Newsletter: August 2007

The UK publishing world always goes into overdrive at the mere mention of the words ‘Harry’ and ‘Potter’, and this month saw the madness resume, in major fashion, with the publication of the final instalment of J.K. Rowling’s wizard series. Despite pre-publication fears of internet spoilers, law suits, fallings out with supermarkets and mass-counselling for bereaved children, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has been a huge success. Selling an astonishing 2.7million copies in its first 24 hours on the shelves, it rapidly became the fastest-selling book in British history. Copies are currently piled high not just in bookshops but in supermarkets and other stores across the land. All eyes are now on publishers Bloomsbury to see how they’ll follow this success. There’s talk of a possible takeover, but also some speculation that they themselves might become an acquisition. Meanwhile, J.K. Rowling has revealed that she’s already working on two non-Harry projects – one for children, and one for adults.

  J.K. Rowling (photo: Richard Young)

But publishers had other things to worry about when they were held up to ridicule this month by a Jane Austen expert who sent slightly amended copies of the novelist’s work to major houses, most of which failed to spot the obvious plagiarism. David Lassman, the director of the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, sent off the opening chapters and synopses of three of Austen’s most famous books, changing the author’s name to ‘Alison Laydee’. Only one editor made the explicit connection. And nobody offered him a publishing deal.

Responding to the enormous increase in Polish workers now living in the UK, bookshop chain Borders has begun selling Polish language books in three of its stores, with plans to roll them out across all its UK outlets. The selection includes translations of worldwide bestsellers such as Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, but apparently it was The World According to [Jeremy] Clarkson which was the first book sold. Titles by Polish writers, including Katarzyna Grochola, Janusz L Wisniewski and Andrzej Stasiuk, are also available.

Another bestseller on the cards, perhaps, is a new James Bond novel. Sebastian Faulks, author of Birdsong and Charlotte Gray, was recently revealed as the author chosen by Ian Fleming’s estate to write an officially endorsed novel featuring the dashing spy. The book will be called Devil May Care and will be published next May to mark the centenary of Fleming's birth.

 Sebastian Faulks (photo: Martyn Woodhouse)

Finally, it wouldn’t be an EnCompass newsletter without a quick round-up of recently-awarded literary prizes, so here goes:

Shortlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award (at €35,000, one of the biggest awards for short fiction) are: Charlotte Grimshaw, Opportunity; Miranda July, No One Belongs Here More Than You; Etgar Keret, Missing Kissinger; Manual Muñoz, The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue; Olaf Olafsson, Valentines; and Simon Robson, The Separate Heart and Other Stories. The winner will be announced in September.

The shortlists for the three Forward poetry prizes have also been announced. Up for Best collection (£10,000) are: Domestic Violence by Eavan Boland, Gift Songs by John Burnside, The Drowned Book by Sean O'Brien, Birds with a Broken Wing by Adam Thorpe, The Harbour Beyond the Movie by Luke Kennard, and Beasts of Nalunga by Jack Mapanje. In contention for the Best First Collection prize (£5,000) are: Twenty Four Preludes and Fugues on Dimitri Shostakovich by Joanna Boulter, Galatea by Melanie Challenger, Look! We Have Coming to Dover! by Daljit Nagra, and Andraste's Hair by Eleanor Rees. Finally, the Best single poem award (£1,000) will be decided between: 'The Hut in Question' by David Harsent, 'Thursday' by Lorraine Mariner, 'Dunt' by Alice Oswald, 'The Day I Knew I Wouldn't Live Forever' by Carole Satyamurti, 'Goulash' by Myra Schneider, and 'The Birkdale Nightingale' by Jean Sprackland.

Meanwhile, a little further afield, Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, has been awarded the International Man Booker prize, and Ugandan writer Monica Arac de Nyeko has won the prestigious Caine Prize for African writing, worth £10,000, with her touching love story, Jambula Tree.

 Chinua Achebe (photo: BBC)

Susan Tranter

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