Category Archives: News

Waterstone’s and Grazia have revealed the ten titles for their summer Book Club, with the magazine stating: “the It book is as important as the It bag”. The chosen books, including Orange Prize winner The Tiger’s Wife, will be displayed prominently in Waterstone’s. Check out the full list when you read more.

Katie Price’s book signings are spectacular headline-grabbing events, so it’s no surprise that her next one will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the biggest book signing by a single author.

Katie is hoping to sign more than 1,951 copies of her latest work of fiction, The Comeback Girl, in Leeds on 27 July. Participants will be rewarded by being listed in the acknowledgements of her next novel and receiving a wristband, with one fan randomly picked to appear as a character.

Even without these incentives, I’m sure Katie won’t struggle to fill the O2 Academy in Leeds with autograph seekers. Whether she’s promoting a novel, children’s book or autobiography, she pulls the crowds and the press attention thanks to her brilliantly bonkers costumes and props.

Publicity director at Random House, Charlotte Bush said: “The Guinness World Records attempt will be Katie’s 113th signing with Random House and we are determined to make it her biggest yet.”

The bookies got it wrong this time, as The Tiger’s Wife won the Orange Prize 2011. Emma Donoghue was the favourite to win with Room, but 25-year-old Obreht scooped the honour, becoming the youngest winner of the annual prize for fiction written by women.

Chair of Judges, Bettany Hughes said of Obreht: “By skilfully spinning a series of magical tales she has managed to bring the tragedy of chronic Balkan conflict thumping into our front rooms with a bittersweet vivacity.”

What do you think of the result?

The winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction will be announced this Wednesday, and Emma Donoghue is the favourite to scoop the prize.

The rest of the shortlist includes: Aminatta Forna’s The Memory of Love; Emma Henderson’s Grace Williams Says it Loud; Nicole Krauss’s Great House; Téa Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife; and Kathleen Winter’s Annabel.

Who do you hope wins?

Global book club 1book140 has launched this month with Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin as its opening read. The Twitter-based group already has more than 7,000 followers, who will be sharing their views on the novel throughout June.

The initiative is run by Jeff Howe and follows last summer’s One Book, One Twitter Club, which focused on Neil Gaiman’s American Gods.

Are you interested in this kind of virtual book club?