Book stamps

A frustrated librarian at heart...

I've noticed that my giveaway postcards are traded by collectors and I have no problem with this, but I wanted to do something that was for readers alone, so devised this set of bookstamps which only go in dedicated books. If you don't want it signed to somebody, you don't get a stamp. (Big woe, right?) There is a new one each year, and they all relate in some way to the book. They are all listed on my giveaway page if you want more info. They are also listed below in the order in which they were devised.

TNU 068: 'Goliath Approved Reading'. Devised 2003, dried up in mid-2004 and no longer used.

TNU 069: Jurisfiction 'Grammasite Zero Tolerance'. Devised 2003, dried up in mid-2004 and no longer used.

TNU 097: 'Eat More Toast'. Devised July 2004. Still used, usually with TN-1.

TNU 098: 'Cauttion! Mispeling Vyrus!' Devised July 2004. Still used, usually with TN-3.

TNU 099: 'Chimera Amnesty'. Devised July 2004. Still used, usually with TN-2.

TNU 100: 'Danish Literature Warning'. Devised July 2004. Still used, usually with TN-4. At the time I wrote Something Rotten, I chose the Danish as the scapegoats for all sorts of nonsense as I thought they were the European nation that was the least likely to offend anyone. The events of late 2005 proved me wrong. It is getting harder and harder to write satire these days.

NC 08: 'NCD Evidence'. Devised June 2005. Still used, usually with The Big Over Easy.

TNU 140: This was devised in December 2005 to coincide with the sale of paperbacks at Goliathcorp.com. Unusually for my stamps, this one does sometimes appear without a dedication, and accompanies every book supplied by Goliath Merchandising. To have a look at what amazing stuff is on offer, click HERE.

TNU 144: 'First Signed'. First used in April 2006, this bookstamp accompanies any 'first signed' that I do. For more about this particular timewasting tomfoolery, go to my First Signed Page

NC 16: 'Sommeworld Free Entry'. This was devised in April 2006 and accompanies signed and dedicated copies of The Fourth Bear, usually at events and appearances.

FG 231: Designed to look as utilitarian as possible, the 'Acme Quality Service' stamp was used to stamp reader's books on the 2007 UK and USA tours. 'Acme', you will recall, was the generic company used to supply anvils, magnets and assorted sundries to Wily Coyote. It was a shortlisted name for 'The Goliath Corporation' along with 'Apogee' and 'Zenith'. Incidentally, the change to 'FG' prefix from 'TNU' brings one code to everything. 'TNU' was 'The Nextian Universe', 'TEA' was 'The Eyre Affair', 'LGB' was 'Lost Good Book' and 'NC' was 'Nursery Crime'. 'FG' means, of course, 'Fforde Gizmos'. This is the two hundred and thirty first giveaway. The impressions are unnumbered, and without limit. First used June 18th 2007

FG 232: Only available from books purchased from Goliath, this non-denominational, non-specific, one-size-fits-all Global Standard Deity stamp is used on books at Christmas - or if asked, a religious festival of your choice. (please state) The impressions are unnumbered, and without limit. First used: It hasn't. Not Yet. Be the first and get a 'First stamp' stamp to match your GSD stamp...

FG 233: Only available from books purchased from Goliath, this cheery birthday stamp (don't ask why I do this; I'm clearly a frustrated librarian) is for people asking for birthday greetings in their book. The signature is the same one from the Thursday Next postcard The impressions are unnumbered, and without limit. First used: It hasn't. Not Yet. Be the first and get a 'First stamp' stamp to match your birthday stamp...

FG 235: For internal use only. No, I don't mean like aspirin. In my house and for anything that is from my private collection. I sometimes auction things from my private collection, and this might be on one of those. Otherwise, it's a secret what it looks like... The impressions are unnumbered, and without limit.

Our thanks to The Goliath Corporation for its generous sponsorship.