Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi

The critics had a bit of a field day with Geoff Dyer's latest novel (first for 11 years) Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi. Two books in one, they wondered - engaging and funny, for the Venice section but the Varanasi section "bizarrely welded on"..."indulgently aimless, beautifully written"..."funny and insightful". Let us know what you think.

Short Story Competition

Do you fancy yourself as a short story writer? Then think about the BBC National Short Story Award. As it says on the BBC R4 website:
"...(the) Award celebrates the best of the contemporary British short story. Now in its fourth year, the Award continues to raise the profile of the short story. The inaugural award went to James Lasdun for his short story An Anxious Man; in 2007 it was awarded to Julian Gough for his comic tale The Orphan and the Mob; and in 2008 the winner was Clare Wigfall for Numbers which appeared in her debut collection The Loudest Sound and Nothing published by Faber. Visit the BBC website for more details

Sebastian Barry in conversation

The Secret Scripture was one of the best books published last year and you might like to hear from the author directly about the book. Sebastian Barry will be in conversation with John Mullan (Professor of English at UCL) on 8th April at The Guardian. Doors open at 6.30pm and tickets cost £8.00 and can be obtained from book.club@guardian.co.uk or tel: 020 3353 2881

Academic Social Network Site

Academic books and journals publisher Sage has launched a social networking site centred around research methods, as part of its year-long focus on the topic.

Methodspace.com went live today (26th March), although it has been beta-tested since February. Sage is expecting the site to "bring together researchers from across the academic spectrum" for advice and support, or just to discuss methodology issues and controversies.

Registered users also have access to free book chapters and journal articles, and will be told about relevant conferences and events.

Best Selling Children's Authors in 2008

Somehow I find it a comfort that, based on publisher sales revenue, Enid Blyton sits at No 6 in the top ten bestselling children's authors in 2008. The top ten accounted for over 10m copies and £50m of sales. No prized for guessing who was number one, but who would have bet on Stephanie Meyer being No 2!

The Book of the TV Series

Many viewers certainly thought that Jeremy Paxman's TV series on the Victorians was good viewing, how well did it translate into a book? The Victorians: Britain Through the Paintings of the Age is currently doing well in the bestsellers list.
As was revealed this week, readers should note that the book owes its existence to one Neil Hegarty. Hegarty is described as "a young Irish writer" who it turns out pulled together all of Paxman's scripts and notes and wrote all the bits to make it sit together. "Well done Neil" we say!

Best Sports Book Awards

And the winners are:
Black and Blue by Paul Canoville - best autobiography (Footballer)
Regga: Clay Regazzoni by Christopher Hilton, best biography (motor racing driver)
Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathan Wilson, best football book
The Way it Was by Stephen Chalke - best cricket book
Seeing Red: Twelve Tumultuous Years in Welsh Rugby by Alun Carter - you've guessed it - best rugby book