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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Entertainment
Sian Cain

‘Join the club’: Stephen King, Margaret Atwood and more reassure debut author after lonely book launch

(l-R) Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood and Stephen King.
(l-R) Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood and Stephen King have revealed their tales of lonely book signings early in their careers. Composite: REX/Shutterstock / Invision/AP / Getty Images

When debut author Chelsea Banning vented on Twitter about no one showing up at her book signing, she didn’t expect that some of the world’s most famous authors, including Stephen King, Margaret Atwood and Neil Gaiman, would respond with tales of their own nightmare public appearances.

“At my first Salem’s Lot signing, I had one customer. A fat kid who said, ‘Hey bud, do you know where there’s some Nazi books?’” King wrote to her.

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