American Gods Neil Gaiman
Illustrated by Yoann Lossel
Afterword by Neil Gaiman
A masterful blend of fantasy, horror, Americana and mythology, American Gods is Neil Gaiman’s exhilarating and imaginative road trip epic, examining faith and mortality in the age of media obsession.
After three years in prison, Shadow is a man who has done his time. No longer afraid of what the future may bring, his only desire is to be reunited with his wife Laura and to start a new life. But just days before his release, Shadow’s best friend and Laura are killed in a car accident, leaving him lost and heartbroken. With his life in shambles and no plans for his future, Shadow accepts a job offer from Mr. Wednesday, a beguiling stranger he meets on his way home who seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself. Being Mr. Wednesday’s bodyguard, driver and errand boy proves more dangerous than Shadow could have ever imagined, taking him on a dark and strange road trip that introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates seem mysteriously intertwined with his own.
Published on June 19, 2001, American Gods was hailed as an instant classic, showered with praise by critics and peers alike. Michael Chabon wrote, “American Gods manages to reinvent, and reassert, the enduring importance of fantastic literature itself in this late age of the world. Dark fun, and nourishing to the soul.” George R.R. Martin praised it as “original, engrossing and endlessly inventive.” Library Journal called it “compellingly imaginative,” while Amazon’s review raved, “American Gods is Neil Gaiman’s most ambitious novel yet. An outside-in and inside-out perspective on the soul and spirituality of America’s obsessions with money and power, our jumbled religious heritage and its societal outcomes, and the millennial decisions we face about what’s real and what’s not.”
In 2002, American Gods won the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, the Hugo Award, the SFX Award and Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel. In 2017, it was adapted into an Emmy Award nominated television series.
Our edition of this modern day classic features the author’s preferred text, a previously published note and afterword by the author, and two sequel novellas, The Monarch of the Glen and Black Dog, making it the most complete edition to date.
About the Editions
Our edition of American Gods by Neil Gaiman is presented in four states: Classic, Numbered, Lettered & Roman Numeral. The edition measures 170mm x 243mm (6¾” x 9⅝”) and features ten illustrations by award-winning artist Yoann Lossel, an introduction to the text & afterword by Neil Gaiman reprinted from an earlier edition, and the two American Gods sequel novellas, The Monarch of the Glen & Black Dog. There are nine full color illustrations and one monochrome illustration, all of which feature gold foil accents with offset print production supervised by the artist using his preferred printer.
Interior design & typography is by renowned designer Michael Russem. The text pages are set in Requiem types, and are printed letterpress by Pat Randle & Ellen Bills at Nomad Letterpress on a Heidelberg Cylinder in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom.
A Note on the Typography
Requiem is a distinctive typeface designed by Jonathan Hoefler, inspired by an illustration in a sixteenth-century writing manual, yet infused with modern elegance. Its origins lie in the intersection of historical calligraphy and contemporary design principles, making it a fitting choice for Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods. The novel explores a clash of old and new gods in America, blending ancient mythology with the complexities of modern society.
Classic Edition
Pre-orderThe Classic edition is limited to 1250 copies. It is a quarter cloth, smyth-sewn binding with a foil blocked embossed paper cover, and a dust jacket featuring gold foil accents. The cloth is Dubletta, a woven cotton fabric with a subtle duo-tone effect. Endsheets are Takeo Tant Select, a unique double-sided embossed paper. The edition is printed letterpress on premium Munken Print and is housed in a slipcase wrapped in Takeo Tant Select with ends capped in black cloth. The book is bound by Garry Phipps and his team at Green Street Bindery in Oxford, United Kingdom. The Classic edition is published as a single volume and is signed by Neil Gaiman and Yoann Lossel.
Classic Edition Ordering Information
The Classic edition of American Gods is offered first to those who signed up for the wait list in 2022. An email will be sent to everyone on the list on Thursday, September 19th, 2024 at 9am Pacific and they will have an opportunity to purchase a copy up until Saturday, September 21st, 2024 at 8am Pacific.
If you are not on the wait list and would like to purchase a copy, there will be copies available when it opens up for general pre-order on Saturday, September 21st, 2024 at 9am Pacific. We cannot anticipate how quickly the remaining copies will sell, but we recommend you be ready at 9am when the store opens for orders.
You can bookmark the link below which will go live on Saturday, September 21st, 2024 at 9am Pacific. It will take you directly to the product page where you can place your order:
https://shop.suntup.press/products/american-gods-by-neil-gaiman-classic-edition
Numbered Edition
The Numbered edition is limited to 350 copies and is a Bradel binding in full goatskin featuring an embossed World Tree designed by Yoann Lossel with an inset coin. The coin is custom minted for this edition by Shire Post Mint, also from a design by Yoann Lossel. Volume 1 features a Sun coin in brass and Volume 2 features a Moon coin in nickel silver.
The leather is Goatskin from the Alran Tannery in France. The tannery has been producing some of the finest goat leather since its founding in 1903 in the South of Tarn. The leather is produced in a labor intensive 23-step process which takes 4 weeks to complete. It has a unique natural and rustic grain with a soft yet structured feel and an even, consistent color.
The front and back sections of each volume are black Hahnemühle Bugra with the frontispiece illustration tipped-on in volume 1 within an ornate frame foiled in three shades of gold. Endsheets are Hahnemühle Bugra and head & tail bands are handmade with leather.
The edition is printed letterpress on 118 gsm Mohawk Superfine and is published in two volumes with a tipped-in fold-out of the Classic edition dust jacket art. It is housed in a clamshell enclosure covered in black Dubletta cloth with a leather spine label and velour lined trays, and is signed by Neil Gaiman and Yoann Lossel.
Lettered Edition
The Lettered edition is limited to 26 copies and is a Bradel binding in full hand-dyed goatskin with covers stamped in gold. The book is section sewn by hand on tapes. Head & tail bands are leather wrapped and embossed with gold foil. Endsheets are hand marbled for this edition by Emily Romero in Haddonfield, New Jersey. Each volume is housed in a quarter leather clamshell enclosure with European cloth sides and a hand-dyed leather spine label.
The front and back sections of each volume are black Hahnemühle Bugra with the frontispiece illustration tipped-on in volume 1 within an ornate frame foiled in three shades of gold. The edition is printed letterpress on 115 gsm mouldmade Somerset and is published in two volumes with a tipped-in fold-out of the Classic edition dust jacket art. This edition also includes a fine art print with genuine gold leaf, and it is handbound by Jacek Tylkowski in Komorniki, Poland.
Roman Numeral Edition
The Roman Numeral edition is limited to 10 copies numbered I-X. It is hand sewn and covered in full black Katsina fine goatskin from Harmatan and Oakridge Leathers, with a laser cut pattern from a design by Yoann Lossel, reflecting the blocking on the interior illustrations. The leather is overlaid onto hand colored mouldmade Bockingford 190gsm watercolor paper. The endpapers are also of the same hand colored watercolor paper.
The covers feature hand applied dusting of genuine leaf with hand tooled stars and dots in metallic foil, and a hand blocked title in pigment foil, with the volume number hand tooled in pigment foil. The top edge is colored to match with applied genuine leaf. Head & tail bands are leather with hand stitched detail. Volume 1 is red, orange and yellow with genuine 22k yellow gold leaf and gold tooling. Volume 2 is blue, turquoise and green with genuine platinum leaf and silver tooling.
The front and back sections of each volume are black Hahnemühle Bugra with the frontispiece illustration tipped-on in volume 1 within an ornate frame foiled in three shades of gold.
The edition is printed letterpress on 120 gsm handmade Velké Losiny from the historic paper mill in the Czech Republic which was founded in the late 16th century and continues to produce beautiful handmade paper to this day. The paper for this edition is a special making with a custom watermark of a Gryphon.
Housed in a cloth covered clamshell enclosure with velour trays, the edition is published in two volumes and includes a fine art print with genuine gold leaf, and a print of the Classic edition dust jacket art. The edition is signed by Neil Gaiman and Yoann Lossel, and is hand crafted by multi-award winning bookbinder Kate Holland in Somerset, United Kingdom.
Gilded Frontispiece Print
Included with the Lettered and Roman Numeral editions of American Gods is this fine art print with genuine gold leaf. These prints are handmade with the finest materials in the artist’s studio. The print is adorned with 22k “Latin” gold leaf using a process developed over years by the artist. It is printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308g/m² paper, a beautiful matte paper offering superb color rendering and deep blacks. The process is artisanal and is crafted with great care, and patience. This artisanal process, unlike gold lamination allows for the use of genuine gold leaf, thus enhancing the spirit of the artists original creations.
Sun & Moon Coin Paperweight
This acrylic paperweight features a set of custom minted Sun & Moon coins positioned back to back in the center of a 2.5” x 2.5” cube. Each cube is engraved with a number or letter to match your designation of American Gods. No book purchase is necessary to order, and you do not have to be an owner of the Lettered and/or Numbered edition of American Gods to order the paperweight. Limitation will be based on preorder demand.
American Gods Unbound Sheets
A limited number of unbound books for the Classic and Numbered states are offered to collectors and bookbinders who would like to create their own custom binding. All unbound sets are folded & gathered, unsewn, untrimmed, with endsheets, and with illustrations & colophon tipped.
American Gods Contest – Win a Red Leather Numbered State
Two orders will be selected at random (by order number) to win a copy of the Numbered edition of American Gods covered in red goatskin. Any order placed for either the Classic, Numbered, Lettered or Roman Numeral state will be eligible, and the winners will be selected at random. These contest copies will be designated as “PC”.
About the Collaborators
Yoann Lossel
Born in Strasbourg, France, in 1985, Yoann Lossel’s interest in art and painting began with the discovery of the Old Master paintings of the Renaissance, which he found at home and contemplated during his childhood. After a three-year degree in applied arts and narrative drawing at the Ecole Pivaut of Nantes, Yoann Lossel worked as a freelance illustrator. Yoann Lossel has exhibited his work in numerous galleries around the world, mainly in the United States. An award-winning artist, he is well known for his meticulous work combining graphite and gold leaf. He currently lives in the legendary Broceliande forest in Brittany.
Read Yoann’s essay on creating the artwork for American Gods.
Classic Edition Ordering Information
The Classic edition of American Gods is offered first to those who signed up for the wait list in 2022. An email will be sent to everyone on the list on Thursday, September 19th, 2024 at 9am Pacific and they will have an opportunity to purchase a copy up until Saturday, September 21st, 2024 at 8am Pacific.
If you are not on the wait list and would like to purchase a copy, there will be copies available when it opens up for general pre-order on Saturday, September 21st, 2024 at 9am Pacific. We cannot anticipate how quickly the remaining copies will sell, but we recommend you be ready at 9am when the store opens for orders.
You can bookmark the link below which will go live on Saturday, September 21st, 2024 at 9am Pacific. It will take you directly to the product page where you can place your order:
https://shop.suntup.press/products/american-gods-by-neil-gaiman-classic-edition
Matching Numbers and Letters
A Matching Pre-Order email is sent to owners of our previous publication (Swan Song) at 9:00 A.M. PT on the day of announcement. For the Numbered state, the Matching Pre-Order email is sent to owners of Swan Song with a designation of 1-250, and to owners of the Numbered edition of “The Yellow Wall-Paper” with a designation of 251-340 and to Numbered owners of The Amityville Horror with a designation of 341-350. If you did not receive the email, contact us here. If your order is not received before the deadline, your designated number or letter will be assigned to the new owner.
Order Limits
Please be aware of the order limits for our editions. You can read more about this in the Order Limits article on our support site.
Illustrations by Yoann Lossel
Lettered Edition Bookbinding by Jacek Tylkowski
Letterpress Printing by Pat Randle & Ellen Bills, Nomad Letterpress
Published editions may differ slightly from mockups and prototype designs.
Illustrations © 2023 by Yoann Lossel