Hamish Hamilton News
RSS feedAnd the Book Came In! 7 July 2010
We were thrilled to find this on our desk this morning – a much-anticipated advance copy of James’s Robertson’s superb and sweeping new novel, which we launch at the Edinburgh Festival in August.
Notes from the Underground 5 July 2010
Five Dials editor Craig Taylor was interviewed for the Independent about our magazine and the new literary underground, including our friends over at Drawbridge. Read more here.
A novel of its time 1 July 2010
After an excellent lunch courtesy of the British Council and the Caine Prize, we at Hamish Hamilton can’t help but cast our minds back to 2001, the year Helon Habila won the prize for a story which was soon to become Waiting for an Angel. He’s been a Hamish Hamilton author ever since, and this August we’re publishing his third novel, the very timely Oil on Water. It’s the story of a kidnap which takes us into the dark heart of the conflict over oil and power, and couldn’t be more topical.
Questions, Questions 29 June 2010
Of all the books we brought into the world in 2009, the one with the title that intrigued the most was When Skateboards Will be Free. And last week it emerged afresh, with the same question-begging title but this time as a smaller, brighter paperback. We can reveal that it’s the story of an unusual childhood lived under the sway of politics and in the shadow of a revolution that never quite comes, but that won’t shed light on the question of the skateboards.
So look out for it in a bookshop (or on a computer screen) near you.
The Idle Summer 23 June 2010
Tom Hodgkinson, pictured here following his secular sermon at the London’s School of Life, will soon be on a summer festival tour in support of The Idle Parent, out now in paperback. Here is Tom’s itinerary:
GLASTONBURY
I will be speaking at noon this Friday in the Free University of Glastonbury, in the Park area. My theme will be ‘Songs of Love, Liberty and Idleness’, and you’ll have the dubious pleasure of hearing me sing classic tunes from ‘Big Rocky Candy Montains’ to ‘I Fought The Law’ with my oil-can uke, while discoursing on usury and the wonder of gold coins.
PORT ELIOT
This year sees the first ever outing of the Idler’s Academy of Philosophy, Husbandry and Merriment at the Port Eliot Festival, near Plymouth. We have gathered together a distinguished faculty of teachers, including Bill Drummond, Jez Butterworth, Toby Young, William Peers, Wilko Johnson and many more. Lessons start at 1pm on Friday.
Other news: we will also be appearing at the Curiouser and Curiouser Festival in Devon in September.
In Praise of Foyles 22 June 2010
Aside from being a lovely bookshop and local to us, Foyles also has a very good newsletter, written by Jonathan Ruppin, in which we were very pleased to read the following about James Robertson’s forthcoming And the Land Lay Still:
‘It is truly a great Scottish novel, perhaps even worthy of putting alongside Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s Sunset Song, Alasdair Gray’s Lanark and Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting.
Thank you, Jonathan!
Joe's Poems 2 21 June 2010
Great to see Joe Dunthorne’s first collection, in the excellent Faber New Poets series, getting written up in Dazed & Confused by the excellent Stuart Hammond:
‘Twenty-six-year-old Swansea-born all-rounder with more talent and affability than you’d think could fit inside one human being, his debut novel Submarine – published by Hamish Hamilton when he was just twenty-four – is now being made into a film. His poems are also brilliant; accessible, heartfelt and often really funny . . .’
Read Joe’s Valentine’s poem for our February 14th Five Dials Special at www.fivedials.com.
20 (Brits) Under 40 18 June 2010
We were happy to see three Hamish Hamilton authors on the Telegraph’s list today of the 20 best British novelists under 40. Hats off to Zadie Smith, Paul Murray and Mohsin Hamid!
Raymond Pettibon to Illustrate Five Dials 17 June 2010
We are thrilled that American artist Raymond Pettibon, photographed here in his studio by Five Dials’s Jamie Brisick, is going to lend his brush to illustrating our upcoming Festival Issue of our magazine. Many thanks to Jamie for arranging. Pettibon is one of our favourite artists, shown widely in museum collections and shows across the world.
Watch this space for more contributing artists . . .
Zadie Smith Live 14 June 2010
Zadie Smith has been on the road with her latest book, the essay collection Changing My Mind, which we published late last year. At Hay she spoke to an audience of 1,000 people followed by a good two hours of signing afterwards. Highlights of her talk were recollections of her father’s love of Tony Hancock, her time at Cambridge and her thoughts on Barack Obama and the drawbacks of losing your accent. She also talked a lot about the new novel she is writing. Watch this space . . .
Following another great event last night, at Keats’ House in Hampstead, in association with Daunt Books, Zadie will be appearing at Bookslam on 1st July alongside her brother Doc Brown. Book tickets now, at the Book Slam website.
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