I just came across this early interview with J.K. Rowling (probably from late 1998 or early 1999). She's sitting in the now famous Edinburgh House cafe in Edinburgh where she wrote the early Harry Potter books. She looks, frankly, exhausted, but hugely excited to have sold 30,000 copies of her first two books - especially as her agent told her, "there's not much money in children's books." She goes on to say that she's always wanted to write but "my realistic side had not allowed me to dream about half of what has happened to me," - this in reference to her agent selling the first two Harry Potter books to eight countries so, as she says with huge excitement, "it will be translated in France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy and Finland ... I love the idea of saying I'm big in Finland!"

[More]

The just published issue of "BookBrowse Previews" profiles 80 notable books publishing in January. While the full issue is only accessible to BookBrowse members and patrons of subscribing libraries a selection of the previews are available to all, including these seven debuts which are receiving particularly strong prepub reviews:

[More]

Today, Google has finally opened its much talked about online bookstore with over 3 million titles available for free plus hundreds of thousands available for purchase.

Here's hoping that the Google eBookstore will somewhat level the playing field for indie bookstores. In fact, many independent bookstores are already signed up with Google's eBookstore, and early indications are that they're not wasting anytime getting up and running!

[More]

For the last few years, when the holiday season comes around, we've looked back to previous centuries for the newsworthy events of the year. Today, please join me on a whistle stop tour 100 years back in time to 1910 ....

As Haley's Comet makes its stately way across the night skies, the monarchies of Europe are in flux: While Britain celebrates the coronation of George V, the last king of Portugal flees his country; further east, the Balkan country of Montenegro begins a shortlived period as an independent kingdom under the rule of Nicholas I, while in neighboring Albania, the weakened Ottoman empire attempts to quell an uprising.

Africa is a patchwork of European colonies with just Liberia and Ethiopia remaining independent. Before the year is ended, Egypt will have seen Boutros Ghali, its first native-born prime minister, assassinated; France will be at war with the Ouaddai Kingdom over parts of what are now Chad and Sudan; and the newly created Union of South Africa will be established as a dominion of the British Empire.

In North America, the Mexican Revolution to oust dictator Porfirio Díaz begins, leading to a decade of civil war. In the USA, race riots erupt across much of the country on July 4, following African-American heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson's win against his white contender James J Jeffries.

[More]

Another chance to have your name immortalized in a book by a favorite author, or to give the ultimate unique gift to a loved one, while also donating to the First Amendment Project - a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free legal services on public interest free speech and free press matters.

Authors taking part include Suzanne Brockmann, Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, Dan Chaon, Andrew Sean Greer, Ben Katchor, Elinor Lipman, Margot Livesey, Rick Moody, Thomas Perry, Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum, Laura Benedict, T Campbell, Patrick deWitt, Joshua Ferris, Dan Gutman, Phillip Margolin, Nami Mun, Francine Prose, Mona Simpson, Ayelet Waldman, Robert Mailer Anderson, Janet Burroway, Stacey D'Erasmo, Dave Eggers, Dan Gutman, Derek Haas, Walter Kim, Lorrie Moore, Francine Prose, Mona Simpson,Jane Smiley and Vendela Vida

[More]

Booklovers! Would you like to have your name immortalized in print, or give a once in a lifetime Christmas gift to a loved one? If so, now's your chance - just pop over to Ebay, and place one or more bids in the Authors for Autism Character Auction which has just opened.

Budding authors! Here's your chance to have your work critiqued by an established author. If you want to take advantage of this opportunity, pop over to Ebay and place your bid in the Authors for Autism auction.

[More]