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Best of the Shed

We feature some of the very best writing from inside the  Shed, here on our front page. These are pieces that have earned wide approval and have been workshopped within 'The Lab', part of the Book Shed Forum.

 

March 2010

INTERVIEW: Harry Bingham on publishing and the Festival of Writing

Harry BinghamHarry Bingham's debut novel, The Money Makers, hit the Sunday Times bestseller list. Since then he's written four more for Harper Collins and is Editorial Director of the Writers' Workshop. As well as being Britain’s largest writers’ services company, the Writers' Workshop organises the York Festival of Writing.

Harry told the BookShed about his path to publication, the Writer's Workshop and the upcoming Festival of Writing.

Publication halted on 'inaccurate' Hiroshima book

Last Train from HiroshimaPublication has been halted for a book about the atomic bombing of Japan, after the author was said to have relied on fraudulent sources.

Publisher Henry Holt and Co has said it will stop printing and shipping copies, adding that author Charles Pellegrino "was not able to answer" concerns about The Last Train From Hiroshima, including whether two men mentioned in the book actually existed.

Authors to help disaster-stricken Haiti

100 Stories for HaitiOne hundred authors have contributed to a book entitled 100 Stories for Haiti to raise money for relief efforts in Haiti. The book is a collection of short stories from writers worldwide, published tomorrow (4 March 2010).

Penguin to turn e-books into audio/visual experience

iPadsPenguin plans to kick start e-book sales with enhanced digital editions of bestsellers. Plans for interactive e-books go beyond embedded video and audio.

Global campaign encourages e-book take-up

ebooksReaders will be invited to download free or reduced price e-books during 'Read an E-Book Week' between 7 and 13 March.

Egmont Press sign children's author for first novel

Egmont PressEgmont Press will publish 9/11 Boy, a  novel about friendship, family, and racial tension, from debut children's author Catherine Bruton.

Debut novelist pledges support for independent bookshops

Evie WyldThe 2009 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winning author Evie Wyld has today been announced as Booktrust's third online writer in residence. The 29-year-old won the prestigious prize with her debut novel set in Australia, After the Fire, A Still Small Voice, which has since been shortlisted for the 2010 Authors Club First Novel Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize.

Writers warned: Don't trust 'online anonymity'

Legal ActionInternet users have been warned to think twice before trusting the cloak of online anonymity to offer protection when using chat rooms and forums.

David Kuzminski, the force behind writing community watchdog site Preditors and Editors, is appealing for donations to help mount a personal legal defense after comments made online saw him successfully sued for $236,000.

INTERVIEW: Jamie Weiss Chilton talks submissions, eBooks and vampires

Jamie Weiss ChiltonJamie Weiss Chilton worked in different areas of publishing before settling into life as an agent at a leading agency for children's and teen literature.

Like any good agent, she learned the industry form the inside, working four years in the editorial department of Random House Children's Books. From there she moved to LA to work for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. 

Penguin brings Central European classics to mass market

Life is a Dream coverUK publisher Penguin is launching a series of ten Central European Classics on 6 May.

The series takes readers on a political, social and cultural journey from the optimism of pre 1914 Central Europe to the horrors of the Cold War.