IT'S A CRIME! (OR A MYSTERY...)

London Book Fair Day Two - Best Tweet

I can't find the original tweet, but this story is doing the rounds even now (from a tweet):

"It’s not often the London Fire Brigade turns up to a book launch party. Last night it was called out to bash a door down at Conville & Walsh offices in Soho as a guest had locked themself in the loo. The party was to launch S J Watson’s debut novel, Before I Go to Sleep..."

With thanks to the Evening Standard's Londoner's Diary for the quote.

The bad use of English & grammar in that quote are not mine.  (Offers for edit & proofreading gratefully accepted.)

Thriller writer Craig Thomas dies

At the end of the last week it was reported that Cardiff-born thriller writer Craig Thomas had died.  Thomas was considered to have been the inventor of the techno-thriller, with his novel Firefox made into a Hollywood blockbuster starring Clint Eastwood in 1982.

Sadly, Thomas had battled with acute myeloid leukaemia and died of pneumonia on April 4.

More information is reported online at the BBC and the Western Mail.

Further John Lawton News: A Lily of the Field - UK Publication

I wrote about this novel in August last year as Amazon in the UK was not accurate with its entry for the latest Troy story from John Lawton.  Now much closer to publication date, Amazon's entry can be credited with more accuracy.

However, if you love to collect, my favourite bookseller, Goldsboro Books in Cecil Court, London, has signed first editions to order.

The author will be at CrimeFest on Friday, 20 May.  And I hear on the grapevine that there may be an event at Topping's in Bath the day before, so do keep an eye on this page.  On 21 June, Lawton will be at Crime in the Court at Goldsboro Books (ticket link).  (More on that specific event later.)  I will update with news of any further events when received.

Miss Marple rebooted by Disney

Some news travels fast and jaws may drop just as quickly.  Breaking today was the fact that Disney has done a deal and will 'reboot' the Miss Marple franchise.  This involves the casting of Hollywood actress Jennifer Garner in the main role.  And yes, it is the role of Miss Jane Marple to which I refer.

But the casting is not the main issue (as today's Daily Telegraph attests).  It's the concept.  For the Disney rebooted Miss Marple is a Marple revisited and redrawn.

• It's to be her younger self. Well that's OK then; sometimes the younger, formative self works well, see The Young Indiana Jones. (But it's also worth remembering that 'young' versions often follow massively successful originals and are simply made to extend the money-spinning bandwagon journey.)  PLUS
• It's to be modern day. Again, this can work: think the BBC's recent and hugely successful Sherlock.  PLUS
• It's to be set in America.  Sorry, I can't think of one mitigating offering for this.  It's like mangoes turning into olives.  Taking such a big attribute of the stories is to change their nature completely.

And taking all three together is simply a step too far.  It's like taking a step too far and walking over a cliff into the ocean, or stepping from solid ground into quicksand.  It's just not recognisably the same.

Finally, back to that first point; it's to be a younger Marple.  Surely the magic of Marple lies in the fact she's a wise old woman, a keen observer of humankind with many years of quiet practice behind her?

Debut Author in the Spotlight: Elizabeth Haynes

You may have noticed Elizabeth Haynes and her debut novel Into the Darkest Corner recently.  There’s been quite a buzz on twitter and the novel was featured by Amazon in its Rising Stars programme.  A lot of people love this novel.  As one of the judges for the CWA’s John Creasey New Blood Dagger, you won’t see my thoughts on the novel until later this year.  However, Elizabeth’s day job intrigued me and I asked her what it entails and how it impacts on her fiction writing.  When I was at school, the careers service never mentioned ‘intelligence analysts’ and I’ve not heard it mentioned subsequently.  So, if like me, you are curious to get out of this dark corner and learn more, read on for Elizabeth’s reply...

If you were to contemplate the best day job for a would-be crime writer, what would you come up with? Police officer? Well, that’s a given. Forensic pathologist? Criminal defence lawyer? I’m willing to bet not many people would reply with ‘intelligence analyst’ but that’s because my job is one that has been sadly and persistently overlooked by crime writers and producers of detective drama. The nearest we came to glorious representation on the silver screen was possibly Ben Affleck’s CIA intelligence analyst in ‘The Sum of All Fears’, but to be honest he was a bit more hands-on than we are in real life.

Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Frestival 2011

The programme for 2011 was announced at last week's launch party and you can download it from their site, or here.  [Download 2011-TOPCWF-Programme]

For more on the party and the programme, including pics, see the blog of Keith B Walters here.  Keith is one of two 'official bloggers' this year, organised by The Culture Vulture site in association with the festival.  You can also keep up with Keith's commentary on twitter @keithbwalters.

The New Year's Honours 2011 focused on Writing and Publishing

Let’s start with someone close to the heart of many crime fiction readers, especially those who love translated crime.  An enviable record in publishing, but a pioneer when it comes to translated crime, Christopher Maclehose has been awarded the CBE.  While others concerned themselves with the identity of Top Gear’s ‘The Stig’ and the publishing world went to the courts of law, Maclehose had long been instrumental in delivering another similarly named phenomenon in the UK: Stieg Larsson.

Others in publishing in this year’s honours include:

CVO

SHAWCROSS, The Honourable William Hartley Hume, Author.

GBE

WEIDENFELD, Arthur George, Baron, Publisher. For public service.

DBE

FRASER, The Lady Antonia, C.B.E., Historian and Author. For services to Literature.

OBE

ALLFREY, Ms Ellah Wakatama. For services to the Publishing Industry.

MBE

USBORNE, Thomas Peter, Managing Director, Usborne Publishing Ltd. For services to the Publishing Industry.

HOLMSTROM, Ms Lakshmi, Writer and Translator. For services to Literature.

Congratulations to all.

A Seasonal Message and a Year in Books…

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you have an excellent 2011 ahead of you.  Happy New Year!

I will resume the Books for Christmas series shortly.  Sadly, due to a nasty infection I was diverted in December and will carry on posting the collected Books for Christmas series but under a new tag of ‘2011 starts with recommendation heaven’.

You may know me by now.  I try to be a little different.  No year end top tens from me this year; just a look back on 2010’s year in books.  I hope you enjoy it.  It goes some way to explaining why there were fewer posts on this blog during the past year.

January saw the launch of the TV Book Club in the UK.  Bookworms across the country were crying out for this: a book show on terrestrial TV.  Hopes were high as it involved Amanda Ross who had set up the Richard & Judy Book Club.  But readers don’t go that deeply into backroom organisation and don’t really care.  ‘Richard & Judy’ was the brand and it was their word, their recommendations that mattered.  Criticism started early, as soon as the panel was announced.  Hopes were dashed, but bookworms retained patience and gave it time.  Low notes: celebrity central for bragging up a biography; most of the panel and guests; the wrong location, location, location for Jo Brand’s brand of humour.  High notes: Joan Bakewell as a guest; Ian McMillan on Ted Hughes, making poetry accessible; the books selected.  The series returns to our screens in January 2011.

Literary Review’s Bad Sex in Literature Award Nominees 2010

It’s that time of year again.  Many will be thinking of Christmas, but for the Literary Review yesterday was the day to announce the nominees for this year’s Bad Sex in Literature Award and here they are:

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (4th Estate)
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas (Atlantic Books)
The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon (Atlantic Books)
Maya by Alastair Campbell (Hutchinson)
A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee (Constable & Robinson)
Heartbreak by Craig Raine (Atlantic Books)
The Shape of Her by Rowan Somerville (W&N)
Mr Peanut by Adam Ross (Jonathan Cape).

I wonder how Atlantic Books have been feeling about this news…

For the first year in its history the judges considered extending the scope to include non-fiction as a result of Tony Blair’s A Journey.  However, his prose did not meet the required standard to move from longlist to nominee.  (Perhaps this is why we are now seeing the emphasis on ‘literature’ over the previous cuddly term of ‘bad sex in fiction’.)

The MSM’s coverage of this award appears to dwindle as each year passes, but TIME has provided a taster from Franzen if you feel the need to delve further.

The winner will be announced on November 29, at the usual place in London.

Galaxy National Book Awards Winners 2010

This year's winners of the Galaxy National Book Awards - 'a celebration of the best of British publishing' - were announced on Wednesday. Here they are: