A book and tour RAQ.

I think I've probably taken a similar picture to this for every book I've written. You have to really. Because a stack of a thousand copies just looks too weird not to.

The first time you see a bound copy of a book you've written it's exciting. It's hard to believe it's real until then. But then it's exciting all over again when you see a thousand of them all in one place. It's definitely real then.

This is how they look, stacked up, ready to be signed. They bring at least four people in to help with the process forming a small production line.

As you work through the pile someone will be pushing fresh copies up to your end of the table. Someone else moves a fresh book under your nose, someone else moves the signed copies out of the way and someone else boxes them up. It would take three or four times as long if they just left you in a room with a thousand books. Open a book on the wrong page. Flick to the right page. Sign it. Move it. Pick up another. Do that ten times. Then stop to move the ten you've signed out of the way to make room for the next lot and to move the next lot within reach and so on and so on. Not only do they make it into a quicker process, it also makes the room a kind of chatty place and that makes it feel quicker too.

My signature has morphed over the years. It isn't especially legible at the best of times - in my head it's my initials, but on the page it's not always that clear - but if you end up buying any of number 850, 851 or 852 from this day; my apologies. I was cramping up around then. We had a quick break before doing the others.

I mentioned on twitter that I was doing a stock-signing and several people asked me whether the signed copies were to go with the free-bowling offer I mentioned in my last post. They're not.

Answering that question then led to several people asking me where they were destined for and as I've had a lot of questions lately about the autumn tour and the imminent book release I figured it might be worth posting a sort of FAQ that deals with the recurring questions I've been asked of late. More a Recently Asked Questions than a Frequently Asked Questions... but you get the idea.

I know these sort of things can appear indulgent or self-important to people who weren't asking these questions... so apologies for that. But enough people are asking to make it seem useful for some. Here goes.

What's going to happen to the 1000 books you signed?
I don't know. I expect they'll be heading to various shops. But if I find out about any offers I'll blog them and tweet them.

Can I order a signed copy?
Yes you can. I'm doing a load of readings to promote the book during the first couple of weeks. The details of where and when are on the live dates page of my site. If you come along to any of those readings you'll be able to buy a copy and obviously I'll be happy to sign it. But even if you can't attend, if you contact any of those shops in advance they're normally more than happy to arrange one for you. They are shops after all!

Are the book and the autumn tour about the same thing? Will one be a spoiler for the other?
No they're not. One isn't a version of the other. They're completely separate entities. The stand-up show I'll tour in October/November is just that: a stand-up show. There isn't an overriding theme to it and it isn't one of the more theatrical story telling shows I've done in the past.

What is going to be in the stand-up show?
I can't tell you for sure. I haven't finished writing it yet. Nobody I know writes a show at their desk then takes it all out live for the first time for night one of a tour. They evolve. With the last tour I was for the most part able to try material out in small clubs round and about. But in the second half of the show there was a chunk of material that was too techy for that and I've found myself wanting to experiment more with that sort of thing. Which is why I set up my monthly night at Hoxton Hall. I've really enjoyed those gigs new material has been shaping up nicely. But there are a few to go between now and the start of the tour and each one is a chance for me to play with new things that might or might not make the cut.

What's the book about then?
It's about 340 pages. Badum tish. More accurately, it's about this.

Why do some shops charge for the book reading and others don't?
The book readings are organised by my publisher. I don't get paid for doing them. I do them because they're fun and I want the book to do well. Some shops can't accommodate a reading so they have to hire a venue. Some shops give a glass of wine. Some charge a small amount but make it redeemable against the price of the book. It's about covering their costs.

Why aren't you doing a gig near me?
I don't book venues, they book me. It might be that they didn't want the show. It might be that they did but didn't have any dates available which worked for me. I don't know more than that. But I don't sit with a map crossing out towns that I don't like any more than I'm playing towns because I do like them. It's a bit more pragmatic than that I'm afraid.

Free Bowling

Night Bowling, originally uploaded by Dave Gorman.

Sometimes you say things and you're not really expecting anyone to take them seriously... but they do.

A short while ago I was chatting to my publisher about my new book. It's about playing games and in a moment of idle chit-chattery I found myself saying, "Wouldn't it be great if we encouraged readers to play a game of some kind."

I wasn't asking him to make it happen. I was just, y'know, chatting.

But they took me at my word and have come up with a promotion that makes me giggle. The first 1000 people who pre-order the book (through a particular amazon.co.uk page) will get a free game of ten pin bowling.

Ta dah!

The link is here: http://amzn.to/DGBowl

Oh... and the bowling alleys are in the UK... but there are lots of them. Go read. Go bowl.

New Tour

I'm loving the Screen Guild gigs and I'm really happy with the material that's emerged from them so far... so I've decided to do another tour. The show will be shaped by a powerpoint presentation... hence the title, Dave Gorman's Powerpoint Presentation.

There are a few warm up dates scheduled at the end of September and start of October and then the tour will run to the end of November.

Tickets went on general sale today... and all the dates and details are on the live dates page of my site: here.

Don't Hate On Kate

Don't Hate On Kate, originally uploaded by Dave Gorman.

Dave On Dave Action. Thursday. 9pm.

The stand-up show I filmed in Birmingham in February goes out this week. On Thursday. The 28th. At 9pm. On Dave.

I'm holding a Staffordshire Bull Terrier in the photo because the dog and I both appear in a short VT about my home town - Stafford - which is at the start of the show.

It was a really fun live show and I think they've done a grand job in the edit. I hope you can watch it.

In the spirit of full disclosure I feel I ought to say that it does contain material from the last tour.

It also contains sets by the brilliant Isy Suttie and Simon Evans. I was really chuffed when they both said they'd do it. I think the three of us makes for a good blend as we each push at slightly different comic doors.

On the night of course it wasn't just the three of us. No, no. This series the nice people at Dave added in an extra act to a) give the punters more fun on the night and b) get some extra footage for their website etc. I love Ellis James and thought we were very lucky to get him. Here's a short clip from the night.



Thanks to everyone who's pointed out on twitter that I'm getting a little porky. I was writing a book at the time. It involves sitting down and eating biscuits. I'm getting slimmer now. But thanks for your concern. Oh... no... not concern. Mockery. That's it.

Did I mention the time? It's on Thursday, April 28th. 9pm.

I imagine you-know-who will be watching it to help calm his nerves on the night before his big day. And no doubt she'll be watching too.

Then again, maybe they won't.

Karaoke Circus

It's taken me a while to sort through my photos but it's worth saying that last Saturday's Karaoke Circus gig was hugely enjoyable.

I'm a one-trick pony when it comes to karaoke. I can't sing but I will stage dive and I hope that having a fat man throw himself on to the heads of the audience will make them forget how bad his singing voice was.

It seems to work. It's easier when there's a raised stage and a standing audience obviously. At the Leicester Square Theatre where the seating is fixed and has hard wooden edges it's a bit trickier.

I had to do some cajoling to persuade people to gather at the front and to begin with they were just grinning at me in a Yeah!-As-if-you're-really-going-to-do-that kind of a way. I was. And I did.

But the best thing was that I got my song out of the way early and could then relax and watch the show properly. I think a big part of the show's appeal is in watching performers step out of their comfort zone.

Highlights for me were Laurence & Gus's performance of Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry's 7 Seconds, Simon Amstell doing Enrique Iglesias's Hero Tony Gardner doing Wheatus's Teenage Dirtbag and two punters whose names escape me - and who didn't know each other - doing an amazingly spirited version Stan by Eminem and Dido.

But if you've never been to a Karaoke Circus show before there's a lot more to it than that. My radio colleagues - Martin and Danielle - really do put on a fab show and they've created a show that incubates a supportive atmosphere for everyone who takes part. It is karaoke without cynicism and with dollops of silly. It is a good thing.

Screen Guild 2

My new monthly show - Dave Gorman's Screen Guild - returns tonight. I really enjoyed the first one and I'm looking forward to night two.

I'm enjoying the pressure to come up with new stuff but it does make the day of the gig pretty labour intensive.

Because I'm doing these shows to experiment with stuff I couldn't do in regular clubs - stuff that involves the projector and screen - I build a new powerpoint presentation for each one so it isn't just sketching some ideas out in a notepad.

I doubt the audience from the first one will believe me but there were over 500 slides in the presentation for that show and there are likely to be more in this. That's because of the way I like to manipulate powerpoint to make things arrive, disappear and make the audience all (hopefully) see the same detail at the same time.

It makes the day of the show very busy because no matter what's already been planned and what's written on the day the visual side of it can't really be built and structured in advance. But I'm enjoying it. In fact it turns out to be a good way of focussing the mind. I have a very visual memory and I find that not only do I write more when I'm putting the presentation together but that it's a little easier to keep it in my head too.

I've got some great guests lined up for tonight (there are four each show) but there's no point going into detail as it's sold out. (It is a smallish venue) But there are tickets available for the next three if you fancy coming along: details here.