Manu Joseph wins the PEN Open Book Award 2011

Published in the US by W.W. Norton, Manu Joseph's debut novel SERIOUS MEN has won the 2011 PEN Open Book Award. The runner up was John Murillo with UP JUMP THE BOOGIE. Please click here for a list of all PEN prizes and their 2011 winners.

Manu Joseph will be appearing at the Edinburgh Book Festival this year, and SERIOUS MEN is also up for the Newton First Book Award, for which readers can vote here. Manu's event at the Festival will take place on Thursday 25 August (7-8:15pm). Please click here for more information on the event and here for more information about the author.

Manu Joseph's debut has already won the Hindu Best Fiction Award 2010 and been shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize, the Commonwealth Prize, and the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize.

SERIOUS MEN is published in the UK by John Murray, by Harpercollins in Canada and India, and has been sold in Brazil (Record), Denmark (Thaning & Appel), Germany (Klett Cotta & Suhrkamp), Holland (Podium), Italy (Edizioni Dedalo), Serbia (Laguna), and Spain (El Aleph). It will also be published in Tamil by Ethir Veliyedu in India.

PRAISE for Manu Joseph

'One of the strongest debuts of 2010, this bittersweet Mumbai tale of high minds and low plots [is] more LUCKY JIM than WHITE TIGER…Touching, hilarious, this collision between the Mumbai of stars and of mud rediscovers a deep Indian vein of humane and sophisticated comedy.' -- Independent

'Manu Joseph shows how petty jealousies in India can motivate and divide as surely as major societal differences. His skills as a writer are tremendous - he invests even the most ordinary interactions with keenly observed human quirks, and almost every sentence is a joy to read for its ingeniously constructed language. This is a compellingly entertaining novel - witty, subversive, extraordinarily perceptive, deliciously wicked.' -- Manil Suri, author of THE DEATH OF VISHNU

'Arguably the best of the recent crop of novels by Indian writers.' -- Anis Shivani, Huffington Post

'The finest comic novelists know that a small world can illuminate a culture and an age. With this funny-sad debut, Joseph does just that for surging, fractious India.' -- Boyd Tonkin, Independent

'Manu Joseph's satirical tale of an ostensibly new India still in thrall to its caste-ridden and sexist traditions is so much more than a mere comic caper.' -- Catherine Taylor, The Guardian

'Manu Joseph's first novel elegantly describes collisions with an unyielding status quo, ably counterpointing the frustrations of the powerless with the unfulfilling realities of power. With this astute comedy of manners he makes a convincing bid for his own recognition as a novelist of serious talent, the latest addition to a roster of Indian writers who are creating fine literary art from their country's fearsome contradictions.' -- Peter Carty, Independent

Re-enactment society, Regia Anglorum, celebrates 25th anniversary

Elizabeth Chadwick is an avid member of the Medieval re-enactment group Regia Anglorum, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. With over 500 members, Regia Anglorum (a term used by early English writers to denote the English state) explore and recreate English life of the British Isles from the Viking Age of Alfred the Great to the Norman Conquest in 1066. Regia Anglorum have created a video in honour of their 25th year anniversary, portraying the dedication and authenticity of the society. To view the exciting video, please click here, and click here for more information on Regia Anglorum.

Their authentic approach is a great research tool for Elizabeth Chadwick's novels, enabling her to capture her own experiences on the pages of her books. For more information on Chadwick's involvement, please click here. Her latest novel LADY OF THE ENGLISH was published in June by Little, Brown.

Praise for Elizabeth Chadwick:

'The best writer of medieval fiction currently around.' -- Historical Novel Review

"...a meticulously researched historical novel with great insight into both female lead characters....For reading groups with an interest in historical fiction, this book would be a joy to discuss, and would initiate a lively discussion on the merits of being a woman in a man's world." -- Josie Barton, New Books

NO REST FOR THE DEAD in New York for Peter James

Twenty-six best-selling authors, including Peter James, have contributed to the new crime novel, NO REST FOR THE DEAD, published by Simon & Schuster's Touchstone imprint. Released on July 5, 10 out of the 26 writers came together at NYC's Centre for Fiction to launch the novel. Click here to watch the highlights of the event.

Prompted by Andrew Gulli, editor of Strand Magazine in the US, each author has written a chapter, and together they have created a story centred on detective Jon Nunn and who is trying to solve a 10-year-old case. Peter James contributed chapter 22 in the novel and other authors include, David Baldacci, Raymond Khoury, Jeff Abbott, Jeffrey Deaver, Kathy Reichs and Faye Kellerman.

All the proceeds from sales of the novel are donated to the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society.

Peter James has recently also enjoyed huge success with his latest novel DEAD MAN'S GRIP, which stayed in the top 10 for 6 consecutive weeks.

Praise for Peter James:

'Peter James's mega-selling … Dead Man's Grip … sees him continuing to make formidable use of what is clearly an extensive body of research with Sussex's police force. … Ian Rankin of the South.' -- Alexandra Heminsley, Independent

TARZAN: a must-read this summer

Andy Briggs' chart-topping children's thriller TARZAN: THE GREYSTOKE LEGACY has been placed in the Booktrust's Summer Reads top 20 list of books that mustn't be missed now that school's out!

The reworking by Briggs will have Tarzan as far 'edgier and more feral' than the original, and deeply concerned about the destruction of his environment in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His Jane is also decidedly modern - her father, Archie and his friend Phil, who in Burroughs' version are a couple of amiable academics are now involved in illegal logging. Jane hates what her father is doing and she and Tarzan plot to stop it.

Praise for TARZAN:

‘Wow! All the things I loved about the original Tarzan books rebooted for modern-day Africa, with a plot that will whisk you off your feet and swing you through the trees at breakneck speed.’ -- Roderick Gordon, author of TUNNELS

‘Tarzan is back with a bloodcurdling roar! An epic re-book of the classic series.’ -- Eoin Colfer, author of ARTEMIS FOWL

‘CRACKING jungle adventure with the one and only, all- time best eco-warrior, Tarzan.’ -- MG Harris, author of THE JOSHUA FILES

‘A white-knuckle adventure worthy of Burroughs at his best. Andy Briggs’ Tarzan is a stunning achievement.’ -- William Hussey, author of WITCHFINDER

http://www.booktrustchildrensbooks.org.uk/Recommended-Books/Children%27s-Book-Lists/Summer-Reads

A GIRL MADE OF DUST shortlisted for the German LiBeraturpreis

Published by Rowohlt in Germany, Nathalie Abi-Ezzi's novel A GIRL MADE OF DUST made it onto a shortlist of 5 women authors for the 2011 LiBeraturpreis.

The prize has been awarded since 1988 by the ecumenical church in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The winner will be announced on October 9th in Frankfurt during the Book Fair.

A GIRL MADE OF DUST was shortlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel 2008, Waverton Good Read Award 2009 and the Desmond Elliott Prize 2009 and longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2010. The film script was shortlisted for the Shasha Screenwriting Grant 2010.

In the novel eight-year-old Ruba lives in a village near Beirut, in 1980s Lebanon, as civil war divides her country. Her father’s depression threatens their livelihood, and her brother runs wild with boys with guns. As Ruba decides she has to save her family, Israeli troops invade and danger comes ever closer, but in the end love and family prevail.

Published in the UK by Fourth Estate and Harper Perennial, A GIRL MADE OF DUST has also been sold in several countries around the world, including to Random in Canada and Grove Atlantic in the US. Translation rights are sold in Germany, Holland, Indonesia, Italy, Lithuania, Spain and Turkey.

Praise for A GIRL MADE OF DUST

'Captivating…A subtle, pertinent depiction of civilian life in the midst of bewildering conflict.' -- Catherine Taylor, The Guardian

'A simple, honest story…Loosely based on her childhood experiences, Abi-Ezzi's novel is a testimony to survival.' -- Rebecca Starford, The Australian

'A compelling chronicle of innocence lost…Abi-Ezzi portrays the child's awakening to the cruelties of life as both heartbreaking and profound, successfully eluding the clichés associated with the coming-of-age novel while simultaneously generously enriching its vocabulary.' -- Val Nolan, The Sunday Business Post