The 10th Anniversary Edition of The Nightingale & News About The Women - US and UK
No images? Click here
CELEBRATING TWO MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES THIS MONTH...
Happy almost Valentine’s Day!
I hate to show my age by remarking about how time flies, but this is one of those moments in life when the passage of time cannot be ignored.
It has been ten years since my novel, The Nightingale, was first published in the United States. I didn’t know how much this novel would matter in the landscape of my life, but now—with the passing of the years—I can see how my career mirrors my own coming of age as a woman.
In my thirties, I wrote novels about the issues faced by many women of my age—the challenges inherent in balancing work and motherhood and marriage, the consequences of the choices we make when we are young. In my forties, I focused on female friendship. These were the years when I realized that my girlfriends were, in so many ways, my bulwark against the vicissitudes of fate. And then came The Nightingale.
I had just turned fifty when I started to conceive of The Nightingale. I didn’t know it at the time, but this is the book that would truly awaken me as a writer and allow me to explore the broader world, our shared past, and the historical landscape in which women are so often overlooked or marginalized.
Here I am, a decade later, older and wiser, and still energized by telling women’s lost historical stories. What I see now is that I was always writing about women finding our voices, because really, isn’t that the journey of our lives in so many ways?
I am so grateful to you, my readers, for joining me on this journey, for embracing my novels, choosing them for your book clubs, coming to my events. A novel is a universe of its own and it doesn’t really find itself, settle into its meaning, until the reader opens the door and enters that world and brings his or her own truth to the story, fills in the empty spaces So, thank you for being my partner in this grand writing adventure.
And now, onto the big news: a VERY special 10th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of The Nightingale coming February 18th.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure about the idea of producing a collector’s edition of The Nightingale…and then I saw the book itself, and all I can say is WOW. As you know, I’m not great on social media, but this beautiful book encouraged me to get up off of my sofa and away from my writing. It’s not my best video, but I tried. 😊
Join me in Southern California to celebrate the ten year anniversary. I’ll be in Santa Monica on 2/18 and Santa Barbara 2/20, and YES, there will be signed books available!
A 10th Anniversary Contest
To celebrate this exciting milestone. I am giving away three signed copies of the 10th Anniversary Edition of The Nightingale. Enter to win by Friday, February 21st at noon ET. (U.S. residents only for this contest!)
A Very Special Thank You
I have been blown away by the love shown to The Women by readers in the United Kingdom, India, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. The novel became an instant Sunday Times Bestseller—a first for me in my career! In Ireland, the book settled pretty firmly onto the bestseller list and stayed there. The team at Pan Macmillan has been an amazing publishing partner. I can’t wait to visit again! Hopefully someday soon. For my English-language international readers, here’s a link to their paperback edition of The Women. It is a stunningly beautiful book!
Wonderful News About The Women
From Around the World
- #5 Sunday Times Hardback Fiction list, spending 8 weeks in the Top 10
- #2 on the Irish Times, spending 13 weeks in the Top 10
- 8 weeks at #1 in South Africa
- 5 weeks at #1 in New Zealand, 18 weeks in the top 10
- 7 weeks in the Australia top 10 fiction charts
While I was in London, I signed books at Shakespeare & Company. Wow! What a bookstore!
February marks an ASTOUNDING milestone for The Women, too…
I also have to share the amazing news that this month marks 52 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list for the Women. WOW!!! A solid year, and almost all of it at the top of the list. Honestly, it shows no signs of slowing down. I am absolutely thrilled that this novel has caught fire in the way it has. Most importantly, I can see how it has started conversations about the Vietnam war and helped its vets—male and female—to share their experiences. I’m so proud about that.
The Women is an AUDIE Finalist for best fiction audiobook of the year!!!! I’m also thrilled to announce that the fabulously talented narrator, Julia Whelan, is nominated for best fiction narration! How exciting is that? If you have tried an audiobook, one of Julia’s is the perfect place to dive in!
Congratulations to Diane Carlson Evans, army nurse and founder of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. She was recently awarded the Presidential Citizen’s Medal. Wow!!! If you haven’t read her book, Healing Wounds, you should give it a try!
Thank you all so much!
This has certainly been a once in a lifetime year—the kind of year that a writer doesn’t even dare to dream of—and it simply wouldn’t have been possible without all of you. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
With love and aloha,
Kristin
