It’s the time of year that Edinburgh becomes culture central and thousands of people flock to the Fringe. Other festivals are held at the same time including the International Book Festival. The festival runs from 13 – 29 August and featured authors include Bettany Hughes, Sarah Brown, Simon Callow and Ian Rankin. The full programme is available online and makes me sorry to be missing the fun.
British Red Cross Creative Writing Competition
10 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
Not book news as such but it certainly caught my eye. To mark the International Day of the Disappeared on 30th August, the British Red Cross is running a creative writing competition with the theme ‘The Disappeared’. The winning entry will win £50 cash and a £50 book voucher but more importantly will be contributing to publicising this vitally important cause. I’m already planning my entry….
Waterproof paperback launched
10 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
There’s a little bit of me that’s surprised it has taken so long for this to happen. I know lots of people who read in the bath and they all have a story about that one book that fell in and now has crispy pages from where it was left to dry off on the radiator. Apparently this new innovation will make our books last 200% longer – I have my doubts. Have a read of the comments – does anyone really put their Kindle in a ziploc bag to read in the pool? Really?
Proms Plus
3 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
I didn’t know until recently that there was a programme of literary events as a companion to the BBC Proms season. What a fantastic idea, but it will unfortunately be another list of events for me to circle in a listings book and never actually attend (despite all my good intentions I’ve not made it to a Prom, but we do buy the guide every year)! The Proms Plus Literary Series allows writers to connect the Proms to the wider cultural world and this year it includes a poetry competition for children and adults, an exploration of Scandinavian crime writing and depictions of the piano and the cello in literature. This all looks particularly interesting and hopefully I will be able to make along to at least one event.
Jilly Cooper pens TV adaptations
3 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
There may have to be a new section on the website – TV reviews. Jilly Cooper is writing adaptations of her massively successful Rutshire Chronicles and a production company looks set to snap them up. I hope she starts right back at the beginning with Riders and Rivals and not with the weaker later novels. I’m already wondering who could play Rupert Campbell-Black… hmmm. Wonder if Daniel Craig is looking for a new franchise?
Agatha Christie – Early Surfer?
3 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
I’m fascinated by Agatha Christie, I think I’ve read all of her books, loved her autobiography and have a place in my heart for Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. It’s not just her books that fascinate me though – it’s her as a person, she seems to have been an astounding woman. Widely travelled, a fan of archaeology and a mysterious disappearance worthy of one of her own novels. This week it was revealed that it’s possibly on her travels with her first husband she became one of the first British people to surf standing up. I don’t know if that’s true, or if it can ever be proven but I hope it is true. It shows exactly how adventurous and ground-breaking she really was.
Man Booker longlist announced
3 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
The longlist for the 2011 Man Booker Prize has been announced. Early bookies’ favourite is former winner Alan Hollinghurst with The Stranger’s Child but I’m really pleased to see four first-time novelists included on the list and they certainly can’t be ruled out at this stage. I tend to dislike Booker winners finding them self-indulgent and rather dull, but each year I read the list and pick up the winner. I hope this year’s will be one that I love, maybe 2011 is my year?
Pottermore launches – greedy people rejoice
3 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
When JK Rowling teased us with news of a website called Pottermore fans went into meltdown. Was this a new story? Were Harry, Ron and Hermione coming back to fight Death Eaters who remained loyal to Voldemort?
Not quite – Pottermore is really not much more than a neat marketing ploy. E-book versions of all seven novels will be available in a number of languages and we’ll get a little more information on the wizarding world and character backgrounds.
Early registration is now open for a limited time, and already some lowlifes are selling account details on Ebay for stupid prices, completely against both the terms and the spirit of the website and Rowling’s wizarding world. The official Pottermore blog has asked that fans don’t purchase details online. I’m know I wouldn’t – I’m happy to wait until October for more information.