on this book/map set you can follow this link.

The original typewritten manuscript for The Fire Dragon by Katharine Kerr. Signed by the author. With signed paperback copy.

What we have here folks, is a real rarity. Katherine Kerr was generous enough to donate the original manuscript for The Fire Dragon to Worldbuilders this year.

Not only is this a unique item, it’s actually a relic of a bygone age.

Let me explain. When my first book came out in 2007, they gave a paper printout of the book to the copy editor. Then the copy editor read the manuscript and marked up the pages, making comments and corrections. My editor also made comments on the manuscript.

Then we sat down and talked about the changes that needed to be made. Some of them small grammatical things, some of them bigger issues.

I liked the process. I liked looking at proofreaders marks on a manuscript. It felt cool to me. It was an arcane process. A little outdated, sure. But most holy rituals are a little dated when you think about it.

What I didn’t realize was that I was participating in something that was the very end of an era.

This year. Hell, this month when I went over the comments and corrections for Wise Man’s Fear, it was all on screen. It was all tracked changes and embedded comments in a Word file.

There was no paper, and honestly, I missed it.

Talking to other authors and editors who have been in the game longer than me, I get the impression I’m in the real minority with these feelings. The new way is easier, faster, cleaner.

But still…

Anyway, my point is that not only is Katherine Kerr’s manuscript a one-of-a-kind collector’s item. But living, working, paper manuscripts like this are no longer being produced. Their time has passed.

But thanks to Kerr’s generosity, you can get this piece of publishing history for your very own if you win this auction.

To see more pictures or to bid on this manuscript you can follow this link.

New additions to The Tinker’s Packs: foreign editions of Daggerspell and Dark Spell by Katharine Kerr. Signed by the Author.



Katherine Kerr has also donated foreign translations of Daggerspell and Dark Spell to Worldbuilders this year. We have copies in Dutch, Finnish, Russian, and French. All of them are signed.

Since these are items that will be of great interest to some people, but of very limited use to many others, we’ve decided not to add them to the general lottery.

Instead, we’re putting them up for sale in the Worldbuilder’s store: The Tinker’s Packs.

I will admit that when Katherine donated these books, I had a wonderful thought. What if a bunch of fantasy authors all donated their spare foreign editions to Worldbuilders?

You see, whenever a publisher prints your book, they send you a couple free copies. When you get books in your native language, they’re useful. You can give them as gifts. You can send them to reviewers. You can sell them on street corners to impressionable children…

But when your foreign publishers send you books, it’s harder to put them to good use. I usually give one to the Library, then put the rest on a majestic shelf that I use to intimidate my enemies.

While that’s a lot of fun, giving them to a worthy charity is also a really good idea.

Maybe if enough authors donate their unused foreign editions, we can make Worldbuilders the place to shop for multi-language editions of cool Sci-fi and Fantasy novels.

The following donation gives me hope that my dream might not be too far from becoming a reality….

New additions to The Tinker’s Packs: assorted books from the Portuguese publisher Gailivro.

A couple months ago when I started spreading the word about the Worldbuilders, my Portuguese publisher Gailivro dropped me a line.

I have to say I have a warm spot in my heart for Gailivro. Not only did they publish a lovely edition of my book with a cool cover. But they also did a movie-style trailer for the book to help promote it.

Better still, Gailivro also publishes the lovely Peter V. Brett who I interviewed for last year’s fundraiser. They offered to donate some Portuguese translations of his book to the fundraiser. I said that would be terribly kind of them.

Then they asked me if I could use some other Portuguese books, too.

I assured them I could find a good home for any books they cared to send….

Thanks for chipping in, Gailivro.

* * *

Remember folks, for every 10 dollars you donate to Heifer International, you get a chance to win hundreds of books, DVD’s and other types of assorted coolness.

In addition to that, Worldbuilders is matching 50% of all donations made on our Team Heifer page before Dec 17th.

For more details about Worldbuilders, the auctions we’re running, and the other donated books, you can head over HERE.

P.S. There’s still a little time left to bid on the auction for the signed Brett Favre Jersey, too.