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Booksconnect News
The TV Book Club (4 January 2010) The TV Book Club is a new programme to be shown on More4 and Channel 4. The ten-part series begins on 17th January. It is produced by Cactus TV, the producer behind Richard and Judy's Channel 4 Book Club. The new show will be presented by comedians Jo Brand and Dave Spikey. Sarah Waters, Nick Hornby and 'The Wire' writer George Pelecanos are among the authors of the 10 titles chosen for the inaugural series. The Telegraph - TV Book Club set to launch ... thebookseller.com - C4 Reveals Book Show List Digital Piracy spreads to e-books (4 January 2010) Digital piracy, long confined to music and movies, is spreading to books. Pirated copies of Dan Brown's latest blockbuster novel 'The Lost Symbol' were found less than 24 hours after its release. Some authors and publishers are concerned but some see piracy as a necessary evil of e-book technology. CNN - Digital piracy hits the e-book industry Google fined for digitising French books without consent (21 December 2009) A Paris court has found Google guilty of copyright infringement in a ruling which could have ramifications for its plans to digitise the world's books. The search giant must pay 300,000 euros (£266,000) in damages and interest to French publisher La Martiniere. It was one of many to take Google to court for digitising its books without explicit permission. Google was also ordered to pay 10,000 euros a day until it removes extracts of the books from its database. BBC news - Fine for Google over French books Costa Book Awards 2009 Shortlists Announced (17 December 2009) 2009 Costa Book Awards Attract 592 entries. Highest ever number of entries to the Novel category (155). For the first time, shortlists feature two posthumous nominations: Simon Gray for Biography and Siobhan Dowd in the Childrens Book Award category. Novel shortlist features 2009 Man Booker winner Hilary Mantel and literary heavy-weights Colm Toibin and Penelope Lively. First Novel category features a former scooter salesman and librarian. Debut poet, Katharine Kilalea, pitted against Clive James, Ruth Padel and Christopher Reid in the Poetry category. Winners in the five categories, who each receive £5000, will be announced on Tuesday 5th January 2010. The overall winner of the Costa Book of the Year 2009 will receive £25000 and will be selected and announced at the Costa Book Awards ceremony in central London on Tuesday 26th January 2010. Costa Book Awards thebookseller.com - Costa increases prize fund; reveals judges Telegraph - Clive James nominated for Costa book award Wolf Hall Wins 2009 Man Booker Prize (7 October 2009) Hilary Mantel was named the winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for Wolf Hall, published by Fourth Estate. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel was picked from a shortlist of six titles. Wolf Hall is set in the 1520s and tells the story of Thomas Cromwell's rise to prominence in the Tudor Court. Hilary Mantel spent five years writing Wolf Hall and she is currently working on a sequel. Bookies favourite wins the 2009 Prize Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel Man Booker Prize 2009 Shortlist Hilary Mantel\'s author page Man Booker Prize 2009 Shortlist Announced (9 September 2009) A S Byatt, J M Coetzee, Adam Foulds, Hilary Mantel, Simon Mawer and Sarah Waters are the shortlisted authors for the 2009 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, the leading literary award in the English speaking world. Having previously won in 1999 with Disgrace and in 1983 with Life and Times of Michael K, South African writer J M Coetzee could be the first author to win the prize three times if successful this year. The winner will be revealed on Tuesday 6th October. Shortlist for the 2009 Man Booker Prize Books on Shortlist J M Coetzee\'s Author Page Sarah Waters Author Page Simon Mawer\'s Author Page James Tait Black Prize winners (24 August 2009) The winners of Britain's oldest literary awards, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes, have been announced. Irish writer Sebastian Barry is winner of the fiction prize for his much praised novel, 'The Secret Scripture'. The winners were announced on Friday, 21 August, by best-selling crime writer Ian Rankin at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. James Tait Black Prize winners - University of Edinburgh Sebastian Barry Author Page Michael Holroyd Author Page McCourt: A Storyteller Even as a Teacher (20 July 2009) Frank McCourt, Author of 'Angela's Ashes', dies at 78. Instead of teaching, I told stories. Anything to keep them quiet and in their seats. They thought I was teaching. I thought I was teaching. I was learning. New York Times Tribute Frank McCourt Author Page Philip Hoare Wins Samuel Johnson Prize for Leviathan (30 June 2009) Philip Hoare has won the Samuel Johnson Prize 2009 for his non-fiction book Leviathan, an extraordinary journey into the underwater world of the whale. Browse Philp Hoare author page Iran's National Poet Speaks Out (28 June 2009) Iran's 82 year old national poet Simin Behbahani recites two poems inspired by recent events. More from 3quarksdaily Nandan Nilekani author of 'Imagining India' quits infosys to head new Indian Govt Agency (25 June 2009) Nandan Nilekani, author of Imagining India quits infosys, India's second largest technology company to head new govt agency Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). More from BBC Browse Nandan Nilekani author page Iranian Writer of 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' on Iranian Election Result (17 June 2009) Al Jazeera gets Iranian author Azar Nafisi's thoughts on the Iranian elections. More from Al Jazeera Browse Azar Nafisi Author page Sheffield Authors win Publishing industry award for 'All Beer Guide' (16 June 2009) Sheffield Authors Diane and Alex Barlow have picked up a medal of excellence in publishing at the independent publishing book awards in New York, USA. Browse All Beer Guide Knighthood for Andrew Motion and Christopher Ricks and a CBE for Delia Smith (14 June 2009) Former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion and Christopher Ricks, the outgoing professor of poetry at Oxford University, have been knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. Delia Smith, Television cook and author has been honoured with a CBE. Browse books by Andrew Motion Browse books by Delia Smith Browse books by Christopher Ricks First edition of Ulysses sells for record £275,000 (5 June 2009) If you're going to read any of Ulysses then it might as well be the racy bits at the end. And so it was with a fabulously rare first edition of the James Joyce novel which today sold for £275,000, the highest price recorded for a 20th-century first edition. complete article from Guardian Browse James Joyce Books Fantasy Novelist David Eddings dead at 77. (4 June 2009) Fantasy Novelist David Eddings Has Died. David Eddings, the acclaimed fantasy novelist and author of such series as The Belgariad and the Malloreon, has died at the age of 77. David Eddings was predeceased by his wife and writing partner Leigh two years ago. More from associated content Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo chosen as the Orange Prize winner by the youth panel. (3 June 2009) The six members of the Orange Prize youth panel have chosen Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo (Hamish Hamilton) as their overall winner. 'This is such a lovely surprise,' said Bernardine Evaristo, 'and I’m absolutely delighted to receive this recognition for Blonde Roots. It’s also a great new Orange Prize initiative to embrace and encourage the readers of the future.' The three girls and three boys, aged between 16 – 19, were recruited via teenage website, spinebreakers.co.uk, and the panel forms part of a campaign to engage younger readers with the Orange Prize. The panel read the 20 books longlisted for the 2009 Orange Prize before meeting to choose their shortlist of six. The members have also been sharing their experiences of judging a book prize publicly online at Spinebreakers since they began reading in March. The group met yesterday to decide their overall winner. The meeting was facilitated by Kate Mosse, author and Honorary Director of the Orange Prize. 'The panel, and the judging process, has exceeded every expectation we had,” said Kate Mosse. 'The quality of debate was astounding and the meetings lively, vibrant, informed and respectful. It's been a privilege to eavesdrop on their deliberations.' The youth panel members are Lily Dessau (16), Joe Kerridge (17), Clarissa Pabi (18), Rossana Duarte (18), Francis Gene-Rowe (18) and Max Elsworth (19). Britain Champions Muslim Writers (1 June 2009) The third annual Muslim Writers Awards took place on 27th May 2009 at London’s Park Lane Hilton. The MWA initiative recognises the breadth and quality of literary talent within the UK’s Muslim community. The awards have attracted support from leading publishers, international Muslim organisations and celebrity advocates like James Caan (Dragon’s Den). The ceremony was broadcast live to millions of viewers across the UK, Europe and the Middle East by several satellite broadcasters including Islam Channel, the world’s number one Muslim Channel. East Ham MP Stephen Timms, has pledged his support for the awards, stating: “This is an excellent initiative which I am sure will go some way in promoting positive achievements from within the British Muslim community. The Muslim Writers Awards provide an opportunity to celebrate the talent of those who are already writing, and to encourage others to follow in their footsteps.” Meanwhile, his colleague and government Minister for Communities, Sadiq Khan added: “It is a testament to the Muslim Writers Awards that it assists and nurtures aspiring writers and provides an opportunity for us to acknowledge and celebrate the success and achievements of British Muslims”. Frazer Helen of the Penguin Group, who have been supporting the initiative for the past two years congratulated the MWA Team “(The) night was an absolute triumph. Beautifully organized” and Farrukh Younus (Globetrotter) said the “Muslim Writers Awards (MWA) has become the Muslim equivalent to the Oscars”. The Muslim Writers Awards initiative is now in its third year, and is organised by Innovate Arts – a non-profit body set up to encourage creative expression within economically deprived communities. This year MWA 2009 recognised the work of 15 writers across eleven categories, including the prestigious “Writer of the Year” award. The initiative has received a phenomenal response from the British Muslim community. Innovate Arts received a huge number of submissions, and an independent panel of judges has worked tirelessly over the last three months to review the entries and select the awards nominees. Irfan Akram, Project Director for Innovate Arts, commented: “The number of submissions we received clearly demonstrate that British Muslims are passionate about creative expression. The body of work that we’ve reviewed this year includes earnest poetry, compelling journalism and gripping fiction. The winners represent the cream of British Muslim literary talent. And they will act as role models for a new generation of Muslims keen to develop their powers of creative expression.” Celebrity entrepreneur James Caan has been a keen supporter for several years, and commented: “Vehicles like the MWA will help inspire more people to not only improve their ability to communicate, but to also be heard for the right reasons. I wholeheartedly believe that this is a project that thoroughly deserves the support of everyone, not just the Muslim community. I, for one, am pleased to be a part of the Muslim Writers Awards.” About Innovate Arts Innovate Arts is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company that supports the development and promotion of arts and arts-related projects across the UK. We actively work with local and national stakeholders from both public and private sectors to help nurture and promote talent and address issues related to cohesion and the integration of all communities into mainstream British life. About Muslim Hands Last year Innovate Arts joined with Muslim Hands – an international relief organisation working in 45 countries specialising in education and child welfare. With 300 schools educating over 20,000 needy children worldwide, the MWA Schools Engagement Programme ‘Write Now’ is now being piloted in Pakistan. Write Now encourages young school children from all communities to partake in the joy of reading and writing. It has been operating in 45 schools the West Midlands and the North West since 2007. MWA 2009 WINNERS Children’s Story: Reba Khatun, The Mysterious Neighbour (Birmingham) Poetry: Shameam Akhtar, Selection of Poetry (Bradford) Short Story: Humaira Rashid, Crash and Burn (Dewsbury) Unpublished Novel: Suhel Ahmed, Broken Paths (Hertfordshire) Published Fiction: Kamila Shamsie, Burnt Shadows (Bloomsbury) Published Non-fiction: Shelina Zahra Janmohamed, Love in a Headscarf (Aurum) Journalism: Faisal Al Yafai, The Paper Terrorists and other articles. Under 16’s short stories Ages 8-10: Mohammad Ruhul Amin Rashid, Thin Ice (Dewsbury) Ages 11-13: Tamanna Khatun, A Glance in the Mirror (Birmingham) Ages 14-16: Hanzla Arif MacDonald, Collapse (Warwickshire) Under 16’s Poetry Ages 8-10: Sehrish Rena Alam, Bees (Birmingham) Ages 11-13: Raphael Abedi, Homeless London (Birmingham) Ages 14-16: Hanzla Arif MacDonald, Cross (Warwickshire) Best International: Daniyal Mueenuddin, In Other Rooms, Other Wonders (Bloomsbury) Muslim Hands Writer of the Year: Humaira Rashid (Dewsbury) Booksconnect integrates Twitter feeds for authors, publishers (21 May 2009) Booksconnect, social media site for the book community, has integrated Twitter feeds from authors and publishers. Booksconnect has built various promotional tools for the authors, including author pages to promote their books, and this integration will add an additional popular tool and allow the booksconnect community to access authors' twitters. Authors' feeds which have already been integrated include Paulo Coelho, Deepak Chopra, Elizabeth Buchan and Chris Anderson. Booksconnect also provides online tools for authors to add blogs, discussions, bookshelves, etc., New and unpublished writers can also add feeds to their already existing feature on booksconnect wherein their unpublished first chapter is promoted with read, rate, review and discover features. Sridhar Gowda, Co-founder of Booksconnect said, 'As more and more authors are using online promotional tools it was time to integrate the Twitter feeds to add to our already existing features making us the destination site for readers'. More Media Coverage |
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