Bloomsbury marks House of Flame and Shadow publication with midnight launches

Bloomsbury has announced a series of midnight bookshop launches and other activities to mark the publication of House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J Maas on 30th January.

The UK marketing campaign will include midnight launches at nine Waterstones stores and a further 11 in-store publication day celebrations across the country. Bloomsbury said it had received worldwide retail orders of over 1,000,000 copies to date.

The ticketed midnight launches will see nearly 1,000 fans gather in bookshops around the country for a programme of activities, including photo booths, games and quizzes themed around the Crescent City series.

Bookshops hosting midnight launches include Waterstones stores in Canterbury Rose Lane, Cardiff, Leeds and London’s Trafalgar Square.

A number of Waterstones stores will also be opening early or throwing publication day events to mark the release of the third instalment in the series, including branches in Birmingham, Durham, Glasgow and Swindon. Bloomsbury will be supporting bookshops with Point of Sale kits to mark publication day, with flagship stores receiving special kits including exclusive merchandise.

Bloomsbury will also run adverts on Netflix for the first time. The campaign will include partnerships with TikTok influencers, window displays, digital advertising and retail partnerships offering exclusive bonus chapter booklets upon pre-order.

Kathleen Farrar, Bloomsbury’s managing director of group sales and marketing, said: “Sarah J Maas fans are passionate and dedicated, and we are delighted to be creating further immersion into the fantastical world of Crescent City for the publication of House of Flame and Shadow. Whether it’s attending a midnight launch or publication day event, reading an exclusive bonus chapter, or visiting a beautiful window display, our biggest ever marketing campaign provides fans with more ways than ever to celebrate the return of Bryce and the heart-pounding realm of Crescent City.”

The new book is set to continue the story of "half-Fae, half-human" Bryce Quinlan, and the synopsis says: "While she must use all her wits to find her way home, Hunt, her partner, is trapped in a dungeon, stripped of freedom and without a clue as to Bryce’s fate. With House of Flame and Shadow, the Crescent City series reaches new heights as Bryce and Hunt’s world is brought to the brink of collapse – with its fate resting on their shoulders."