Neil Gaiman’s books are stories that every reader has read at least once. And why should they not? They are fun and have the ability to transport the reader anywhere and everywhere. This is the reason that BBC and Amazon Prime adapted Good Omens while his other successes also have plentiful adaptations. It’s his week and he has made sure it is a happening one.
Yesterday, on his birthday, Gaiman took to Twitter to share his favorite charity and requested his followers to donate something to the charity. It was a very heartfelt way to celebrate one’s birthday. It is not the first time that he has used Twitter to spread a message about a worthful cause. Recently he also raised awareness about how some writers do not get enough or any royalties for their work from Disney. He spoke about how he was lucky enough to be able to fight for it but not every writer has the privileges to do so.
Making headlines for this impactful cause, Neil made sure that support was provided to the necessary organizations. Following that, his and Sir Terry Pratchett’s company got the word “ineffable” trademarked under their name. The word gained popularity through the book Good Omens which got adapted by BBC and Amazon Prime Video. Its use in general speech also increased. Seeing the popularity of the word and the direct connection to Good Omens, one could find many unofficial merchandises with this word incorporated in it.
The word itself means something that is so extraordinary that it cannot be described by words. The trademarking of the word, unfortunately, became a troublesome mess for Etsy artists. As mentioned, much of the unofficial merch of the show had this word in them. Etsy is a popular website hosted several of these products. BBC and Amazon worked together to take down these products from the site. Gaiman had no idea about this. Additionally, it is speculated that he also does not know that a trademark like this exists because it is the two companies that got the trademark. Scandalous!
He has on multiple occasions voiced his opinion that he loves seeing people create merch and art about his stories. He finds the art touching and he finds it unfortunate that the only official merch to exist for Good Omens is Funk Pop. This concern and love is the reason why readers still seek out Gaiman books! Here’s wishing him a joyous belated birthday!