Cover art by Los Angeles artist Victo Ngai 倪傳婧
Forbes 30 Under 30, 5XSociety of Illustrators NY Gold, Hamilton King Awardee, ADC YG, BSFA Winner, Hugo Award finalist!
I’m delighted to share my tour dates for The Chalice of the Gods!
WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT?
Chalice of the Gods is the first classic-style Percy Jackson novel, told from Percy’s first-person point-of-view, since 2009. It features Annabeth, Percy and Grover, and follows their adventures during Percy’s senior year of high school as he tries to do something even more dangerous than saving the world — getting into college! In Chalice, Percy and friends must get a college recommendation letter from Ganymede, the cupbearer of the gods, whose chalice has been stolen. This is a big problem since anyone who drinks from the chalice becomes immortal . . .
I originally conceived of the book while we were working to reboot Percy Jackson and the Olympians as a TV show, and I decided to write it as a celebration of that show’s impending release and a ‘thank you’ to fans who have been waiting so long.
WHERE AND WHEN?
The book will be published on Sept. 26 by Disney Books/Hyperion in the US and Canada, with a simultaneous release in the UK from Puffin Books, and from Penguin Random House in Australia, New Zealand, and India. As usual, translated editions may take longer. I don’t always get those release dates. You should check with the publisher or a bookseller in your country for the exact release date.
Monday, Sept. 25
I’ll start the week doing a virtual media tour from a studio here in Boston. More on this later, but if you see me pop up on your local TV news or hear me on the local radio station, that’s why! We didn’t plan it this way, but Sept. 25 is also the birthday of our very own TV Annabeth — Leah Jeffries! I find that an auspicious omen.
Tuesday, Sept. 26 — Seattle, WA.
Our launch event will be at Benaroya Hall, hosted by Seattle Arts and Lectures (SAL) at 6:30 PM. This is the first time I have done an event in Seattle since 2016, so come on down!
Tickets here: https://lectures.org/event/rick-riordan/
Wednesday, Sept. 27 — Glendale, CA. SOLD OUT
Barnes and Noble will be hosting me at the Alex Theatre at 7:00 PM. This is the first time I’ve done a tour in the Los Angeles area since 2018! Tickets here: https://www.ticketmaster.com/rick-riordan-celebrates-the-chalice-of-glendale-california-09-27-2023/event/0B005EFA473D5DF1
Thursday, Sept. 28 — Houston, TX. SOLD OUT
Blue Willow Books will be hosting our event at Pasadena High School at 6:00 PM. It’s always a pleasure to be with my friends in the Houston area and to see the fine folks from Blue Willow. The last time I came through was for Tyrant’s Tomb in 2019. Tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rick-riordan-chalice-of-the-gods-tickets-660680953517?aff=oddtdtcreator
Friday, Sept. 29 — Austin, TX. SOLD OUT
My old friends at BookPeople will be hosting me at the AISD Performing Arts Center at 6:30 PM. Is it possible I haven’t done an in-person event with them since 2014? Yikes, that’s too long! Come through, Austin, and say hi!
Saturday, Sept. 30 — Chicago, IL. SOLD OUT
Anderson’s Books will host our event at Pfeiffer Hall at 2PM. I was in Chicago last month for ALA, but this is the first event for the general public I’ve done in Chicagoland since 2019. Always a treat!
Tickets here: https://www.eventcombo.com/e/author-event-with-rick-riordanpercy-jackson–the-olympians-c-68651
Sunday, Oct. 1 — Portland, ME. (Maine, not Oregon!) SOLD OUT
We’ll be back on the East Coast with Books-a-Million for an event at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center at 4:oo PM. When was the last time I did an event in Portland, Maine? 2011, folks — when the Borders bookstores still existed. That’s a LONG TIME, so if you’re a Mainer demigod, don’t miss this event!
Tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/books-a-million-presents-bestselling-author-rick-riordan-tickets-680259052137?aff=oddtdtcreator
Saturday, Oct. 14 — Boston, MA
I’ll also be a keynote speaker at the Boston Book Festival in Copley Square, which I haven’t done since 2014. This is not technically part of the tour, but updates will be posted here on the festival’s site when they are available.
WHAT WILL THE EVENTS BE LIKE?
Each event is slightly different, as guidelines are determined by our host bookstores. You should check with the store directly if you have any questions. In general, each venue will seat between 1000-1500 people. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Unless otherwise noted, each ticket will include a signed copy of the new book Chalice of the Gods. All books will be signed in advance. I’ll be in conversation with a special guest for about one hour (different guest at each stop). We’ll talk about the new book, what books and projects are coming up next, what’s going on with the adaptations for TV/film (as much as I can say) and I’ll answer questions that are collected from the audience. At the end of the event, there will be no signing line. You’ll just get your signed book and your complimentary tour t-shirt and off you go! The events are always a lot of fun and they tend to sell out, so I would not wait to reserve your tickets. Ticket prices are set by the host bookstores, and cover the price of the book.
Unfortunately because of the size of the crowds and time constraints, I am no longer able to do a traditional signing line with personalizations, selfies, and signatures on previous books, so don’t bring them from home! Many years ago, I decided that the signing lines were just getting too chaotic and impersonal. People would wait in line for three to four hours to say hi and get a signature, with each encounter lasting about three seconds. If we tried to do selfies or personalizations, the wait time could easily stretch to six hours. Nobody was satisfied with that, including me. I decided it was just better to sign all the books in advance and spend the hour-long event talking to the whole audience together. It’s more relaxed, more fun, more personal, more informative. Plus, it gets you back home in a timely manner, especially for events on a school night.
WHAT IF I LIVE IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRY OR A PLACE IN NORTH AMERICA VERY FAR FROM THE EVENTS?
Another unfortunate thing about my schedule is I only have time to do a very short North American tour (which is where I live). I would love to travel the world to meet everyone, but my work schedule makes it impossible. Some of the stores hosting me may be able to take international orders and ship signed books to you wherever you live. I can’t promise that, and it depends on the store, but I will post more info if/when I find out. Occasionally stores also offer the event as a recorded streaming option so you can watch at your convenience from your home country. Again, I can’t promise that, but if I find out any further information about this, I will post it! The same applies if you live in North America but are too far away to attend an event in person. Apologies to all the fans who don’t live in one of these cities. We try to spread things around each year, but with only a week of events, there will always be more places we miss than places we visit!
WHAT ABOUT THE WRITERS’ STRIKE?
As a member of the Writers Guild of America (screenwriters), I support the strike and abide by all the WGA strike rules. These do not affect book events or book launch publicity, as the publishing of novels is not a WGA activity. It does not affect my ability to talk about the TV/film projects while I am on a book tour if I do that of my own volition and not at the request of the studios. Hopefully the strike will be resolved before my book release, but if not, it will not affect the book tour. It MAY affect a number of other events I have been asked to do to promote the TV show, unfortunately. That’s what happened with Comic-Con in San Diego. Neither I nor the actors were able to attend because of the strikes. But there’s only one solution to that: the studios need to listen to their actors and writers and negotiate a just resolution!
Product details:
- Publisher Disney Hyperion; Media tie-in edition (September 26, 2023)
- Hardcover 288 pages
- ISBN-10 368098177
- ISBN-13 978-1368098175
- Reading age 8-12 years/Grade level 3-7
If you are not able to attend an event, you can preorder a copy from anywhere books are sold, including:
Waterstones (in the UK)
Indigo (in Canada)
Whether or not I am able to see you on tour, I hope you enjoy the book!
