This excellent feature will be going live shortly so make sure to have a look at the Blasted Heath's website for a wide range of recommended ebooks that are bound to increase you taste in crime fiction.
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
#BROTH with Blasted Heath
Over on Blasted Heath, they are about to launch a feature called #broth (Book Recommendations On The Heath). Every day, they intend to feature an ebook that #Heathens they know, respect and trust are being invited to recommend one great ebook to others everyday.
This excellent feature will be going live shortly so make sure to have a look at the Blasted Heath's website for a wide range of recommended ebooks that are bound to increase you taste in crime fiction.
This excellent feature will be going live shortly so make sure to have a look at the Blasted Heath's website for a wide range of recommended ebooks that are bound to increase you taste in crime fiction.
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Crime Fiction News
City University London are establishing a dedicated MA course in Crime Writing. City University London's Creative Writing MA programmes are already unique - because they demand that students complete a full-length novel in order to graduate... So crime thriller students will be taken through the whole process, from start to finished manuscript and then maybe publication. They have a good track record with their existing Novel Writing MA. Further information about the course can be found on the website.
They regularly invite leading novelists to visit the University for informal Q&A sessions. In the last few years, this has included Lionel Shriver, Doris Lessing, Mohsin Hamid, Hilary Mantel, and Jonathan Coe; and in Crime Writing: Val McDermid, Sophie Hannah, Frances Fyfield and Jake Arnott. The course is due to start on 24 September 2012. The duration is two years part-time. (One year full-time for international students.)
Alison Hennessey, in her first signing as Senior Crime Editor at Harvill Secker, has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) for two books in the critically acclaimed, award-winning Intercrime series by Swedish crime writer Arne Dahl, in a deal with Tor Jonasson at the Salomonsson agency. The first book in the series, which follows an elite team of detectives assembled to investigate international violent crime, The Blinded Man, will be published in Vintage paperback in July 2012 and Harvill Secker will publish Bad Blood, which revolves around an American serial killer on the loose in Sweden, in summer 2013.
Alison Hennessey at Harvill Secker says: 'I am delighted to be bringing Arne Dahl's critically acclaimed Intercrime series to Harvill Secker as my first acquisition; with clever plotting and brilliant characterisation that will appeal to readers of Henning Mankell and fans of The Wire alike, it makes a really exciting addition to the Harvill Secker crime list.'
For further information, please contact: Bethan Jones, Head of Crime Fiction, Vintage Publishing Publicity. bjones@randomhouse.co.uk, 020 7840 8543
The North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers is pleased to announce nominees for their annual Hammett Prize for a work of literary excellence in the field of crime writing by a US or Canadian author. The nominees are as follows:
Alison Hennessey, in her first signing as Senior Crime Editor at Harvill Secker, has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) for two books in the critically acclaimed, award-winning Intercrime series by Swedish crime writer Arne Dahl, in a deal with Tor Jonasson at the Salomonsson agency. The first book in the series, which follows an elite team of detectives assembled to investigate international violent crime, The Blinded Man, will be published in Vintage paperback in July 2012 and Harvill Secker will publish Bad Blood, which revolves around an American serial killer on the loose in Sweden, in summer 2013.
Alison Hennessey at Harvill Secker says: 'I am delighted to be bringing Arne Dahl's critically acclaimed Intercrime series to Harvill Secker as my first acquisition; with clever plotting and brilliant characterisation that will appeal to readers of Henning Mankell and fans of The Wire alike, it makes a really exciting addition to the Harvill Secker crime list.'
For further information, please contact: Bethan Jones, Head of Crime Fiction, Vintage Publishing Publicity. bjones@randomhouse.co.uk, 020 7840 8543
The North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers is pleased to announce nominees for their annual Hammett Prize for a work of literary excellence in the field of crime writing by a US or Canadian author. The nominees are as follows:
Feast Day of Fools by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster)
Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran ( Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje (McClelland & Stewart/Canada; Knopf/US)
The Informant by Thomas Perry (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/An Otto Penzler Book)
The Killer is Dying by James Sallis (Walker & Company)
The organization will name the Hammett Prize winner, during the Bloody Words Conference, in Toronto, June 1-3, 2012. The winner will receive a bronze trophy, designed by sculptor Peter Boiger.
The South African newspaper The Daily Maverick have an interesting feature on South African crime thrillers and the “genre snob” debate. Referencing Roger Smith who is riding high with his novel Dust Devils the author of the article Leon De Kock raises the query as to why those appointed to adjudge each year’s best published work for the country's major prizes do not seem to want to acknowledge the existence of crime novels and their popularity. He also claims tnat Reading Roger Smith raises difficult questions for example how much of it is “genre” and how much is socio-politically isomorphic? The full article can be read here.
Crime fiction review round up’s can be found here from the Telegraph. Jake Kerridge also reviews seperately Gerald O’Donovan’s new book Dublin Dead which is the sequel to his debut novel Priest. Laura Wilson’s recent crime round up in the Guardian is here. One of the books reviewed is The Lewis Man by Peter May. Peter kindly wrote a blog post about his return to Stornoway during his book launch and it can be read here.
So CBS are apparently making their own version of an updated Sherlock! They may of course in my opinion want to reconsider this. I mean what was wrong with the BBC version that has been shown on PBS America? I am not sure, but the BBC do not appear to be pleased about this. Adam Sherwin in the Independent writes about the possibility of this happening. The BBC article can be found here.
Of late there has also been another mystery surrounding Arthur Conan Doyle and his story The Hound of the Baskervilles. Who and what inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles? According to a feature on the BBC website, the owner of a hotel in Clyro, near Hay-on-Wye, Powys, claims his 19th Century property was the inspiration for Scottish author Conan Doyle's fictional Baskerville Hall.
The organization will name the Hammett Prize winner, during the Bloody Words Conference, in Toronto, June 1-3, 2012. The winner will receive a bronze trophy, designed by sculptor Peter Boiger.
The South African newspaper The Daily Maverick have an interesting feature on South African crime thrillers and the “genre snob” debate. Referencing Roger Smith who is riding high with his novel Dust Devils the author of the article Leon De Kock raises the query as to why those appointed to adjudge each year’s best published work for the country's major prizes do not seem to want to acknowledge the existence of crime novels and their popularity. He also claims tnat Reading Roger Smith raises difficult questions for example how much of it is “genre” and how much is socio-politically isomorphic? The full article can be read here.
Crime fiction review round up’s can be found here from the Telegraph. Jake Kerridge also reviews seperately Gerald O’Donovan’s new book Dublin Dead which is the sequel to his debut novel Priest. Laura Wilson’s recent crime round up in the Guardian is here. One of the books reviewed is The Lewis Man by Peter May. Peter kindly wrote a blog post about his return to Stornoway during his book launch and it can be read here.
So CBS are apparently making their own version of an updated Sherlock! They may of course in my opinion want to reconsider this. I mean what was wrong with the BBC version that has been shown on PBS America? I am not sure, but the BBC do not appear to be pleased about this. Adam Sherwin in the Independent writes about the possibility of this happening. The BBC article can be found here.
Of late there has also been another mystery surrounding Arthur Conan Doyle and his story The Hound of the Baskervilles. Who and what inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles? According to a feature on the BBC website, the owner of a hotel in Clyro, near Hay-on-Wye, Powys, claims his 19th Century property was the inspiration for Scottish author Conan Doyle's fictional Baskerville Hall.
With the 84th Annual Oscar nominations released today, it is pleasing to see Gary Oldman nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The film has also been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score. Rooney Mara for Best Actress in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has also been nominated for Best Cinematography, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Best Film Editing. The film Drive has also been nominated for Best Sound Editing.
Last year Simon Spurrier’s excellent book A Serpent Uncoiled was published by Headline. It was a brilliant book. I did in fact review it for Shots and my review can be found here. We also managed to persuade Simon to tell us a bit about himself which resulted in his feature for Shots Would I lie To You? Now the paperback issue of A Serpent Uncoiled has been published and Simon has done a mini trailer to go with it and here it is. Have fun watching it! I certainly did.
Monday, 23 January 2012
The Lewis Man returns to Stornoway
Bestselling author Peter May was in London earlier this month for the publication launch of the second book in his Lewis Trilogy “The Lewis Man”. The write up for that event can be found on the Shotsblog. As most readers will be aware, The Lewis Trilogy is set in Stornoway. With very little persuasion and with extremely grateful thanks Peter agreed to do a guest blog for us about his return to Stornoway for the launch of The Lewis Man.Just ten days ago I landed, in the aftermath of a storm, on the Isle of Lewis, the setting for my Lewis Trilogy of crime novels, to launch the second book in the series, “The Lewis Man”.
It was more than two decades since I had first set foot on this remote island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Then I had gone to assess the potential for making a TV drama serial in the Gaelic language and filming it all on the island.
It had been a shock to the system. A bleak, treeless landscape, ravaged by gale force winds that arrived uninterrupted across 3000 miles of Atlantic Ocean. A place where people heated their homes by burning peat turfs dug from the bog. Where the Sabbath was inviolate. Everything closed - shops, restaurants, filling stations. No ferries, no planes, no Sunday papers. Children’s swings chained up. Public toilets locked.
Houses stood huddled together against the elements, villages strung along cliffs of black, obdurate gneiss rising sheer out of an angry sea. A sky as big as you will ever see, that changed every few minutes. From rain to sun, from sleet to rainbows, from the obscurity of low, impenetrable cloud, to stunning vistas opening out towards the mountains of the south.
I spent most of the next five years living on the island, filming in all weathers, producing a subtitled TV drama called “Machair”. It became the surprise hit of the nineties in Scotland. Shooting into the top ten, it grabbed a 33 percent audience share, when soaps like “Brookside” could only manage 16. A vibrant cast of talented young Gaelic speakers became household names.
But I was restless and wanted to pursue my first love - writing books. And so I quit the world of television in ’96 and embarked on the writing of my China Thrillers series. I could never have foreseen then that ten years later I would be back on the island researching the first book in what would become my Lewis Trilogy.
“The Blackhouse” was a departure for me from the world of thriller writing, a venture into what the French would call the roman noir - literally, the black novel. While the basis of the story was predicated upon a crime, the book itself owed more to the tradition of the novel. Which is why, perhaps, it was initially rejected by every crime editor in the UK.
It took my French publisher to spot its potential, and it was first published there in translation before being bought up around Europe - and finally by British publisher, Quercus. The rest is history. The book became a huge success in 2011, picked by Richard & Judy for their autumn selection, climbing into the top ten and selling more than 130,000 copies.
Persuaded to turn it into a trilogy, the second book in this mini-series, “The Lewis Man”, finally hit the UK bookshelves this month. Yes, I had returned to the island to research it, and yes, I had gone back again last year to research the third and final book. But what I didn’t know was how they would be received by the people of the island themselves.
I’d had an inkling from the emails and tweets and Facebook posts about “The Blackhouse” which had been sent to me by island residents and exiles alike. Despite my status as an “outsider”, islanders seemed to be embracing the book as an accurate reflection of their culture and way of life. In a strange way, it was almost a validation of their place in the dominant English-language culture of the British Isles. It is only too easy to feel marginalised when you live on the fringes of society, and in this case the furthest north and west you can go in Europe. Suddenly the Isle of Lewis was on the map, and the rest of the country was sitting up and taking notice.
When I received an email from the leader of the guga hunters - the group of men whose annual pilgrimage to a storm-lashed rock in the Atlantic to slaughter 2000 young ganners had provided the basis for the story of the book - I was almost afraid to open it. After all, I had penetrated the inner circle of this 400 year-old tradition, and exposed it to the world in a bloody and dramatic fiction. To my great relief, he told me that the book had been read by all the hunters - and they loved it.
But I had still to face the islanders myself. And so when a mini-tour of the UK was being planned to launch “The Lewis Man”, I suggested that we do an event in Stornoway, which is the only major town on the Isle of Lewis, and home to the Hebridean fishing fleet.
© David Wilson
And so this month I found myself returning once more to the island, almost twenty-one years to the day that I had first sailed to it on a ferry from the Isle of Skye. This time I flew in with Quercus Key Account Director, Ron Beard, on a flight from Edinburgh.
We were both concerned. Flights to Lewis at any time of year can be subject to strong winds, but mid-January is never an ideal time to make the trip - and storm force winds were being forecast. In the event, it wasn’t too bad. Wind shear rocked the small aircraft as we flew in during the darkest hour just before dawn, but we landed safely and made the thirty-meter dash from the plane to the tiny terminal building with the wind and rain stinging our faces.
Safely inside we were met by the representative of an island car hire firm who was waiting for us with our rental car. The event wasn’t until 7.30 in the evening, and we had a whole day to kill. So since this was Ron’s first trip to the island, I took him on a drive across the desolate wilderness that is the Barvas moor to where the Atlantic was venting its fury all along the west coast.
We stopped at an old disused church, which had been bought and converted to a home by my old designer from “Machair”, David Wilson*. The island had got into his blood to the extent that he had decided to set up home there in his retirement. David, who now spends his time taking the most wonderful photographs of the Hebrides, had applied his artistic talent to the conversion of the building, creating a huge and spectacular room up amongst the rafters where once the voices of the faithful had been raised in Gaelic psalm-singing.
We drank coffee and talked about old times, and browsed through some of his spectacular photographs, before braving the elements once more and heading north.
Sunshine and sleet took turns to sweep across the peat bogs as we arrived, finally, at the most northerly harbour on the island, Port of Ness. It was there, in an old boatshed, that the murder victim in “The Blackhouse” was found. We followed the cliff road that winds up above the beach there, through the community that forms the basis of the book’s fictitious village of Crobost, to the tiny harbour at Skigersta, and the derelict house, which I had used as the model for the home where the book’s hero, Fin, had grown up following the death of his parents.
Sunlight washed across the landscape then, almost as if to say to Ron “see, I can smile too.”
We headed back to Stornoway. The wonderful seafood brought in to its harbour by the fishing fleet is processed there and sent off to markets around the world, leaving almost none of it for the locals. So we ate in an Indian restaurant! What could be more Hebridean than onion bhaji and chicken tikka? And there wasn’t a prawn in sight.
After lunch, we visited the only bookstore in town, the Baltic Book Shop. They had a huge display of “The Lewis Man” strategically placed just inside the door, and the owner told us that “The Blackhouse” was the best selling fiction on the island. She anticipated that “The Lewis Man” would follow in its footsteps. I signed all their stock, and we headed off for an interview with Iain X Maciver for the local radio station, Isles FM. That was followed by a telephone interview with the Sunday Post, a popular Scottish Sunday tabloid, and then we set off to visit the venue for that evening’s event.
We were both concerned. Flights to Lewis at any time of year can be subject to strong winds, but mid-January is never an ideal time to make the trip - and storm force winds were being forecast. In the event, it wasn’t too bad. Wind shear rocked the small aircraft as we flew in during the darkest hour just before dawn, but we landed safely and made the thirty-meter dash from the plane to the tiny terminal building with the wind and rain stinging our faces.
Safely inside we were met by the representative of an island car hire firm who was waiting for us with our rental car. The event wasn’t until 7.30 in the evening, and we had a whole day to kill. So since this was Ron’s first trip to the island, I took him on a drive across the desolate wilderness that is the Barvas moor to where the Atlantic was venting its fury all along the west coast.
We stopped at an old disused church, which had been bought and converted to a home by my old designer from “Machair”, David Wilson*. The island had got into his blood to the extent that he had decided to set up home there in his retirement. David, who now spends his time taking the most wonderful photographs of the Hebrides, had applied his artistic talent to the conversion of the building, creating a huge and spectacular room up amongst the rafters where once the voices of the faithful had been raised in Gaelic psalm-singing.
We drank coffee and talked about old times, and browsed through some of his spectacular photographs, before braving the elements once more and heading north.
Sunshine and sleet took turns to sweep across the peat bogs as we arrived, finally, at the most northerly harbour on the island, Port of Ness. It was there, in an old boatshed, that the murder victim in “The Blackhouse” was found. We followed the cliff road that winds up above the beach there, through the community that forms the basis of the book’s fictitious village of Crobost, to the tiny harbour at Skigersta, and the derelict house, which I had used as the model for the home where the book’s hero, Fin, had grown up following the death of his parents.
Sunlight washed across the landscape then, almost as if to say to Ron “see, I can smile too.”
We headed back to Stornoway. The wonderful seafood brought in to its harbour by the fishing fleet is processed there and sent off to markets around the world, leaving almost none of it for the locals. So we ate in an Indian restaurant! What could be more Hebridean than onion bhaji and chicken tikka? And there wasn’t a prawn in sight.
After lunch, we visited the only bookstore in town, the Baltic Book Shop. They had a huge display of “The Lewis Man” strategically placed just inside the door, and the owner told us that “The Blackhouse” was the best selling fiction on the island. She anticipated that “The Lewis Man” would follow in its footsteps. I signed all their stock, and we headed off for an interview with Iain X Maciver for the local radio station, Isles FM. That was followed by a telephone interview with the Sunday Post, a popular Scottish Sunday tabloid, and then we set off to visit the venue for that evening’s event.
© David Wilson
The Woodlands Centre is a beautiful new building of wood and glass set amongst the trees in the grounds of Lews Castle, a mock-Tudor edifice built in the nineteenth century by the island’s then owner, Sir James Matheson. The castle looks out over the town and the inner harbour, and the hill that it sits upon provides shelter for the only mature trees on the island. The Woodlands Centre is a café/restaurant/art gallery run by a delightful lady, Maggie Mackenzie, who used to be one of the stars of my Gaelic drama serial. She discussed how the venue would be laid out for the event, and how she had arranged the installation of a public address system so that everyone could hear me. A full-page article about me in the Stornoway Gazette the previous week would, she was certain, provide the impetus for a good turn-out.
In the event, none of us was prepared for the crowds that poured into the Woodlands Centre that evening. More than a hundred people turned up on a bitterly cold night, and it was standing room only. I spoke for about forty-five minutes, and signed books for the next hour, working my way slowly through the long queue that wound its way through the centre. By the time I reached the end of it, we had sold out of the books which Quercus had had specially shipped to the island.
Three days and seven hundred miles away from the launch of the book in a London hotel, and twenty-one years after my first Hebridean footfall, I finally had the verdict of the islanders on my books. And it was a big thumbs up!
Phew!!
Peter May
*Hebridean Light by David Wilson is a book of photographs of the Hebrides, which provides a good glimpse of photos of the island
In the event, none of us was prepared for the crowds that poured into the Woodlands Centre that evening. More than a hundred people turned up on a bitterly cold night, and it was standing room only. I spoke for about forty-five minutes, and signed books for the next hour, working my way slowly through the long queue that wound its way through the centre. By the time I reached the end of it, we had sold out of the books which Quercus had had specially shipped to the island.
Three days and seven hundred miles away from the launch of the book in a London hotel, and twenty-one years after my first Hebridean footfall, I finally had the verdict of the islanders on my books. And it was a big thumbs up!
Phew!!
Peter May
*Hebridean Light by David Wilson is a book of photographs of the Hebrides, which provides a good glimpse of photos of the island
Sunday, 22 January 2012
WHAT THE DICKENS?
Celebrations in London to mark Dickens’s 200th Birthday
Wreathlaying Ceremony at Westminster Abbey
Bicentenary Dinner at Mansion House
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| Photograph: London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images |
To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens the Charles Dickens Museum and Dickens 2012 are pleased to announce two major events taking place on 7 February 2012, the date of Dickens’s actual birthday.
Wreathlaying Ceremony at Westminster Abbey at 11am. By kind permission of the Dean of Westminster Abbey, a Wreathlaying Ceremony to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens will take place on 7 February 2012. BAFTA® award-winning actor and director Ralph Fiennes (Great Expectations and The Invisible Woman, in production) and acclaimed biographer Claire Tomalin(The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens (1991), Charles Dickens: A Life (2011)) will be among the Readers who will gather in Poets' Corner where Dickens was buried in 1870. With well-wishers from the world of literature, film, theatre and media, the event will celebrate Dickens's lasting impact on the arts and his popularity with audiences around the globe.
This event will also mark the largest gathering of descendants of the great novelist, with over 200 family members attending including the head of the family, Mark Dickens, who will also read from his great-great-grandfather's work. Tickets for journalists can be requested from the Charles Dickens Museum. The Museum and Dickens 2012 are pleased to offer 100 free tickets to the general public for this event, which is part of the Museum's £3.1m Great Expectations redevelopment project, largely supported by just over £2.35million from theHeritage Lottery Fund (HLF). This event is organised in association with Film London and The Dickens Fellowship.
Ralph Fiennes said: “I am delighted to take part in the celebrations for Dickens's 200th birthday anniversary. It will be a great honour to read an excerpt from Dickens's work in Poets' Corner to commemorate one of the world's greatest writers, and a man whose imagination has a lasting impact on the creative industries, including film, theatre and media.”
Dr Florian Schweizer, Director of the Charles Dickens Museum and Dickens 2012, said: “On 7 February people around the globe will take part in the Dickens bicentennial celebrations, from Hong Kong to California. The wreathlaying ceremony at Westminster Abbey will bring together visitors from more than 60 countries, many representing the wide range of Dickens's own professions and interest groups including authors, actors, social campaigners, journalists, charity workers, fundraisers and the public sector. Poets' Corner, with its rich and unique heritage and literary associations, is the perfect site to honour one of the greatest creative minds this country has ever seen.”
The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall, said: “Dickens's humanity and compassion made an extraordinary impact on Victorian England through his writings, which remain immensely popular. This bicentenary should help renew our commitment to improving the lot of the disadvantaged of our own day.”
Mark Dickens, Head of the Dickens Family and President of the Dickens Fellowship, said: “The service in Westminster Abbey is one of the central events of the bicentenary year and it will be a special occasion for more than 600 members of the congregation. Together with Dickensians from around the world, there will be nearly 200 members of Charles Dickens's family present, the largest ever gathering. These are descended from his sons, Charley and Henry and include the last surviving Great Grandchild and the first Great Great Great Great Great Grandchild.”
Sue Bowers, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for London said: “This is a very special year for Dickens’s legacy and we are delighted to have supported the Charles Dickens Museum project Great Expectations so that his Grade I listed former London home can be redeveloped for the bicentenary of his birth.”
Applications for tickets are available from Westminster Abbey from Matthew Arnoldi Matthew.arnoldi@westminster-abbey.org
Bicentenary fundraising dinner at Mansion House, 6.45pm. By kind permission of the Hon. Lord Mayor of the City of London, the official Dickens 2012 dinner will be held with Dickensian entertainment including readings by Sir Patrick Stewart (A Christmas Carol) and musical performances by West End Kids. In the heart of the City which Dickens immortalised in his works, visitors from around the world will celebrate 'The Inimitable' Dickens whose passion for convivial dining and drinking was legendary among his contemporaries and is well-observed in many of his stories. Proceeds of this event will be donated to the Great Expectations redevelopment fund of the Charles Dickens Museum (registered charity 212172). The event is supported by Royal Mint, who will present coins of the new £2 Dickens coin to all ticket holders, and by Bodegas Williams & Humbert, Jerez, Spain. Tickets at £120 include a three-course meal, sherry reception, entertainment, gift pack. Speakers: Lord Mayor David Wootton, Sir Patrick Stewart, Matthew Dent (designer of the £2 coin issued by The Royal Mint to commemorate Dickens’s bicentenary).
Lord Mayor David Wootton, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Charles Dickens Museum, said: “Dickens made many references to the Lord Mayor and Mansion House, particularly in relation to eating and drinking. Mansion House is therefore exactly the right location to celebrate the evening of the bicentenary and I am delighted to be hosting this magnificent event for the Dickens community.”
To purchase tickets contact: Events Department, Charles Dickens Museum, 48 Doughty Street, London, WC1N 2LX,events@dickensmuseum.com
About the Charles Dickens Museum
The Charles Dickens Museum in London is the world's most important collection of material relating to the great Victorian novelist and social commentator. The only surviving London home of Dickens (from 1837 until 1839) was opened as a Museum in 1925 and is still welcoming visitors from all over the world in an authentic and inspiring surrounding. On four floors, visitors can see paintings, rare editions, manuscripts, original furniture and many items relating to the life of one of the most popular and beloved personalities of the Victorian age.
The Charles Dickens Museum is a coordinating partner of Dickens 2012, the international campaign to mark the bicentenary of Charles Dickens’s birth.
Great Expectations is the Charles Dickens Museum's £3.1m redevelopment project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, to improve Dickens's only remaining London residence where he wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. Great Expectations will establish the Charles Dickens Museum as Britain’s most accessible and inspirational literary house museum. The project will increase space for the interpretation and housing of the collections by 100%, introducing state-of-the-art facilities to preserve the collections for the enjoyment of future generations. In the adjacent property, which is owned by the Museum, a new visitor centre with study facilities and teaching rooms for the National Dickens Library and Archive will be created. The project also promotes Dickens’s cultural and social legacy through a comprehensive activity programme to mark the bicentenary of the author’s birth in 2012.
About Dickens 2012
Dickens 2012, co-ordinated by the Charles Dickens Museum and Film London in association with the Dickens Fellowship, is an international celebration of the cultural and educational significance of the life and work of Charles Dickens to mark the bicentenary of his birth. Dickens-related activity will take place all over the world under the Dickens 2012 banner to celebrate one of the world’s most inspiring authors and provide a legacy for future generations.
Dickens 2012 partners include the BBC (Dickens on the BBC: November 11-February 12), British Council (International Dickens 2012 Programme: Nov 11-June 12), BFI (Dickens on Screen: Dec 11- March 12), Museum of London (Dickens and London: Dec 11-June 12), Museum Strauhof, Zurich (Charles Dickens: Dec 11-Mar 12), Penguin (‘Charles Dickens, A Life’ by Claire Tomalin and Special 2012 editions) and the Royal Mint (Dickens £2 coin).
Dickens 2012 has an expanding list of supporters, which includes names such as Simon Callow CBE, Sir Derek Jacobi, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Miriam Margolyes OBE and Peter Ackroyd CBE, and is backed by the Mayor of London as a cultural highlight in 2012.
About Film London
Film London, as the capital’s film and media agency, aims to ensure London has a thriving film sector that enriches the city’s businesses and its people. The agency works with all the screen industries to sustain, promote and develop London as a major international production and film cultural capital, and it supports the development of the city’s new and emerging film-making talent. Film London is funded by the Mayor of London, the National Lottery through the BFI, and receives significant support from Arts Council England and Skillset.
Film London is a coordinating partner of Dickens 2012, the international campaign to mark the bicentenary of Charles Dickens’s birth.
About Heritage Lottery Fund
Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported 30,000 projects, allocating £4.7billion across the UK, including just over £893million in London alone.
About West End Kids
West End Kids is the UK's highest profile musical theatre song and dance troupe. The company comprises 15 talented young singers and dancers. The company is a ‘performance company’ and always performs to professional standards. In 2011 West End Kids performed for tens of thousands of people at high profile events and venues including the London 2012 One Year to Go Ceremony in Trafalgar Square.
Saturday, 21 January 2012
ELMORE LEONARD WRITING CHALLENGE
The five finalists will be featured on Day 6, and have their sentences published in The National Post. They will also win a three-book set of Elmore Leonard's "Raylan Givens" novels: Riding The Rap, Pronto, and the brand-new Raylan.
We're hoping people will have some fun with this. We'd love it if you can help spread the word. Just get in touch if you have any questions.
Here's some more information about our show:
Day 6 is an award-winning news and arts magazine program that airs across Canada on the CBC Radio One on Saturday at 10 am, and on NPR in Chicago, Seattle, Washington, DC, Ocean City MD, Point Reyes, CA, and Louisville, KY. We are also available internationally on Sirius Satellite 159 and as a podcast.
Here is a link to our website: http://www.cbc.ca/day6/
FB: http://www.facebook.com/CBCDay6
and Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cbcday6
Past guests of Day 6 include Salman Rushdie, Oliver Sacks, Chris Hedges, Richard Dawkins, Sarah Vowell, David Sedaris, Linden MacIntyre, Yann Martell, John Waters, and William Gibson.
Thursday, 19 January 2012
2012 MWA Edgar Nominations
The Staff at Shots Ezine would like to congratulate all the 2012 Edgar nominated authors and writers! We present the press releases from the MWA -
Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce on the 203rd anniversary ofthe birth of Edgar Allan Poe, its Nominees for the 2012 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television published or produced in 2011.
The Edgar Awards will be presented to the winners at our 66th Gala Banquet, April 26, 2012 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.
BEST NOVEL
The Ranger by Ace Atkins (Penguin Group USA - G.P. Putnam's Sons)
Gone by Mo Hayder (Grove/Atlantic - Atlantic Monthly Press)
The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino (Minotaur Books)
1222 by Anne Holt (Simon & Schuster - Scribner)
Field Gray by Philip Kerr (Penguin Group USA - G.P. Putnam's Sons - Marion Wood Books)
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Red on Red by Edward Conlon (Random House Publishing Group - Spiegel & Grau)
Last to Fold by David Duffy (Thomas Dunne Books)
All Cry Chaos by Leonard Rosen (The Permanent Press)
Bent Road by Lori Roy (Penguin Group USA - Dutton)
Purgatory Chasm by Steve Ulfelder (Minotaur Books - Thomas Dunne Books)
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett (Hachette Book Group - Orbit Books)
The Faces of Angels by Lucretia Grindle (Felony & Mayhem Press)
The Dog Sox by Russell Hill (Pleasure Boat Studio - Caravel Mystery Books)
Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley (HarperCollins Publishers - HarperPaperbacks)
Vienna Twilight by Frank Tallis (Random House Trade Paperbacks)
BEST FACT CRIME
The Murder of the Century: The Gilded Age Crime That Scandalized a City and Sparked the Tabloid Wars by Paul Collins (Crown Publishing)
The Savage City: Race, Murder, and a Generation on the Edge by T.J. English( HarperCollins - William Morrow)
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard (Random House - Doubleday)
Girl, Wanted: The Chase for Sarah Pender by Steve Miller (Penguin Group USA- Berkley)
The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fallo f a Serial Imposter by Mark Seal (Penguin Group USA - Viking)
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
The Tattooed Girl: The Enigma of Stieg Larsson and the Secrets Behind the Most Compelling Thrillers of our Time by Dan Burstein, Arne de Keijzer & John-Henri Holmberg (St. Martin's Griffin)
Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making by John Curran (HarperCollins)
On Conan Doyle: Or, the Whole Art of Storytelling by Michael Dirda (Princeton University Press)
Detecting Women: Gender and the Hollywood Detective Film by Philippa Gates (SUNY Press)Scripting Hitchcock: Psycho, The Birds and Marnie by Walter Raubicheck and Walter Srebnick (University of Illinois Press)
BEST SHORT STORY
"Marley's Revolution" - Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by John C. Boland (Dell Magazines)
"Tomorrow's Dead" - Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by David Dean (Dell Magazines)
"The Adakian Eagle" - Down These Strange Streets by Bradley Denton (Penguin Group USA - Ace Books)
"Lord John and the Plague of Zombies" - Down These Strange Streets by Diana Gabaldon (Penguin Group USA - Ace Books)
"The Case of Death and Honey" - A Study in Sherlock by Neil Gaiman (Random House Publishing Group - Bantam Books)
"The Man Who Took His Hat Off to the Driver of the Train" - Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Peter Turnbull (Dell Magazines)
BEST JUVENILE
Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger (Abrams - Amulet Books)
It Happened on a Train by Mac Barnett (Simon & Schuster Books for YoungReaders)
Vanished by Sheela Chari (Disney Book Group - Disney Hyperion)
Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby (Scholastic Press)
The Wizard of Dark Street by Shawn Thomas Odyssey (Egmont USA)
BEST YOUNG ADULT
Shelter by Harlan Coben (Penguin Young Readers Group - G.P. Putnam's Sons)
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson (Penguin Young Readers Group - G.P.Putnam's Sons)
The Silence of Murder by Dandi Daley Mackall (Random House Children's Books- Knopf BFYR)The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines (Macmillan Children's Publishing Group - Roaring Creek Press)
Kill You Last by Todd Strasser (Egmont USA)
BEST PLAY
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club by Jeffrey Hatcher (Arizona Theatre Company, Phoenix, AZ)
The Game's Afoot by Ken Ludwig (Cleveland Playhouse, Cleveland, OH)
BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
"Innocence" - Blue Bloods, Teleplay by Siobhan Byrne O'Connor (CBS Productions)
"The Life Inside" - Justified, Teleplay by Benjamin Cavell (FX Productions and Sony Pictures Television)
"Part 1" - Whitechapel, Teleplay by Ben Court & Caroline Ip (BBC America)
"Pilot" - Homeland, Teleplay by Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon & Gideon Raff (Showtime)
"Mask" - Law & Order: SVU, Teleplay by Speed Weed (Wolf Films/Universal Media Studios)
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
"A Good Man of Business" - Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by David Ingram (Dell Magazines)
MWA GRAND MASTER
Martha Grimes
RAVEN AWARDS
M is for Mystery Bookstore, San Mateo, CA / Molly Weston, Meritorious Mysteries
ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
Joe Meyers of the Connecticut Post/Hearst Media News Group
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER - MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
To be presented at MWA's Agents & Editors Party on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Now You See Me by S.J. Bolton (Minotaur Books)
Come and Find Me by Hallie Ephron (HarperCollins Publishers - WilliamMorrow)
Death on Tour by Janice Hamrick (Minotaur Books)
Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry (Crown Publishing Group)
Murder Most Persuasive by Tracy Kiely (Minotaur Books - Thomas Dunne Books)
The full list of nominations / MWA Press Release can be downloaded as a .pdf file here
Photo top (c) 2008 Ali Karim
"R J Ellory standing in the shadow of the last resting place of Edgar Allan Poe taken at Westminster Hall Baltimore at Bouchercon 2008"
Laurence O'Bryan asks himself - Why the Hell Do I Do This?
Today’s guest blogger is debut author Laurence O’Bryan whose first novel in the Sean Ryan and Isabel Sharp series The Istanbul Puzzle is published today. The Istanbul Puzzle starts when Sean discovers a friend and colleague has been beheaded in Istanbul. Laurence worked his way up from being a plate scraper in a gentleman’s club in the City to winning a three-book deal with Harper Collins UK. On the way he got lost in the fleshpots of London, got rescued by his wife and straightened out after the birth of his daughter. But why does he write?
That’s a good question. I always had it at the back of my mind that I would write novels. It’s a cliché, I know, but it’s true for me. I had a hole inside me for many years, one that I tried to fill up with alcohol and lots of other stuff, but I never succeeded in filling the hole until I began to write.
Some people talk about an emptiness deep inside as a reason for finding religion. I think it’s an emptiness at the heart of modern western culture. We consume so much, only to find out that there’s something better just about to arrive, which we must get our hands on. The consumption wheel never ends. It can’t. We are mostly hamsters on the wheel of life.
Until we start to create. When I create words and stories, and sometime the pictures that are linked to them in my imagination, I feel sated, not guilty. I feel proud, not fooled by empty promises.
The reason I write is also to do with my personal history. I spent many happy hours in the company of Rider Haggard, Asimov and Tolkien and I want to recreate that happiness. I need to create something of value too and writing suits that purpose. When I was a boy I created my own Dr Who stories for my neighbours. My imagination was often remarked on. Perhaps I imagined too much.
But I enjoy writing more than almost anything else. It allows me to spin words, to test theories, and to find out what’s going to happen to the characters I create. It also allows me to work at home, to see my children a little more than if I had to pursue a 9 to 5 existence, as I spent many years doing in the past.
The life of a writer is everything you thought it might be, but with added anxiety, especially at the point I’m at, with my first novel hitting the bookshelves on the 19th January. You see, I still don’t know whether the world will like my baby. And it’s taken me years to get to this point! I decided to write my first novel back in 2000. And only now am I making some money from it. I think I’m just a slow learner. If you want to see what all that work has produced, and you like an adventure story with romance and mystery thrown in, come over to lpobryan.wordpress.com or pick up The Istanbul Puzzle in your local bookshop.
I hope you have a great 2012 pursuing whatever dreams you want to pursue. Mine are on the cusp of becoming real. And if they don’t, I can always go back to cleaning dishes!
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
UK Launch of The Boy in The Suitcase
(L-R Barry Forshaw, Dr Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen, Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnette Friis (© Ayo Onatade))
I first met authors Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnette Friis at Bouchercon that took place in St Louis in 2011. At the time they were with promoting the first English translation of their book The Boy in the Suitcase.
Our second meeting took place when I attended the UK launch of The Boy in the Suitcase, which took place yesterday evening (17 January) in the Gallery at Foyles Bookshop, which is based along Charing Cross Road in London. Crime fiction expert Barry Forshaw, author of Death in a Cold Climate: A Guide to Scandinavian Crime Fiction and editor of Crime Time chaired the event and they were joined by Scandinavian Crime enthusiast and founder of the legendary Nordic Noir Book Club Dr. Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (UCL).
The event started off with a brief introduction by Dr Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen who introduced Barry Forshaw. The two authors Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnette Friis where then introduced by Barry Forshaw before he started to talk/ interview them about their book.
One of the first things that was commented on was that aside from the fact that The Boy in The Suitcase was a brilliant multi-stranded book, it was also quite complex. Barry was interested in finding out from them both why this was the case as they had more than 3 voices in the book. They explained that what they wanted to do was to ensure that all the important characters were not only seen from the inside but were also able to view the world. This of course meant that they needed to have 5 different voices, which included that of the villain and Nina’s husband.
They also expressed the view that the villain was not only filled with rage but also still human but when asked how they felt about such a character for example Hannibal Lecter they expressed the view that whilst they felt he was an interesting character he was also seen as a psychopath. Their villain on the other hand (they explained) was a person who had a very ordinary life/dreams that anyone could relate to. They could not go down the route of what Steig Larsson did with his villains. The hardest part is actually making the villain believable.
But what about Nina their heroine and why is she so irritating? They explained that they did not feel the need to make her a perfect person and thus annoying but they did need to find a delicate balance. They did not want readers to lose sympathy with her entirely but people did find her annoying and sometimes found her behaviour a barrier to them finishing the book. It seems that women were mainly the ones as they found it difficult to forgive her for being such a bad mother. Nevertheless, they felt that she did try very hard.
The authors also revealed that whilst doing their research they found out that there were a lot of unaccompanied children going missing in Denmark. Over 600 have gone missing in the last 10 years. Some had in fact moved on but others had been sold for prostitution etc. The difficult was that hardly anything was being done about this because they were immigrants but it would be a different matter if the missing children were from Denmark. There were different rules for immigrants as opposed to Danes.
One of the other questions that was raised was whether or not there was a legacy of Russia hanging on the Danes? They felt that there was not and they did not just want to write a Danish novel but wanted to ensure that Nina came into contact with all sorts of people.
With journalists currently being in the news they were also asked how journalists were currently being viewed in Denmark. It was explained that unlike in the UK they did not really have tabloid newspapers and thus they were not seen to be as bad as UK journalists but that the quality of journalism was indeed going down what with the internet and the failure to properly check sources.
They authors were also asked how did they work together. They pointed out that they wrote separate chapters before going through each other’s chapters and commenting on them. It did (they agreed) sometimes lead to the odd argument but this was something that they got over very easily. They both had a basic mutual respect for each other’s work and were thus able to point out where they saw problems.
It was also agreed that not only were Scandinavian writers likeable but there was a sense that writing crime fiction was a good way of communicating ideas.
One of the things they made clear was that they wanted to avoid clichés. They explained that they were not so much interested in corruption for example but more interested in the complacency surrounding it.
The success of such television programmes as The Killing and Borgen was also commented on. Both authors were bemused by the phenomenon and wide spread acclaim both programmes had received as Danes were less overwhelmed by them. There were as they explained others, some that were good and some that were bad. The fact that so many people were prepared to sit through programmes with English subtitles amazed them. They could to a certain extent understand The Killing but could not understand Borgen since it is about Danish politics.
Dr Stougaard-Nielsen commented that well crafted writing and art was very much appreciated by anybody who came into contact with it as they saw it for what it was.
The Boy in The Suitcase won two major awards and was also nominated for The Glass Key they were asked whether or not this had raised their profile. Both authors agreed that it had. They had thought that they would win Best First Novel as the book has only been published three to four months earlier but they had surprisingly won Thriller of the Year. Sadly however, The Glass Key is not so well known outside Scandinavia and usually it is accompanied by the comment that it is the award that Steig Larsson won twice”.
Boundaries were also discussed with the authors and whether or not they had boundaries that they would not cross. The reason for the question was because Barry Forshaw had just finished reading Hans Koppel’s She’s Never Going Back which he found to be a very dispiriting read with humiliating sex scenes. They agreed that the did have boundaries which hey would not cross. They indicated that they would not write about anything that they were uncomfortable with themselves and that there was a fine line between titillation and showing things for what they were. Real crime is as far as they were concerned bad enough and they did not feel the need to go overboard. Their book is from their point of view not really a howdunnit or a whodunit but a whydunnit.
The audience were also informed that the film rights for the books were under discussion but they could not really talk about it. They also confirmed that Lene Kaaberbøl had in fact done the English translation of the book.
The authors were also asked questions one of which was whether or not they felt it was right that authors should use their books for social commentary or should they be seen as pure entertainment. Both authors agreed that they should but that the books should also entertain. It was as they explained supposed to do both.
The event at Foyles was extremely well attended. It was a testament this evening to how much Nordic crime is read by the full room. The Galley was full and the authors had an extremely receptive audience. At the end of the evening the authors joined the attendees for drinks and signed books as well.
My thanks go to Lene Kaaberbøl, Agnette Friis, Barry Forshaw and Dr. Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen for such an enjoyable evening and Foyles Bookshop for hosting it. If you have not yet read The Boy in The Suitcase then I urge you to do so. It will in my opinion be one of the best crime novels this year.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Crime Fiction News
Excellent article by Ian Rankin who would like the Government to introduce tax incentives to help new authors. The full article can be read in the Guardian.
Lots of viewers must have heaved a massive sigh of relief when the BBC revealed that there will indeed be a third series of Sherlock. On Sunday night there was a dramatic conclusion to the second series which was only belied by the tweet subsequently sent out by the co-creator Steven Moffat on Twitter "Of course there's going to be a third series - it was commissioned at the same time as the second. Gotcha!" Those of you wondering who on earth Professor Moriarty is might want to read the Blagger’s Guide To …. Professor Moriarty in the Independent. An excellent review of the final episode of series 2 can be found at The Arts Desk by Adam Sweeting.
Congratulations go to Peter Temple for winning the 2012 German International Crime Novel (International Deutscher Krimipreis) with his novel 'Truth'. The 28th German Crime Prize 2012 (National Deutscher Krimipreis) was awarded to 'Wer das Schweigen bricht' (Anyone who Breaks the Silence) (Pendragon) by Mechtild Borrmann.
Having just managed to have a look at the Guardian’s bestselling books of 2011, it is pleasing to note that out of the top 100, 34 were crime novels. Out of the 34, Jo Nesbo and James Patterson are joint top with five books each whilst all three of the late Steig Larsson once again made the list and John Grisham, John Le Carre and Harlan Coben round up the list with two each. All the other crime writers out of the 34 had one book each on the list. The full list (top 100) can be read here.
With the award season up and running the BAFTA nominations were announced this morning. It was in my opinion very pleasing to see the brilliant cold war thriller Tinker, Tailor Solider Spy nominated for 11 awards. They include nominations for Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director for Tomas Alfredson and Best Leading Actor for Gary Oldman. Drive, which starred Ryan Gosling, has received a Best Director nomination for Nicolas Winding Refn as well as Best Film and Best Editing. Philip Seymour Hoffmann has also received a best supporting actor nomination for his turn in the American Political drama thriller The Ides of March. The film also received a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. The Irish Film The Guard starring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle has been nominated for Original Screenplay. . The Orange British Academy Film Awards take place on February 12. Read the full list of nominations here.
According to the Bookseller, Waterstones have launched a “book club” promotion under the tagline "Books you will love or your money back". All the books bar one are fiction books. The only crime novel to make the list is of course Before I Go to Sleep by S J Watson (Transworld) each week a book will be chosen as a book of the week.
Orion has acquired a debut speculative thriller novel by A K Benedict, called The Beauty of Murder, which features a time-travelling serial killer. Editorial director Genevieve Pegg bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from a partial on submission from Rupert Heath, and said: "Macabre, suspenseful and hugely inventive, I was spellbound from the start. Once I'd met its compelling characters, I knew I couldn't let go of them." Orion plans to publish in late 2012. German rights have been sold to Droemer.
The Independent’s Invisible Ink: No 106 is on Leslie Charteris the author of the Saint novels and is by Christopher Fowler. The full article can be read here.
Now that we have lost what was essentially Sunday night viewing on television with the last episode of the current series of Sherlock being shown how are we to replace it? BBC 1 have adapted Sebastian Faulks novel Birdsong into a 2 part drama and it is set to be shown on BBC1 on Sunday 22 January. An article in the Guardian can be found here. One of the very first reviews (a preview of it was apparently shown at the BAFTA’s can be found here.
Lots of viewers must have heaved a massive sigh of relief when the BBC revealed that there will indeed be a third series of Sherlock. On Sunday night there was a dramatic conclusion to the second series which was only belied by the tweet subsequently sent out by the co-creator Steven Moffat on Twitter "Of course there's going to be a third series - it was commissioned at the same time as the second. Gotcha!" Those of you wondering who on earth Professor Moriarty is might want to read the Blagger’s Guide To …. Professor Moriarty in the Independent. An excellent review of the final episode of series 2 can be found at The Arts Desk by Adam Sweeting.
Congratulations go to Peter Temple for winning the 2012 German International Crime Novel (International Deutscher Krimipreis) with his novel 'Truth'. The 28th German Crime Prize 2012 (National Deutscher Krimipreis) was awarded to 'Wer das Schweigen bricht' (Anyone who Breaks the Silence) (Pendragon) by Mechtild Borrmann.
Having just managed to have a look at the Guardian’s bestselling books of 2011, it is pleasing to note that out of the top 100, 34 were crime novels. Out of the 34, Jo Nesbo and James Patterson are joint top with five books each whilst all three of the late Steig Larsson once again made the list and John Grisham, John Le Carre and Harlan Coben round up the list with two each. All the other crime writers out of the 34 had one book each on the list. The full list (top 100) can be read here.
With the award season up and running the BAFTA nominations were announced this morning. It was in my opinion very pleasing to see the brilliant cold war thriller Tinker, Tailor Solider Spy nominated for 11 awards. They include nominations for Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director for Tomas Alfredson and Best Leading Actor for Gary Oldman. Drive, which starred Ryan Gosling, has received a Best Director nomination for Nicolas Winding Refn as well as Best Film and Best Editing. Philip Seymour Hoffmann has also received a best supporting actor nomination for his turn in the American Political drama thriller The Ides of March. The film also received a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. The Irish Film The Guard starring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle has been nominated for Original Screenplay. . The Orange British Academy Film Awards take place on February 12. Read the full list of nominations here.
According to the Bookseller, Waterstones have launched a “book club” promotion under the tagline "Books you will love or your money back". All the books bar one are fiction books. The only crime novel to make the list is of course Before I Go to Sleep by S J Watson (Transworld) each week a book will be chosen as a book of the week.
Orion has acquired a debut speculative thriller novel by A K Benedict, called The Beauty of Murder, which features a time-travelling serial killer. Editorial director Genevieve Pegg bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from a partial on submission from Rupert Heath, and said: "Macabre, suspenseful and hugely inventive, I was spellbound from the start. Once I'd met its compelling characters, I knew I couldn't let go of them." Orion plans to publish in late 2012. German rights have been sold to Droemer.
The Independent’s Invisible Ink: No 106 is on Leslie Charteris the author of the Saint novels and is by Christopher Fowler. The full article can be read here.
Now that we have lost what was essentially Sunday night viewing on television with the last episode of the current series of Sherlock being shown how are we to replace it? BBC 1 have adapted Sebastian Faulks novel Birdsong into a 2 part drama and it is set to be shown on BBC1 on Sunday 22 January. An article in the Guardian can be found here. One of the very first reviews (a preview of it was apparently shown at the BAFTA’s can be found here.
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