Last night, I had the extraordinary pleasure of attending “An Evening with Neil Gaiman,” in Berkeley, CA.
Not only was the audience graced with the company of the author himself, but the surprise addition of Mythbusters host Adam Savage as moderator made the night even more extraordinary.
Though the initial focus of the program was the 10th anniversary of American Gods, the conversation meandered through topics ranging from the pitfalls of publishing to Neil’s unabashed fanboy love for Dr. Who.
The night held a beautiful congruence of numerous energies, from the deliciously geeky to the downright mystical (hearing Neil read a passage from American Gods in a historic church made my scalp tingle).
If you ever have the chance to hear Mr. Gaiman speak, do yourself a favor and go. Between his dry sense of humor, his amazing storytelling abilities, and his easygoing manner, he’s remarkably fun to listen to.
In honor this wonderful night, I found this simple, yet lovely letterpress print of a Neil Gaiman quote. It’s available from Fate Hope Destiny Luck Machine, an Etsy shop “operated by a circus artist and printmaker out of Portland, OR.” How friggin’ cool is that?
These may not be Neil’s exact words from last night, but the quote definitely captures the spirit.
- Neil Gaiman letterpress print
- Fate Hope Destiny Luck Machine Etsy shop
- More Neil Gaiman crafts on Geek Crafts
- More paper crafts on Geek Crafts
[Sketch via Neil Gaiman’s WhoSay.]
I was lucky enough to go to one of these in Toronto a few years ago. There was a little bonus that if you were the first 50 tickets, or something, you were allowed to go up and get something signed at the end of the night. Luckily I was in that first bunch of people. Unluckily the wonderful Neil decided to give out wristbands as we entered and said he’d greet and sign something for everyone.
It was 1:30am when I got to meet him :) But it was worth it.
I’m so glad you got to meet him! I didn’t unfortunately, but my ticket did include a copy of American Gods he’d autographed earlier. Defintely not the same, but it was nice to have a little token from the evening.