Yes, I realize it is April.

I have had updating this blog on my list of things to do since a week or two after I last updated it.

Now for the follow through.

As you are all well aware we have 10 books left to go in this long lived collection of 46.

Here is the current standing:

1. Nonfiction 1 - through 3 proof reads including mine. (If you are not familiar with the origin of The Door Into Summer, it is found in this volume and I really liked it.)
2. Nonfiction 2 - I got this volume last week and just reached the halfway point before I finally started this long awaited update.
3. Letters 1 - Sean Thompson is back part-time and is do our 3 proof on this volume. (He thinks he will be done with it by the end of this week.)
4. Letters 2 - I am waiting for a call back from Andrew and Nancy at Windhaven as to when I can see this book. (Actually, it probably will go to Sean.)
5. Letters 3 - this one had a little trouble at the first proofreader, but may be back at WH (see comment above).
6. Farnham's Freehold - Already through all three passes and back at WH for final edits to be applied.
7. Tramp Royale - is working through some last typesetting issues - like discussions on including the map tracing the Heinleins' journeys around the world.
8. Screenplay 1 - transcribed, still needs typesetting.
9. Screenplay 2 - this one is still on my to do list for transcribing since some of the pages are almost impossible - see image below.
10. Requiem - We have decided to add a table of contents for the whole collection here - so until we are almost finished this one sits on the side lines.

I would like to poll you all on several questions (if you would like to respond):

[I will also send this out in email to all subscribers. Please suggest questions you think may be helpful towards a goal of understanding the demographics of the Heinlein community.]

1. Age
2. In which country do you reside?
3. If USA, which state, if not skip?
4. Gender
5. What industry do you work in?
6. How did you hear about the Virginia Edition Collection?
1. Internet
2. Print advertisement
3. Word of mouth
4. Heinlein Centennial
5. Other – please specify

Sean and I were also asked to work on a travelling Heinlein exhibit to be used both in more traditional museum installments, but also for trade fairs and the like. I would appreciate some ideas for exhibits. Here are some I have come up with so far:

1. The poem “Dance Session,” Virginia Heinlein’s skates, a letter from RAH to VG with a doodle of her ice skating
2. Manuscript of article: “Appointment in Space”/ “All Aboard the Gemini,” Popular Mechanics May 1963 (turned to page 112 or after)
3. Photograph(s) from the archives of the V2 launch, Article “Journey of Death”
4. Heinlein’s computer with a MS or letters or something
5. Heinlein’s camera with original photos and blow-ups thereof
6. Props and photos from Destination Moon - specifically the picture of Ginny and RAH on set (although I think we only have a newspaper clipping), include the article “Shooting Destination Moon”
7. The Rolling Stones TV script for Star Trek: “The Trouble with Tribbles.” (Opus #92?), props or shots from the episode
8. Heinlein’s Hugo’s along with copies of MS or paperback or hardcover of the winners and a description/background of the Hugos

So I figured out what happened

There has been a lot of confusion in the last 3 weeks or so as to the arrival of the next 5 books.

I now have some information for you all which should clear up the situation.

Volumes 32 through 36 have been printed and are at the shipping facility.

However, they have not been shipped to you yet due to a staffing change at the printer/distribution center. Instructions were lost in the shuffle and our new agent at the distribution center and I were apparently talking about two different things.

I was inquiring on behalf of several subscribers regarding their tracking information for this latest shipment (for those travelling: as they wanted to be sure their box wouldn't sit outside for too long, and for those concerned that the promised books hadn't reached them yet). As a result a very small portion of the subscribers' books have been shipped already. Most of them haven't.

It turns out none of your books have been lost in the mail - in fact most of them haven't made it to the mail yet. Myself and Andre, our sales representative from the printer, are very apologetic. This seemed to be a pure miscommunication.

The resultant is that they have pick-ups scheduled for today (Dec 23) and tomorrow (Dec 24), but, due to the heavy volume of shipping this time of year, the books will not arrive by Christmas.

Once again sorry for the anxiety this may have caused some of you. The books are printed and should be on your way soon (for real this time).

Your slightly less confused and vaguely comforted Project Manager

More books

Hello All,

I hope those celebrating the North American tradition of Thanksgiving had a very nice one.
On behalf of the VE, we are welcoming in the holiday season with another shipment of books.
This is a smaller shipment, but I wanted to make sure everyone knew we are still here and still making progress (albeit slowly). There will be 5 books in this shipment:

1. Creating a Genre
2. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
3. New Worlds to Conquer
4. Glory Road
5. Puppet Masters

We had a little hold up with some of the icons on the covers - the files the printer had could not be expanded, but kept small they just made gold blocks on the front of the book. We were able to resolve this and the proofs I have seen look good! Hopefully you will be seeing tracking information soon.

We are making progress on the remaining books. I now get to try my hand at transcription since the source file for one of the upcoming screenplays is a scan of a scan of a typewritten manuscript and transcribing software doesn't like it. (10 pages done about 200 to go.)

If you have not received at posted letter from VE recently please email me (leahmccarrick @ virginiaedition . com). The goal was to provide each of our current subscribers with a statement of account and to verify that no one is missing any books (and also to confirm mailing addresses and contact information).

That is all for now.
Let me know when you get your books.

Hugos?

I have a research project for you all.

I have seen several different articles give different numbers on the amount of Hugo Awards
Heinlein received.

The Virginia Edition website says he won 6.
IMDB reports only 4.
In going through The Hugo Award website I think I have uncovered 7.

Five for Best Novel:
Farmer in the Sky (awarded retroactively in 2001 for 1951)
Double Star (won in 1956)
Starship Troopers (won in 1960 and which I just watched the movie for last night for the first time)
Stranger in a Strange Land (won in 1962)
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (won in 1967)

One for Best Novella
The Man Who Sold the Moon (awarded retroactively in 2001 for 1951)

One for Best Dramatic Presentation
Destination Moon (awarded retroactively in 2001 for 1951)

I ask readers to check-up on this and report any confirmations/comments.

Also, (and probably more important to many of you) we are looking into printing 5 of the last 15 books in time for the holidays. The remaining 10 will be printed in the 1st or 2nd quarter of 2011.

In addition

For those in the Washington D.C. area:

William H. Patterson, Jr. will be the featured speaker
at a book forum hosted by the Cato Institute on October 21st
regarding the recent release of his Heinlein biography -
Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century: Volume 1 (1907-1948): Learning Curve

For more information:
http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=7559

A super delayed update

In the months since I wrote you last (sorry). We have made some progress toward getting the last 15 ready to print. As a reminder we have the following books left to print:

• 32 - Creating a Genre
• 33 - The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
• 34 - New Worlds to Conquer
• 35 - Glory Road
• 36 - Puppet Masters
• 37 - Non-Fiction 1
• 38 - Non-Fiction 2
• 39 - Letters 1 - Correspondence between RAH and one of his publishers John Campbell
• 40 - Letters 2
• 41 - Letters 3
• 42 - Farnham's Freehold
• 43 - Tramp Royale
  
• 44 - The Screenplays of RAH 1
• 45 - The Screenplays of RAH 2
• 46 - Requiem

The first 5 are just about finished, just requiring some final touches before being given official permission as print-able.
Nonfiction 1 is with the second proofreader.
Nonfiction 2 and Letters 1 are finished with their first proofreads.
Letters 2 is with the first proofreader.
Letters 3, Farnham's Freehold, and Tramp Royale are being typeset.
Both the Screenplays just received better versions of files that need scanning.
Most of Requiem is scanned or typeset, but this book will be the last to be finished with setting because we will be putting the index of all the pieces included in the VE in this volume.


Out of the 5 that I edited over the summer (the same 5 that are ready to print) I think The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress was my favorite, although some of the short stories in Creating and New Worlds are really good too.


I should have the first of the non-fictions later this month.


We are beginning to see some new subscribers come on board due to at least two factors.
The major contributor is probably Bill Patterson, who just released the first volume of his Heinlein biography. I have just sent him some material to distribute at the various press events and panels he will be participating in. Another possible source of instigation is our recent presence (as a poster) at the International Astronautical Congress, which was held in Prague the last week in September.


Quite on the publishing front,
Leah

To the Virginia Edition world

My apologies once again for not being a good blogger.
However, here we go with another update.

We are moving along with the next 15, not as fast as I would like
as I do more jobs for Mr. Dula along side the VE.
This last week was spent trying to collect all of the financial
for VE and have it ready to present it to our main funders this
past weekend.

We have an intern for the summer, who is doing work for the Heinlein
Prize Trust and for VE when his brain fries from too much data entry.
He has done proofreads for 2 books so far. I am going to be reviewing
them this week as I need to sign off on them any way.

On another note, if any of you feel you have received volumes not up to the standard
please let me know. We do have extras from each print run, however they are limited
in number. Please keep requests to the most substandard volumes. I have complained
to Transcontinental and so far we have sent out a couple replacement books.

The next set of books I hope will be back up in quality to what we have come to expect
from Trans. The next books are a little rearranged - I believe I mentioned this in an
earlier post. We are moving all of the material for Heinlein century into other volumes.
HC's table of contents included some selected RAH pieces and several tribute articles
from space industry and naval personnel. The RAH pieces are going into corresponding
volumes and the tributes will be placed into an extended version of Requiem.

While doing some inclusion discussion with Bill Patterson and Windhaven our editors,
I was introduced to an RAH letter from 1973 (a letter Heinlein wrote to Niven and
Pournelle about Mote in God's Eye before it came to have that title). Heinlein use FYI :)
This prompted me to try and find the oldest recorded use of the initialism - which
apparently was in 1941 when a radio show aired under that name. I still found it
interesting as my presupposition was dashed about the Internet age being the source
of most acronyms and initialisms, useful or not.

Enjoy your reading, hope to have more information for you soon,
Leah Ott