A Sunday cornucopia

Sunday, February 22, 2009

You know how Scandinavian crime fiction is all the rage? Well, apparently the Irish are going to be the next big thing, if you believe this article in the Irish Times. Tana French is leading the charge. I'm yet to read her debut novel In the Woods, but three other Irish authors I have read -- Benjamin Black (aka John Banville), Brian McGilloway and Gene Kerrigan -- are all name-checked.

The Irish Times also has an interview with Irish author Roddy Doyle. The man who penned my favourite trilogy -- The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van -- will receive the prestigious Irish Pen award at a ceremony in Dublin this coming Friday.

The Borders book chain in Australia is helping the Victorian bushfire appeal. It's accepting good-quality second-hand books or newly purchased books, which will be donated to schools and libraries in fire-affected communities. On top of this Borders will match the retail price of all donated books up to $200,000.

The Sunday Times has published a wonderful feature in its travel section highlighting the best English walks for book lovers. Fans of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Jane Eyre and Winnie-the-Pooh are in for a treat.

The Guardian interviews English-born Japanese-based David Peace. The author of the Damn United (which I've never read) and Tokyo Year Zero (which is in my reading queue) is going to become a household name (if he isn't already) with the screening of Red Riding, a trilogy of films based on his books Nineteen Seventy Four, Nineteen Eighty and Nineteen Eighty Three, on Channel 4 next month. (For some reason Nineteen Seventy Seven has not been included.)

Award-winning Irish author Christopher Nolan has died, aged 43. Nolan was almost completely paralysed by cerebral palsy and the only part of his body he could control was his head; he wrote by tapping a keyboard with a device strapped to his head. His first book, Damburst of Dreams, was published when he was just 15. He won the Whitbread Book of the Year in 1988 for his novel Under the Eye of the Clock.

RobAroundBooks has a great round-up of the 2009 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize short list. The official website is here.

Comments

You know how Scandinavian crime fiction is all the rage? Well, apparently the Irish are going to be the next big thing, if you believe this article in the Irish Times. Tana French is leading the charge. I'm yet to read her debut novel In the Woods, but three other Irish authors I have read -- Benjamin Black (aka John Banville), Brian McGilloway and Gene Kerrigan -- are all name-checked.

The Irish Times also has an interview with Irish author Roddy Doyle. The man who penned my favourite trilogy -- The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van -- will receive the prestigious Irish Pen award at a ceremony in Dublin this coming Friday.

The Borders book chain in Australia is helping the Victorian bushfire appeal. It's accepting good-quality second-hand books or newly purchased books, which will be donated to schools and libraries in fire-affected communities. On top of this Borders will match the retail price of all donated books up to $200,000.

The Sunday Times has published a wonderful feature in its travel section highlighting the best English walks for book lovers. Fans of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Jane Eyre and Winnie-the-Pooh are in for a treat.

The Guardian interviews English-born Japanese-based David Peace. The author of the Damn United (which I've never read) and Tokyo Year Zero (which is in my reading queue) is going to become a household name (if he isn't already) with the screening of Red Riding, a trilogy of films based on his books Nineteen Seventy Four, Nineteen Eighty and Nineteen Eighty Three, on Channel 4 next month. (For some reason Nineteen Seventy Seven has not been included.)

Award-winning Irish author Christopher Nolan has died, aged 43. Nolan was almost completely paralysed by cerebral palsy and the only part of his body he could control was his head; he wrote by tapping a keyboard with a device strapped to his head. His first book, Damburst of Dreams, was published when he was just 15. He won the Whitbread Book of the Year in 1988 for his novel Under the Eye of the Clock.