NPR Radio’s Talk of the Nation recently interviewed Neil Gaiman about his latest Graduation Gift book titled, “Neil Gaiman’s MAKE GOOD ART Speech”. The new book, designed by Chip Kidd and published by Harper Collins, is set to be released on Wednesday, May 15th, 2013.

Click here to listen to the NPR Radio Interview with Neil Gaiman:

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To celebrate the launch of Neil Gaiman’s “MAKE GOOD ART“ Speech Book Neil Gaiman and Chip Kidd will both appear at the OBERON in Cambridge (Boston) on Wednesday, June 5th, 2013 at 6:30pm.

Literary legend Neil Gaiman (American Gods, The Sandman, Stardust & soon to be, Ocean at the End of the Lane: a Novel), in his wonderful 2012 commencement address at the University of the Arts in Pennsylvania, encouraged graduates to do one thing, even in the worst of times: Make Good Art. Gaiman– who has written novels, short fiction, comic books, screenplays, children’s books, and graphic novels– and Chip Kidd, who designed the innovative cover and interior for the published book based on the speech, convene at the Oberon to discuss Gaiman's unconventional career path, prodigious output, and the bravery and creativity that goes into making good art. This special, intimate evening presents a rare encounter with one of contemporary literature’s most creative minds alongside the top graphic designer in publishing. They will discuss their own artistic processes and pass along advice for how to Make Good Art. Tickets are $25, which includes a copy of MAKE GOOD ART with a book signing to follow the conversation.

For Ticket Information please CLICK HERE!

Also, CLICK HERE to preview a sampling of Make Good Art‘s fantastically stylized interior.

Design for change. Design for good. Design for a better world.

These are the premises that fuel DESIGN INDABA. Their goal is for a better world through design, creativity and innovation.

Chip Kidd spoke at their 2011 event and while in Barcelona he stumbled across a caf decorated with book covers that he had designed. He found this both strange… and rather great!

BOOKSCOUT provides readers with personalized book recommendations based on people's Facebook timelines. The app also recommends popular titles - published by both Random House, Inc. and non Random House, Inc. imprints — readers are Liking, sharing, and adding to their bookshelves within the app. It also presents bestsellers from all publishers broken out by category, based on industry sales data.

Information about people's interests from their Facebook timelines is incorporated into the personal recommendations, and Liking books via the app helps create more tailored suggestions - the more books and interests users Like, the better the recommendations will be. Recommendations feature titles from all publishers, and include links to major retailers so people can easily purchase print books and eBooks they're interested in.

Readers can create and organize their own digital bookshelves, sharing what they're currently reading with their Facebook friends, tagging books they'd like to read, and keeping track of books they've read. People can also see what their friends are reading, encouraging organic word-of-mouth recommendations.

"Word of mouth is the number one way readers learn and get enthusiastic about books they want to read," says Amanda Close, Random House's Senior Vice President, Digital Marketplace Development. "By creating BookScout, Random House is helping to encourage conversations about books on Facebook, and broaden the social discovery of books in the digital space."

BOOKSCOUT is the latest initiative in Random House's in-house-developed efforts to guide readers in book discovery, including web verticals like Word & Film, Everyday eBook, Biographile and Suvudu, each of which feature interviews, news and reviews of books in their respective categories, and partnerships with Politico, Epicurious and Publishers Lunch to integrate books and authors onto their sites.

For more information about BookScout and to install the app, please CLICK HERE!

This post is mostly a friendly reminder to let people know that Chip Kidd will be appearing at a special event in New York City on May 9th. We announced it here awhile back. But the main reason we posted this reminder is that on the “Next Appearances” page, we recently added another event for May 11th ( Canada – 2013 TORONTO COMICS ARTS FESTIVAL ), and that pushes this NYC event down the list… we just didn’t want anyone to miss it.

So, for more information, please CLICK HERE!

WOW! We’re really excited to report that Chip Kidd designed the main graphic for the cover to today’s New York Times BOOK REVIEW. The image, shown up above, is obviously a parody on the famous British World War Two “Keep Calm and Carry On” Poster, but it also does a very good job of conveying the basic message of the main book review they are featuring on the cover. It’s the latest Triller Novel from John Le Carr titled, A DELICATE TRUTH.

The book will be released by Viking on May 7th (Yes, that’s in 2 days, ha!). As an important side note we should mention that Chip Kidd did not design the cover for the actual book.

So, please be sure to read today’s New York Times BOOK REVIEW by OLEN STEINHAUER, just CLICK HERE!

This coming weekend, May 11th and 12th to be exact, Chip Kidd will be making an appearance at the 2013 TORONTO COMICS ARTS FESTIVAL. The event is held at the Toronto Reference Library in Toronto, Canada and is open FREE to the public.

Other guests appearing this year will be Gengoroh Tagame, Art Spiegelman, Fran oise Mouly, Paul Pope, Maurice Vellekoop (who designed the poster shown up above), the Brothers Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, Ivan Brunetti, Taiyo Matsumoto, Michel Rabagliati, and many others. Please check their website for a complete list of special guests and events.

1:30-2:30PM Spotlight: Maurice Vellekoop in conversation with Chip Kidd
One of the most respected editorial and fashion cartoonists today, Maurice Vellekoop is a featured guest. On this program, Vellekoop discusses his life, work, and upcoming projects with Book Designer and Pantheon Books editor Chip Kidd. The two will also make a very special announcement...!

Also, The event is open from 9:00 to 5:00 pm on Saturday, May 11th. Then on Sunday, May 12th, from 11:00 to 5:00 pm.

For more information, please CLICK HERE!

Cartoonist and MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Fellowship winner Ben Katchor was recently interviewed by Gil Roth in a episode of “The Virtual Memories Show” Podcast. The main focus was Ben Katchor’s brand-new graphic novel recently published by Pantheon Books in 2013 titled, HAND-DRYING IN AMERICA AND OTHER STORIES, which collects his monthly comic page from Metropolis magazine. During this special episode, Ben even “performs” several of his comics. Plus, he gives us all some really great insight into his creative process. Also, as a side-note, we should mention that this book cover was designed by Chip Kidd.

We have embedded the podcast down below, but for even MORE information we suggest a visit to VIRTUAL MEMORIES.

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Ben Katchor
Hand Drying in America and Other Stories
Pantheon Books / Random House
ISBN 978-0-307-90690-8
160 Pages

Here’s a video that is a part of the ongoing series created by Random House Books called, “Inside Random House”. These short features give all of us a small glimpse into the workings of the famous publishing house. This particular clip is titled, “Digital Product Innovation”. Here is their quote:

“The way we transform book content into digital experiences is rapidly evolving. Join some of our key in-house digital product experts as they give you an insight into how they approach their work, and highlight a few of our exciting new digital products. Tune in!”

HARPER COLLINS, the Book Publisher responsible for bringing Neil Gaiman and Chip Kidd together to create a wonderful new book all based on Neil Gaiman’s insanely great “MAKE GOOD ART” Speech, has just placed an incredible special PREVIEW of the first few pages to give you an idea on the basic concept of what the book’s interior will look like. Hey, you can view this sneak-peek by clicking RIGHT HERE!

Also, The book is set to not come out until May 18th, but if you CLICK HERE you can pre-order it at a special price. Thanks!