Stephen King’s Joyland & the popcorn girls

Hard Case Crime and Titan Books are getting right behind the print launch of Stephen King’s upcoming pulp crime release, Joyland. To promote the book, the publishers have assembled a troupe of ‘Hollywood Girls’ who’ll be appearing in the green outfits worn by the covergirl on the book’s jacket – painted by illustrator Glen Orbik. You’ll be able to catch them at CrimeFest 2013 in Bristol this weekend, as well as at at certain bookstores in the UK. The book is released on 7 June.

The move is in response to Stephen King’s wish that it be released as a paperback rather than as a digital book. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, King said: “[Readers should] stir their sticks and go to an actual bookstore.”

Joyland is partly set in a 1970s amusement park. The Hollywood Girls will be giving out Joyland-branded bags of popcorn from an old-fashioned popcorn machine, and there will also be the chance for fans to win copies of the book and canvas prints of its authentic, pulp art front cover. Here’s where to look out for them:

Bristol CrimeFest – 1 June
Foyles, Charing Cross Road, London – 4 June
Forbidden Planet, Shaftesbury Avenue, London – 7 June
Stoke Newington Literary Festival, London – 9 June

There will also be bags of popcorn promoting the book handed out at various branches of Foyles booksellers in London. Read our news item on Joyland here. We also reviewed Stephen King’s previous crime novel, The Colorado Kid, here.