Author Archives: Aurel

Year's Best Mystery Fiction

Posted on December 27, 2006 by Aurel

The New York Sun today released it’s annual list of the Year’s Best Mystery fiction.  The list of ten titles includes offerings from Michael Connelly and Nelson DeMille.

See full article here

Posted in Articles, Reviews |

YiYun Li adds Guardian First Book Award to Accolades

Posted on December 5, 2006 by Aurel

BBC NEWS – Yiyun Li has won the £10,000 Guardian First Book Award for her short stories, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers.

It is the first time such a collection has won the award, which recognises and rewards fiction and non-fiction titles.

Judges said Li’s stories of modern China and Chinese Americans in the US were “perfectly crafted”.

The Chinese author lives in California but was denied permanent residency in the US this year, despite letters of support from novelist Salman Rushdie.

Read the full article here

Posted in Authors, Awards, Uncategorized |

Spelling to Pen Memoirs

Posted on December 5, 2006 by Aurel

Actress Tori Spelling has signed a deal with Simon Spotlight Entertainment, a division of Simon & Schuster, to publish her memoirs in early 2008.  The former “Beverly Hills 90210″ star and daughter of the late Aaron Spelling hopes to let fans in on her personal life, while dispelling tabloid rumours and defining her own view on life.

Read the Washington Post Article here

Posted in Authors, Upcoming releases |

DC Imprint Brewing up 'Minx' Line for Teen Girls

Posted on November 27, 2006 by Aurel

After decades of virtually ignoring the female audience, it was announced today that DC comics, Vertigo division will break-ground in May with a new line of graphic novels completely packaged and aimed at teen girls. With distribution through Alloy Entertainment and a start-up advertising budget of $250,000 they are set to give Manga and traditional girlie fare a solid run for their money.

Read more here.

Posted in Chick Lit, Graphic novels, Upcoming releases |

Six Year Old Novelist, Smashes World Record

Posted on November 25, 2006 by Aurel

In a not so surprising play by Scottland based, Aultbea Publishing, who have become known for pushing the works of “child prodigies”, a 1,500 word book by six year old Christopher Beale was launched yesterday in the UK, garnering both a place in the Guiness Book of World Records for youngest published author.  Though some questions have arisen as to past “investment” from parents, Beale’s book, Last Season’s Excursions, is proported to be non-subsidy published and expected to be a hit with collectors.

Read more here

Posted in Booksellers, Children's books, Newly Released Books |

FFA Sponsors Writing Contest for Students

Posted on November 25, 2006 by Aurel

Students are encouraged to select a risk management strategy relative to their supervised program, analyze the risk, indicate tools used to minimize risk, and explain their application of these tools in an essay of no less than 1,000 words.

Ten national winning essays will be selected on the basis of content, adherence to the assigned topic, grammar, organization, originality and creativity. Each of the 10 winners and their advisers will travel to Washington, D.C., all expenses paid, for a special USDA Risk Management Agency/ FFA Day in April/May 2007. Students and advisers will meet with USDA officials and members of Congress for a special ceremony.

More information is available here.

Posted in Contests, Education, Uncategorized |

Best Selling Children's Classic Heading to Big Screen

Posted on November 20, 2006 by Aurel

Judith Viorst’s 2 million plus selling children’s book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, has been acquired by Columbia Pictures. Mike Bender is penning the adaptation and Neil Moritz is set to produce. Moritz credits his son for the project’s inception.

“This is one of my son’s favorite books, and I would read it to him every day,” Moritz said. “And a few months ago, out of the blue, he asked, ‘When are they making this into a movie, Daddy?’ And I said, Why didn’t I think of that?”

Read the Book Standard/Hollywood Reporter Article

Posted in Children's books, Movie Adaptations, Uncategorized |

Uncovering the woman behind Mary Poppins

Posted on November 16, 2006 by Aurel

The easy answer is that she was the author of the Mary Poppins books that resulted in a beloved Disney movie and a Broadway musical.But Travers played other roles during her 96 years: she was an actress and a journalist in Australia and the U.K.; she wrote propaganda for the U.S. during the Second World War; she was a poet respected by the great Irish poets.

Read the full article on The Chronicle Herald.

Posted in Articles, Authors, Book Release, Children's books, Film |

Author Jack Williamson dead at 98

Posted on November 16, 2006 by Aurel

Pioneer science fiction author Jack Williamson has died at the age of 98 at his home in Portales, N.M., of natural causes.

‘Jack Williamson was one of the great science-fiction writers,’ writer Ray Bradbury told The Los Angeles Times Monday. ‘He did a series of novels which affected me as a young writer with dreams. I met him at 19, and he became my best friend and teacher.’

Full article here.

Posted in Authors, Obituaries, Science fiction/fantasy |

Author puts Corleone clan to rest

Posted on November 16, 2006 by Aurel

It was an offer author Mark Winegardner could not refuse when he was asked to finish off the saga of America’s most powerful fictional crime family, the Corleone clan, and let them rest in peace.

…Winegardner has just released the final novel in the series, “The Godfather’s Revenge,” which moves the family onto its biggest stage of all — the intersection of organised crime and national politics.

Full article, Belinda Goldsmith, Reuters

Posted in Articles, Authors, Book Release, Interviews, Movie Adaptations |