Friends and Fans Comment on the Passing of Ray Bradbury

Names such as Steven Spielberg, Stephen King and even President Barack Obama were among those who commented on the popular sci-fi author Ray Bradbury’s passing on Tuesday.

“He was my muse for the better part of my sci-fi career,” Spielberg wrote. “He lives on through his legion of fans. In the world of science fiction and fantasy and imagination he is immortal.” The two were no strangers; Bradbury considered Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind to be the “best film of its kind ever made.” (more…)

Terry Pratchett Not Afraid of Death Itself

Alzheimer’s sufferer Terry Pratchett says he’s not afraid of dying, but he is afraid of dying badly. He says, “I am scared of dying badly. But then I think that is something most people (are scared of).”

Despite the disease, Pratchett remains busy. He’s written a novel inspired by the Charles Dickens character Artful Dodger entitled Dodger, The Long Earth with sci-fi author Stephen Baxter and meanwhile has been campaigning for the United Kingdom to legalize assisted death. (more…)

Calvin & Hobbes Collection Coming To Paperback

Good news for Calvin & Hobbes fans! This November, The Complete Calvin & Hobbes will be making its way to the paperback format. Rather than the three-volume set of the hardcover, the paperback will be made up of four volumes. The set comes with a slipcase with Calvin and Hobbes on the cover. (more…)

Stephen Hunter’s “The 47th Samurai” To Be Adapted To Film

New Regency has picked up the rights to the Stephen Hunter novel The 47th Samurai. Titled “The Sword,” the screenplay will be written by Robert Kamen with Lorenzo di Bonaventura producing.

The novel is apart of Hunter’s Bob Lee Swagger series. Another book in the series, Point of Impact was adapted into the movie Shooter, which starred Mark Wahlberg. (more…)

Order of Henning Mankell Books

Henning Mankell was a Swedish author of crime fiction and children’s books. He was best known for his mystery series of novels featuring Kurt Wallander. Aside from being an author, Mankell was well-known for his left-wing political activism. His grandfather, who he shares a name with, was a piano composer. He is married to Eva Bergman, the daughter of Ingmar Bergman. (more…)

Order of Tradd Street Books

Tradd Street is a series of paranormal romance novels by American author Karen White. The series combines elements of the romance, mystery and paranormal genres. (more…)

James Patterson Donates $60K/Year To University

James Patterson has made yet another generous donation, this time to Michigan State University.

It comes in the form of $60,000 per year in scholarships in the Urban Educators Cohort Program in order to prepare teachers for service in urban areas. The main requirement is that the students choose English or language arts as a minor or major. (more…)

Order of Karen White Books

Karen White is an American novelist of romance novels. She fell in love with writing after reading Gone With the Wind. Her novels are romance novels set in the South. She has one mystery series called the Tradd Street books that begun with The House on Tradd Street. Karen is very much a Southerner, but she also lived in Venezuela and London. (more…)

Chris Columbus Buys Rights To “Calico Joe”

Chris Columbus and 1492 Pictures have acquired the rights to John Grisham‘s baseball novel Calico Joe. He plans to both write and direct the film himself. (more…)

Order of Jeffrey Archer Books

Jeffrey Archer is an English author and former politician, whose political career ended following a financial scandal. As far as his literary career goes, he has written novels, short stories and plays. He tends to stick to the thriller and drama genres, although he has also written some children’s books. Aside from writing fiction, he has also had three non-fiction books published based, covering his time in prison for perjury and perverting the course of justice. (more…)