Bladerunner Day at BFI Southbank - March 2009
The BFI are holding a ’Bladerunner Day’ at BFI Southbank in March 09 which will include a screening of the director’s cut of Bladerunner on a new projector at the IMAX, along with panels and discussions on Bladerunner and Philip K. Dick.
Take a look at Philip K. Dick’s novels and The Making of Bladerunner.
For more information, keep an eye on http://www.bfi.org.uk/
The Color Purple airs on Radio 4
Alice Walker’s fantastic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple is currently being dramatised on RADIO 4. The first episode aired on Monday, 6th October and the dramatisation continues through the 15th October, airing at 7.45 pm each night. Don’t worry if you missed the start, as you can catch up on the first two episodes here:http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dr8bz
Rowan Somerville shortlisted for New Writers Award
We’re delighted to announce that Weidenfeld & Nicolson author Rowan Somerville has been shortlisted for the Glen Dimplex New Writers Award for his novel, The End of Sleep.
The winner of this 20,000 Euro prize will be announced on 10th November.
For more on The End of Sleep go to http://www.theendofsleep.com/
Knots and Crosses free audio download with The Sunday Times
All readers of The Sunday Times on Sunday 7th September will be offered a free audio download of Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin, via http://www.audible.co.uk./.
Grab a copy of The Sunday Times this week and check out the Culture supplement. Each claimant of the free title will need to register with an email address to claim the download.
Ian Rankin’s new book, Doors Open, is out now in hardback.
The Clutter Clinic on ITV1
Romaine Lowery, author of The Clutter Clinic, will be presenting a new decluttering segment on This Morning on ITV1. The segments air from Wednesday 10th September and run for the following four weeks.
On the program Romaine will make dramatic changes to cluttered and out of control homes, and will demonstrate how you don’t have to move to improve your home as well as how to achieve ’credit crunch chic’.
The Clutter Clinic is out now in hardback.
ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards - Ian Rankin nominated
ITV3 are launching the Crime Thriller Awards season - 6 weeks of suspenseful programming culminating in a grand finale: the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards 2008 in October.
Every week ITV3 will profile one of the authors and show their best TV crime drama to date. First up is Ian Rankin on the 18th August, with a documentary profile followed by an episode of Rebus. Further episodes of Rebus will be screened until the 22nd August.
You can vote for Ian Rankin to win the ITV3 Award for Classic Crime Drama online at www.itv.com/crimethriller
Joe Hill also nominated for British Fantasy Awards
The nominations are in for the 2008 British Fantasy Awards and Joe Hill has been nominated in the Best Novel category for his novel Heart-Shaped Box. The award winers will be announced at Fantasycon 2008 in September.
Trinny & Susannah are back on ITV1
Our favourite fashion duo Trinny and Susannah return to television this week with a new series of TRINNY & SUSANNAH UNDRESS THE NATION. The series starts Wednesday 30th July at 9.00 pm on ITV1.
Trinny & Susannah’s The Body Shape Bible was published in paperback earlier this year and their new hardback, Who Do You Want to Be Today? is released in November this year.
Life’s Not Too Short to Judge Cupcakes!
Here at Orion, we believe life’s too short for a lot of things, but definitely not too short to eat cake! So to promote our new book Life’s Too Short to Frost a Cupcake by Rosie Wilde, we held a company-wide bake-off to see who had the tastiest recipe for cupcakes. We’re pleased to announce that Jenny Glencross from our Children’s department was the winner of the best cupcakes, with her Red Velvet and Lemon Meringue cupcakes going down a treat!
Not to be outdone, runner-up Alex Hardy from the Contracts team cooked up a storm of cupcakes in Horrid Henry, Charmseekers and Gus & Waldo themes.
Congratulations to both winners and we hope they enjoy their delicious champagne and cupcake prize!
Kate Mosse’s Sepulchre exhibition showing at the Southbank Centre
Sepulchre is the latest international bestseller from Kate Mosse, author of Labyrinth. The Sepulchre Tour is an exhibition of inspiring photographs from the novel’s key locations, including Rennes-le-Bains, the ancient spa at the hear of the mystery. Interwoven with excerpts from the novel are Mosse’s own comments and original Tarot card artwork created for the book.
The exhibition is free and will be showing in the Festival Riverside Foyer, Southbank Centre during the London Literature Festival from 5th - 19th July. Click here to find out more about the exhibition.
The Siege of Krishnapur voted Best of the Booker by The Culture Show viewers
The well-read villagers of Comrie in Perthshire have chosen JG Farrell’s incredibly funny The Siege of Krishnapur as their choice to win the Best of The Booker Award! BBC’s THE CULTURE SHOW supplied the small Scottish village with copies of all 6 shortlisted books and the results of the read-off were broadcast on June 24 (episode repeats on June 26). You have until July 8 to register your vote for the award via the Man Booker website.
Duncan Lawrie Dagger shortlist announced
The Duncan Lawrie Dagger prize is the UK’s most prestigious crime award we’re pleased to announce that we have three authors nominated for the shortlist this year: James Lee Burke for The Tin Roof Blowdown, Steve Hamilton for Night Work and Laura Lippman for What the Dead Know. The winner will be announced on the 10th July.
Yachtsman Adrian Flanagan’s epic journey draws to a close
Adrian Flanagan’s momentous and record-breaking first ever single-handed vertical circumnavigation of the globe, westwards via Cape Horn and the Russian Arctic, ended yesterday as he sailed his yacht Barrabas into the Royal Southern Yacht Club on the Hamble River.
After surviving tropical storms, being capsized twice and being swept overboard without a line, Adrian has returned feeling relieved - "It has been long. It has been hard. There have been risks. When you’re sailing out there in the middle of the ocean, particularly when you’re in danger, your mind tends to wander and you think what it would be like to come back. It’s actually happening. It’s not a dream any longer."
Adrian’s account of his amazing journey, Over the Top, will be published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in October 2008. For more about Adrian’s journey go to: http://www.agx.firetrench.com/
Orion authors at Guardian Hay Festival this year
The Guardian Hay Festival kicked off this week in Hay-on-Wye, with an amazing line up this year. We’ve got loads of authors making appearances at the Hay Festival, including Katherine Jenkins, Francesca Simon, Marcus Sedgwick, A A Gill, Monty Don and Les Dennis. The festival runs until 1st June 2008. To take a look at the full program of author events at the year’s most talked about book festival click here.
Up Pompey! Portsmouth win the 2008 FA Cup
Portsmouth FC have won the 2008 FA Cup Final against Cardiff City in a highly competitive match on Saturday. Learn more about Portsmouth FC (or Pompey to their fans) in Chuck Culpepper’s Up Pompey - the story of how an American sports journalist found hope and courage among the unlikely heroes of Pompey.
JG Farrell shortlisted for The Best of the Booker
JG Farrell’s The Siege of Krishnapur was announced on Monday 12th May as a shortlisted title for The Best of the Booker - a one-off award to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Booker Prize.
Polling is now open to the public to vote for their favourite out of the six shortlisted books chosen from the list of 41 Booker Prize and Man Booker Prize winners.
The overall winner of The Best of the Booker will be announced as part of the London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre on 10 July where the winner will be awarded a custom-made trophy.
Votes can be registered via the Man Booker Prize website – www.themanbookerprize.com.
Alastair Reynolds book signings in Scandinavia
Alastair Reynolds recently held several book signings in Scandinavia for his new latest book House of Suns - a spectacular, large-scale space opera, the ultimate galaxy-spanning adventure. Check out our photos from the event below.
PHOTOS: Robert Brown, SF-Bokhandeln, Stockholm, Sweden
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Saul Friedlander wins Pulitzer Prize
We are delighted to announce that Saul Friedlander has won the general non-fiction Pulitzer prize for his book The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945.
The Pulitzers, created by the will of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, have occupied a prestigious place in American letters since the awards were first presented in 1917. They are judged by Columbia University on the recommendation of an 18-member board.
Linwood Barclay and Robert Crais nominated for ITW
Congratulations to Orion authors Linwood Barclay and Robert Crais who have both been nominated in the best novel category of the International Thriller Writers award. Linwood is nominated for No Time For Goodbye and Robert Crais is nominated for The Watchman. The winner will be announced at Thrillerfest in New York in July.
Visit the Cole & Pike Watchman microsite
Download an extract of No Time For Goodbye
Waterstone’s New Voices
Kei Miller, author of The Same Earth, has been chosen to take part in Waterstone’s ’New Voices’ promotion. Waterstone’s has identified 12 new writers which they believe to be likely future winners of literary prizes such as the Man Booker, Orange and Costa. Chosen from scores of titles submitted by publishers, they represent some of the best, most energetic new writing from emerging international talent.
Toby Bourne, Waterstone’s Fiction Buying Manager commented: “One of the most exciting things for readers every year is watching new writers appear on the literary scene and discovering their work. Our New Voices demonstrate a real wealth of talent and variety – a completely different collection of novels from all genres and from authors of different nationalities. These twelve authors have written fresh, challenging and convincing stories and we expect to find them shaping the world of fiction for years to come.”
Read an extract from The Same Earth
2007 Philip K. Dick Award
M. John Harrison’s Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning SF novel Nova Swing has won the 2007 Philip K. Dick Award (for the best original science fiction paperback published for the first time during 2007 in the U.S.A.)
Best-selling authors auction new characters for autism charity
If you are a fiction fan who has dreamt of appearing as a character in a best-selling novel...your chance has finally come! For from 23 March, literary lovers around the world have the opportunity of a lifetime - to have their favourite author name a character after them in an upcoming novel.
The unique fundraiser, which is the brainchild of Henley based charity Autism Speaks, will take place on eBay.
R.J. Ellory, author of A Quiet Belief in Angels, is among fifteen top-selling writers from across the globe taking part in the event titled ’Authors for Autism Research’, and all the money raised at the online auction will be used to fund bio-medical research into the causes of autism.
To see a full list of the authors taking part or to bid in the auction please visit www.autismspeaks.org.uk
British Army Military Book of the Year Award shortlist
Three Weidenfeld & Nicolson titles have been shortlisted for the first British Army Military Book of the Year Award. Swords and Ploughshares by Paddy Ashdown, Tip and Run:The Untold Tragedy of the Great War in Africa by Edward Paice and Washington’s War: From Independence To Iraq by Michael Rose are among ten contenders for the award, which is being organised by the British Army Library and Information Service. The eventual winner will be decided by a vote open to all Army personnel. The result will be announced in October.
Michael Palin to receive lifetime achievement award at BIFF
Michael Palin’s film career will be recognised with the first ever retrospective of his work at the 14th Bradford International Film Festival, held between the 29th February and the 15th March. As part of the retrospective, Michael will the accepting BIFF’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award and will appearing at two screenings of his films: A Private Function on March 1st and American Friends on March 2nd.
Read about Michael’s early fim career in his Diaries 1969-1979
Find out more about Michael’s events at the 14th Bradford International Film Festival
Orion title short-listed for Orwell Prize 2008
Bad Men by Clive Stafford Smith has been included in the shortlist for The Orwell Prize, the pre-eminent British prize for political writing. The prize is awarded to the book, and for the journalism, which is judged to have best achieved George Orwell’s aim to ‘make political writing into an art’. The winner will be announced on the 24th April.
Ghostwalk short-listed for Authors’ Club Award
Ghostwalk, the debut novel by Rebecca Stott, has been short-listed for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award 2008. The winner will be announced on the 2nd of April.
Read Rebecca’s Why I Wrote for Ghostwalk
Basil Pao Exhibition at National Media Museum
An exhibition of the photography of Basil Pao, including images taken whilst accompanying Michael Palin on his many travels, can currently be seen in the Foyer of the National Media Museum in Bradford.
Discover China Revealed
Find out more about the National Media Museum
Jewish Book Week: 23rd February - 2nd March
Caroline Lawrence and Ronald Cohen are among the Orion authors taking part in this year’s Jewish Book Week- a range of events taking place in London from the 23rd February to the 2nd March.
Visit our Events page to find out more
Visit the Jewish Book Week website
Discover more Jewish-interest titles from our partner publisher Halban
Commonwealth Prize regional shortlists include Orion authors
Congratulations to David Davidar whose novel The Solitude of Emperors has been short-listed in the Best Novel category for the Europe and South Asia region. Also short-listed in the Canada and Carribbean region in the First Novel category is Neil Smith for Bang Crunch. The regional winners will be announced on the 13th March.
Three Gollancz titles short-listed for Best Novel of 2007 in BSFA Awards
Three Gollancz novels have been short-listed for the award of Best Novel of 2007. The titles included for this prestigious award are Brasyl by Ian McDonald, Black Man by Richard Morgan and The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds. Congratulations to them!
Watch Richard Morgan and Ian McDonald in conversation
View the complete short-list at the BSFA site
Orion Authors in New Year Honours List
Congratulations to our Orion authors whose work was recognised in the 2008 New Year Honours list. Julie Walters was made a CBE for services to drama, Leslie Philips was also appointed CBE for services to drama, and Robert Hutchinson was appointed OBE for 10 years’ chairmanship of the media side of the D-notice committee.
Young Stalin wins Biography Costa
Many congratulations to Simon Sebag Montefiore, whose Young Stalin was announced as the winner of the Costa Biography Award.
Gollancz titles sweep Gold, Silver and Bronze on Bookgasm list
Bookgasm.com has listed its top 5 SF titles of 2007, with Gollancz titles taking the top 3 slots! The bronze position was taken by Black Man by Richard Morgan, silver by 9Tail Fox by Jon Courtenay Grimwood and the gold by Ian McDonald for Brasyl
Read the complete list
Watch Ian McDonald and Richard Morgan in conversation
Young Stalin on the big screen!
Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of the Costa Biography of 2007, Young Stalin, has successfully concluded a deal with Miramax for the film rights to the book. The producer is going to be Alison Owen (who produced Elizabeth) and John Hodge is the screenwriter (of Shallow Grave and Trainspotting) with Pawel Pawlikowski (My Summer of Love) to direct. But who will play Stalin?
Team England named BBC Sport’s Team of the Year
Congratulations to Team England who were named as BBC Sport’s Team of the Year after their remarkable achievement in defying the odds at this year’s Rugby World Cup. The award was presented as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards broadcast live on Sunday 9th December. Read the inside story of their journey to the final.
Young Stalin wins Bruno Kreisky Awards
Following its shortlisting for the 2007 Costa Biography Award, Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore has been awarded the Bruno Kreisky Award for the best Political Book of 2007, a prize given out every year since 1993 on behalf of the Karl Renner Institute in Austria. The prize is worth 7,000 Euros and will be awarded at a ceremony in Vienna in the spring of 2008.
Antonia Fraser picks her non-fiction books of the year on Front Row
Antonia Fraser will be appearing on Radio 4’s Front Row programme to present her four favourite Non-Fiction titles of 2007. Listen in on Wednesday December 12th at 7.15pm.
Read Antonia Fraser’s Q & A
Jasper Rees Radio 4’s Book of the Week
I Found My Horn by Jasper Rees will be Radio 4’s Book of the Week for the week commencing 14th January 2008. A date for your diaries!
Linda Newbery wins Silver at Nestle Children’s Book Prize 2007
Congratulations to Linda Newbery whose novel Catcall has been awarded the silver medal in the 9-11 years category of the Nestle Children’s Book Prize 2007. The shortlist was chosen by a panel of adult judges, with the winners judged by thousands of school-children around the country.
Linda is delighted: "When a book is published, it feels a bit like putting a message in a bottle and throwing it into the sea - you don’t know where it will end up. So it was a wonderful surprise to hear that Catcall has somehow arrived on the Nestle shortlist."
Read a Q&A with Linda
Richard Hammond’s PartyRichard and Mindy Hammond celebrated the success of On the Edge with a party for friends, family, Orion staff and all those involved in his treatment and recovery over the past year.Richard with Orion Deputy CEO Malcolm EdwardsRichard signing copies of On the EdgeRichard and Mindy receiving a framed Private Eye cartoon from Michael Dover, Publisher, Weidenfeld & Nicolson.Photographs: Louise Heskett
Orion titles on Costa Book Awards shortlists
Orion are delighted to announce that they have two books shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards 2007. Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore has been shortlisted in the biography section and Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick in the children’s section. The winners of each of the categories are announced on 3 January and then the overall winner on 22 January.
Read the inside story of England’s Rugby World Cup
Following their remarkable and against-the-odds journey to the World Cup final last month, the England team tell their story in the official account of their campaign, World Cup 2007, published by Orion on the 27th November. From the struggle of the group stages through to the stunning victories against Australia and France - this is the full inside story. Members of the England World Cup squad will be doing signings around the country. Check our Events page to find a signing near you!
James Lee Burke on Radio 5 Bookclub...and some amazing reviews
James Lee Burke’s acclaimed novel The Tin Roof Blowdown was published on the 15th November and has received stunning reviews:
’The Tin Roof Blowdown is more than a crime novel; more than a literary novel even. It is a work of profound historical value and importance ... To say I enjoyed this book is an understatement ... there were moments when I wanted to put the book down, it was so painful to continue. But I couldn’t. Nor, I dare say, will anyone else.’ Independent on Sunday
James Lee Burke will be discussing his work on the Radio 5 Simon Mayo Bookclub at 3pm on Thursday 6th December.
Read an interview with James Lee Burke
Read more reviews
Belle de Jour TV nominated for adult award
The ITV2 series of Belle de Jour’s Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl, starring Billie Piper as Belle, has been nominated for Best soft core production at the UK Adult Film and Television Awards. It is the only mainstream production to have received a nomination and the winner will be announced on the 29th November.
Read Belle’s Q & A
Blade Runner: The Final Cut - Win DVDs
Blade Runner is based on the SF classic Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of Blade Runner, director Ridley Scott has produced Blade Runner: The Final Cut. It will have a limited cinema release and will be available on DVD as either a 2-disc Special Edition or 5-disc Collector’s Edition from the 3rd December. Enter the competition and win Blade Runner: The Final Cut DVDs
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Calling all TogsLast week we lavished our creative energies on branding three Smart Cars with the Wogan’s Twelve livery, named them Togmobiles, and sent them off on the road to accompany Terry Wogan’s UK tour. A first for Orion, and for Wogan we believe (note the affectionate look he bestows upon them)…
See more pictures Download an extract from Wogan’s Twelve:A Sharp Eye and a Witty Word to Mark the Passing Year
Shooting War receives great reviews
Shooting War, W&N’s first-ever graphic novel, has been receiving fantastic reviews and attention all over the world, both in the traditional print media and on blogs. The Financial Times states ‘Originally free online, this strip deserves enshrinement between hard covers’ and www.thefirstpost.co.uk calls it ‘a bold, mesmeric example of comics taking current affairs head-on and one that uses ferocious satire’.
Watch the brand-new trailer
Click on these page spreads to see a larger image
Sepulchre launchThe crypt at St Martins-in-the-Field’s in London was the atmospheric setting for the Hallowe’en launch of Kate Mosse’s gripping new novel Sepulchre.
Kate Mosse giving her speech
(L-R) Malcolm Edwards (Deputy CEO of the Orion Publishing Group), Kate’s son Felix, Kate Mosse, and Amanda Ross (Joint MD of Cactus TV)
Orion titles on CILIP Carnegie Medal long list
Four Orion titles have made it onto the long list for the prestigious CILIP Carnegie medal 2008. The titles nominated are: Gatty’s Tale by Kevin Crossley-Holland; Soul Eater by Michelle Paver; Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick and Dolphin Song by Lauren St John. The shortlist will be announced in January.
Find out more about the CILIP Carnegie Medal
Gollancz titles in Amazon’s top 10 of 2007
Amazon.com have announced their top ten SF and Fantasy titles of 2007 and we’re proud to say that three out of ten are Gollancz titles! The list in full:
1. The Terror by Dan Simmons2. Brasyl by Ian McDonald3. Territory by Emma Bull4. The Traitor by Michael Cisco5. Spaceman Blues: A Lovesong by Brian Francis Slattery6. Shelter by Susan Palwick7. The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss8. Black Man by Richard Morgan 9. Tin House: Fantastic Women by Aimee Bender10. The Coyote Road edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Space Opera and the D&AD Global Student Awards
Gollancz publishes some of the world’s finest SF and fantasy. Each year influential works are repackaged and relaunched for a new generation. These ground breaking works of fiction are given stunning, cutting-edge covers. The new covers for the Gollancz Space Operas will be selected through the 2008 D&AD Global Student Awards. Find out how to enter the D&AD Global Student Awards
Trinny and Susannah Undress the Nation!
The eagerly anticipated new series from Trinny & Susannah is on every Wednesday at 8pm on ITV1. They are also touring the country to promote The Body Shape Bible, their essential guide to looking great. Check our Events listing to find a signing near you!
John Adamson wins Samuel Pepys Award
The Noble Revolt: The Overthrow of Charles I by John Adamson has won the third Samuel Pepys Award, awarded by the Samuel Pepys Society for the best history of the period. The prize is worth £2000 and the winner also received the Robert Latham Medal. The judges were Richard Luckett, Sir Keith Thomas and Claire Tomalin.
Marcus Sedgwick wins Booktrust Teenage Prize 2007
Marcus Sedgwick was today named as the winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2007 for his gothic novel My Swordhand is Singing, published by Orion. The prize was established by Booktrust in 2003 to recognise and celebrate contemporary fiction written for teenagers.
Marcus Sedgwick was delighted to win this prestigious award and said at the award cememony, “I am thrilled and surprised to win. It is such an important award which had a very strong shortlist this year.”
Anthony McGowan, judge and winner of Booktrust Teenage Prize 2006:“The 2007 Booktrust Prize turned up some stunning novels. But one novel stood out for its utterly gripping narrative, its brilliantly created atmosphere of terror and suspense, and the subtle poetry of its language. Marcus Sedgwick’s My Swordhand is Singing hooks the reader from the opening sentence, and, like the Gypsy music at its core, resonates still in the imagination long after the last note is sounded.”
(L - R) from back row next to Marcus and Anthony: Matthew Sawyer, Angela Wilkinson, Sam Audet, Zita Abila, Isabelle Ellis-Cockcroft, Katherine Flach, Francesca Grape
I Am Legend trailer released
The movie adaptation of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, starring Will Smith, is released in the UK on the 26th December. The trailer has been released and it looks fantastic!
http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2007/nz11718.php
The movie tie-in edition of I Am Legend is published in Gollancz paperback on the 13th December.
An Independent Man long-listed for William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year
An Independent Man by Eddie Jordan has been long-listed for the William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year. The award will be judged by an experienced panel of Ireland’s foremost sports commentators including Eamon Dunphy, George Hook and last year’s winner Vincent Hogan. Tony Kenny of William Hill is delighted with the quality in this year’s award. “There is a formidable line up of books for this year’s award and this shows the depth and quality of sports writing that is being produced in this country. Whoever wins this year’s William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year Award will be a very worthy recipient,” Kenny said at the announcement.
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Kelly Brook at Waterstone’sDespite her hectic Strictly Come Dancing training schedule, Kelly Brook found time to sign copies of her gorgeous new book, Life Style: How to Pin Down the Pin-up Within You at Waterstone’s Bluewater.
I, Coriander nominated for Independent Booksellers’ Book of the Year
I, Coriander by Sally Gardner is one of ten titles shortlisted for the children’s category of Independent Booksellers’ Book of the Year Award. The public voting has now started and closes on 10th December with the winning title announced on the 17th December.
Listen to an extract from I, Coriander read by Juliet Stevenson Interview with Sally Gardner www.loveyourlocalbookshop.co.uk
Up Pompey nominated for William Hill Sports Book of the YearChuck Culpepper’s book Up Pompey – on the 2006-07 Premiership season, through the eyes of a disillusioned American sports journalist turned Portsmouth FC fan – has been shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2007.
The winner will be announced on 26th November at Waterstone’s, Piccadilly, London.
The judging panel for the 2007 William Hill Sports Book of the Year is: John Gaustad (chairman), Paul Hayward, Danny Kelly, John Inverdale, Hugh McIlvanney and Alyson Rudd.
Nineteen years old this year, the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award (in association with Waterstone’s) is the world’s longest established and richest sporting literary prize. Not only does the winner receive an £18,000 cash prize and a specially bound hand-bound copy of the winning book but also the opportunity for untold wealth in the guise of a free £2,000 bet.
Commence Exit Music... Rebus leaves the stage in a blaze of glory Ian Rankin’s Exit Music has just been published and now finally fans can find out what happens to Edinburgh’s most famous detective in this the last DI Rebus novel. There have been the most wonderful reviews for Exit Music:
“Rankin has an unparalleled ability to draw in the reader and make us feel every knock and setback in Inspector Rebus’s red-raw life. Rarely has that talent been better displayed than in Exit Music which sees the flawed but redeemingly honest central character staggering towards the finishing line of an inglorious career that has utterly defined his life.” Scotland on Sunday
Listen to an extract from Exit Music read by James Macpherson.
Find out more about about Ian Rankin and Rebus20
Orion authors win US Quills awards
Congratulations to Orion and Gollancz winners at the US Quills Book Awards.
Follow the above links to download extracts and read author intervews and Q & As.
Laura Lippman wins Anthony AwardCongratulations to Orion author Laura Lippman, winner of a prestigious Anthony Award at this year’s Bouchercon Crime Book Convention in the States for No Good Deeds.
Maya Slater interview on Radio 4Maya Slater will be interviewed on Radio 4’s Open Book programme about her new novel Mr Darcy’s Diary. The interview will be broadcast on Sunday 28th October at 4pm and repeated Thursday November 1st at 4pm.
Read an extract from Mr Darcy’s Diary Exclusive interview with Maya Slater
The Witcher launches 13th October
Atari’s hotly anticipated new videogame The Witcher is launched at the Polish Cultural Institute on the 13th October. The game is based on the novel The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski, out now in Gollancz paperback.
Kelly Brook on Strictly Come Dancing Strictly Come Dancing returned to our screens on Saturday and a massive 7.5 million viewers tuned in to see Orion favourite Kelly Brook’s spectacular dancing debut. The question on everyone’s lips though is whether Kelly will be too hot for her partner Brendan Cole to handle on the dancefloor?
On every Saturday at 6.15pm, with the results show on Sunday at 6.45pm. www.bbc.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/
Life Style: How to Pin Down the Pin-up Within You by Kelly Brook
Helen Mirren adds more dates to signings STOP PRESS Helen Mirren has added an extra date to her schedule of signings for her fascinating autobiography In the Frame
Helen will be at Waterstone’s, Deansgate, Manchester, on Saturday 13th October at 12.30pm.
Richard Hammond Top Gear is back on our screens on Sunday nights at 8pm on BBC2. Get behind the scenes of one of the world’s biggest shows in Richard Hammond’s On The Edge, his gripping account of his life before and after his life-threatening crash.
Win lunch with Richard Hammond exclusive to WHSmith
Duncan Bannatyne Dragon’s Den returns to BBC2 on the 15th October. Orion’s own Dragon, Duncan Bannatyne, reveals his rags-riches story in Anyone Can Do It
Read Duncan Bannatyne’s top ten tips
Read an exclusive interview with Duncan Bannatyne
Listen to an audio extract from Anyone Can Do It read by David Rintoul
Sir Terry Wogan - The Ultimate Icon - Officially!
Orion author Terry Wogan has been named Radio 2’s Ultimate Icon of the last 40 years in a national phone in/internet poll, triumphing over The Beatles, Nelson Mandela and Diana, Princess of Wales.
What better time to enjoy Wogan’s Twelve A Sharp Eye and a Witty Word to Mark the Passing Year. It’s a great read: funny, wry and full of the Woganisms that make him so very popular.
Listen to an audio extract from Mustn’t Grumble read by Terry Wogan
Listen to Terry Wogan talking about Mustn’t Grumble – audio interview