Neil Gaiman at Book People, Austin, Sep 2005

September 26, 2005 Book People, an independent bookstore in Austin, TX, hosted a meeting with Neil Gaiman, a phenomenally popular author. Gaiman read an excerpt from his new novel "Anansi Boys", answered questions and signed books.

What can I say about Gaiman? He is so funny it's suspicious. Each of his answers to the audience's questions was like a mini stand-up comedy. He cracks a joke in every other sentence. Can he really improvise that well? Or did his agents plant people in the audience with pre-approved questions? :-)

I have transcribed the recording of his Q&A session and posted it here: http://www.geekitude.com/gl/public_html/article.php?story=20060112063815894.

Here is some "quote of the day" material from Gaiman. This is in relation to the movie Mirrormask, based on his book.

"I came to believe that American idea of a family fantasy movie is a movie you can park your 3-year-old in front of, and several hours later he will not have got any ideas."

He said this in relation to the movie Mirrormask, which is based on his book. I guess Neil Gaiman made sure that Mirormask will be a his idea of a family fantasy movie.

The audience at the Neil Gaiman event was picturesque enough to deserve some pictures in its own right. Unlike general science fiction fandom, which is, to be honest, not much to look at, Neil Gaiman fandom is rather visually stunning, with tattoos and all sorts of interesting outfits... I would say, costumes, but I suspect they dress like this every day. :-)