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A few weeks ago, Neil Gaiman made a hilarious appearance on an episode of the Simpsons (pictured above, and as of this post, you can still watch it on Hulu). When Homer and his Ocean’s 11-esque assembled crew decide to team up and write a Young Adult novel, Gaiman jumps in to help make it happen. Unfortunately, the publisher tries to alter the story, and the gang of would-be-novelists (and a multiple award winning one) plan a heist to get it back and put the original in stores.

Quote of the episode? Gaiman exclaiming “I’ve heisted my way to the bestseller list once again. And the most brilliant part is… I don’t even know how to read!” Well, either that or Homer hoping they remember to “put in enough steampunk. Whatever that is.”

Anyhow, the episode got me thinking about other awesome authors cameos I’ve caught on the Simpsons. Lisa being dismissed by Amy Tan, Alan Moore with rippling muscles, Michael Chabon and Jonathan Franzen getting into a fight… ah, so many brilliant moments. I’ve rounded up my Top 10 here (in no particular order), though there are certainly many more. If I missed a favorite of yours, leave it in the comments!

Image via the Lisa Simpson Book Club Tumblr

1. Amy Tan: The celebrated author of The Joy Luck Club makes an appearance in the ‘Insane Clown Poppy’ episode, speaking at the Springfield Festival of Books.

Lisa tries to compliment Tan on her work, to which Tan hilariously responds “no, no, that’s not what I meant at all. I can’t believe how wrong you got it. Just sit down, I’m embarrassed for both of us.”

Stephen King also makes an appearance in this episode, cackling madly about a supposedly non-horror title he’s hard at work on.

2. Thomas Pynchon: This notoriously reclusive author actually made TWO appearances on the Simpsons. He pops up in the episodes Diatribe of a Mad Housewife (clip above), in which Marge writes a romance novel and he “provides” a quote, and All’s Fair in Oven War.

3. J.K. Rowling: I won’t lie to you, Quirk fans. I didn’t get into Harry Potter until fairly recently, when Broetry author Brian McGackin threatened not to speak to me until I read the entire series. I’m about halfway through Order of the Phoenix as of this posting, and thankfully, Brian and I are on speaking terms once again.

As a result though, this is probably my favorite author appearance on the Simpsons. I rediscovered it while looking up author cameos, and thanks to Brian, I can finally appreciate how funny it is.

On a chilly Winter afternoon, a bunch of us at the Quirk Books HQ decided it was time to show our support for the Taft 2012 movement. We spent some time decorating our office with posters, bunting, and campaign signs. 

Oh, and we also shot a video! 

Want to decorate YOUR office with Taft 2012 decor? Visit the Taft 2012 website and learn how you can start your own local Taft party. 

Edgar Allan Bro by Joseph Toschlog

Back in July we announced a Broetry contest, asking broets and broettes in training to submit their own broems to our esteemed Broet Laurette, Brian McGackin.

Stacey Graham (soon to be a Quirk author with her upcoming Zombie Tarot) sent in a piece entitled Hello, My Name Is. “Dedicated to all the boys [she] dated with their hats turned backwards and unfortunate tribal arm tattoos,” this was Brian’s favorite of the bunch. So here it is.

Well done Stacey.

Believe it or not, that’s a Kindle case.

You seldom spot anyone at the Quirk HQ without his or her trusty iPads. Whether we’re rocking out to our respective iTunes playlists at our desks, playing intense games of Angry Birds during lunch, or reading using the iPad’s Kindle App, Apple’s handy tablet is always within reach.

However, as book people, we often miss the look of a well-designed cover while reading eBooks, especially with Doogie and Katie creating their masterpieces on the third floor. This is where Retro Readers comes in.

An Etsy shop ran by Melissa Obrien, Retro Readers takes vintage books and repurposes them as shells for your eReader of choice. The designs are elegant and beautiful, with a handful that work quite well around the holidays. Check out this Christmas cover!

Retro Readers doesn’t only specialize in iPad covers. They also craft some really nice Kindle and Nook protectors, such as this Circle of the Seasons piece, with its lovely green accents and charming ribbon.

The covers are reasonably priced too, cashing out at around $40 after shipping. A small price to pay for a truly unique case that will be envy of all your bookish friends.

Retro Readers @ Etsy
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RetroReaders

When Jenn Erickson (Rook No. 17) emailed me with a link to her review for Microcrafts by Alicia Kachmar, Katie Hatz and Margaret McGuire, I was positively blown away. Instead of simply crafting what was in the book, she took Sarah Goldschadt's precious little owlies and made something entirely her own.

An owlie mobile.

"My girls had ½ days at school last week," she wrote in her email, "so we finally had time to slow down and spend two entire afternoons on our first project from Microcrafts. The girls chose the mini owls, and we turned both into mobiles. We’re looking forward to making more crafts from the book over the holidays.

Jenn was kind enough to share her photos with us. Have a look at them after the jump, and be sure to visit her wonderful blog.

Wow! The entire Quirk HQ is sending a big thank you out to the folks at Goodreads and their fabulous, passionate user base. Earlier this week, the 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards launched, and three of our books are nominated!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is nominated for Favorite Book of 2011, and is in seriously good company. George R. R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons and Tina Fey's Bossypants are both in the same category. Miss Peregrine is also nominated in the Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction category, alongside Veronica Roth's Divergent and Beth Revis' Across the Universe.

Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After is nominated in the Horror category. Broet Laureate Brian McGackin's stellar debut, Broetry, is nominated in the Poetry category, and is currently fistpumping with Horrorscopes for the Dead, written by former Poet Laureate of the United States Billy Collins.

The opening round of voting has already started, and runs through November 13th. Semifinals launches on November 14th through the 20th, with finals kicking off November 21st through the 30th.

So go vote! For us, of course. And thank you again, Goodreads! We're psyched.