by Kate on May 10, 2012 at 9:09 am
Congratulations to Sir Terry Pratchett and John O’Farrell who are amongst the five writers on the shortlist for this year’s Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction announced today.
It is the fourth time Pratchett has been nominated for the prize, having previously been shortlisted for his novels Thief of Times (2002), Going Postal (2005) and Thud (2006). John O’Farrell appears on the list for a second time.
The five shortlisted novels are:
- Capital by John Lanchester
Described as having ‘a touch of Dickens’ by Clare Tomalin, this chronicle of London life post-financial meltdown follows a small cross-section of the inhabitants of one south London street. The Guardian calls the book ‘a brainy state-of-the-nation novel’
- Jude in London by Julian Gough
The sequel to his previously shortlisted Jude: Level 1, Jude in London follows penniless Irish orphan Jude as he walks the length of England on a quest to find his True Love, winning the Turner Prize and killing the Poet Laureate on the way. The book was shortlisted for The Guardian’s 2011 ‘Not the Booker shortlist’
- Snuff by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday, Transworld Publishers
‘As funny as Wodehouse and as witty as Waugh’ (Independent), Snuff is Terry Pratchett’s 50th book and the 39th in the Discworld novels. The book, which sees Commander Sam Vimes investigating a country house murder whilst on holiday, has become one of the fastest-selling novels since records began
- The Woman who went to bed for a year by Sue Townsend
‘An exquisite social comedy’ (Daily Telegraph), this is the story of Eva who, on the day her gifted twins leave home for university, climbs into bed and stays there
- The Man Who Forgot His Wife by John O’Farrell (Doubleday, Transworld Publishers)
‘A heart-warming comedy of marriage – and divorce’ (Guardian), this is the story of Jack Vaughan who, after an amnesiac episode on the tube, can remember nothing about his life, including his wife. But when he next sees his wife – to whom he’s getting divorced – it’s love at first sight and sets Vaughan on a mission to rescue his marriage
The judges of the prize are: James Naughtie, broadcaster and author; David Campbell, Everyman’s Library publisher and Peter Florence, Director of The Telegraph Hay Festival. Peter Florence comments on the shortlist:
‘It’s a really happy list which resonates with lots of the verbal wit, delightful characterisation and satirical edge of Wodehouse’s own work. There are three great comic writers on top form – O’Farrell, Pratchett and Townsend, John Lanchester’s masterly novel Capital that teems with humour and Julian Gough’s picaresque satire Jude in London.’
This year’s winner will be announced just ahead of the Hay festival in late May, followed by an audience with the winner during the festival.
To order a copy of this books click the links below:
Snuff by Terry Pratchett
The Man Who Forgot His Wife by John O’Farrell
Joanne Harris, bestselling author of Chocolat, returns to Lansquenet in her new book Peaches For Monsieur Le Cure, which is being released by Doubleday on 24th May 2012. To celebrate this exciting launch, Joanne Harris will be visiting literary festivals, libraries and bookshops around the country, the details of which can be found below. Hope to see you there!
Friday 18th May
7.15pm DERBYSHIRE LITERARY FESTIVAL
New Beetwell Street, Chesterfield Library, Chesterfield,S40 1QN
Tickets are £5 for adults. Now on sale and can be booked through any Derbyshire library or by contacting Call Derbyshire on 08456 058 058 or 01629 533190.
Thursday 24th May
7.00pm THE HUNGERFORD BOOKSHOP
The Corn Exchange at The Town Hall, High Street, Hungerford, RG17 0NF
Tickets are £5 from the bookshop (redeemable against ‘Peaches..’ on the night).
Monday 28th May
7.00pm PETERBOROUGH LIBRARY
John Clare Theatre, Peterborough Library, The Broadway, Peterborough, PE1 1RX
Tickets £3 (£2 concessions) available from Central Library and Waterstones.
Tuesday 29th May
7.00pm WATERSTONES, LINCOLN
297a High Street, Lincoln, LN2 1AF
Tickets £3
Wednesday 30th May
7.00pm URMSTON BOOKS
The Portico Library, 57 Mosley Street/corner of Charlotte Street, Manchester, M2 3HY
Tickets are now available £7.
Thursday 31st May
8.00pm HEXHAM LITERARY FESTIVAL
The Pavilion, Alnwick Castle, Alnwick, NE66 1NQ
Tickets can be booked directly through the Queen’s Hall box office (Phone: 01434 652477, Email: boxoffice@queenshall.co.uk) or online. £6 adults, £4 concessions.
Wednesday 6th June
2.30pm HAY LITERARY FESTIVAL
Hay-on-Wye
Tickets are £5.25 and available online or call the box office on 01497 822 629 quoting Event 262
Thursday 7th June
11.30am GOOD HOUSEKEEPING LITERARY LUNCHEON
The Swan Hotel, Church Street, Hay, HR3 5DQ
Sunday 17th June
5.00pm THE BIG BOOKENDS FESTIVAL
The Carriageworks, The Electric Press, 3 Millenium Square, Leeds, LS2 3AD
Tickets: £5.00. Book online at www.carriageworkstheatre.org.uk Or call (0113) 224 3801
Wednesday 11th July
8.00pm TOPPING & CO
The Paragon, Bath, BA1 5LS
Contact: Saber Khan (01225 428 111; bath@toppingbooks.co.uk)
Tickets £7 with £7 off Peaches for Monsieur le Curé when booked by phone (01225) 428111 or £6 with £6 off when booking in person at the bookshop, before Wednesday 11th July.
Thursday 12th July
1.00pm DARTINGTON WAY WITH WORDS FESTIVAL
Dartington Hall, Dartington
For details Tel: 01803 86 73 73 or: www.wayswithwords.co.uk/festivals/the-telegraph-ways-with-words-festival-at-dartington-hall-24
7.30pm SHERBORNE LITERARY SOCIETY
The Butterfly House, Castle Gardens, Sherborne
Tickets £15 (£13.50 members) from Winstone’s Books, Chapter House Books, Winstone’s Books. For further details: www.sherborneliterarysociety.com
To find out more about Joanne, please visit her website
Pauline Quirke has been on our TV screens for forty-two years and is a hugely talented actress. This year she reunites with the cast of Birds of a Feather to tour the country performing their brand new stage show. Pauline has had a busy year and her memoir Where Have I Gone? which chronicles that year is published on 1st March.
We are pleased to announce the first few dates of Pauline Quirke’s signing tour. Head down to one of the bookshops listed below to meet Pauline!
Get your Mother the perfect Mother’s Day present and drop in to see Pauline, get a book signed and meet one of the friendliest actresses on the planet!
DATES CONFIRMED
Friday 9th March
WHSmith Cardiff 12.30pm
83/85 Queen Street, Cardiff CF10 2NX
Friday 16th March
WHSmith Southend on Sea, 12.30pm
207 High Street, Southend on Sea, Essex SS1 1LN
Friday 6th April
WHSmith Hanley, 12:30pm
213 The Potteries Shopping Centre, Market Square, Hanley
Stoke on Trent ST1 1PS
Friday 27th April
WHSmith Blackpool, 12.30pm
12/16 Bank Hey Street, Blackpool FY1 4RT
by Jonny on Nov 7, 2011 at 11:22 am
SJ Watson‘s outstanding debut novel Before I Go To Sleep, recent winner of the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger was again triumphant last night, winning Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the Galaxy British Book Awards (the Publishing Industry ‘Oscars’)
It’s been a dazzling year for Watson, whose first novel has become an international sensation, both a New York Times and The Sunday Times bestseller.
Even before publication, Before I Go To Sleep was garnering widespread critical acclaim from the most popular and respected writers in the world today, amongst them Dennis Lehane, Tess Gerritsen, Anita Shreve and Lionel Shriver. The literary critics followed with respectful and adulatory reviews when the book was released. Then the reader reactions poured forth, and Watson’s novel was hailed by the fans, winning Amazon’s Rising Stars award for new writing. Read the rest of this entry »
Yesterday lunchtime, Robert Goddard visited The Bailey Hill Bookshop in Castle Cary, Somerset to talk about and sign copies of his new novel Blood Count, which is out now in paperback. The shop was filled with avid readers of Robert’s novels as well as a local book group who quizzed Robert about his writing techniques and his new releases for 2012.
Robert will speaking at the Wadebridge Bookshop tonight at 6pm and will be doing a meet and greet at Totnes Bookshop from 11am – 12pm tomorrow. For more information about Robert and his events, please visit The Serial Thrillers facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/theserialthrillers
http://www.robertgoddardbooks.co.uk/
Sometimes the truth is even stranger than fiction….world-famous scientist Richard Dawkins will talk about The Magic of Reality at a series of events this autumn.
In his first book for a family audience, Richard Dawkins, with illustrator Dave McKean, has created a dazzling celebration of our planet. With its explanations of space, time, evolution and more, it will amaze and inspire readers of all ages.
Richard says ‘I want to show you that the real world, as understood scientifically, has a magic of its own – the kind I call poetic magic: an inspiring beauty which is all the more magical because it is real and because we can understand how it works… The magic of reality is – quite simply – wonderful. Wonderful, and real. Wonderful because real.’
Richard will be talking about The Magic of Reality at a series of speaking events throughout the UK (details below). Ticket prices range from free to £30 (which includes a complimentary copy of the book, priced £20).
Thursday 15th September
6.30pm FOYLE’S
113-119 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H OEB
Event with Dave McKean only
Tickets: Free event, but must reserve online
http://www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Events/Detail.aspx?eventId=1272
Foyles will be running an exhibition of Dave’s artwork in the Gallery for two weeks from 11th – 25th September
Sunday 18th September
10.30am THE INDEPENDENT WOODSTOCK FESTIVAL
Venue: The Orangery, Blenheim Palace , Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1PP
Tickets, £12, includes coffee and cake
Box Office: 01865 305305
http://www.woodstockliteraryfestival.com/
Wednesday 21st September
7.30pm Talk
Venue: THE OCTAGON THEATRE, Hendford, Yeovil, Somerset BA20 1UX
Tickets: £6/£4 for Times+ subscribers, quoting “Times+”
Available from The Octagon Box Office 01935 422884
http://www.octagon-theatre.co.uk/what’s-on.aspx
Wednesday 19th October
8.30pm THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL
Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP
Organiser: See Tickets
Tel: 020 7087 7749
Tickets: from £30, includes a free copy of The Magic of Reality, price £20
http://www.seetickets.com/Event/RICHARD-DAWKINS/Royal-Albert-Hall/570552/?src=dawkins
Thursday 20th October
7pm THE DURHAM BOOK FESTIVAL
Venue: The Gala Theatre, 1 Millennuim Place, Durham DH1 1WA
Tickets: £12/£10/£4; Family ticket: £20 from
The Gala Theatre Box Office: 0191 332 4041 or
Online: www.galadurham.co.uk
Saturday 22nd October
5-7pm THE CAMBRIDGE FESTIVAL OF IDEAS
Venue: Lady Mitchell Hall, Sidgwick Site, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge CB3 9DA
Events.tst@heffers.co.uk
Tickets are free but need to be booked via their online booking service – awaiting details
Wednesday 26th October
7pm UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA LITERARY FESTIVAL
Venue: Lecture Theatre One, University of East Anglia
Tickets: £6 individual tickets, season tickets £42/£36
01603 508050 www.uea.ac.uk/litfest
Friday 28th October
5-6.30pm THE OXFORD PLAYHOUSE
Beaumont St, Oxford OX1 2LW
Tickets: £11; concessions £6
http://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/show/?eventid=1979
Box office: 01865 305305
Thursday 3rd November
8pm TOPPING & CO @ Bath Central Library
19-23 The Podium, Bath BA1 5AN
Tickets: £8 from the shop, by phone or in person on:
Tel: 01225 428111
http://www.toppingbooks.co.uk/events/
by Kate on Aug 26, 2011 at 1:11 pm
Local author and forager
ANDY HAMILTON
will launch his latest book
Booze for Free
on Thursday 8th September
at Blackwell
89 Park Street, Bristol BS1 5PW
6:30pm
All are invited
Come along to see a brilliant homebrewing demonstration from Andy
and have the chance to sample a tipple or two.
For more infromation on Andy visit his website: www.selfsufficientish.com
To pre-order your copy of Booze for Free click here
Theo Walcott was at the Arsenal club shop yesterday to sign copies of his new book, Theo: Growing Up Fast. Fans turned out in their hundreds to meet Theo, and he proved his reputation as the nice guy of football by staying until he’d made sure every single person had their copy signed.
Speaking before the signing, Theo explained that writing the book had given him the chance to “revisit the highs and lows” of his career, and that he was glad for the chance to get all his emotions down in writing.
To order your copy of Theo: Growing Up Fast click here
Last week we said our farewells to Tess Gerritsen who travelled up and down the UK for packed events and signings.
Thursday saw her last two events in Liverpool where fans queued down the street to have their copy of The Silent Girl personalised by the queen of the chiller thriller herself. People had come from all corners of the UK bringing gifts, US editions of the Rizzoli & Isles TV series DVD (coming to our screens in September) and even a personalised The Silent Girl UK tour 2011 jumper to be signed.
After exploring the windy Albert Docks in the afternoon Tess finished the day with a packed out evening event at the beautiful independent bookshop Lingham’s in Heswall on the Wirral. With standing room only Tess told the captivated audience about her interest in forensic anthropology and how she takes her ideas from real life news. During the event she revealed to her readers that the character Iris Fang in her latest novel The Silent Girl is based on a real person, Bow Sim Mark. Inspired by news that she read in The Boston Globe, Tess chose to use a non stereotypical Chinese character in her thriller. Bow Sim Mark is in her seventies and a grandmaster in wushu (a form of Chinese martial arts), Iris is little younger at 55 but still a formidable woman. Read more by clicking here.
Fans queue outside Waterstone’s Bold Street in Liverpool
A fan brings a personalised 2011 tour jumper to be signed
A packed crowd at Linghams in Heswall
Having a few minutes before her flight, Tess signed copies at London Heathrow airport
To buy you copy of The Silent Girl click here.
Tess Gerritsen gave a talk about her new novel,The Silent Girl, to a sold-out Norwich & Norfolk Millennium Library last night. The excited 130-strong crowd listened intently as Tess discussed her most personal book to date – from experiences of her own ‘Tiger Parents’, to gravity-free experiments on pigs!
This leg of the trip also saw us stay at one of the most bizarre, yet beautiful, hotels so far. ‘By Appointment’ in Norwich’s ‘Tombland’ describes itself as a ‘Restaurant with rooms’ and is a maze of winding hallways, oil paintings and scattered antique trinkets adorning almost every surface. Certainly a unique and quirky place indeed!
Tess Gerritsen speaking to a packed crowd in Norwich
Antique trinkets on display at ‘By Appointment’ in Norwich
To buy your copy of The Silent Girl click here
