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Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy to open this month

This month will see the launch of the new Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy, a project which will explore the importance of fairy takes in literary and culture.

Professor Bill Gray, an English lecturer at the University of Chichester, is the brainchild behind the centre that will discuss and celebrate the folktales, fairy tales and fantastic imagination from across the world that has led to bestselling fantasy works by writers as diverse as JRR Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, JK Rowling, Angela Carter, Philip Pullman and CS Lewis.

“The heart of this project is a focus on the importance of fairy tales as a creative force both in literature and culture. Literary fairy tales can be seen, in terms of genre, to mediate between, on the one hand, folktales, from which they often derive both form and content; and on the other, the more elaborate narratives of full-blown fantasy novels. The Centre will provide a forum where writers and scholars from various disciplines can discuss folk narratives, fairy tales and fantasy works, both as independent ‘genres’ (the literary fantastic, for example, may not always have obvious folk- or fairy-tale motifs), and also in terms of the resonances and dissonances between them, and other cultural forms.”

For more information, visit http://sussexfolktalecentre.org.

Posted: February 9th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: CS Lewis, JK Rowling, JRR Tolkien, Philip Pullman, Terry Pratchett

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

Fantasy Book Review: Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett

There’s a werewolf with the pre-lunar tension in Ankh-Morpork. And a dwarf with attitude and a golem who’s begun to think for itself. But for Commander Vimes, Head of Ankh-Morpork City Watch, that’s only the start…There’s treason in the air. A crime has happened. He’s not only got to find out whodunit, but howdunit too. He’s not even sure what they dun. But soon as he knows what the questions are, he’s going to want some answers.

Joshua S Hill says “I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, the earlier Discworld novels aren’t as refined as the latter. Which makes utter and complete sense, but is still a word of warning. When you hear people describe the genius and brilliance behind the Discworld books, those characteristics are set up in these early books and then flourish in latter books. These are books you want to read, as they are clever, smart, and fill in a lot of the blanks on characters you may have read or will read when you get to Night Watch and the like. But don’t expect 10/10 brilliance straight away.”

Read the full Feet of Clay review

Terry Pratchett was awarded the OBE (The Most Excellent Order Of The British Empire, Officer) in 1998 for his services to literature. He has sold over 40 million books worldwide and these have been translated into thirty-three different languages. He is second only to JK Rowling in terms of book sales in the United Kingdom.

It is believed that 1% of all the books sold in England are penned by Pratchett. His books have been translated into 36 different languages and have sold over 60 million copies.

Sir Terry Pratchett was made a knight in the New Year Honours list (2008). He received the honour for services to literature.

Posted: January 28th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: Fantasy Book Review, Terry Pratchett

Round-up: JA Rowling, Bath-time for Pullman and Le Guin not finished yet

A round-up of fantasy news around the world.

A rare JK Rowling uncorrected proof sells for £1,600
An uncorrected proof edition of JK Rowling’s very first Harry Potter book has been sold for £1600 at auction.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, attributed to JA Rowling was bought by a collector at Edinburgh’s Lyon & Turnbull auction house. The copy was sent to critics and booksellers around the UK by Bloomsbury shortly after taking Rowling on.

The book, which also contains spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, was famously written on an old manual typewriter in coffee shops around Edinburgh.

Twilight seeps top spots in USA TODAYS’s best-selling books of 2009
For the second year in a row, Stephenie Meyer has swept the top four spots in USA TODAY’s lists of the best-selling books of 2009. Not even JK Rowling achieved this.

Books for children and teenagers accounted for 29% of sales recorded in 2009. Altogether, last year the Meyer books added up to £29.3m in sales – 10% of the total children’s book  sales, according to Nielson BookScan, which compiles the best-seller lists for several national newspapers.

Philip Pullman’s Bath-time
Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, thriller writer Robert Goddard and celebrated cult writer Philip Pullman are just three of the internationally acclaimed writers who will be visiting Bath over the coming weeks.

Philip Pullman comes to Bath on April 1. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ is his spellbinding retelling of the life of Jesus. Philip comes to Bath to discuss his new work, which is part novel, part history and part fairytale. He will discuss the tensions inherent in the dual nature of Jesus Christ and explore some of the myths and mysteries of the gospels that have helped shape human history in the last two millennia. The event is at the Guildhall at 8pm. Tickets £9 with £9 off the book. Tickets £7 when booked in person at the bookshop.

Random House to raise funds for new new television, toys, video games, and film projects
Random House Children’s Screen Entertainment will be looking to raise $100 million in order to create new television, toys, video games and film projects. The group was created when Random House Children’s Books struck a partnership with the UK production company, Komixx Entertainment.

A number of authors and illustrators could see more properties developed with Philip Pullman and Terry Pratchett having already been mentioned. Komixx intends to go out into the market for RHCSE in March. It may yet approach an existing film and television financier such as Aramid Capital to help it raise the money. The $100 million will be used to develop cartoons and live-action films and television series based on RHCB properties, as well as video games and toys.

Ursula Le Guin plans next move after resigning over Google Book Settlement
Ursula Le Guin says she wants to do more than simply resign in protest. On the Book View Cafe Blog, she says she’s heard from many writers who agree with her and wants to start marshalling that collective sentiment.

“How, where, can I ask writers who are unhappy with the Settlement to speak up – to stand up and be counted? We don’t have to agree on every detail, but I think there are a lot of us who see it as urgently important to let it be known that writers support the principle of copyright, and want the Copyright Office, the judges, the publishers, and the libraries to know that we intend to keep control of our work, in print or out, printed or electronic, believing that the people who do the work, rather than any corporation, should have the major voice in how it’s used and who profits from it.”

Oscar nominated Keisha Castle-Hughes to appear in Legend Of The Seeker
Keisha Castle-Hughes, the youngest woman ever nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award will be a guest star on an episode of Legend of the Seeker.

Castle-Hughes, who originally rose to prominence in 2002 for her role in the New Zealand film Whale Rider. The actress recently starred in projects such as Hey, Hey, It’s Esther Blueburger and Piece of My Heart. She also portrayed the Virgin Mary in The Nativity Story and had a small role in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

In Legend of the Seeker, Castle-Hughes will play a mysterious young woman who claims to be the Creator, the incarnation of God.

Posted: January 16th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: JK Rowling, Philip Pullman, Stephenie Meyer, Terry Goodkind, Terry Pratchett, Ursula Le Guin

Twilight rules audio-book downloads at Christmas

A glance at the best-selling science fiction and fantasy downloads on Audible.co.uk shows that Stephenie Meyer’s enormous popularity is also evident amongst those who like to listen to a good story. Twilight and New Moon list #1 and #2 respectively, with Eclipse and Breaking Dawn coming in at #4 and #5. If not for Terry Pratchett and the audio version of Unseen Academicals Meyer would have claimed a Beatles-esque dominance over the top 10.

1. Twilight: The Twilight Saga, Book 1 (Unabridged)
2. New Moon: The Twilight Saga, Book 2 (Unabridged)
3. Unseen Academicals: Discworld #32 (Unabridged)
4. Eclipse: The Twilight Saga, Book 3 (Unabridged)
5. Breaking Dawn: The Twilight Saga, Book 4 (Unabridged)
6. The Time Traveler’s Wife (Unabridged)
7. And Another Thing…: Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Part Six of Three (Unabridged)
8. Under the Dome (Unabridged)
9. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Unabridged)
10. The Gathering Storm: Wheel of Time, Book 12 (Unabridged)

An exciting new audiobook has also appeared on the site with Robin Hobb’s Dragon Keeper, read by Saskia Butler, now available for download. Here’s the synopsis:

Guided by the great blue dragon Tintaglia, they came from the sea: a Tangle of serpents fighting their way up the Rain Wilds River, the first to make the perilous journey to the cocooning grounds in generations. Many have died along the way. With its acid waters and impenetrable forest, it is a hard place for any to survive.

People are changed by the Rain Wilds, subtly or otherwise. One such is Thymara. Born with black claws and other aberrations, she should have been exposed at birth. But her father saved her and her mother has never forgiven him. Like everyone else, Thymara is fascinated by the return of dragons: it is as if they symbolise the return of hope to their war-torn world. Leftrin, captain of the liveship Tarman, also has an interest in the hatching; as does Bingtown newlywed, Alise Finbok, who has made it her life’s work to study all there is to know of dragons.

But the creatures which emerge from the cocoons are a travesty of the powerful, shining dragons of old. Stunted and deformed, they cannot fly; some seem witless and bestial. Soon, they become a danger and a burden to the Rain Wilders: something must be done. The dragons claim an ancestral memory of a fabled Elderling city far upriver: perhaps there the dragons will find their true home. But Kelsingra appears on no maps and they cannot get there on their own: a band of dragon keepers, hunters and chroniclers must attend them.

To be a dragon keeper is a dangerous job: their charges are vicious and unpredictable, and there are many unknown perils on the journey to a city which may not even exist…

Posted: December 23rd, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: Audio-books, Brandon Sanderson, Stephenie Meyer, Terry Pratchett

The fantasy genre’s strong showing amongst Amazon’s book and author’s of the decade

The final and penultimate books in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series were the top-selling books of the last decade, according to list released by Amazon. Stephenie Meyer also showed well in the list with three of her vampire romance novels appearing in third, fourth and fifth position.

Rowling was, unsurprisingly, also the best-selling author of the decade, with Stephenie Meyer, Julia Donaldson, Terry Pratchett and Enid Blyton showing the fantasy genre to be as popular as ever.

Enid Blyton, whose books are supposed to have fallen out of fashion, was possibly the biggest surprise in a list of which eight of the ten books were written by women. Blyton’s charming tales, including the Famous Five and Noddy series, remain as popular as ever, bought by parents and grandparents who remember the books fondly from their own childhoods.

The only male to make an appearance is the Afghan-born novelist Khaled Hosseini, whose books The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Top 10 best-selling books of the decade:

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – JK Rowling
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – JK Rowling
3. Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer
4. Twilight -Stephenie Meyer
5. Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer
6. The Tales of Beedle the Bard – JK Rowling
7. New Moon – Stephenie Meyer
8. The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
9. The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
10. A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini

Top 10 best-selling authors of the decade:

1. JK Rowling
2. Stephenie Meyer
3. Julia Donaldson
4. Terry Pratchett
5. Jamie Oliver
6. Dan Brown
7. Enid Blyton
8. Bernard Cornwell
9. Alexander McCall Smith
10. William Shakespeare

Posted: December 18th, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: JK Rowling, Julia Donaldson, Stephenie Meyer, Terry Pratchett

Catch the stage adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s Maskerade this Christmas

Why not enjoy a night out at the theatre and watch an amateur production of Terry Pratchett’s Maskerade, adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs.

The Ankh-Morpork Opera house has always had a ghost, but it never used to kill people. Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, the inquisitive, indomitable (and some would say downright rude) witches of Lancre, find a way to get involved and unravel the mystery, whether the new owner wants them to or not…

Think Phantom of the Opera with extra mayhem, skulduggery and a befuddled former cheese merchant. Maskerade is Terry Pratchett’s affectionate parody of this famous story set in his own fantasy world of the Discworld.

There are still five performances left to catch, but you will have to be quick, here are the details:

Theatro Technis, Camden Town
Evenings at 7.45 – Tuesday 15 – Friday 18 December
Matinée at 3.00 – Saturday 19 December

Box Office: 020 7353 1700
www.towertheatre.org.uk

On-line booking www.towertheatre.org.uk/boxo.htm

Prices £11 (concessions/members £9)

Directions to Theatre venue:
Theatro Technis, 26 Crowndale Road, Camden Town, London NW1
Tube Northern Line to Camden Town or Mornington Crescent
Buses 46, 214 to Crowndale Road
Car street parking available after 6.30 pm

The Tower Theatre Company has been entertaining audiences for more than 75 years. After Maskerade, our next production will be a double bill Cigarettes and Chocolate and Hang Up by Anthony Minghella opening on 26 January 2010 at Theatro Technis, 26 Crowndale Road, Camden Town, London NW1.

Posted: December 14th, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: JK Rowling, Terry Pratchett

Film adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens could still happen

Last week Joseph McCabe of FEARnet.com caught up with Terry Gilliam and the filmmaking Python told him that his long-in-development adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s dark fantasy novel Good Omens isn’t dead in the water yet. Apparently, it’s just resting.
“It’s still sitting out there. It needs a lot of money though. It’s a very different story. Admittedly, there’s an angel and the Devil, but it’s very different. And it’s better to find somebody who wants to take charge of that project. One of the things is that and another project got mired in costs. And now it’s very hard to get those things moving, because they’ve got a price tag on them before you even begin now. So one day, if somebody is interested, it’s waiting.” (FEARnet.com)

Book synopsis
Taking a cynical look at the horror genre, this book features Crowley and Aziraphale, two friends who attempt to prevent the prophesised Armageddon. When the Antichrist is born they divert him from his original home at the American Embassy to Tadfield, where he grows into an unkempt individual.

Posted: November 19th, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett

Best selling sci-fi/fantasy audio-books – October 2009 – Audible.co.uk

October 2009 sees some exciting new audio books enter the top 10. Not content with having the #1 spot Audrey Niffenegger now has another title winging its way towards with top with Her Fearful Symmetry entering at #10. Iain Banks’s Transition enters the list in an impressive 2^nd place while Terry Pratchett’s 37^th Discworld novel Unseen Academicals is already proving very popular.

1. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Unabridged) by Audrey Niffenegger
2. Transition (Unabridged) by Iain Banks
3. Twilight: The Twilight Saga, Book 1 (Unabridged) by Stephenie Meyer
4. The Year of the Flood (Unabridged) by Margaret Atwood
5. New Moon: The Twilight Saga, Book 2 (Unabridged) by Stephenie Meyer
6. Breaking Dawn: The Twilight Saga, Book 4 (Unabridged) by Stephenie Meyer
7. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Unabridged) by Susanna Clarke
8. Dune (Unabridged) by Frank Herbert
9. Unseen Academicals: Discworld #37 by Terry Pratchett
10. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Here is a little bit more information about the new entries Transition, The Year of the Flood and Her Fearful Symmetry.

Transition, by Iain Banks; narrated by Peter Kenny

A world that hangs suspended between triumph and catastrophe, between the dismantling of the Wall and the fall of the Twin Towers, frozen in the shadow of suicide terrorism and global financial collapse, such a world requires a firm hand and a guiding light. But does it need the Concern: an all-powerful organisation with a malevolent presiding genius, pervasive influence and numberless invisible operatives in possession of extraordinary powers?

On the Concern’s books are Temudjin Oh, an un-killable assassin who journeys between the peaks of Nepal, a version of Victorian London and the dark palaces of Venice; and a nameless, faceless torturer known only as the Philosopher. And then there’s the renegade Mrs Mulverhill, who recruits rebels to her side; and Patient 8262, hiding out from a dirty past in a forgotten hospital ward.

As these vivid, strange and sensuous worlds circle and collide, the implications of turning traitor to the Concern become horribly apparent, and an unstable universe is set on a dizzying course.

The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood; narrated by Lorelei King

Adam One, the kindly leader of the God’s Gardeners – a religion devoted to the melding of science and religion, the preservation of all species, and the tending of the Earth – has long predicted the Waterless Flood. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life.

Two women have avoided it: the young trapeze-dancer, Ren, locked into the high-end sex club; and former SecretBurgers meat-slinger turned Gardener, Toby, barricaded into a luxurious spa. Have others survived? And what are the odds for the human race?

By turn’s dark, tender, violent, thoughtful, and uneasily hilarious, The Year of the Flood is Atwood at her most effective.

Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger; narrated by Sian Thomas

Julia and Valentina Poole are normal American teenagers – normal, at least, for identical ‘mirror’ twins who have no interest in college or jobs or possibly anything outside their cosy suburban home. But everything changes when they receive notice that an aunt whom they didn’t know existed has died and left them her flat in an apartment block overlooking Highgate Cemetery in London. They feel that at last their own lives can begin…but have no idea that they’ve been summoned into a tangle of fraying lives, from the obsessive-compulsive crossword setter who lives above them to their aunt’s mysterious and elusive lover who lives below them, and even to their aunt herself, who never got over her estrangement from the twins’ mother – and who can’t even seem to quite leave her flat….

With Highgate Cemetery itself a character and echoes of Henry James and Charles Dickens, Her Fearful Symmetry is a delicious and deadly 21st-century ghost story about Niffenegger’s familiar themes of love, loss, and identity. It is certain to cement her standing as one of the most singular and remarkable novelists of our time.

Posted: October 15th, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: Audio-books, Stephenie Meyer, Susanna Clarke, Terry Pratchett

The Art of Discworld by Terry Pratchett (author) and Paul Kidby (illustrator)

Review by Joshua S Hill

Every now and again a franchise will release a book about the franchise that is actually worth picking up. It doesn’t happen all too often, as for the most part they are simply money making schemes that pull together a large amount of irrelevance.

However, when you get a book like ‘The Art of Discworld’ with illustrations from Paul Kidby and annotations from the master himself, Terry Pratchett, you can be assured that you’ve got yourself a good bit of reading ahead of you.

In reality, the book is more a biography of Discworld than a book dedicated to art. Each page is festooned with Paul Kidby’s range of drawings, from pencil sketches to fully fledged coloured paintings. You get a much deeper look into the artist who is – to my mind sadly – limited to the front cover of the majority of Pratchett books (with exceptions like the Last Hero).

Getting to see characters like Vetinari, Vimes, Death and Susan in much greater detail and pose than before is a real joy. Some of the pieces make me want to open my wallet and spend copious amounts of money to have them hanging on my wall.

But there is more than just the usual suspects. Everyone from the villains of Pratchett’s books, members of the Guilds, Greebo and the Four Horsemen make their appearance in this book, all meticulously drawn, bringing to reality that which had been limited to the paper and our imaginations.

Alongside each page, however, are the aforementioned biographies. Pratchett lines the pages with his humorous wit and wisdom as he depicts for us his characters, how they came about, and how Kidby (and his predecessor Josh Kirby) brought them to colourful life.

From funny anecdotes explaining how a character came to be to praise for his artists, the book is much more than just a picture book to lay out on the coffee table (though this is a must in and of itself).

For any fan of Discworld, Terry Pratchett, or even those who appreciate the beautiful art that comes with fantasy novels, this book is a must!

Posted: October 11th, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: Terry Pratchett