Author angry as Christian group forces reading to be scrapped

"A poetry reading at a Cardiff, Wales, bookshop was abruptly cancelled last night after a religious pressure group vowed to disrupt the event if it went ahead. Patrick Jones, brother of Manic Street Preachers' bassist Nicky Wire, was due to give a reading of his new poetry book, Darkness is Where The Stars Are, at Waterstones on the Hayes at 7pm last night. But shortly before he was due to speak, he received an e-mail from the firm which read: 'Please be advised that to avoid potential disruption to our store, tonight's planned event at Waterstones in Cardiff is cancelled.' Mr Jones, 43, from Blackwood, said he was later told over the phone that Waterstones had received 'hundreds of complaints' from people opposed to the poems' subject matter. The Echo has discovered the group behind the protest was Christian Voice, which waged war against the BBC after it screened a production of Jerry Springer - The Opera. 'I'm a bit shaken and shocked,' said Mr Jones, who is credited as being one of the earliest influences on the Manic Street Preachers - Wales Online
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The Roald Dahl Funny Prize winners

The winner of the Funniest Book for Children Aged Six and Under was The Witch's Children Go to School by Ursula Jones, illus. Russell Ayto (Orchard Books). The winner of the Funniest Book for Children Aged Seven to Fourteen was Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear by Andy Stanton, illus. David Tazzyman (Egmont Press). The panel of five judges was chaired by Michael Rosen; the other judges were Sophie Dahl, Dara O'Briain, Chris Riddell and Kaye Umansky
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European Booksellers Federation statement on the Association of American Publishers, Authors' Guild, Google settlement agreement

The European Booksellers Federation is the latest trade body to criticise Google's provisional deal with US publishers to allow users to browse and buy millions of books online

Wellcome Trust Book Prize

The Wellcome Trust Book Prize is open to outstanding works of fiction and non-fiction on the theme of health, illness or medicine. The GBP25,000 annual award, created by the Wellcome Trust, is the first of its kind to bring together the traditionally diverse fields of medicine and literature
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Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2008 winner

Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2008 winner is Aravind Adiga for The White Tiger

An Evening with Colin Dexter

Colin Dexter, the man behind the phenomenally successful series of Inspector Morse novels, presents From Books to Box, an entertaining one-man show in which he explains the trials and tribulations involved in transforming full-length novels into 90-minute screen dramas, many of which starred the much-loved Manchester actor John Thaw. Sunday, 16th November at 7.30pm in Manchester, UK
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Bloomsbury Academic

Bloomsbury Academic is a radically new scholarly imprint launched in September 2008. Bloomsbury Academic will begin publishing monographs in the areas of Humanities and Social Sciences. While respecting the traditional disciplines we will seek to build innovative lists on a thematic basis, on issues of particular relevance to the world today. Publications will be available on the Web free of charge and will carry Creative Commons licences. Simultaneously physical books will be produced and sold around the world
Technorati Tag: Books