Book-related news

This week I've been very busy with background reading for my fifth "Doctor Who" novella and with novel reading, so I've got a handful of book-related news items to share with you.

Harry Potter fans will soon get to experience the magic of Hogwarts, at a theme park which Universal Studios is close to finalising a deal to build at its amusement Park in Orlando, Florida. More at Deadline Hollywood.

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The BBC reports that J R R Tolkien continues to generate huge interest among his devoted fans as his final book The Children Of Hurin, which his son Christopher completed using unfinished manuscripts, was launched in London on Tuesday. At the launch at the Waterstone's book store in Piccadilly Circus, fans queued out of the door to meet Alan Lee, who illustrated the book, and hear a talk by Tolkien's grandson Adam.

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Publishers Weekly reports that Science Fiction publisher and Hasbro subsidiary, "Wizards of the Coast", is launching a new imprint in 2008 dedicated to adult fantasy. (And on a completely random, pedantic, note, why is there no apostrophe in the name "Publishers Weekly", hmm ?)

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The Independent reports that the Carnegie of Carnegies shortlist has been announced. The ten titles are (the "blurbs" are the Independent's, not mine):

* SKELLIG David Almond (won in 1998)
A tale of a creature beneath the garage

* JUNK Melvin Burgess (1996)
The lives of young heroin users

* STORM Kevin Crossley-Holland (1985)
Girl discovers the secrets of a marsh

* A GATHERING LIGHT Jennifer Donnelly (2003)
Novel about a real murder

* THE OWL SERVICE Alan Garner (1967)
A terrifying legend re-emerges

* THE FAMILY FROM ONE END STREET Eve Garnett (1937)
Portrait of a working-class family

* THE BORROWERS Mary Norton (1952)
Tiny people live beneath the floor

* TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN Philippa Pearce (1958)
Adventures in a magical garden

* NORTHERN LIGHTS Philip Pullman (1995)
First of the trilogy His Dark Materials

* THE MACHINE-GUNNERS Robert Westall (1981)
Second World War novel

You can vote for your favourite Carnegie (or Greenaway) at their website - I've actually read half of the list (Garner, Norton, Pearce, Pullman and Westall), and I voted for The Owl Service.