Inside Jacket

The British Library needs £9 million in order to buy Europe’s oldest in-tact book – The Cuthbert Gospel, which is a palm-sized leather-bound copy of the gospels buried 1,300 years ago in the coffin of Saint Cuthbert. This historic illuminated book has been on display at the library since 1979.

Saint Cuthbert was an Anglo-Saxon monk, hermit and bishop, and became the patron saint of Northern England. He is famous for being one of the first people to give two hoots about the poor and unfortunate, and, believe me, the poor and unfortunate had a rough time in 7th century Britain.

The Lindisfarne Gospels by Janet Backhouse is a rather more affordable reprint of Saint Cuthbert’s writings.

This Wednesday, 5/18, at 4 PM Eastern, fans will have a chance to chat with author John Scalzi while he’s on tour for FUZZY NATION!

Tor Books is excited to announce that this month’s #TorChat will feature author John Scalzi! #TorChat is a monthly series of twitter chats, in which guest authors join fans in a lively, informative and entertaining discussion of all that’s hot in genre fiction, 140 characters at a time. The chat will take place on Wednesday, May 18th, from 4 – 5 PM Eastern.

This Wednesday’s #Torchat will be with New York Times bestselling author John Scalzi (@scalzi), who is currently on tour for his brand new novel, FUZZY NATION (May 10, 2011). John will be participating, barring any complications with travel, from his hotel in Salt Lake City. John will be available to answer fan questions and to talk about his new novel and its inspiration (the 1962 Hugo-nominated novel Little Fuzzy), his long running blog, Whatever, and what it’s like to be on tour.

The chat will be introduced and (loosely) moderated by Tor publicist Cassie Ammerman (@leanoir), with giveaways of advance copies of upcoming genre releases from @TorBooks following the 4 PM chat.

Keep an eye on the @TorBooks account, as well as that of the moderator, @leanoir, for updates on the chat’s start time, which is fluid due to the fact that John is on the road.

Our Author guest:

JOHN SCALZI is the author of several SF novels, including the bestselling “Old Man’s War” sequence, comprising Old Man’s War, The Ghost Brigades, and The Last Colony. He is a winner of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and he won the Hugo Award for Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded, a collection of essays from his wildly popular blog Whatever. He lives in Ohio with his wife and daughter.

About Tor Books
Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, is a New York-based publisher of hardcover and softcover books, founded in 1980 and committed (although not limited) to SF and fantasy literature. In 2002, Tor launched Starscape, an imprint dedicated to publishing quality science fiction and fantasy for young readers, including books by critically acclaimed and award winning authors such as Cory Doctorow, Orson Scott Card, and David Lubar. Between an extensive hardcover and trade-softcover line, an Orb backlist program, and a stronghold in mass-market paperback, Tor annually publishes what is arguably the largest and most diverse line of science fiction and fantasy ever produced by a single English-language publisher. Books from Tor have won every major award in the SF and fantasy fields, and for the last twenty-three years the company has been named Best Publisher in the Locus Poll, the largest consumer poll in SF.

Filed under: Events, News

“This outstanding first effort, the first book in a trilogy, will appeal greatly to zombie fans, but the undead are merely the catalyst for a far more disquieting tale of societal collapse.”

The First Days by Rhiannon Frater has received a Starred review in this week’s Publishers Weekly!

Below is the full review:

“This world is fragile.” This truth lies at the core of Frater’s intensely compelling first novel. When Jenni wakes up one morning and discovers her husband devouring their baby, she flees into a world suddenly populated by zombies. She is rescued by Katie, a lawyer haunted by her abandonment of her now-undead wife. The two traumatized women escape the city and discover unsuspected reserves of strength as they meet other survivors, some waiting for the government to save them and others trying to support one another through the chaos. Katie and Jenni join a group in a fortified site and are faced with the enormous task of rebuilding the world. This outstanding first effort, the first book in a trilogy, will appeal greatly to zombie fans, but the undead are merely the catalyst for a far more disquieting tale of societal collapse.” (July)

What others are saying about The First Days:

Fatally Yours
Buy Zombie
Random Musings
Horror Drive-in

Filed under: News

A sharp-eyed booklover has sold an 1848 first edition of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte for euro 8,000 (around $11,400) after buying it for euro 3 (about $4) in a flea market, reports the Irish Independent. The news story does not reveal the person who sold it at the flea market.

“Shamus Award–winner Estleman demonstrates that the art of inserting a Philip Marlowe–esque hero into modern times is alive and well in his 21st novel featuring Detroit PI Amos Walker…”

Infernal Angels by Loren Estleman has received a Starred review in this week’s Publishers Weekly!

Below is the full review:

“Shamus Award–winner Estleman demonstrates that the art of inserting a Philip Marlowe–esque hero into modern times is alive and well in his 21st novel featuring Detroit PI Amos Walker (after 2010′s The Left-Handed Dollar). Reuben Crossgrain, proprietor of Past Presence (“Everything you require for the Modern Regressive Lifestyle”), hires Walker to recover 25 TV converter boxes that allow the owner to watch HDTV on an analog set, although the total value of the loss isn’t much more than Walker’s standard retainer. The detective hits the pavement to identify the likely recipients of the hot items, and his digging soon attracts the attention of ex-Detroit police detective Mary Ann Thaler, who now works in D.C. on homeland security. As the bodies start to drop, Estleman presents a powerful view of the battered inner city, where federally funded housing ends up derelict. Three decades on, Estleman and Walker show no signs of slowing down. “(July)

Filed under: News