Promotional Placard | A History of the World in 10½ Chapters (Alfred A. Knopf, 1989)


Notes on this item: Promotional placard advertising Julian Barnes’s novel A History of the World in 10½ Chapters (43 x 33 cm.).

This advertisement was intended to stand on display in a book store upon the publication of the novel by Alfred A. Knopf in 1989. The advertisement was acquired by a book store employee who kept it in storage for 20+ years before selling it.

Julian Barnes states that he used to have a copy of this placard in his study, but it remains unclear exactly how many placards were produced for promotional purposes.

Granta Reading Poster (Blackwell’s, 1983)


Notes on this item: Poster advertising a public reading of three authors — Julian Barnes, A.N. Wilson, and Adam Mars-Jones — at Blackwell’s, Broad Street, Oxford on March 9, [1983]. The reading is assumed to have taken place in 1983, because the poster advertises the “Best of the Young British Novelists”, from Granta No. 7. Bill Buford, the editor of Granta at that time, discussed in a 2013 article how the famous “Best of the Young British Novelists” list came into existence, stating:

“When the list of 20 under 40 was announced in the Sunday Times, on 22 August 1982, there was no noise or ceremony. Hoopla would have been premature because bountiful stacks of British books wouldn’t be in the shops to buy yet. What mattered was the fortnight of frenzied promotion that was then planned for six months hence” (The Guardian, 6 April 2013).

The Granta issue based on the “20 under 40” list was published in 1983.

This particular poster was acquired by a student attending Oxford at the time, was stored in their attic for nearly two decades, and eventually given to Julian Barnes’s bibliographer, Ryan Roberts. When Roberts presented the poster to Barnes, the author inscribed it:

Bloody Hell
This is/was my
first-ever
public appearance
Very pre-Ryan …
Julian Barnes

Barnes also playfully drew glasses and a beard on the photo of A.N. Wilson. Measures approximately 12″ x 17″.

Man Booker at Birkbeck: Julian Barnes | Promotional Card & Poster (2017)


Notes on this item: Promotional card for an event titled, “Man Booker at Birkbeck: Julian Barnes”. Also featured is a promotional poster (42 x 29.5 cm) promoting the same event.

The event took place on Monday, 27 November 2017 at Birkbeck University of London, and featured Julian Barnes in conversation with Professor Russell Celyn Jones. Sponsored by the Man Booker Prize Foundation.