Jonathan Stroud to write prequel to Bartimaeus Trilogy
There was fantastic news today with the announcement that Jonathan Stroud will write a prequel to his wonderful Bartimaeus Trilogy.
The new and fourth Bartimaeus book will follow Bartimaeus’s adventures during his 5,000 year career as a djinni. Bartimaeus took the publishing world by storm when the first book (The Amulet of Samarkand) was published in 2003, and since then the series has become one of the most successful and widely known fantasy series in the world with global sales of over 3 million copies. The books have been sold in 37 countries.
Miramax bought film rights for around $3million and a movie of The Amulet of Samarkand is currently in development. The series has been in the bestseller charts in the UK, USA, Japan and Germany.
It has won major literary awards around the world including the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award 2006 (USA), CORINE Youth Book Award (Germany), Le Grand Prix de L’Imaginaire 2007 (France) and many more.
In the new prequel, Bartimaeus is back and he’s as insolent and endearing as ever. Never one to hide his deadly Detonation rays under a bushel, the djinni with the 5,010-year career has decided it’s time to write his memoirs. The book follows him through recorded history, from Babylon to the Americas, from Ancient Egypt
to the modern Middle East. We meet pharaohs and peasants, augurs and kings; we witness the glory of old Baghdad and discover exactly what Bartimaeus did say to Solomon. And along the way we renew acquaintance with a few old enemies, and finish with a rediscovery of a friend.
The deal for English language UK and Commonwealth rights was secured by Annie Eaton, fiction publisher at RHCB, and agented by Laura Cecil.
Annie Eaton, RHCB fiction publisher, comments: “It’s only with the promise of a new Bartimaeus adventure
that I realise how much I have missed him over the last few years! Jonathan has created one of the wittiest
and smartest characters of the century and I know this book will be every bit as brilliant as the first three. Bart
fans old and new are in for a real treat.”
Laura Cecil comments: “Jonathan’s publishers all over the world have been asking if there is a new
Bartimaeus book coming, so they will be thrilled to hear it’s on its way. We’ve already sold it to Hyperion in
the US and judging by past performance, things will be very busy on the rights front from now on.”
Jonathan Stroud was born in Bedford and grew up in St Albans. He always had a burning desire to write a full-length work of fiction which he would have wanted to read when he was younger, and so after graduating from York University he embarked on a publishing and writing career in the game book and non-fiction department at Walker Books. He moved to Kingfisher Publications to edit children’s non-fiction, and for a time juggled working with writing; but Jonathan is now a full-time writer.
Posted: October 14th, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: Jonathan Stroud
Comments
What great news. Bartimaeus is one of the great characters of children’s literature and I can’t wait for his memoir. Just this week during parent teacher conferences I had two sets of parents/teen boys who were Stroud fans talk to me about wanting more. Wish I’d had this news a few days ago!
Great to know because I can not wait to get my hands on another Bartimaeus book, Jonathan Stroud’s blend of humour and emotion always kept me reading, and the footnotes make it all the better.
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Good to hear that the Jonathan Stroud magic is back. I look forward to seeing the new prequel.
I think that Jonathan is a good example to quote to the critics who claim that the fantasy genre isn’t quality literature. His wordcraft skill rivals that of many classic literary figures.
Chris Warren
Author and Freelance Writer
Randolph’s Challenge Book One – The Pendulum Swings
(See it at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Hall 8 Stand N959)