S. Cipher Contest

Celebrating the  launch of J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst’s new novel S., Little Brown’s Mulholland Books is running a Cipher Contest. The winner of the contest (entries are due by 13 November) will have lunch with the authors in Manhattan (they’ll pick up lunch; all other expenses, like getting to Manhattan, are the winner’s responsibility).th_ffb7925b6ca65c589e11ac4dbf13773b_straka_slipcover22

They write:

In S., two readers work together to unearth the truth behind the mysterious author of Ship of Theseus. Along the way, they must sift through evidence and decipher a series of puzzles. If you follow their efforts in J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst’s new novel, you’ll be able to figure out what the following message means. Follow these lines, from first to last, and play fair—the bearded sailor sees all:

Midnight in the Old Quarter of a city where river meets sea. Hypnotic

fog caresses stone, glides over water, pulses in the dark beyond the harbor.

Never cry out when you’re shoved from the dock; never fear the sharks, the storms, the depths. This is the closest thing to freedom.

Swim like you still have power. Swim like they fear you’re able. Swim with

xebec swiftness through chop and wind, through blistering sun and frigid gloom.

Cherish each stroke, each breath, each gulp of ocean–the music of a mortally beautiful waltz, ever to ring through seas and skies.

 

Full entry details/rules, along with the entry form, are available on this page.