Independent Alliance creates 'Independents Day'

The Independent Alliance consortium of ten UK publishers including Faber and Faber, Atlantic Books, Canongate, Icon Books, Profile Books, Short Books, Quercus, Serpent's Tail and Granta, in association with the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is to launch a one-day festival 'to celebrate and explore independence across the creative industries in Britain'.

The festival is scheduled to take place on 6th June.  Among the featured publishers will be Faber's Stephen Page and Atlantic's Ravi Mirchandani who will take part in seminars along with other leaders in the creative industries including Laurence Bell, founder of Domino Records and well-known writers including Alan Bennett and Edna O'Brien.

Pinewood Studios in Joint Venture with China's Seven Stars

Buckinghamshire-based Pinewood Shepperton plc, one of the UK's biggest film studios, announced on 17 April, 2013 that the Group has entered into a 50-50 Joint Venture Agreement with China's Seven Stars Media Limited.

Pinewood is a leading provider of services to the global film and television industry while Seven Stars is one of China's leading private media groups providing content creation, distribution, media services and events.

Song Lin, which is a literal translation in Mandarin from the name 'Pinewood', will be the name of the new venture which is to assess a number of business proposals in the growing market for entertainment in China. The Chinese entertainment and media market is said to be worth $137,458 million and is predicted to grow to £192,518 million by 2016.  The Chinese market for filmed entertainment is worth £4,478 million and is expected to almost double by 2016.

The aims of the new venture are to provide co-production opportunities for film and television producers; create film and television diploma courses which will be delivered by UK educational institutions in Beijing, Tianjin and other Chinese cities; to develop production financing for Chinese film and television productions and to create a series of film-themed entertainment venues and other projects in Shanghai, Beijing and Wuhan.

For comments by PM David Cameron and managements of the two partners see http://www.pinewoodgroup.com/about-us/news/pinewood-signs-chinese-joint-venture-agreement

UK Digital Theatre and CinemaLive Link Up

Digital Theatre, a company which makes filmed theatre productions available for download, will screen some of its recordings in cinemas around the UK in partnership with film producers CinemaLive. The first series of screenings will take place in September 2013.

Titles are yet to be announced but will initially focus on commercial West End productions some of which will be newly recorded and some drawn from Digital Theatre's archive which includes shows like Much Ado about Nothing starring David Tennat and Catherine Tate and David Suchet and Zoe Wanamaker in Arthur Miller's modern American classic All my Sons.

Digital Theatre, founded in 2009 by Robert Delamere and Tom Shaw, now hosts productions from the UK's largest classical and modern repertory theatres including the Royal Court, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare's Globe and the Almeida.  It has launched an ipad app and hosts the Routledge Performance Archive of audio-visual material.

UK Theatre has had an increasingly regular presence in cinemas since the launch of National Theatre Live in 2009. NT Live will broadcast its first West End production The Audience starring Helen Mirren in June 2013. 

Graham McLaren's productionn of Great Expectations demonstrated the commercial potential of the theatre-cinema link by taking £80,000 at the box office for its live-broadcast around the UK of its opening night.  The Digital Theatre and CinemaLive will give audiences a chance to catch up on past theatrical productions they may have missed.

London Book Fair - new generation ebooks

At th week's London Book Fair London publisher Faber trailed a 'fully immersive' version of John Buchan's classic adventure 'The Thirty-Nine Steps', a bespoke e-book exploring how the digital format can be used to rethink conventional narrative.

Originally published in 1915 as a serial in Blackwood's magazine The Thirty-Nine Steps introduced the first action hero, Richard Hannay.  It has already been adapted several times for film and television so is no stranger to new technology.

This interactive visual version was produced as a result of the publisher teaming up with two software publishers and a developer, collectively known as The Story Mechanics to create a 'fully playable, fully immersive product' which it is believed will break new ground in digital reading.

The app, borrowing techniques from gaming, will include classic stop-frame animation and be accompanied by original silent film music which will allow readers to 'unlock dozens of achievements and items to collect on their reading journey and explore hundreds of hand-painted digital environments and context from 1910s Britain.'

Also embracing innovative ideas in presenting fiction Iain Pears, author of The Dream of Scipio and An Instance of the Fingerpost is publishing his new book Arcadia in digital form, also with Faber, in the autumn with a conventional print version to follow next year.  Pears' novel is inspired by quantum physics and written in 'nodes' mapped on to a graph constructed after consultation with an Oxford Professor of Mathematics.  Arcadia is not an interactive novel.  The aim is to create an infinite number of ways in which the story can be read.  One result of the new format according to the author is to get the story beyond the constraints of time and get rid of causality.  The novel is being constructed in partnership with a software developer and digital designer and will be rewritten for the print version.  The team are excited that this is not simply a digital 'bolt-on' to a print novel but conceived from the outset in a digital format.  Does this spell the end for the solo novelist?

FLIP Festival coming to UK

Liz Calder, former editorial director of London publisher Bloomsbury, is launching a UK version of Festa Literaria Internacional de Paraty (FLIP), the Brazil-based literary and cultural festival she co-founded with her husband, former Bookseller editor, Louis Baum, which they have tun for the past ten years.

The UK version to be called FLIPSIDE will take place 4th - 6rh October, 2013  and be held at the arts and concert venue at Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

The programme, which is still in the planning stages, will be announced in May.  It will feature a number of Brazilian writers, artists and musicians alongside UK-based authors and will include a tribute to the poet and lyricist Vinicius de Moraes and composer Antonio Carlos Jobim who together created Bossa Nova.

To find out more visit the Brazil collective stand at the London Book Fair (Y405) or www.flipsidefestival.co.uk

2013 Pulitzer Prize Winners

The Associatd Press reports the 2013 Pulitzer Prize winners today, April 16, 2013, awarded for all types of journalism from international news to feature photo-journalism.  The winners are as follows:

PUBLIC SERVICE
The Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Florida for its investigation of off-duty police officers who were recklessly speeding and endangering lives which led to the suspension and dismissal of officers involved and significant policy changes at several South Florida police agencies.  Editor Howard Saltz is reported as saying this type of journalism made the community safer and made certain that people behaved in a more appropriate and just way which he concluded is really what journalism is all about.

BREAKING NEWS REPORTING
The Denver Post Staff won the award for the Post's coverage of the mass shooting at a movie theatre in suburban Aurora last summer which left 12 people dead.  News Director Kevin Dale commented that the newspaper would rather have won for a less tragic story.  The award citation noted that the paper had used Twitter, Facebook, video and written reports to capture the story and provide context indicating the greater breadth and use of wider media that is part of newspaper reporting today.

The New York Times scooped several awards including:

David Bairstow and Alejandra Xanic von Bertrab for Investigative Reporting; The New York Times Staff for Explanatory Reporting; David Barboza for International Reporting and John Branch for Feature Writing.

The prize for Local Reporting was won by Brad Shrade, Jeremy Olsen, Glen Howatt of the Star Tribune, Minneapolis which also scooped the prize for Steve Sack for Editorial Cartooning.

The prizes for National Reporting went to InsideClimate News, Commentary to Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal, Critism to Philip Kennicott of The Washington Post and Editorial Writing to Tim Nickens and Daniel Ruth of the Tampa Bay Times.

Prizes for photo-journalism went to Rodrigo Abd, Manu Brabo, Narciso Contreras, Khalil Hamra and Muhammed Muheisen of the Associated Press for Breaking News Photography and to freelance photographer Javier Manzano for Feature photography.

The Pulizter Prizes for the Arts were awarded in the following categories:

FICTION: Adam Johnson for 'The Orphan Master's Son'
DRAMA:  Ayad Akhtar's 'Disgraced'
BIOGRAPHY: Tom Reiss for 'The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the real Count of Monte Cristo
POETRY: Sharon Olds for 'Stag's Leap'
GENERAL NON-FICTION: Gilbert King for 'Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys and the Dawn of a New America'
MUSIC: Caroline Shaw for 'Partita for 8 Voices'

Congratulations to all the winners.

Raindance Film Festival - Early Bird Discount

Its the last 3 days to get an earlybird discount for London's Oscar qualifying (for short films) Raindance Film Festival later this year.

Raindance are themselves venturing into feature film production with Love, Honour and Obey which they are crowd-funding via http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/love-honour-and-obey for details and an opportunity to contribute if you wish.

They are currently running two training series.

Finding Time and Confidence is a script coach series led by Jurgen Wolff being held today, Monday April 15 6:30 - 9:00 pm at the Raindance Film Centre, 10 Craven Street, London WC2N 5BE.  Just time to make that one.  The cost is £48:00.  Call 0207 930 3412 to book.

Anatomy of a Story with John Truby is on June 15 - 17th 9:30 am - 6:00 p.m. The venue which will be in Central London is to be confirmed.  The cost is £420.  Call 0207 930 3412 to book.

Death Runs After - Preview Book Cover

I am about a third of the way through my new novel Death Runs After.  I can't give too much away not least because I don't know what direction the story is going to take yet.  But I have produced a cover image so I can give you a sneak preview and let you guess.

copyright(c)carolrichards2013

UK Book News: Museum books top post-Easter sales

There  usually a slump  in bookshop sales following the Easter break but one type of book is bucking the trend this year.  Nine of the books in this week's top ten accelerators chart are guides to British museums and historical sites according to The Bookseller firstedition@bookseller.co.uk.  The top seller is the Imperial War Museum's Duxford Guidebook sales of which rocketed 342% week on week last week.

The only book to chart in the top 10 that is not a guidebook is Iain Banks' debut novel The Wasp Factory following the sad news last week that the author has been diagnosed with gall bladder cancer.  Sales of his books jumped 40% in total which is a rather sad reflection on the fact that no publicity, even impending death, is bad publicity.

Nielsen BookScan data records that The Wasp Factory has sold 216,000 copies in the UK since their official sales records began and has spent more than 17 years in its official weekly top 5,000 bestseller list which is some record.

Here is the full list of top ten accelerators for this week:

Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Growth 342% 255% 216% 173% 139% 131% 126% 126% 115% 108%

Title IWM Duxford Guidebook The Wasp Factory Tintagel Castle Guidebook Osborne Guidebook Battle Abbey ... Guidebook IWM HMS Belfast Guidebook Churchill War Rooms Kids Only Hadrian's Wall Guidebook Imperial War Museum North

Author - Banks, Iain Batey, Colleen E Turner, Michael Coad, Jonathan - - MacQuitty, Dr Miranda Breeze, David J -

Imprint IWM Abacus E Heritage E Heritage E Heritage IWM IWM NHM E Heritage IWM

London's Temple of Mithras - amazing new discoveries

A few weeks ago I wrote that there was not much chance of making amazing new physical discoveries for London's Roman and post-Roman past as most of the archaeology has been destroyed by later rebuilding.  It is the curse of jounalism that as soon as you make a confident assertion you are immediately proved wrong and so it is with me today.

A team led by Museum of London Archaeologists (MOLA) digging the bed of the now 'lost' river Walbrook have uncovered an area of Roman London occupied between AD47 and the early fifth century so extensive they have dubbed it the 'Pompeii of the north' principally because the mud and silt of the former riverbed has provided an anaerobic environment which means that even organic artefacts like leather and wood have  been perfectly preserved. 

A spokesman for MOLA revealed that the site contains layer upon layer of Roman timber buildings, built-up waterfronts, fences and yards all beautifull preserved and containing amazing personal items, clothes and documents.  The latter are perhaps the most exciting find of all, around 100 fragments of Roman writing tablets, everything from names and addresses to personal letters.  Up until now very few written records of Roman London have come to light.

The dig has also uncovered a previously unexcavated part of the Temple of Mithras which we did know about.  It was originally discovered in 1954. 

The exceptional preservation of the timbers means that it will be possible to date them using dendrochronology and the archaeologists believe they will date to before AD47 which will be very interesting as this would suggest the infrastructure pre-dates the Roman conquest and thus must be of pre-Roman Celtic construction.  Altogether the discoveries are truly exceptional and will give us a great insight into London's Roman history.

Pictures from the site can be seen at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-22086375

Nobel Prize Poet Murder Mystery

The body of Chilean Nobel poet laureate Pablo Neruda has been exhumed by forensic specialists in an attempt to try and solve a forty year old murder mystery.  Officially he died of natural causes brought on by cancer on 23 September 1973 but people close to the poet claim he was poisoned by the then military dictatorship that governed Chile in the 1970s and 1980s.

The poet, who won the Nobel prize for literature in 1971, was best known for his romantic poetry, notably his collection of verses 'Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair.'

Pablo Neruda, aside from being an accomplished poet, was a left-wing politician and close friend of  ousted socialist president.Santiago Allende who committed suicide rather than surrender to the military junta led by General Augusto Pinochet which staged a military coup in Chile on September 22, 1973.

It was believed Pablo Neruda would provide an influential voice in exile for the Chilean opposition.  He died only twelve days after the 1973 military coup in hospital in Santiago, just a day before he was scheduled to leave the country.

The suspicion that he was poisoned is given credence by the fact that a former president and vocal critic of the Pinochet regime, President Eduardo Frei Montalva, who died nine years ago at the same clinic was found on investigation to have been slowly poisoned.  The remains of Pablo Neruda are now being sent for tests to ascertain whether he too was poisoned to prevent him leading the opposition in exile to the military dictatorship.

UK Book Festivals in April 2013

This is the season when UK book festivals kick off in earnest with plenty of fine venues to choose from.

First up is The Leigh and Wigan Words Together Festival which celebrates its 10th year focusing on the best in local and international historical and modern writing.  The festival offers a two week programme from 1 - 13 April, 2013 at various venues in and around Leigh and Wigan.  Celebrity authors include Will Self, Lizzie Jones, Alan Whelan and Lemn Sissay.

The Laugharne Weekend in beautiful West Wales opens in the town famous as the home of poet Dylan Thomas with a cool mix of edgy musicians and authors Sir Peter Blake, Mark Thomas, Caitlin Moran, Tracey Thorn, Beth Orton, John Hegley and Mark Watson coming together for the weekend April 5 - 7.

Scarborough Literature Festival sees the famous seaside town hosting Joanne Harris, Lucy Worsley and Penny Junor 11- 14th April 2013.

Aye Write! celebrates all things literary and Glaswegian bringing the best of Scottish and international writers to the city's magnificent Mitchell Library 12 - 20th April 2013.  Guest speakers include Kate Atkinson, Sandi Toksvig, Nick Cohen, Martin Palmer and Jeremy Vine.

Cambridge Wordfest Spring 2013 offers a packed weekend of some of the best in contemporary fiction, political debate, workshops and events for children.  This is a festival for writers as well as readers and takes place April 12 - 14, 2013 in the city's historic ADC Theatre and the University's McCrum and Babbage lecture theatres.  Taking part will be Kevin Crossley-Hollan, Antony Beevor, Lindsey Hilsum, Chimanada Ngozi-Adichie, Kate Fox.

The Chipping Norton Literary Festival takes place in the picturesque West Oxfordshire market town between 18 - 23 April, 2013.  More than 50 authors, publishers and bookssellers will be taking part in book swaps, reading corners, workshops and discussions.  Among those booked to appear are Mark Billingham, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Tracy Chevalier and Barry Cryer.

Hexham Book Festival is offering a mixed bag of delights for all ages blending words, stories and ideas between 24th - 27th April at Queen's Hall, Hexham, Northumbria.  Celebrity authors include Claire Tomalin, Barbara Bell, Edwina Currie, Chris Mullin, Martin Bell and Maggie O'Farrell.

Last but not least The Stratford Upon Avon Literary Festival celebrates its 6th year in 2013.  An exciting mixture of debate, ideas and celebrity author events including workshops and humour runs alongside a programme of educational events in local schools in and around Stratford to which favourite authors including Artemis Cooper, Gavin Hewitt, Jay Rayner, John Connolly, Kate Humble, Mark Billingham and Michael Morpurgo are invited to inspire children aged 2 - 18.  The festival runs from 21st April - 5th May 2013.

'Gates of Hell' discovered in Turkey

Archaeologists have unearthed the site they believe to be the ancient 'Gate of Hell', the muythical entrance to the underworld of Greek and Roman legend.

The site is in the ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis, modern Pamukkale in south-west Turkey. The archaeological team, led by Francesco D'Andria, Professor of Classic Archaeology at the University of Salento, claims the site is a close match to historical descriptions of what was known in ancient Greek as Poutonion and Plutonium in Latin.  They managed to pinpoint the location by reconstructing the route of thermal springs. 

They found the ruins of a small temple with a facade decorated with Ionic semi columns bearing inscriptions to Pluto and Kore, the gods of the underworld.  It stands next to a wall with steps leading down to a cave doorway which emits foul-smelling, poisonous gases.

The Greek geographer Strabo who lived between 64 BC and 24 AD described it saying: 'The space is full of a vapour so misty and dense that one can scarcely see the ground.  Any animal that passes inside meets instant death.  I threw in sparrows and they immediately breathed their last and fell.'  The archaeologists confirm that the vapour has the same effect today.

The site remained in use until the 4th century AD as an important place of pilgrimage for late pagan intellectuals. It is believed to have been sacked by Christians in the 6th century and the ruin of the site was completed by earthquake damage.

Stunning photos of the site can be viewed at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2302755-Gate-Hell-Turkey-Hierapolis-temple-doorway-matches-mythical-portal-underworld.html

Pink Floyd - the Play of the Album

Something of a new trend in theatrical circles in recent years has been the 'play of the album'.

Latest playwright to jump on this bandwagon is veteran playwright Tom Stoppard who has written a play to mark the 40th anniversary of Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side of the Moon' album which tells us something about his taste in music.  The drama, called Dark Side, for BBC Radio2 starring Rufus Sewell, Bill Nighy and Adrian Scarborough, will feature music from the album and is based on themes explored in the songs including greed, conflict and madness. It will be broadcast in August.

Also celebrating the band's achievements Pink Floyd's hit album 'The Wall' is set to be turned into a Broadway musical by Miramax and former Sony boss Tommy Mottola.  The band's bassist and co-founder Roger Waters will write and compose the orchestral arrangements for the production which will be initially in New York but will no doubt come to London's West End in due course.