This posts contains new pre-order dates for The House on the Borderland & Others, updated details on how the rights system works, and a section at the end with Frequently Asked Questions. 

New Pre-Order Dates for The House on the Borderland & Others

The pre-order dates for the first title in our Weird. collection—The House on the Borderland & Others by William Hope Hodgson—have changed as follows:

Monday, May 6th at 10am ET: the edition and pricing will be unveiled in Standard, Deluxe, and Lettered states.

Wednesday, May 8th at 10am ET: rights holders will have access to a private 48-hour pre-order window to acquire matching:

• Lettered copies.
• Deluxe copies numbered #1-150.
• NOTE: Standard copies will also become available to everyone beginning at the same time.

Friday May 10th at 12pm ET: the following will be available to the public:

Deluxe copies between #1-150 which went unclaimed during the private pre-order period, if any. These will be assigned on a first come, first served basis as Deluxe copies are sold.

• Deluxe copies #151-200.
• Any remaining Standard copies continue to be available.

Rights Tracks

From the very beginning, the rights system has been my way of expressing thanks to collectors and giving them the opportunity to easily match their numbers as they continue to support the press.

I’ve made every effort to make it as simple as possible—one line of books, each Letter and Deluxe copy numbered #1-150 granting rights to the subsequent one. However, Weird. consists of multiple books published at different points in time, and this adds some complexity. Having to create a flowchart to explain how and when a book becomes available will not be to everyone’s liking, and I appreciate that.

However, I am hoping it will be helpful for both new and existing collectors to understand how our system works, when the books become available, and how they’ll be able to match future books if they so wish. If there’s anything confusing or ambiguous please feel free to reach out to me directly and I will do my best to clear it up, and add it to the FAQ as well.

If none of this business about rights interests you but you’d still like a copy of The House on the Borderland & Others—that’s okay. The date section above contains dates for when both Standard and Deluxe copies will be available to the public outside of anything to do with rights.

Going forward, there will now be two rights tracks:

• Main Rights Track: Already existing, where each Lettered and Deluxe book numbered #1-150 grants rights to the next book published. At this point, it means those copies of Treasure Island grant rights to The House on the Borderland & Others (THOTB). Similarly, those copies of THOTB will then grant rights to Foundation. Keep in mind this is for all Lettered books and Deluxe # 1-150 only.
• Weird. Rights Track: This begins on the Main Rights Track with THOTB, and then branches off on its own for Weird Vol. 2, Weird Vol. 3, etc. Note that we have decided to make all 200 Deluxe copies of the Weird. line have rights to subsequent Weird. volumes, to make it easier for interested collectors to match the entire series. For the same reason, we will be allowing owners to transfer rights of these books.

Considering the above along with a limitation of 200 Deluxe copies of THOTB, it means:

• Deluxe copies #1-150 will grant rights to Foundation AND rights to Weird Vol. 2.
• Deluxe copies #151-200 will grant rights to only Weird Vol. 2—no rights to Foundation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you summarize what this all means in terms of being able to pre-order The House on the Borderland & Others (THOTB)?
If you have Treasure Island Lettered or Deluxe #1-150, you’ll have a private preorder window to purchase the matching edition of THOTB beginning on May 8th, 2024 at 10am ET. When you do, in future you’ll then have the private pre-order window to purchase the same matching edition for Foundation, as well as the same matching edition for the Weird. Volume 2, whenever it is published.

If you have a Deluxe copy of Treasure Island without rights (above #150), a Standard, or no copy at all, and would like to purchase THOTB, you will have a chance to purchase a Standard copy on Wednesday, May 8th at 10am ET and a Deluxe copy on Friday May 10th at 12pm ET.

Okay, and what happens after the sale of THOTB? Which owners of THOTB have rights to which books?
As the rights branch here, it does become a bit complicated. Some, not all, of these books hold rights to both Foundation and future Weird. volumes. Here’s how it works.

Lettered copies and Deluxe copies #1-150 of THOTB
Only owners of Lettered copies and Deluxe copies #1-150 of THOTB will have rights to Foundation, and they are not transferable. This allows us to continue ensuring that some copies of our non-series books along the main track are always available to the public, as we’ve done in the past.

By way of example, if Tom pre-orders THOTB Deluxe #25, he can pass the book to Mary and transfer rights to Weird. Tom retains his rights to Foundation #25 (because those rights are not transferable), and Mary now has rights to Weird Vol. 2 #25 only.

All Lettered and Deluxe copies
Owners of every Lettered copy and Deluxe copy of THOTB will have rights to Weird. Vol. 2 in the matching limitation. These rights can be transferred to new owners as well. This allows collectors to match their numbers throughout the series if they wish.

By way of example, if Tom pre-orders THOTB Deluxe #155, he does not have rights to Foundation, but he has rights to Weird. Vol 2 #155, whenever it is published.

I thought Conversation Tree Press doesn’t allow transfer of rights, why the change?
We’re allowing transfer of rights for the Weird. series because collectors may want to match their letters/numbers across the series, and transferring rights makes that more attainable.

Do Standard books in the Weird. series have rights?
No, they do not have rights and are not numbered.

If I pre-order a copy of THOTB that comes with rights to Foundation (i.e. any Lettered or Deluxe #1-150) can I transfer the rights to Foundation to someone else?
No, rights along the Main Rights Track are not transferable.

Do I have to buy subsequent books along the main rights track to keep my rights to Weird. Volume 2?
No, the Weird. series has its own rights track, going directly from Weird. Volume 1, to Volume 2, etc. You do not need to purchase Foundation, or any other future books other than those in the Weird. series to keep rights to those books. If you’re only ever interested in the Weird. series, this allows for that.

If I sell my copy of THOTB that came with rights to Weird. Volume 2 (i.e. all Lettered and Deluxe copies) do I have to pass on the rights to the buyer?
Transferring rights to subsequent Weird. titles in the series are optional—THOTB can be sold to someone else with rights to Weird. Vol. 2, or without rights.

When will I be able to transfer rights to someone else?
Rights transfers will be available some time after pre-orders for THOTB begin. This gives me time to record and reconcile all orders.

If I sell THOTB before it has shipped, will you ship it to the person I sold it to?
No—pre-orders must be shipped to the person who placed the order. If a mistake was made while entering the shipping details, or you’ve moved, please let me know and the address will be updated, as long as the name of the recipient remains unchanged.