Newsletter: April 2005

Hello again - here's this month's update of literary news from the UK...

Children's writing seems to have been in the news a lot recently. Children's publisher Egmont Books made the headlines when they exceeded everyone's idea of a lavish publishing party by hiring out a whole island to launch a new book. The island in question was Bryer in the Scilly Isles, and the book in question was The Sleeping Sword by Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo. Guests were flown in by helicopter, no less.

On the same theme, J.K. Rowling's publishers, Bloomsbury, are predicting profits of £20 million this year, based on the publication of the latest in the Harry Potter series. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will appear on 16th July, but pre-orders are already piling up.

Nadeem Aslam's novel Maps for Lost Lovers, which took him eleven years to write, has been declared co-winner of the Kiriyama Award, which aims to promote better understanding of Asian and Pacific rim communities. The book is set in an Asian enclave of an English town and has won the London-based author £16,000 in prize money.

UK academic Tanya Gold recently caused controversy in an article she wrote in The Guardian to mark the 150th anniversary of Charlotte Bronte's death. National radio debates raged after Gold called Jane Eyre 'the dirtiest, darkest, most depraved fantasy of all time', and it's author a 'filthy bitch' and the 'grandmother of chick lit'. I'm not sure which of the last two accusations Bronte's fans felt more aggrieved at. Read the article.

New on EnCompass this month will be not one but two author interviews: with Booker Prize-shortlisted novelist Sarah Hall, and travel writer and historian William Dalrymple. In a few weeks I'll be sending out details of how you can ask William a question, so sign up to the EnCompass mailing list if you want to be kept informed of this, and all the other new features on the site. We promise not to bombard you with boring mailings. 

Don't forget, if you've got a burning question about a book or an author, or if you'd like to suggest a theme for discussion on our web boards, just email me at readerinresidence@encompassculture.com, and I'll set something up for you.

Best wishes,

Susan

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