Books News
Judas was much misunderstood. Says who? Why, Jeffrey Archer
Published: 07 January 2007
Jeffrey Archer, the disgraced former peer, is to publish a controversial new book entitled The Gospel According to Judas, which will attempt to rehabilitate the most reviled man in Christendom.
Richard and Judy select Britain's next best-sellers
Published: 05 January 2007
A story of the Biafran war, a modern version of the Faust myth and the latest work from William Boyd have been chosen as the new reads for the Richard & Judy Book Club - now the quickest route to mega-sales in British publishing.
Rowling hints Harry Potter might die as title of final book is revealed
Published: 22 December 2006
The name of the long-awaited seventh Harry Potter book was revealed yesterday as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
OJ Simpson publisher hits back after sacking: 'It's war'
Published: 19 December 2006
The sudden firing by Rupert Murdoch's publishing giant HarperCollins of Judith Regan after her ill-fated attempt to publish a book by OJ Simpson hypothesising about killing his ex-wife has triggered a maelstrom of mutual recrimination.
Mirabile dictu! Lingua Latina superavit!*
Published: 17 December 2006
Memoir in McEwan row soars in value
Published: 07 December 2006
An out-of-print memoir that Ian McEwan was accused of plagiarising in his novel Atonement has soared in value. Lucilla Andrews' 30-year-old book No Time for Romance, previously on sale on Amazon for $12.50, has jumped to $2,185.71 (£1,100).
How interesting: 'QI' is surprise Christmas hit
Published: 04 December 2006
Not all the critics were convinced when Stephen Fry began hosting QI, a kind of posh and severely eccentric pub quiz on BBC2.
Cancer helped me make shortlist, says novelist
Published: 29 November 2006
The former rock musician turned publisher Michael Cox had toyed with the bare bones of his novel for 30 years. But it was not until he was diagnosed with cancer that he wrote it, spurred on by the threat of impending surgery and a burst of energy from a course of steroids.
Boy, six, turned stories of his toys' adventures into novel
Published: 18 November 2006
A six-year-old boy whose book will be published in the UK later this month has staked a claim as the world's youngest author.
Inflated & talentless (not you, Jordan, you're worth it)
Published: 05 November 2006
Motion attacks failure to honour centenary of W H Auden's birth
Published: 28 October 2006
"Death," observed Wystan Hugh Auden, "is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic." Now more than three decades after his demise, an ominous rumble of discontent is emanating from the direction of the late poet's family, friends and admirers over how he should be remembered.
Tale of rural despair wins £60,000 prize
Published: 28 October 2006
Dylan Thomas might have been happy to "labour by singing light/Not for ambition or bread" but he died in poverty. Most writers have to be rather relaxed about paying the rent - or the bar bills. Rachel Trezise, who last night won the EDS Dylan Thomas Award, can now breathe easy for quite a while. The new £60,000 prize, for an English language writer under the age of 30, is one of the biggest literary awards in the world.
Booker surprise for bookmakers: Desai inherits literary success
Published: 12 October 2006
Outsider Desai is surprise Man Booker winner
Published: 11 October 2006
Amis: Muslims are sheltering 'miserable bastards'
Published: 09 October 2006
Martin Amis has accused "miserable bastards" in the British Muslim community of trying to destroy multicultural society.
Don't make same mistakes as your dad, Amis's mother warns
Published: 08 October 2006
Like father, like son. Three days after Martin Amis's eagerly awaited House of Meetings was published, matters took an ominous turn for the novelist when he received a warning about the future from his mother.
Sequel paints picture of a lonely and sad Peter Pan
Published: 06 October 2006
A century has passed since Peter Pan was left behind in Neverland, with millions of adoring fans around the world wondering what happened to The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up. Now, they can find out.
'Chocolat' author gives a taste of darker treats in her sequel
Published: 26 September 2006
She was the beautiful and enigmatic stranger who changed the image of chocolatiers for ever by acquainting an oppressed French village with her delectable "nipples of Venus", hazelnut clusters and chocolate seashells before heading into the sunset with an amour.
British teacher becomes a literary sensation in the US
Published: 25 September 2006
Diane Setterfield, a former French teacher from Yorkshire whose first novel - a book that she spent five years writing - has just been published, is embarking this week on a promotional tour of the United States buoyed by the remarkable news that The Thirteenth Tale has gone straight to the top of the New York Times bestseller list.
Young writers come of age on shortlist for Thomas prize
Published: 23 September 2006
It was founded to encourage the raw, creative talent of young writers in the English-speaking world. But announcing the shortlist for the inaugural £60,000 EDS Dylan Thomas Prize yesterday, Andrew Davies, the television screenwriter and award chairman, hailed all six authors for the sophistication of their fully fledged works.
Tolkien's son completes father's unfinished epic
Published: 19 September 2006
All aboard for Middle Earth! Christopher Tolkien, son of the late, legendary creator of The Lord of the Rings, has completed an unfinished story started by his father which will be published next spring.
Booker shortlist signals 'turning of literary tide'
Published: 15 September 2006
Nearly all the favourites to win this year's £50,000 Man Booker Prize have fallen at the penultimate fence after the judges chose one of the youngest and most eclectic shortlists in years.
Usual Booker suspects fall at first hurdle
Published: 15 September 2006
Rather like the Grand National, the Man Booker reliably delivers a cull of firm favourites and fancied outsiders. A swathe of heavily backed steeds fall at early or late fences, leaving the final stretch occupied by several runners of unknown form and uncertain colours.
French literati unite to praise American's Holocaust debut
Published: 05 September 2006
Modern French literature is sometimes accused of being inward-looking and parochial. No longer: the most extravagantly praised novel of the traditional French publishing season this month is a 900-page blockbuster on the Holocaust, which was written in French by an American who lives in Spain.
Irvine Welsh gets critical savaging
Published: 03 September 2006
