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Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book wins prestigious Carnegie Medal

Neil Gaiman has won the most sought after prize for children’s fiction in the UK, the 2010 CILIP Carnegie Medal for The Graveyard Book. Having already won the 2009 Newbery Medal, the prestigious US equivalent of the Carnegie, Neil Gaiman is the first author to complete the ‘double’ by being awarded both internationally recognised prizes for children’s fiction for the same book, thereby ensuring his place in literary history.

The Graveyard Book also narrowly missed a ‘triple’ in 2010. Illustrated with evocative line drawings by Chris Riddell, it was also shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for outstanding illustration.

Asked what winning the CILIP Carnegie Medal means to him, Neil Gaiman commented:

"For my seventh birthday I was given a boxed set of the Narnia Books by CS Lewis. The last of them, ‘The Last Battle’ had the words ‘Winner of the Carnegie Medal’ on it. I did not know what the Carnegie Medal was, but I knew it was something important.

It was the first literary award I had ever heard of. And if the Narnia books had won it, then it had to be the most important literary award there ever was.

Somewhere deep inside me, but not too deep, a seven-year old version of me is amazed and delighted that he’s written a book that was given the most important literary award there ever was. And nothing you can say about Bookers or Nobels or Pulitzers will convince him otherwise."

The Graveyard Book, for readers of nine years and over, is the spooky reworking of Kipling’s The Jungle Book. The story opens with the violent murder of a toddler’s parents and sister that manages to be horrifying without mentioning a drop of blood. The two year old, having escaped their fate, finds himself in a graveyard. There he is adopted by its resident ghosts who bring him up and call him Bod, short for Nobody Owens.

"This is an extraordinary book in every way: the style, plot and quality of the writing," says Margaret Pemberton, Chair of the Judges. "With great skill Gaiman has created a gripping page turner, expertly supported by well developed characters, that is full of humour and humanity. Not a word is wasted in this episodic tale that draws the reader through Bod’s childhood to a well crafted and satisfying conclusion. A worthy winner."

Neil Gaiman was born in Hampshire, UK and now lives in the United States in Minneapolis. Described as a ‘bookish’ child, his parents gave him the materials for a shed for his tenth birthday and built it for him at the bottom of their garden. It was in the shed that he discovered his love of books, reading and stories, devouring the Narnia books, Roger Lancelyn Green, Dracula, and GK Chesterton. His family were Jewish of Polish descent but instead of studying for his bar mitzvah he got his instructor to teach him bible stories and to his parents’ dismay he spent his bar mitzvah money on American comics.

The prize is a golden medal and £500 worth of books to donate to a library of their choice.

In 2007, Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights was named the best children’s book of the past 70 years from a list of past winners of the Carnegie Medal.

Previous medal winners include Richard Adams for Watership Down in 1972 and Mary Norton for The Borrowers in 1952.

The Carnegie Medal is awarded annually to the writer of an outstanding book for children.

It was established by in 1936, in memory of the great Scottish-born philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). Carnegie was a self-made industrialist who made his fortune in steel in the USA. His experience of using a library as a child led him to resolve that "if ever wealth came to me that it should be used to establish free libraries."

Carnegie set up more than 2800 libraries across the English speaking world and, by the time of his death, over half the library authorities in Great Britain had Carnegie libraries.

First awarded to Arthur Ransome for ‘Pigeon Post’, the winner receives a golden medal and £500 worth of books to donate to a library of their choice.

The medal is awarded by CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.

The 2010 winners were announced at a ceremony at BAFTA, Piccadilly, London at 12 noon on Thursday 24 June.

• The Fantasy Book Review of The Graveyard Book
• Neil Gaiman biography, bibliography and book reviews

Posted: June 28th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: Neil Gaiman

Adaptation of Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book now looks a distinct possibility

1492 Pictures and South Korean media company CJ Entertainment look set to produce an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s young-adult novel The Graveyard Book.

Under the working title of "Graveyard", the adaptation joins the development slate of the two companies, which combined forces in 2009 with the aim to create films for a global audience.

In The Graveyard Book the sole survivor of the attack, an 18-month-old baby, escapes his crib and his house, and toddles to a nearby graveyard. Quickly recognizing that the baby is orphaned, the graveyard’s ghostly residents adopt him, name him Nobody, and allow him to live in their tomb.

Neil Jordan is writing the script and will also direct the live-action movie, which is being produced by Wayfare Entertainment, Framestore and Gaiman.

Posted: June 8th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: Neil Gaiman

Fantasy news round-up 26/04/2010

Hubble Telescope: NASA release dramatic space image to mark 20th birthday
The new image, captured earlier this year by Hubble’s brand-new Wide Field Camera 3, shows a cosmic pillar of gas and dust piled high in the Carina Nebula. Located about 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina, it shows a craggy mountaintop that is enshrouded by wispy clouds which would not look out of place in JRR Tolkien’s epic fantasy or even a Dr Seuss book. It captures in amazing detail the chaotic activity atop a three-light-year-tall pillar of gas and dust that is being eaten away by the brilliant light from nearby bright stars.

Eoin Colfer on writing fantasy novels for children
This film is the first in a series that features a wide range of arts figures including writers, musicians, directors, performers and artists giving advice about a specific aspect of their work. Author of the Artemis Fowl series, Eoin Colfer talks about how to write fantasy novels for children.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8635562.stm

Gaiman double on the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway shortlists
Children’s titles covering topics such as racism, war and global warming have been nominated in the CILIP Carnegie Medal Shortlist. While, Bloomsbury and Walker both have a duo of titles on the shortlist for this year’s CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. It is also the first time for 30 years that a title has appeared on both the CILIP Carnegie and CILIP Kate Greenaway shortlists, with Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, illustrated by Chris Riddell (Bloomsbury) appearing on both.

Carnegie Medal shortlist is as follows:

• Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (Bloomsbury)
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Bloomsbury)
• The Vanishing of Katerina Linden by Helen Grant (Penguin)
• Rowan the Strange by Julie Hearn (OUP)
• The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (Walker)
• Nation by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday)
• Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve (Scholastic)
• Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick (Orion)

The Kate Greenaway Medal shortlist is as follows:

• Leon and the Place Between by Grahame Baker-Smith (Templar)
• Harry & Hopper Freya Blackwood (text by Margaret Wild) (Scholastic)
• The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins)
• Millie’s Marvellous Hat by Satoshi Kitamura (Andersen Press)
• Crazy Hair by Dave McKean (text by Neil Gaiman) (Bloomsbury)
• The Graveyard Book by Chris Riddell (text by Neil Gaiman) (Bloomsbury)
• The Dunderheads by David Roberts (text by Paul Fleischman) (Walker)
• There are cats in this book by Viviane Schwarz (Walker)

Ronan Keating’s Hobbit Ambition
The Boyzone singer auditioned for a role in upcoming fantasy movie ‘The Hobbit’ – based on the JRR Tolkien novel of the same name, a prequel to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy – and is still waiting to hear back. He said: "I don’t think I’ll get the role of the hobbit. But I would like to take on roles which nobody would expect. I don’t want to be reduced to love stories. I’d like to try dark, edgy roles. I need a challenge." Ronan – who has three children, Jack, 11, Marie, nine, and four-year-old Ali, with his model wife Yvonne – is even considering leaving his native Ireland to live in Los Angeles to pursue his big screen dream.

Posted: April 27th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: Eoin Colfer, JRR Tolkien, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett

Neil Gaiman to speak in Stillwater, Minnesota

Best-selling comic book, science fiction and fantasy writer Neil Gaiman is the first guest of a program to celebrate books and reading.

Club Book will bring popular and award-winning national and regional authors to communities across the seven-county metropolitan area and Neil Gaiman will appear this Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Stillwater Junior High School.

The program is free, with seating on a first-come basis.

Posted: April 20th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: Neil Gaiman

Shortlist of 28 drawn up for the Author Blog Awards

Over 15,000 people have nominated more than 500 blogs and microblogs for the Author Blog Awards, with those with most nominations making a shortlist of 28. The public will now be able to vote for their favourite in the categories of published author, unpublished author and microblog.

There are over 10,000 published and unpublished authors blogging to readers, writers and industry professionals. Despite huge loyal followings and a remarkable wealth of new content, many readers remain unaware of these blogs.

The Author Blog Awards, the brainchild of CompletelyNovel, aims to honour the best blogs by both published and unpublished writers. They will recognise the writers who use their blogs to connect with readers in the most imaginative, engaging and inspiring ways.

The winners will be announced at the London Book Fair official tweetup on 20th April.

Author Blog Award shortlist:

• Nikesh Shukla
• Paulo Coelho
• Gavin James Bower
• Richard Jay Parker
• Cleolinda Jones
• Caroline Smailes
• Chris Brogan
• Barry Hutchison
• Linda Jones
• Michell Plested
• Sam Starbuck
• Lucy Coats
• Suzanne Arruda
• Tim Atkinson
• Carleen Brice
• Jenn Ashworth
• Michael Faulkner
• Christopher Fowler
• Neil Gaiman
• Lynn Flewelling
• Fiona Robyn
• Emily Benet
• Alice Griffin
• Nicola Morgan
• Liz Fielding
• Jackie Morris
• Jane Alexander
• Marcus Chown

Posted: April 16th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: Neil Gaiman

Limited Edition Neverwhere Edition

For Neil Gaiman fans this will be some good news. Subterranean Press have just notified us that copies of the “Signed Limited Edition of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere” are “en route to our warehouse.”

The edition, which will be limited to 1,000 copies, will be signed by Neil Gaiman, found in a hand-bound rich midnight blue cloth slipcase, gold stamped case and spine and feature a map of the London Underground on the endpapers of the book. The book is 7” by 10” and includes a special introduction by the author.

On top of all of that this limited edition will include “The Neverwhere Files” – behind the scenes papers from Neil Gaiman that will give a great insight into the evolution of Neverwhere.

But as they say, you better move fast, as they only have 19 out of the original 200 that are unreserved.

Check out the buy page at Subterranean Press here, and enhance your Neil Gaiman library today.

Posted: March 11th, 2010
Author: JoshSHill
Categories: Neil Gaiman

Fantasy news round-up – January/February 2010

Fantasy authors donate towards the Haiti appeal
Harry Potter author JK Rowling donated a full UK edition set of her books, as well as a handwritten card, to Helping Haiti Heal. These rare items join more than 100 special gifts, including a signed book by author Neil Gaiman, five dedicated books by Sir Terry Pratchett, and original conception art from the film Where the Wild Things Are.

And… The Daily Mail “newspaper” grudgingly apologises to JK Rowling
”On January 17 we reported the recent purchase of a property by author J. K. Rowling. We wrongly alleged that she offered an extra £300,000 for the seller to leave within two weeks so she could hold a Christmas party and that she viewed only two rooms before deciding to buy the property. We apologise to Ms Rowling for any embarrassment caused.” announced the sulky press release.

Graveyard Book movie is dead for now
Neil Gaiman’s young adult novel, The Graveyard Book, which won a Newbery Medal and a Hugo award looks set to remain solely in the written word for the foreseeable future. The film adaptation that was to be written and directed by Neil Jordan (The Brave One, The Crying Game and Interview with the Vampire) has fallen apart on the financing front.

Harry Potter fans bid for Quidditch league
Students at the University of Nottingham want to establish a British Quidditch league based on the JK Rowling stories. The sport is already popular in universities in the United States but has yet to be taken seriously in this country. In the Harry Potter books the trainee wizards fly on broomsticks. In reality the Nottingham students hold a broom between their legs and throw a ball with their free arm.

Fantasy authors battle it out on live online role-playing game
Fantasy authors Peter V. Brett, Ari Marmell, and Diana Rowland go head-to-head in a live online role-playing game session. The two-hour session, hosted by Suvudu.com, features a real-time adventure illustrated with artwork, and featuring characters from the King of RPGs graphic novel series.

New Line Cinema push back Hobbit release date
New Line’s efforts to get “The Hobbit” on the big screen have been hobbled again. Studio officials confirm that the film, which had been slated to premiere in December 2011, won’t hit theatres until the end of 2012 at the earliest. The two-part prequel to New Line’s mega-successful “Lord of the Rings” franchise has Peter Jackson signed on to produce and Guillermo del Toro enlisted to direct. Production had previously been delayed by haggling between author J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate and New Line over “Lord of the Rings” profits. This latest delay, however, has to do with financing for “The Hobbit,” which unlike “LOTR,” will not be paid for via foreign pre-sales. Rather, for “The Hobbit,” New Line shares financing rights with MGM/UA, which purchased its rights back in 1969 and could sell them soon as part of a larger restructuring. In short, “The Hobbit’s” production financing situation probably won’t become clear until MGM’s situation is sorted out later this year.

Posted: February 5th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: JK Rowling, Latest News, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett

Name of the Wind author organizes charity drive

Patrick Rothfuss, author of the fantasy novel The Name of the Wind,  is proving that you don’t have to be wealthy to be a philanthropist. Rothfuss has organized a charity drive through his blog to benefit needy families around the world.

Last year, the 36-year-old Wisconsin writer expected to raise a few thousand dollars when he began his first fundraiser aimed at giving farm animals to poor people. He impetuously promised to match all contributions. It cost him $53,000 and nearly wiped out his savings.

This year, Subterranean Press, one of his publishers, has pledged to match the first $10,000; Rothfuss has promised to match half the money raised after that. “I’m still matching 50 percent of all donations,” he tells fans on his blog. “Do your worst.”

The money that Rothfuss collects goes to Heifer International, an Arkansas-based charity that gives cows, goats and other assistance to hungry families in 23 states and 51 countries.

So far, this year’s drive has raised more than $96,000, which means Rothfuss is already on the hook for at least another $43,000. The campaign ends Jan. 15.

Rothfuss offers donors a chance to win prizes, including more than 1,000 fantasy books. Some are first editions, and many are signed by their authors, including Neil Gaiman, Brandon Sanderson and Rothfuss. Other prizes include a piece of a meteorite and a guitar donated by Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti.

Fantasy Book Review would like to wish Rothfuss’s wonderful charity drive all the success in the world. 

Patrick Rothfuss had the good fortune to be born in Wisconsin where long winters and lack of cable television brought about a love of reading and writing. His mother read to him as a child, and his father taught him to build things. If you are looking for the roots of his storytelling, look there.

Posted: January 13th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: Brandon Sanderson, Latest News, Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman to Appear at World Financial Center on January 16

The World Financial Center roster of performances for 2010 has been announced. Performances take place in the World Financial Center in lower Manhattan.

A special performance on January 16 will feature Neil Gaiman narrating Peter and the Wolf. Other offerings will include New York Classical Theatre’s production of Hamlet that will be presented as a promenade, with audiences following the action throughout the downtown complex, as well as Fascinating Rhythms – Gershwin and Joplin, performed by the New York Opera Society, and Hudson River Pageant, a performance art event directed by theatrical pageant director Felicia Young.

Source: Theater Mania

For further information, visit www.worldfinancialcenter.com. 

Neil Gaiman is one of the top ten living post-modern writers, and is a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama.

Neil Gaiman was the creator/writer of monthly cult DC Comics horror-weird series, Sandman, which won nine Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, including the award for best writer four times, and three Harvey Awards. Sandman #19 took the 1991 World Fantasy Award for best short story, making it the first comic ever to be awarded a literary award.

Posted: December 22nd, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: Neil Gaiman

Get your loved one Neil Gaiman perfume for Christmas!

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is a cult perfumery known for their Gothic-inspired scents. They have recently introduced an expansive collection of Neil Gaiman scents, inspired by his books. 100% of proceeds will go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and the collection is approved by the author himself.

From The Graveyard Book, try The Lady on the Grey (sandalwood, white amber, tobacco flower, orris); from American Gods try Mad Sweeney (whiskey and oak) or Mr. Ibis (papyrus, vanilla flower, musk, sandalwood); or from Anansi Boys you may be interested in Mr. Nancy (sugar cookies, bay run, tobacco, lime). All scents are meant to be unisex and are vegan (except for honey scents).

Neil Gaiman is one of the top ten living post-modern writers, and is a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama.

• American Gods book review
• Neverwhere book review
• The Graveyard Book review
• Marvel 1602 review

Posted: December 1st, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: Neil Gaiman