David Sedaris Becomes Engulfed in Flames

by Kevin Howell -- Publishers Weekly, 2/7/2008

David Sedaris has done it again—changed the title of his forthcoming book of essays, that is. Little, Brown announced that the humorist's sixth collection is now called When You Are Engulfed in Flames. The release date has remained constant: June 3 with an announced first printing of 650,000.

Eagle-eyed readers of our Feb. 4 issue might have noticed that when Sedaris’s upcoming book was listed in PW’s Spring Audio Announcements it was called  Indefinite Leave to Remain but elsewhere in the issue it was referred to as All the Beauty You Will Ever Need.

Calls to Little, Brown, Hachette Audio and even Sedaris’s literary agent couldn’t get a general consensus other than the warning, “The title is probably going to change again.”

“Titles change!” said Little, Brown publisher Michael Pietsch. “The book we know as Me Talk Pretty One Day first appeared in our catalog as Primates on the Seine. David is constantly creating and revising and titles are just one part of his unending quest for perfection.”

Sedaris fans will be happy to hear about his breakneck tour for this book. Beginning on June 4, Sedaris will embark on a 29-cities-in-29-days tour of bookstores. This tour should be a good warm-up for his fall tour of theatres where he will perform at 33 venues in 33 days.