When I was a kid, I collected sports cards. Football and baseball, mostly, but through trading and "flipping" at school, I ended up with some basketball and hockey cards, too. I wish I still had some of those late 70s basketball cards.
But I digress.
Collectable cards have been a part of sports for decades, and even though the market seems to have slowed a bit, I don't see it stopping any time soon. That makes this news even more interesting.
Powell's Books has introduced collectable author cards. The set of 16 cards is available for a limited time when you purchase one of Powell's featured titles. The cards are full color and look very nice.
It's an interesting concept. Most people have their favorite authors just like sports fans have their favorite teams and players. Some even have favorite positions. My collection of hockey goalie cards is growing fast enough that I need to get a bigger box. Now readers can collect cards of their favorite authors - as long as they are in this set of 16, of course.
I can see it now - 2010 will mark the debut of the Topps Author Cards series. You can collect authors by publisher or genre. Sought-after "insert cards" will feature cover shots of an author's first published book. Imitating the "game-used" phenomena, you'll be able to get author cards with pieces of manuscript paper embedded in the card (an extra premium card will have actual writing on the MS scrap).
Upper Deck will come out with a card set for each genre of fiction. The science fiction insert set will include cards with fragments of Robert Heinlein's typewriter ribbon, or Isaac Asimov's manuscript paper. The Fantasy set would include autographs by some of the big names in fantasy, but the must-have subset will be the three-card Lord of the Rings Cover set, with selected cards autographed by Tolkien's son.
Both companies will feature a Rookie Update set with cover art from upcoming first books. As the books increase in sales, special Rookie Cards of the authors will be included, showing the writer holding up the contract for their first book. And you know someone will start manufacturing agent cards.
One day, third-graders will be swapping author cards: "I've got a Stephen King MS card. I'll trade it to you for your Holly Lisle cover card." "I just pulled an Asimov Historic Covers card! Look that up in Beckett's for me!"
Article comments
1 - sal m
this reminds me of the episode of the "odd couple" where felix goes to work for his brother's gum company - unger gum - and comes up with a trading card set featuring operas..."mimi gets tuberculousis." needless to say the idea was a failure...
2 - Iloz Zoc
Just so long as they don't use his idea of the broccoli flavored gum either, I'm game.
3 - sal m
that's an outstanding call Iloz...bravo!!
4 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
I was remembering the baseball cards of my childhoood and thinking of the kinds of stats one would put on a writer's card. Let's see...
1. How many menial jobs the author worked while working on that first blockbuster.
2. How many rejection slips received for the big blockbuster that broke into the market.
2a. How many rejection slips received divided by the number of works sold.
3. How many agents turned their noses up at the author prior to getting published.
4. How many publishers did the writer have to shlep those first manuscripts to.
5. How much money did the money make off the first book.
6. How much has he pulled in altogether.
7. How many of his books have been bought...
Gosh, this seems to be enough. I would want to include how many affairs the author has had since becoming famous, but that could break up families...
5 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
Do they have the Orson Scott Card card?
6 - micki
Awesome idea!!!
my first laugh out of the day! ty
Am now wondering if there will be author cards in bubblegum packs, cereal packages, but would vote a MUST in every book printed!!!
micki
7 - Warren
Ruvy -- some GREAT ideas there!
And micki -- I can see it now -- Exlusive Steven King cards! 3 card set available ONLY in specially marked boxes of Count Chocula, Frankenberry, and Boo Berry cereals!
But it WOULD be a great gimmick for new books, to put a limited edition card in each book. Of course, that would kill browsing bookstores, because they'd have to shrink-wrap the books like they do magazines now.
8 - Snarkattack
Oh my god. I want to see these Powell Books cards.
I would love love love a card featuring the facsimile of the first page of Eliot's "He Do The Police In Different Voices" (which went on to become 'The Waste Land'). That'd be like getting a super-expensive Magic the Gathering foil rare, or something.
They could also have subsets of authors who have had affairs with other authors, ones who ended their own lives...
Okay, I'm way too excited about this idea. That's sad.
9 - Mayank 'Singh' Austen
Now one will have to hanker for these cards too. As if buying books everyday is not enough! Phew.