Compass Points 18

Compass Points 18

Your weekly round up of publishing news, publicity information and trivia!

Imagine you’re on a train. Think about all the other people on the train with you, what their lives are or have been, and the different experiences you've all had. But there is one more thing that you undoubtedly all share: you have all been in love at one time or another. Trains and Lovers, the new novel by bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith is a surprising and poignant story; four strangers meet on a journey from Edinburgh to London. Each has a tale of love and of railways: all very different experiences, but throughout them all runs a deep current of love. Sandy McCall Smith is a global phenomenon and the publicity plans for this book are mega – just to give you a taster: the Sky Book Show has interview broadcasting on 15 November; there is a BBC Radio 3 documentary; Classic FM, Radio 4, Radio Scotland, Radio 2, Radio 3 and BBC World Service also all have interviews. There will be features, interviews and articles in the Telegraph, the Guardian, Woman & Home, Sainsbury’s Christmas Magazine, the Times, the Herald, the Express and the Scotsman. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that Alexander McCall Smith’s readers are all of a certain age or type – his Facebook page now has over 23,000 fans. If you haven’t tried his books I really urge you to give them a try – he will be doing a UK wide tour in October and November 2012, covering festivals, and bookshops from Brighton to Paisley!

Order Trains and Lovers here

And talking of trains and lovers – who cannot be reminded of the most famous trains and lovers story of all – click here to have a little watch and a weep at the last five minutes of this fabulous film.

Who’s doing a bit of a home decoration at the moment? Well, has it ever occurred to you that rather than going down to IKEA or B&Q and spending a fortune – you could simply find everything you need in a nearby skip, salvage yard or dump? Reclaiming Style by Adam Hills and Maria Speake, the partners behind architectural salvage and design business Retrouvius; combine their salvage work with one of the most sought-after interior design practices in Britain. The book takes you from the demolition site to the warehouse giving an insight into the process of designing with reclaimed materials. It’s getting a lot of publicity – there will be a big feature in the Telegraph Magazine tomorrow, and also prices in Country Life, Easy Living, Marie Clare, the Independent, Living Etc and Grand Designs Magazine.

Order Reclaiming Style here

F in Retakes by Richard Benson, which has just been published, continues to get some good publicity as rants about educational standards  are never far away from the front pages of the “things ain’t what they used to be” harrumphing of the broadsheets and tabloids.  The Daily Mail ran a great piece this week, entitled Education Secretary Michael Gove may have a bigger task on his hands than he thought, if these genuine examples from exam papers are anything to go by! which you can look at  here to enjoy some more classroom clangers!

Click here to order the book

Are you in the mood for a bit of online shopping – but wants something a bit different from ASOS or Amazon? Click here to go to SupermarketSarah.com which is a really fun website; it features different “walls” – all decorated with cool stuff where you can just click on anything you like the look of to buy it – careful, it can become a bit addictive! The site’s become a real platform for young talent and has been featured in a wide range of media, including the Guardian, Evening Standard, Sunday Times Style, British Vogue, Elle and the BBC News. And now Supermarket Sarah has a book out too!  She has travelled the globe, offering up inspiration and variety as she illustrates novel ways in which people use their own walls to display themselves and their “treasures.” She visits the homes and studios of designers and collectors, viewing the displays of minimalists and hoarders. The walls range from the quirky to the romantic, from vintage to brand new. They are all revealing, amusing and thought-provoking – Supermarket Sarah is becoming a bit of a sensation – so don’t let your customers miss out on this fast growing trend!

Order the book - which is called Wonder Walls - here

And now let’s go back in time see what the Norwegians make of our ongoing eBooks versus real books debate…

Watch The Medieval Helpdesk here!

This newsletter is sent weekly to over 550 booksellers. If you would like to order any of the titles mentioned, then please click here to go to the Compass New Titles Website.

Compass Points 17

Compass Points 17

Your weekly round up of publishing news, publicity information and trivia!

Well, it’s the time of year for party conferences – and we’ve now heard from Labour and the Lib Dems as to how exactly they’d run the country – if only they were in charge. Out this month is the gripping first biography of one of the men who actually is in charge – George Osborne. The Age of Osborne by Janan Ganash charts the mixture of rare brilliance, deadly opportunism and extraordinary good fortune that propelled Osborne’s vertiginous ascent through British politics, from journalist fresh out of university to the youngest Chancellor in over a century. In doing so, it paints a portrait of that rare thing in the coalition government: a compelling character. A lifelong Tory but a man of few fixed convictions, the author of the most dramatic austerity programme this country has seen since the war, the most aristocratic member of an unusually privileged government and a ferociously ambitious moderniser with aspirations for the premiership, George Osborne is perhaps the most modern and metropolitan figure in British public life. Janan Ganesh is the British political correspondent of The Economist, and this title is attracting much media attention, as you would expect. Starting this Saturday it will be serialised in the Daily Mail – which will run through into next week.

Order the Age of Osborne here.

Another title in the news is Ted and I: A Brother’s Memoir by Gerald Hughes – his story of growing up with the poet Ted Hughes. This had a two page serialisation this weekend in the Sunday Times. Anecdotal and immensely charming, this book is a unique portrait of one of the finest and best-known poets of the twentieth century. Hughes brings alive a period when the two brothers would roam the countryside, camping, making fires, pitching tents, hunting rabbits, rats, wood pigeon and stoats. Ted’s fascination with all wildlife subsequently fed directly into his sublime poetry and Gerald subsequently describes how he watched his brother become one of the greatest poets in English literary history, and his relationships with others, in particular. The title containing a great many unique and never-before-seen photographs of Ted Hughes, and has a foreword by Frieda Hughes, daughter of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.  I have always loved Ted Hughes, and was lucky enough to see him reading his poems at a festival years ago – if you too are a fan you can watch a short tribute to him here.

And the book is available here.

Now – something very exciting is happening on Monday – 46 million people all over the world will watch the largest ever global photographic show!  A Day in the World will be simultaneously shown across 85,733 major digital display screens in 22 countries; including in New York’s Times Square.  The synchronised exhibition will kick off on the farthest eastern screen in Sydney, Australia, and travel across the world until it reaches the most western in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Come on – surely those sorts of numbers and that sort of publicity have got to lead to some serious sales for the Day in the World book which has just been published!

On 15th May 2012, ADay.org asked amateur and professional photographers around the world to pick up their cameras to photograph what was close to them on a single day. The response proved phenomenal and the initiative became the most comprehensive documentation of a single day in human history through digital photography. Of over 100,000 photographs taken and submitted, from 165 countries, the 1,000 best have been selected for this book. A Day in the World highlights the sharp juxtapositions between different geographical regions and economic positions – and includes a great variety of situations and subject matter. As Desmond Tutu says in the book’s introduction “Every picture has added to my experience – my comprehension of life is suddenly richer.”

You can find out all about the project here - and view many of the amazing pictures!

You can order A Day in the World here

This is fun – one of the Compass publishers has their own radio station! Hay House –the world’s leading mind body and sprit publisher – as well as having a great website, also has its very own radio station, where you can listen to words of wisdom from some of their bestselling authors. If you’re bored of Classic FM, Radio 5 Live or 6Music then why not have a listen to it here.

And click here for the Hay House website

Who fancies escaping the wild weather of a typical British autumn, and jetting off to the isle of Mustique for a decadent party with the rich and famous?  Sadly most of us don’t have this option – but it’s always fun to read about those who do. Lord of the Isle: The Extravagant Life and Times of Colin Tennant (Lord Glenconner) by Nicholas Courtney is the long anticipated biography of the late Lord Glenconner – an often unconventional and always newsworthy figure. Born to an immensely rich Victorian industrial family, he used his wealth to live an eccentric lifestyle of self-indulgence from the 1940s to his death in 2010. He bought the private island of Mustique in the West Indies and made it one of the world’s most exclusive destinations for the famous –  royalty, film and pop stars, international businessmen and the jet-set flocked there. His parties were legend. The inside story of this remarkable and often tragic life continues to cause ripples even after his death – not least because, to his family’s surprise, he left his estate to his manservant. This book is a major biography for the autumn and Christmas and will generate a lot of publicity. A serialisation is running in the Daily Mail to run in three instalments between 13th October and the date of publication, Monday 29th October.  There will also be big pieces in the Sunday Telegraph and The Scotsman and we’re expecting interviews with Nicholas on the BBC World Service, BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 4.

Order the book here

New in this week’s “oooh er missus” spot comes Venus in the Cloister by the rather unfortunately named L’Abbe du Prat.  Fifty Shades of Grey may have created a phenomenon but is a relative newcomer to the world of fictional eroticism – why not go back to the beginning to see how it all began. Written in 1683 as a series of dialogues (known as whore dialogues) between the two nuns, Venus in the Cloister shows erotic fiction was popular long before the days of EL James and could be just as titillating. In fact it was considered so shocking at the time in its portrayal of sexual voyeurism and notion of female intimacy; it was responsible for the first trial for obscenity in the United Kingdom. This is the only available edition of this classic erotic tale, and it’s published in November, by Hesperus. It has a suitably saucy but tasteful black and white cover – and will sit very nicely alongside all the other mummy porn – sorry erotic fiction – on your shelves!

Find out more here

Who’s into rugby union? Well, then this is the book for you! Behind the Lions: Playing Rugby for the British & Irish Lions by Stephen Jones, Tom English, Nick Cain and David Barnes is a unique history of the Lions told in the players’ own words. These four world-renowned rugby authors represent each of the Home Unions – and 2013 marks 125 years of Lions tours so there’s certain to be plenty of interest in this book! Just to give you a flavour of emotions involved, here’s one fan's tribute to the 2009 Lions tour! The Lions tours embody a revered legacy that is steeped in tradition yet maintains a vibrant standing in the modern era. Every four years the rugby world’s focus is drawn to a great red pilgrimage as the Lions embark on a brutal and exhilarating tour that challenges the very limits of their rugby ability and the strengths of their characters. They travel to the far reaches of the earth to confront the great powers in the world game… and the weight of history itself. Behind the Lions delves to the heart of what it means to be a Lion, interviewing a vast array of former tourists to uncover the passion, pride and exhilaration experienced when wearing the famous red jersey. It is a tale of heart-break and ecstasy, humour and poignancy that is at once inspirational, moving and utterly compelling.

And you can order the book here!

This newsletter is sent weekly to over 550 booksellers. If you would like to order any of the titles mentioned, then please click here to go to the Compass New Titles Website.

That’s all for now folks, more next week!

Compass Points 16

Compass Points 16

Your weekly round up of publishing news, publicity information and trivia!

Who’s enjoying the latest series of Doctor Who? Exciting isn’t it – although can someone please explain to me what those people with the weird mouths had to do with the little black cubes – and oh dear, it looks as if  the thoroughly irritating River Song is back this week. However, what we Stephen Moffat fans are really salivating over is the return of Sherlock – although I think we’ll have to wait until 2013 to find out how Benedict Cumberbatch escaped from that roof. In the meantime, how about seeing things from a different point of view – from the point of view in fact, of Sherlock’s housekeeper. Mrs Hudson’s Diaries: A View From The Landing at 221b by Barry and Bob Cryer is a comic rethinking of the Holmes legend by a British comedy great and will make the perfect Christmas humour title for all of those Sherlock fans out there – and there are a heck of a lot!! The diaries reveal a portrait of life below stairs at 221b Baker Street that is by turns silly, slapstick and sentimental. What results is an affectionate and hilarious sketch of a remarkably enterprising Victorian female whose humorous musings cover everything from the Boer War and boxing, to where to buy the best accompaniment for mutton. In the Conan Doyle books, Holmes and Mrs Hudson’s relationship lasted for nearly seventeen years meaning that, for many fans, she has the greatest claim to be the woman in his life. Barry Cryer is one of Britain’s best-loved comedy writers and performers, and a great media favourite – he’ll be doing lots of publicity to promote this title in the run up to Christmas.  Mrs Hudson’s Diaries is published in October - find out more here.

However, in the ongoing debate as to whether Doctor Who or Sherlock is the better man – let’s hand the argument over to the super egotists themselves…

Have a look at this - I think you'll enjoy it!

Three of the autumn’s biggest political books from Biteback are getting enormous amounts of press coverage this week, so make sure they are right at the front of the store as there are plenty more sales to be had, as interest in them builds!  The Edwina Currie biography was reviewed in the Mail on Sunday, the Telegraph, the Times, the Express, Private Eye, the Independent, the Guardian – everywhere basically; while the Andrew Adonis title Education, Education, Education had big pieces in The Financial Times and on Mumsnet. Stumbling Over Truth which is the inside story of the ‘sexed-up’ dossier, Hutton and the BBC; had a major piece in this Sunday’s Observer, which you can read here.  The book is by former Today editor Kevin Marsh who tells for the first time the inside story of Andrew Gilligan’s infamous 0607 broadcast on the Today programme. He explains how he was certain the story was true, but also how Gilligan’s ‘flawed reporting’ fatally damaged the BBC’s case. And he tells of his growing disillusion with the British media’s ability and appetite for holding power to account – or even telling the truth.

Find out more about Stumbling Over Truth here.

In 2009, sailor Steffan Meyric Hughes became the first to sail and row around London in a small boat. Along the way, he discovered both the loneliness one man in a tiny boat can feel against the vastness of the metropolis and the unexpected companionship that springs up between those who live on and around the river. Circle Line is the story of a unique journey on the forgotten waterways of one of the world’s greatest capitals, whose watery secrets and colourful past are unveiled with wry humour and wonderful detail. This engaging title is absolutely not just a “London book” – it will appeal to anyone who enjoys reading about a life on the water, from Three Men in a Boat to The Lonely Sea and the Sky. Quirky adventure titles are very much in vogue at the moment, and this would make a good gift book for all the “difficult to buy for” fathers, uncles etc. It has also got a really beautiful cover illustration by Rob Smith, has had some brilliant review coverage since its publication in July, and I would urge you to put it on display! The author has a very engaging blog which you can read here.

And all the details on the book are here.

The problems with the Euro – and with Greece in particular are much in the news at present. Greekonomics: The Euro Crisis and Why Politicians Don’t Get It by economist Vicky Pryce has just been published, and reflects on the current crisis– its causes and how Europe has responded, and what needs to happen if the Euro is to survive in its current form. Vicky is all over the media at the moment; she was on BBC World News last night, she was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Daily Politics today, is writing a piece for Saturday’s Independent and will be reviewing the papers on The Andrew Marr Show on BBC 1 on Sunday 7th October. In the book she pays particular attention to Greece, the country of her birth, the country first in the firing line in the Euro crisis and the country even now seen as Europe’s ‘problem child’. But as Pryce explains, the roots of the Euro’s crisis are much broader than a set of profligate governments in Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Italy or Spain. The flaws in the current system were obvious to economists from the outset. Politicians ignored or downplayed these in creating the Euro and indeed made the problem worse by watering down the controls that were in place. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know how the crisis came about and how it is likely to end.

Find out more and order it here.

This autumn, Hesperus Press (publisher of massive bestseller The Hundred Year Old Man who Jumped Out of the Window) is very proud to be celebrating its 10th anniversary. To honour the occasion, back in June they launched a competition asking members of the public to nominate one out-of-print book they would like to see back in print. The winning title is The Great Meadow by Elizabeth Madox Roberts which will be published in October. This is a terrific read – a romantic saga of young love on the Kentucky trail in colonial America. It’s a long neglected classic, first published in 1930 which was shortlisted for The Pulitzer Prize. It has a beautiful cover, and this breathtaking story of love and death, of settlers struggling to carve a new life on the unforgiving frontier at the mercy of shortages, harsh winters and the perpetual danger of Indian attack, is sure to find many new fans.  The New York Times described it as “Lucid and arresting, rhythmical and fresh.”

Order The Great Meadow here.

Who actually finds Fred Bassett funny? Well, whether or not you’re a fan, it’s hard to believe that Britain’s best-loved canine hero will be celebrating the big 50 in July 2013. The Daily Mail’s comic strip is read every day by millions of people, and the yearbook annually sells over 10,000 copies. The Fred Bassett Yearbook 2013 comes out in October, and if you need to remind yourself of exactly what the humour consists of – then take a look at this classic episode from the TV series in 1976.

And you can order the book here.

This newsletter is sent weekly to over 550 booksellers. If you would like to order any of the titles mentioned, then please click here to go to the Compass New Titles Website.

Compass Points 15

Compass Points 15

Your weekly round up of publishing news, publicity information and trivia!

The nights are drawing in, and a bookseller’s thoughts must surely be turning to thoughts of their Halloween window display. Well here’s the perfect title coming in October from Carnegie Books. The Witch and her Soul by Christine Middleton is a gritty, sensual, moving and absorbing historical novel, published on the 400th anniversary of the infamous Lancashire Witch Trials of 1612. Find out more about it here.

And talking of all things witchy and wizardy – who’s looking forward to the new adult novel from JK Rowling, A Casual Vacancy, published on 27 September? Or maybe you’re one of those immune to the charms of this particular author? Whether or not you’re a fan, you’ll probably enjoy this – if you don’t get respect, put your wands in the air!

Publicity is building for the UK publication in October of The Gingerbread House by Carin Gerhardsen (Sweden’s number one fiction author). Bestselling author Peter James said recently “Gerhardsen writes so vividly, like she is painting with words, gripping your heart and soul in an ever-tightening tourniquet.” And there will be many more glowing reviews to come you can be sure of that! We had a terrific response when we offered to send you out the first chapter – this is now available online, so click here to go to the publisher's website to read it.

And click here to get all the details on the book

A couple of weeks ago we were talking about The Good Food Guide – which has had some amazing publicity! The PR team responsible for this have worked out that there have been 57 pieces of national news coverage for it, with a combined circulation of over 51 million people; and also 219 pieces of coverage in the regional press which had a combined circulation of over 7 million people! Wow! Let’s hope all of this publicity is leading to lots and lots of sales of the book for you! Now hot on its heels in October comes The Good Hotel Guide, which is generally agreed to be Britain’s leading hotel guidebook. As The Guardian said; it is “Number one of the guides that takes no freebies.” And the Daily Telegraph called it “One of the most reliable and independent guides”. Whatever must it be like to be in these hotels when someone arrives to check them out I wonder? Let’s just have a little look to remind ourselves of exactly how not to behave when The Hotel Inspectors come to call. Manuel – you are a waste of space.

Order The Good Hotel Guide here.

Goodness me, have exams got harder than they used to be? Or are they easier they used to be? And will the EBACC replacement for the GCSE make them easier or harder – I don’t know it’s all so confusing. And should kids be allowed to just keep retaking an exam until they pass it, or is that cheating? Look out for F in Retakes: Even More Test Paper Blunders published in October which could not be more topical. The previous title in this hilarious series from Summersdale: F in Exams has now sold over quarter of a million copies so don’t miss out on what is a bit of a sales phenomenon!  Here are some examples from the Science test papers of some of Britain’s brightest and best…

What is an artificial pesticide?

Someone who’s only pretending to be annoying really.

Earth is closer to the sun than Mars, and bigger. What are two other differences between the two planets?

1.    Colour 2. Aliens

Name four diseases related to diet.

Fatness, really fatness, when you’re so fat you can’t move, death.

And on that note… how is the post-holiday slim-down going? Not good? Well maybe you need The De-Stress Diet by Anna McGee and Charlotte Watts. This book uses the powerful and proven connection between stress and excess weight to your advantage; showing you how you can eat, relax and gently exercise your way to a better body for life. It is a unique book which can help you to lose up to 10 pounds in six weeks.  Look out this Sunday 23 September for a major three page feature in The Mail on Sunday’s You Magazine. The Mail on Sunday has a massive readership, so this feature will bring the book to the attention of millions of women – make sure it’s easy for them to find the book in your shop next week!

Order the De-stress Diet here!

In 2007 Sophie Lancaster, a 20-year-old ‘Goth’, was attacked and killed in a Lancashire park by a gang of feral youths. The incident shocked the nation and was given world-wide media coverage. Poet Simon Armitage wrote the long prose-poem Black Roses about the incident specifically for broadcast on BBC Radio 4, last March. "It was immediate," he says of the reaction. "People were phoning in to the BBC switchboard on the day, writing in, emailing, getting messages to me afterwards about how much they'd been affected by the whole thing. ”If there's ever a signifier of whether something on radio has caught people's attention, it's where people get in touch and say 'I was driving the car but I had to pull over', or 'I'd got to where I was going but I had to stay in the car until the programme came to the end'. "I can't tell you how many hundreds of people got in touch with me and told me that had happened."

Now the piece has been adapted for the stage which you can read all about on a BBC news page here and is also published as a book with the profits divided equally between author, publisher and the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. There will be a lot of interest in this as we are coming up to the fifth anniversary of Sophie's murder, and Simon Armitage is well-connected in both the broadcast and print media.

You can order the book and find out more about it here.

And lastly well done again to The Garden of Evening Mists and Tan Twan Eng – which is showing a staggering sales growth of 512% this week according to The Bookseller; all thanks to that Booker Prize nomination! It's available in trade paperback (£12.99) here.

This newsletter is sent weekly to over 400 booksellers. If you would like to order any of the titles mentioned, then please click here to go to the Compass New Titles Website.

That’s all for now folks, more next week!

Compass Points 14

Compass Points 14

Your weekly round up of publishing news, publicity information and trivia!

The Hundred Year Old Man who Climbed out of the Window and Disappeared continues to sell and sell! A contact at Waterstones Head Office this week described it as “One of those rare, magical titles which Waterstones sells by the bucketload for years.” And it’s not just selling in Waterstone’s – this heart-warming and hilarious tale is zooming up the bestseller lists everywhere!

Order even more Hundred Year Old Man here

Now – your little darlings may have gone back to school, but that doesn’t mean they’re not driving you bonkers every evening! What you need is The Manic Mum’s Guide to Calm Parenting and Co Operative Kids. If you’ve ever felt like you’re banging your head against a brick wall or wished sometimes that your children would take you more seriously and that you had the time and energy to be the mother that you want to be, then this definitely is the book for you.  It is packed full of jargon free, common sense techniques and tools and ideas that will turn you from manic to calm and in control in just seven weeks. The title is getting lots of publicity; Prima Magazine said “I’d definitely recommend this book to other stressed out mums.” and there have been lots of reviews in the parenting magazines; family pages of the national press and in the ever popular “opinionated mummies on their computers” social media!

Order the Manic Mum Guide here!

Further events this week leave us in no doubt that we are living through a time of great revolution and change in the Middle East. Joumana Haddad is an award winning poet, publisher and journalist, and her new book Superman is an Arab: On God, Marriage, Macho Men and Other Disastrous Inventions examines the patriarchal system that continues to dominate in the Arab world and beyond. Haddad’s earlier book, I Killed Scheherazade: Confessions of an Angry Arab Woman was critically acclaimed and translated into thirteen languages.  This book is not a manifesto against men in general. Nor is it a manifesto against Arab men in particular. It is, however, a howl in the face of a particular species of men: the macho species – Supermen, as they like to envision themselves. From monotheist religions and the concept of marriage to institutionalised machismo and widespread double standards; Haddad reflects upon the vital need for a new masculinity in these times of revolution and change in the Middle East. The Independent called her “The Germaine Greer of Lebanon” and the Guardian have just run a rave review which you can read here saying “The Lebanese writer knows her targets and tracks them with a steady glare….Haddad speaks out for those who cannot” You can watch a very interesting interview with Joanna here.  This title is going to get a lot more publicity – Joanna was on the BBC World Service week, and you can Order Superman is an Arab here.

Yet more amazing publicity this week for Education, Education, Education:  Reforming England’s Schools by Andrew Adonis. The Bookseller included it this week as one of the UK’s most reviewed books, and there was a superb piece in the Guardian yesterday which said “this is an exhilaratingly unapologetic, well-sourced, highly readable and generally persuasive account of why the late-20th century English schools system had to be reinvented, has largely been reinvented, but still needs to be reinvented further. Read it.” You can read the whole article here.

Order Education Education Education here

Now who can complete the following line: “My old man’s a dustman, he wears a dustman’s hat…”? If so, you’re obviously as ancient as I am – or maybe even older! If you haven’t got a clue then click here to hear the rest of the song!

Coming in October is The Lonnie Donegan Story by Patrick Humphries. This is the story of the man who arguably kick-started the British pop and rock scene and remains one of the most important and influential figures in British musical history. It is the first full-length biography of the skiffle king and godfather of British rock’n’roll and is sure to be very well reviewed.  The book contains numerous revelations about Lonnie’s extraordinary life and includes exclusive interviews with Mick Jagger, Mark Knopfler, Paul McCartney, Brian May, Tim Rice, Bruce Welch, Richard Thompson, Bill Wyman and the late George Melly and John Peel, plus many, many others. Here's some footage of Lonnie playing live - great stuff!

Order The Lonnie Donegan Story here

But despite all of these terrific books coming out – if things carry on the way there are, will there actually be anyone interested in reading them? The latest research shows that children are reading less than ever before – the figures show a scary gradual year-on-year drop in the number of eight- to 16-year-olds choosing to pick up books outside school. Data published by the National Literacy Trust shows that just three-in-10 now read every day in their own time compared with four-in-10 seven years ago. One in six children admitted they were too embarrassed to read in front of their friends for fear of being labelled a geek.  How can this possibly be – surely we all know that bookshops are the coolest places to be in the world and booksellers are the hippest cats in town? You can read the whole article here and have a look here to see what we could maybe do with all of those unread titles.

This newsletter is sent weekly to over 400 booksellers. If you would like to order any of the titles mentioned, then please click here to go to the Compass New Titles Website.

That’s all for now folks, more next week!

Compass Points Booker Special

Compass Points Special

Exciting Man Booker Prize News!

Hurrah, hooray and many many congratulations to Tan Twan Eng and Myrmidon Books. We are pleased to tell you that a book from one of the Compass publishers is on the 2012 Man Booker Prize shortlist, which was announced this morning. 

The Garden of Evening Mists has the same sumptuous style and exotic imagery which was so beloved by readers and critics alike, in the author’s first novel, The Gift of Rain. It deals with Malaysia’s turbulent road to independence: a time of insurrection and uncertainty and terror. Yun Ling Teoh, herself the scarred lone survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp, seeks solace among the jungle fringed plantations of Northern Malaya where she grew up as a child. There she discovers Yugiri, the only Japanese garden in Malaya, and its owner and creator, the enigmatic Aritomo, exiled former gardener of the Emperor of Japan.  Despite her hatred of the Japanese, Yun Ling seeks to engage Aritomo to create a garden in Kuala Lumpur, in memory of her sister who died in the camp. Aritomo refuses, but agrees to accept Yun Ling as his apprentice ‘until the monsoon comes.’ Then she can design a garden for herself. As the months pass, Yun Ling finds herself intimately drawn to her sensei and his art while, outside the garden, the threat of murder and kidnapping from the guerrillas of the jungle hinterland increases with each passing day.

But the Garden of Evening Mists is also a place of mystery. Who is Aritomo and how did he come to leave Japan? Why is it that Yun Ling’s friend and host Magnus Praetorius, seems to almost immune from the depredations of the Communists? What is the legend of ‘Yamashita’s Gold’ and does it have any basis in fact? And is the real story of how Yun Ling managed to survive the war perhaps the darkest secret of all?

It's available in hardback (£18.99) here and as a trade paperback (£12.99) here.

The Gift of Rain is the first novel by Tan Twan Eng, which has so far sold over 60,000 copies and was longlisted for The Man Booker Prize in 2007. This is a sumptuous epic of a book, set in Malaya predominantly during the time of the Japanese invasion in 1939. Sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton is a loner. Half English, half Chinese and feeling neither, he discovers a sense of belonging in an unexpected friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat. Philip shows his new friend around his adored island of Penang, and in return Endo trains him in the art and discipline of aikido.  But such knowledge comes at a terrible price. The enigmatic Endo is bound by disciplines of his own and when the Japanese invade Malaya, threatening to destroy Philip’s family and everything he loves, he realises that his trusted sensei – to whom he owes absolute loyalty – has been harbouring a devastating secret. Philip must risk everything in an attempt to save those he has placed in mortal danger and discover who and what he really is. The themes of identity, war, cultural clashes, loyalty, loss and the nature of enduring love are all explored in this powerful first novel.

It's available in paperback (£8.99) order copies here. 

Tan Twan Eng was born in Penang but lived in various places in Malaysia as a child. He studied law through the University of London and later worked as lawyer in one of Kuala Lumpur’s most reputable law firms. He also has a first-dan ranking in aikido and is a strong proponent for the conservation of heritage buildings. Tan Twan Eng lives in Cape Town where he is working on his third novel.

You can read extracts from the books on the Myrmidon Books website here.

The six authors on the 2012 Man Booker Shortlist are: Tan Twan Eng, The Garden of Evening Mists (Myrmidon Books); Deborah Levy, Swimming Home (And Other Stories); Hilary Mantel, Bring up the Bodies (Fourth Estate); Alison Moore, The Lighthouse (Salt); Will Self, Umbrella (Bloomsbury); and Jeet Thayil, Narcopolis (Faber & Faber). The overall winner will be announced at a dinner on October 16.

Get all the details on the Man Booker Website here.

Compass Points 13

Compass Points 13

Your weekly round up of publishing news, publicity information and trivia!

Love her or hate her, Edwina Currie falls comfortably into that category of celebrity you simply cannot ignore. The first volume of her diaries explosively revealed her affair with former Prime Minister John Major. This second volume, Edwina Currie Diaries: Volume II 1992–1997 which begins in 1992 with her refusal to serve in Major’s Cabinet, is no less revelatory about her colleagues, encounters with others in the public eye, and, of, course, her extraordinary career. It covers her life in Parliament up to the election of Blair’s Labour government, but more importantly sees its subject’s emergence as a mainstay in the public imagination, first as a bestselling author, then as a commentator, broadcaster, presenter and performer – most recently on the BBC’s flagship entertainment show Strictly Come Dancing perhaps you'd like to remind yourself of exactly how she looked dancing the cha cha. Ahem, not her finest hour perhaps. Anyway, this book as you would expect is getting an enormous amount of publicity. The Daily Mail will shortly be serialising it and there were interviews with her in many of this weekend’s weekend press. She has been all over the BBC national and regional radio stations , including  BBC Radio 4  and BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine Show ; there’s a piece in the Guardian at the end of the month – the list goes on and on. No one but no one is a keener self publicist than Edwina Currie, (oh alright then, maybe Boris Johnson is) and as she never tires of reminding us, all of her previous books have been big bestsellers – so it’s highly likely this one will be too. As the Daily Telegraph (unsurprisingly) said “Few women can lay claim to the word “magnificent”, but Currie is now surely one of them.“

Order the Edwina Diaries here

Another book getting a colossal amount of media coverage is Education, Education, Education:  Reforming England’s Schools by Andrew Adonis What children should or shouldn’t be learning in schools – and how to asses them has never been a hotter topic, and the press are queuing up to talk to Andrew about his quest to transform standards and opportunities in England’s schools, and his ambition to make English education truly world class. The Daily Mail serialisation has just run and The Sunday Times will be running a major interview with Andrew Adonis this Sunday. Then there is plenty of publicity all over the BBC including the Today Programme on Radio 4. Make sure you have plenty of copies on display – it is fast becoming one of this autumn’s most talked about titles!

Order Education Education Education here

Last week’s question – what’s the best loved film of all time; this week’s question – who’s the best loved comedian of all time? Well a strong contender must be “the one with the glasses.” Eric Morecambe: Lost and Found is a collection of not just the very best of this British comedy great, but also a plethora of never-before-seen material. Pulled together from a variety of dusty archives and private homes across the UK, this material includes notebooks, sketches, skits, musings, interviews and rare photographs of the comic genius. Written by Eric’s son, Gary Morecambe, and film & TV historian, Paul Burton; this book gives the British public the opportunity to view a host of these hidden interview transcriptions and photos firsthand, and is  a rare insight into the man behind the legend. From the many hilarious moments that Morecambe and Wise have given us, my own favourite must surely be the classic stripper/breakfast sketch. Books of reminiscences on comic heroes tend to sell very well – The Unpublished Spike Milligan sold over 26,000 copies – so this is definitely one to display all the way up to Christmas.

Find out more about Eric Morecambe Lost and Found here

The Good Food Guide 2013 has just been published – a review of all the best restaurants, pubs and cafés throughout the UK. This title is consistently the nation’s bestselling restaurant guide, containing over 1,300 authoritative reviews and recommendations, foodie features and interviews with top chefs and lots of brand new eateries alongside newly reviewed perennial favourites. It’s a great price point - £17.99 – and don’t forget to remind your customers that it contains £50 worth of money-off vouchers – which makes it a real bargain!

Order the new edition of the Good Food Guide here

Now – is the extraordinary UK success of Fifty Shades of Grey due to a) the rise of the Kindle and eBooks in general; b) the fact that British women are all secretly spicy saucepots; or c) the power of word of mouth – no one wants to miss out on a trend? Well according to the author EL James – it’s none of the above – it’s because we girls just can’t resist a good old fashioned love story. James gave a rare interview this week, which you can read here.

This newsletter is sent weekly to over 400 booksellers. If you would like to order any of the titles mentioned, then please click here to go to the Compass New Titles Website.

That’s all for now folks, more next week!