Stumped on contact for interview

January 29, 2009 9:10 AM

I need help finding contact information for author Matthew Stover. My Google-fu has failed...is your Shaolin google-fu better than my Dragon Claw?

I am trying to contact Matthew Woodring Stover, author of Star Wars novels as well as many others, to request an interview. This is not some fan-crazy stalking, I have interviewed over 20 authors for a podcast I run (link not provided lest it be seen as advertising but MeFi Mail me if you want a link).

I know Stover has a blog at Blogspot but I see no way to contact him through there.

Anyone able to find a link for e-mail or some other publicly available contact info that I cannot?

posted by arniec to computers & internet (7 comments total)

Presumably his publisher could arrange this.
posted by futility closet at 9:29 AM on January 29

According to the wiki article that you linked to, he posts on the board at TheForce.net. A bit of googling shows that he posts under MWStover. You could try creating an account and sending him a PM.
posted by NormieP at 9:29 AM on January 29

I'll bet the publicity department at the publishing house that put out his books knows where to find him.
posted by CRM114 at 9:30 AM on January 29

Well, if you want to get a bit stalkerly about it...

His wife/partner/girlfriend's name is on his bio at wikipedia (which we all know is accurate).

She's not nearly as hard to find contact info for. A polite email might get passed along.

She seems to be on facebook, so you could for sure send her a message from there (and she's listed as a fan of Matt Stover), and she has a pretty big net presence in other areas.

But if you want to be professional about it, I'd contact his publisher. You can write pretty much any author care of his publisher.

I spent 5 minutes on this. I'll post more if I find it.
posted by cjorgensen at 9:35 AM on January 29

To add insider knowledge from the publishing industry, I can't give you specifics for this author because I do not know him, but the "right" way is:
- start with the publisher to find out the agent's contact information (if any) or any other representation's contact information.
- contact that person/agency, explain your goal and schedule, and trust that person/agency to pass on the request
- escalate at either contact point if the request is urgent and you feel you're not wasting folks' time and you feel it's self-evident that you aren't. Otherwise be prepared to prove it

Stalkerish activity is not always frowned upon but it is not always welcome either.
posted by kalessin at 11:43 AM on January 29

Call his publisher, ask for the publicity deparment. If he doesn't have a current book, they'll refer you to his agent or to him.
posted by YoungAmerican at 11:51 AM on January 29

I'd start by leaving a comment on his blog, saying who you are and why, with a link to podcasts. If nothing comes of it then you can try the publisher/publicist/agent route, but it seems like it's easiest to just drop him a note on his blog.
posted by 6550 at 1:54 PM on January 29