SPREAD THE WORD

Ruth Wilson and friend in Namibia, setting for The Elephant's Tale

Early in 2009, my publishers Orion and I will be launching a Conservation Challenge in schools across the UK. We’ll be asking kids to get creative to increase awareness of critically endangered animals and raise money for a special wildlife project in Africa. Competition forms will be available to download from a brilliant new website, linked to mine, and we’d love you to get involved. There are loads of cool prizes, including an invitation to a pop concert at the Royal Albert Hall in November. Watch this space for details.

Ruth Wilson, the BAFTA and Golden Globe-nominated actress who did such an awesome job of reading the abridged White Giraffe and Dolphin Song audio books and who, coincidentally, has spent most of the year filming a remake of 70s TV cult classic, The Prisoner, in Cape Town and Namibia, setting for my next book, The Elephant’s Tale, will star in the BBC drama of Andrea Levy’s bestselling novel of love, war and prejudice, Small Island. Also in the stellar cast are David Oyelowo, Naomie Harris, Benedict Cumberbatch and Nikki Amuka-Bird. Small Island is scheduled to hit our screens in Autumn 2009.

The Elephant’s Tale, the fourth book in The White Giraffe series, will be out in hardback on 6 August 2009, one month after the publication in paperback of The Last Leopard.

Rainbow’s End, my memoir of growing up in the war in 70s Rhodesia has made the top 50 of Spread the Word’s “Most Talked About Books”. If you enjoyed Rainbow’s End and have a spare minute, please vote for it at: http://www.spread-the-word.org.uk/pages/books-2009/book_results.asp?task=filter&cat=Non_Fiction

The Sunday Times‘ rugby correspondent, Stephen Jones, has listed Shooting at Clouds, my 1990 account of life on the PGA European Tour, as one of his top ten sports books of all time. Jones’ synopsis? “A young and star-crossed fledgling journalist arrives with no money or commissions and follows the European golf tour down its highways and nooks and crannies. Unashamedly used as the inspiration for Endless Winter, the film about skiing.” See the rest of the list at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby_union/article5238338.ece?token=null&offset=36&page=4

Incidently, Stephen Jones’ Endless Winter, which wasn’t on the list, is one of the best sports books ever written.

DOLPHIN SONG AUDIO BOOK

Ruth Wilson, the BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated actress who read the abridged audio book of The White Giraffe, has followed it by reading Dolphin Song. Apart from being one of the nicest people on earth, Ruth has a unique ability to inhabit characters and bring a story to life. Her voice is quite wonderful. By coincidence, she is currently on location in both Namibia, setting for The Elephant’s Tale, and Cape Town, not far from Martine’s fictional home town of Storm Crossing in The White Giraffe series, where she is filming a remake of the 70s sci fi television cult classic, The Prisoner, with Sir Ian McKellen and James Caviezel.

Go to the audio section to hear sample clips of The White Giraffe and Dolphin Song, and an interview with Ruth and I conducted by The Sunday Times‘ children’s book reviewer, Nicolette Jones. The unabridged audio books, read by the very gifted Adjoa Andoh, are available from: www.listeninglibrary.com.

LAST LEOPARD REVIEW

Here is a pdf of Amanda Craig’s Times’ lovely feature on The Last Leopard.

times-11

Or simply click on this link: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/children/article4442728.ece