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American Gods author Neil Gaiman is to write a non-fiction book about China as part of a three book deal signed with HarperCollins. The world English and Chinese language rights deal was signed by Jennifer Brehl, senior vice president and director of editorial development at William Morrow at HarperCollins, Gaiman's current US publisher, and Sarah Hodgson, deputy publishing director at HCUK with Merrilee Heifetz of Writers House.
A release date for the first book, Monkey and Me: China and the Journey to the West, has yet to be confirmed although it will be published simulteanously around the world. It is inspired by Journey to the West, the classic 16th century Chinese text by Wu Cheng'en.
Gaiman described China as a "place of relentless social change and reinvention that was still directly connected to events and decisions made hundreds and thousands of years ago in a way that's almost unimaginable in the west". The book will chart Gaiman's journey from China to the west by car, coach, train and foot. The book will be his first non-fiction title since Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion, was published in 1988.
The second and third titles will focus on subjects Gaiman has written about on his blog.
Amanda Ridout, managing director of HarperCollins, said: "I am so thrilled to welcome Neil Gaiman to the HarperCollins UK list – as a personal fan and a professional admirer of his work, which transcends genre. He is a rock star in the fantasy world with a brilliant instinct for what his myriad fans are searching for. All his projects are so innovative and creative and these new books are for us a huge opportunity to bring his work to an even bigger audience."