NEWS!!! Released on Wednesday, February 15, 2017!

(It’s now 28 million copies, but who’s counting….? Thanks to all of you!!!)

Starz and Sony Pictures Television Announce ‘Outlander’ To Return in September, 2017

Production Transfers from Scotland to South Africa to Shoot Last Five Episodes; Co-stars Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan Say “Goodbye to Scotland” in Video for Fans

Beverly Hills, Calif. – Today Starz, in association with Sony Pictures Television, announced that season three of the Golden Globe nominated series ‘Outlander’ will return in September 2017. The third season will include 13 episodes based upon VOYAGER, the third of eight books in Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling Outlander series. In March, production and filming on the current season moves from its home base in Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa, to shoot pivotal sea voyage scenes on the former sets of the STARZ original series ‘Black Sails.’ Production on the season began in September 2016 and will wrap in June 2017. ‘Outlander’ will attend San Diego Comic Con again this summer, offering fans a chance to experience more of this beloved series in person.

The story picks up right after Claire (Caitriona Balfe) travels through the stones to return to her life in 1948. Now pregnant with Jamie’s (Sam Heughan) child, she struggles with the fallout of her sudden reappearance and its effect on her marriage to her first husband, Frank (Tobias Menzies). Meanwhile, in the 18th century, Jamie suffers from the aftermath of his doomed last stand at the historic battle of Culloden, as well as the loss of Claire. As the years pass, Jamie and Claire attempt to make a life apart from one another, each haunted by the memory of their lost love. The budding possibility that Claire can return to Jamie in the past breathes new hope into Claire’s heart… as well as new doubt. Separated by continents and centuries, Claire and Jamie must find their way back to each other. As always, adversity, mystery, and adventure await them on the path to reunion. And the question remains: When they find each other, will they be the same people who parted at the standing stones, all those years ago?

Carmi Zlotnik, President of Programming for Starz said “While ‘Droughtlander’ will last just a little longer, we feel it is important to allow the production the time and number of episodes needed to tell the story of the VOYAGER book in its entirety. The scale of this book is immense, and we owe the fans the very best show. Returning in September will make that possible.”

Steve Kent, Senior Executive Vice President, Programming, Sony Pictures Television said, “With the scope of the production and all of the intricate details that go into the Emmy-nominated sets and costumes, we had to make sure everything is kept to the high standard of the previous seasons and Diana Gabaldon’s beautiful story. We’re so proud of the incredible work that Ron and the Outlander team have done.”

Diana Gabaldon’s eight-book Outlander series has sold more than 26 million copies worldwide and all the books have graced the New York Times best-sellers list. The ‘Outlander’ series spans the genres of history, science fiction, romance and adventure in one grandiose tale. The second season of ‘Outlander’ won the Critics’ Choice Award for Most Bingeworthy Show, and four People’s Choice Awards, including Favorite TV Show.

(Click here for more information about the ‘Outlander’ series from the Starz network’s website.)

This is where _I’ll_ be; hope to see some of you there!

Thursday, July 24th

3:00-4:00 PM: Outlander— Diana Gabaldon
Location: Horton Grand Theater (Capacity: 250)

Solo Talk/Reading/Q&A (moderated by Ali Kokmen, from Barnes & Noble)
(No, there’s not a signing afterward; I will be signing autographs at the STARZ Comic-Con booth on Friday afternoon at 3:45.)

This is a ticketed venue, but tickets are free (see information below).

[The following information is from the Comic-Con site:]

HORTON GRAND THEATER:

"This year Comic-Con International adds the Horton Grand Theatre as its new satellite programming room. The Horton Grand Theatre offers special panel presentations in a small, intimate, theatre atmosphere. Each panel is ticketed with extremely limited seating. There is no extra charge for these tickets.

The Horton Grand Theatre is located at 444 4th Ave., just a short 2-block walk from the Convention Center. It’s also on the shuttle route.

Horton Theatre Ticket Information

Entry to each Horton Grand Theatre panel requires a ticket for the corresponding panel. Drawings for panel entry tickets at the Horton Grand Theatre will be held at 9:00 am in the Autograph Area (upstairs in the Sails Pavilion) on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each winner will receive entry for two. (Please note: there is limited disabled seating.) The tickets must be presented at the theatre to gain access. The Horton Grand Theatre has assigned seating. Please wear your Comic-Con 2014 badge also.

There will be a second drawing shortly following the 9:00 am drawing for "stand-by seating tickets." The stand-by seating tickets are limited and do not guarantee you access to the panel.

Please be inside the Horton Grand Theatre no later than 15 minutes prior to the panel start time or you will forfeit your seat to stand-by seating ticket-holders."

Friday, July 25th

2:15-3:15 PM: Outlander Panel
Location: Room 6A (Capacity: 1,000)

Panel with Ron D. Moore, Sam Heughan, Caitriona Balfe, Tobias Menzies, Lotte Verbeek, and Graham McTavish.

3:45-4:45 PM: Autographs
Location: Starz Comic-Con Booth (#4029)

Autograph signing with myself, Sam Heughan, Ron Moore, Graham McTavish, Caitriona Balfe, Tobias Menzies, and Lotte Verbeek at the STARZ Comic-Con Booth.

7:00–10:00 PM: Outlander TV Series World Premiere
Location: Spreckels Theater (Capacity: 1,463)

"Red carpet event with cast, Ron Moore and Diana Gabaldon with moderated Q&A." [You do have to have advance tickets to this, and I believe it is sold out.]

Saturday, July 26th

4:15–5:15 PM: Ruler of the Realm panel
Location: Room 6A (Capacity: 1,000)

"Joe Abercrombie (Half a King), Diana Gabaldon (Outlander), Lev Grossman (Magicians Trilogy), George R. R. Martin (Game of Thrones), and Patrick Rothfuss (The Kingkiller Chronicle) have written some of the most memorable books of their time, pushing genre fiction into the mainstream. Join these bestselling authors along with moderator Ali T. Kokmen (Barnes & Noble/NOOK Media) for a discussion on fantasy literature, fandom, and how they mastered their craft."

NB: Sam Heughan is also doing a panel on Saturday:

"12:00pm – 12:45pm: TV Guide magazine returns to San Diego for its annual all-star panel. Moderated by senior writer Damian Holbrook, Fan Favorites brings together stars from TV’s hottest shows for a lively discussion filled with behind-the-scenes scoop. Panelists (subject to change) include Misha Collins (Supernatural), Sam Heughan (Outlander), Colin O’Donoghue (Once Upon a Time), Aisha Tyler (Archer), and others."

Every day save Friday, OUTLANDER was fairly late on the schedule, so Ron and I would arrive around 3 p.m., and depending on how far behind schedule the shows were running (there’s some friction, given that some up-front interviews run longer than others), we might go on by 3:30 or 4:00. We’d be in the green room just before our time, and then follow one of the stage-hands (they thoughtfully shining a light on the floor so we could see what we were about to step on, and not trip over anything or miss a step). A technician back-stage (a very narrow, dark space, with a small cart stocked with cordless microphones and other useful items) would hand us each a mic and we’d stand there, listening while the audience saw a quick trailer for “Outlander” (from the sounds of it, it was either the same one y’all have seen lately, or something quite similar; with music from “Last of the Mohicans”). Then the moderator would introduce us and we’d walk out and take our places: there were three tall director’s chairs set up onstage at the side of the screen (a regular movie-theater-sized screen), and the interview would be televised onto the screen itself (and onto the TV in the green room as well, for the edification of anyone waiting in there to go on next).

The interview was short, about ten minutes, and pretty much The Usual: What attracted you to the material? (Ron) Did you have any concerns about having Outlander translated to film? (Me. Answer: Hell, yes…) How would the story evolve over the season? (Ron. Meaning they wanted to know how much of a book or books would be covered in a season, how many episodes, etc.) How did I come to write Outlander? (Me — quick reprise of my Dr. Who/man-in-a-kilt story), etc. (Webmistress’s note: See “So where did you get the idea to write these books?” in Diana’s FAQ to read about how a character from Dr. Who helped inspire Diana to write OUTLANDER, her first novel.)

Then we’d wave and walk off, and they’d start running the full first episode of the show. The first day we did this, I rather shyly said I’d like to watch the episode; I’d seen it, but not in its final form, with color corrections and score. Of course! They said, and obligingly brought me up the metal stairs to the top of the theater (the seating area looked very solid, but was evidently made of portable stuff like stadium seating; it wasn’t built into the building), where I paused for a moment.

The show was just starting, with Bear McCreary’s theme song/lead-in — I probably shouldn’t tell you what it was <g>, but I liked it very much. A different take on a well-known Scottish traditional song, let’s put it that way…

Ron had come up the stairs with me, presumably to see what I thought of the opening, as he wasn’t staying. We stood there watching the lead-in, and when there was a shot of Claire’s hands reaching for the flowers at the foot of the standing stone, I turned to him and said, “You got them!” (He and Maril had asked me, some months earlier, if I knew exactly what the flowers were, and if it was important that they be _that_ sort of flower. I told them I did, and it was— but only if they filmed all the way through the last book. He said they’d go on the assumption that they would.)

He grinned and hugged me, then went off about his own business and I found a seat and watched the whole thing, rapt.

They had made a few small changes to the first episode since the last cut I’d seen, but nothing major. It flowed beautifully, starting with the quick scene that Ron had described to me more than year ago, of Claire in a French military hospital (a bombed-out building), splattered with blood and working frantically to save a man, then coming out to find that peace has been declared. On to 1946 and a roadster with two laughing people, wind in their hair as they drive through the Scottish Highlands…

The major change, though, was the music. The previous cuts I’d seen had had temporary, sort of generic TV-music. This one had Bear McCreary’s score, and it was fabulous. Very atmospheric, by turns subtle and visceral, using (as is his wont) traditional instruments like tin whistle and bodhran.

He tweeted to me today, to congratulate me on MOBY, and I replied “The same to you, man! LOVED the music! (The whole theater shook when you hit the bodhrans— the thunder shook my bones.)” Which he was kind enough to say was “a wonderful review of my score! Can’t wait for the whole world to see this…”

Neither can I. You’re gonna love it. <g>

Click here to read Part 1 of this blog: “Schmoozing in L.A.: International Film Rights” if you haven’t read it already!

So— I had a wonderful time at the Word on the Lake writers festival in Salmon Arm, British Columbia (photos at left and below). Worked like a dog, but that’s normal for such events. <g> I gave two keynote speeches, taught three workshops (on Characterization, How to Make Them Turn the Page (a useful skill, when you write 900-page books), and How to Write (and How _not_ to Write) Sex Scenes. And a panel on how to carve a “writing cave” out of chaos— i.e., making time to write, which is pretty basic, but always fun to hear what everybody’s methods are. (Mine is to work in the middle of the night.)

But then, instead of going home, I flew directly to Los Angeles. And for why?

Well, it was “Screening week”— during which international television buyers flock to Los Angeles to see previews of all the new TV shows. Sony (which owns the international rights to “Outlander”) was screening their new lineup, of course, and invited Ron D. Moore (Executive Producer of the new Outlander TV series) and me to come and do “up-fronts” (the hairdresser who came to do my hair prior to an interview told me that’s what they’re called; it just means we go out onstage before the preview is shown, and answer a few questions put to us by a moderator—takes about ten minutes) and attend cocktail party-dinners with the international clients. This is actually somewhat more work than one might think <g>— but it _was_ fun.

A car picked me up at the hotel every afternoon (some days I was doing outside interviews in the mornings, other days, mornings were free. I walked from my hotel to the La Brea tar pits (the Page Museum) on Wednesday morning, and all over downtown Beverly Hills on Thursday), and took me to the Sony lot.

I’d hand my driver’s license to the guard at Gate 3 and tell him I’m going to Stage 22. The driver takes me down a narrow street to where there’s a lane of grey indoor-outdoor carpeting, edged with elegant tables and white umbrellas, with a reception counter at the front. Here I disembark, chat with the nice people manning the counter— their job is to check in visitors, hand out VIP badges, and give people gifts as they leave (the gift is an international power adapter; they gave me one the first day, and keep offering me more— three of the four receptionists are OUTLANDER fans already, having read the book, and the other is a nice young man who compliments my fashion <g>— but I think one adapter is plenty, really), and walk down the lane, either to Stage 22 itself, or to the restrooms, which are in a big trailer discreetly parked behind a hedge at the end of the lane.

The little tables along each side, under the umbrellas, are bountifully equipped with drinks: huge silver samovars of coffee, military ranks of San Pellegrino Aranciata and Aranciata Rosso (delicious carbonated orange and blood-orange juice drinks) in bottles, arrayed with Diet Coke (yay), Coke, and a lot of stuff I didn’t take notice of because I don’t drink it. Between screenings, viewers come out here to enjoy the fresh air (it was pretty fresh on Tuesday and Wednesday; winds high enough that they had to take down the umbrellas) and have a refreshing beverage.

You enter the stage through a sort of refrigerator-style airlock (save that the doors are made of heavy, crude planks painted yellow), and find yourself in a big, dark space. Just ahead is a half-lighted waiting-lounging area, with comfortable small couches along one side, and a table with bags of fresh popcorn along the other. At the far end of this space is the green room— a curtained off chunk of space with two small couches, three tea-coffee samovars, and more substantial snacks: little bags of high-end trail-mix (pistachios, dried figs and white-chocolate disks), a platter of crudités, bags of pretzels, and a big plate of miniature cupcakes. Not wanting to go onstage with cake-crumbs in my teeth, I nibbled daintily on the pistachios and white chocolate.

The main part of the huge room is a viewing theater, curtained off from the waiting area/green room/backstage. It’s the size of a regular theater, but the seating is huge, very comfortable couches, capable of seating six in a pinch—but generally occupied by only two or three people each. Each couch is also liberally supplied with small pillows, and the viewers are given warm, soft blankets, because the place is cold (God forbid any of the potential buyers — because that’s who the viewers are — should get uncomfortable and leave a screening halfway through).

So now I’ve set the scene, and it’s 4:16 a.m.— which is my normal bedtime. So I’ll leave you here for the moment and tomorrow, will tell you what it was like to see the complete first episode of OUTLANDER on a movie-sized screen, complete with Bear McCreary’s soundtrack (and enough amplification that you could feel the bodhrans in your bones).

Click here to continue and read part 2 of this blog,”Schmoozing in LA, Part 2 – Episode 1!”

OK. This is the new Starz TV tie-in cover for OUTLANDER—for the U.S. (The foreign markets may get slightly different covers; I don’t know for sure yet.)

No, the book itself hasn’t changed in the slightest; it just has a new cover to advertise the upcoming show (which as previously noted, airs on August 9th–in the US. If you’re not in the U.S.A., please check this page on global publishing or read my blog from November 15, 2013, where you will find out about international sales of the series.

This tie-in edition will be printed both as trade paperbacks (the large size) and mass-market paperbacks (the smaller size).

(Those who like the original cover(s) needn’t fret—those covers will all remain in print. This is an addition, not a replacement.)

Cool, huh? <g>

Hope you enjoy it!

STARZ GREENLIGHTS NEW ORIGINAL SERIES “OUTLANDER”

FROM “BATTLESTAR GALACTICA” EXECUTIVE PRODUCER RONALD D. MOORE

Network Will Team up with Sony Pictures TV

Series Based on Diana Gabaldon’s International Best-Selling Novels

Beverly Hills, Calif., June 25, 2013 – Starz Chief Executive Officer, Chris Albrecht, announced today that Starz will partner with Sony Pictures Television to greenlight “Outlander,” an original series adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s international bestselling books. The network has ordered 16 episodes of the series which will begin filming in Scotland this fall. It is slated to premiere in 2014.

The series adaptation for “Outlander” will be written by Ronald D. Moore (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation”). Moore is best known for his work on “Battlestar Galactica,” which won him a Peabody Award in 2006. Ronald D. Moore and Jim Kohlberg are executive producers of “Outlander,” which is produced by Tall Ship Productions, Story Mining and Supply Company and Left Bank Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television.

“We were drawn to ‘Outlander’ because it centers on a complex heroine who becomes immersed in an epic time-traveling tale,” said Starz Chief Executive Officer Chris Albrecht. “Ron Moore is the perfect showrunner to bring the rich world created by Diana Gabaldon, which generated a global fan following, to life. We are thrilled to partner with Sony Pictures TV on this project.”

Moore added, “I’m very excited to have the opportunity to bring these books to life. Diana’s created a rich and textured world filled with intriguing characters, and I believe that Starz is the perfect home for her story. I think we’ll make something that the millions of fans of these books will enjoy and recognize as ‘Outlander.’”

Diana Gabaldon’s seven-book series has sold more than 20 million copies and has graced the New York Times best-sellers list six times. The eighth installment of the “Outlander” series is slated to be released March 25th, 2014.
The “Outlander” series spans the genres of romance, science fiction, history, and adventure in one magnificent tale. It follows the story of Claire Randall, a married British combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie Fraser, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire’s heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Starz will retain all domestic multiplatform pay TV rights to the original series.

“Outlander” TV Series Online
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OutlanderTVSeries.starz

Twitter: @Outlander_Starz – join the conversation with #OutlanderStarz

“Well, THIS oughta take your minds off the election for a little while….(don’t forget to vote, though!)….