William Gibson's Book Signing at Union Square, New York, NY - August 14, 2007

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It was 6:40 p.m. and felt that I was quite early. William Gibson was slated to start reading from his new novel, Spook Country, at 7:00 p.m., so I ambled across Manhattan to Union Square, assured that I'd arrive in time to snag a seat. How naive I was! Upon approaching the fourth floor, I stopped at the sight of a large crowd, a solid wall of bodies, people craning their necks and rising to their tiptoes in order to get a peek of the cordoned off area beyond. Heart sinking, I approached and realized that the two hundred or so seats set out before the podium were already taken; standing room only, ladies and gentlemen, and the crowd was already six bodies deep!

I observed mildly panicked looks. Apparently I should have arrived about two hours earlier, but it was too late for regrets and besides, us Penguin employees are cool under the collar. I ducked off to the right, burrowed my way through the people thronging the Architecture aisle, and then hung a counter intuitive left past Interior Decorating. Rounding the corner, I realized my gamble had paid off—the very far right of the cordoned off area was but sparsely populated, four yards of near empty aisle cut off from the main crowd by a table of discounted hardbacks. Grinning, I turned to survey my view of the podium.

I was, I would guess conservatively, about three or four hundred yards away from where Mr. Gibson would read, with a direct and tenuous line of sight through a row of alabaster columns. I raised my camera and sighted through the view finder - not good. I tried to figure out how to get closer. Were I the protagonist of one of Mr. Gibson's novels, I might engineer some subtle and ingenious plan involving cutting edge technology, Russian martial arts, and an inordinate amount of laundered $100 bills, but being a mere Online Producer, I resorted to flagging down an employee and flashing my Penguin ID card.

This is not something I did lightly. Spider Man's maxim comes to mind: with great power comes great responsibility. Had there been any other way to get in place for a good shot, I would have taken it (other than arriving early, that is), but Mr. Gibson was due to emerge in moments, so I quickly explained my predicament, my need to photograph the author for the blog, and then flashed my ID card once more. A gentleman—he may have been the manager—frowned distractedly over my shoulder, nodded, and then simply walked away.

I waited nervously for five minutes, and then Mr. Gibson appeared, head bowed, smiling bemusedly, as the crowd rose to its feet in applause when he walked quietly along the far side of the room. He gained the dais, sat down and laced his fingers. A young lady stepped up to the podium to introduce him, and finished with the ringing words: "Ladies and gentleman, he has seen the future, William Gibson!" After a thunderous applause, Mr. Gibson took the podium, cracked open his new book, and began to read from Chapter 39.

I snapped off photographs in a desultory manner. Then, just as I was beginning to give up hope, the gentleman who was presumably the manager appeared again, pointed at me, and then jerked his thumb over his shoulder in the classic 'your in!' gesture. I stepped over the rope and ignored the tide of faces turning to gaze at me and track my progress down the side of the room like heliotropic plants following the passage of the sun. Schooling my face into a professional expression, I crouched down and began to take my photographs. I took about ten before I started to feel a little excessive; Mr. Gibson was, after all, just standing there reading from his book. Without good reason to keep taking pictures of him, I turned and began taking pictures of the audience. Then, all excuses exhausted, I retreated back to my original spot, careful to not turn my back on Mr. Gibson until I had gained the cordon (a la Court of the Sun King).

When he finished Chapter 39, Mr. Gibson cheerfully entertained some questions, and had almost as much fun, I think, selecting the questioners from the sea of raised hands as answering the questions themselves. Ten questions later, the same young lady that had introduced him began to explain how the book signing was going to progress, and people began to rise to their feet, the crowd rousing itself like one vast organism. Given that I was meeting Mr. Gibson in person the next day, I chose to slip away, and left Mr. Gibson to his fate - six hundred fans, both new and old, clutching Spook Country to their chests and awaiting a chance to meet its luminary author.

-- Philip Tucker, Online Producer

(Photo credit: Philip Tucker)

William Gibson

Spook Country

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