Order of Fairacre Books

Fairacre is a series of British literary fiction by English author Miss Read (Dora Jessie Saint). The series follows the various residents who live in the village of Fairacre, located in the English countryside. Miss Read is also a character in the series – she is a schoolmistress who teaches a group of lovable children. (more…)

L.A. Square Named After Ray Bradbury

The Los Angeles City Council have dedicated a square outside the Central Library to Ray Bradbury. The sci-fi author spent much of his life in Southern California.

His family moved to Los Angeles when he was 14. At Los Angeles High School, he joined the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, where his work was critiqued by major authors like Robert A. Heinlein and Henry Kuttner. (more…)

Order of Miss Read Books

Miss Read was the pen name of English novelist Dora Jessie Saint (1913-2012); an author of novels set on the British countryside. Her series included Fairacre and Thrush Green – both set in British villages. “Miss Read” was also a character who appeared in her Fairacre series. Saint also worked as a teacher. She retired from writing in 1996 and was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1998. Dora Jessie Saint passed away in April 2012 at the age of 98. (more…)

Charles Dickens Museum Re-Opens Next Week

The house where characters including Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby were written, the London home of Charles Dickens, will be re-opened next week. The house, which will be open to the public as a museum will contain many of the author’s possessions, such as his desk.

The house, located on Doughty Street in Bloomsbury, has undergone a £3.1m revamp with the idea that visitors will be given the impression that Dickens had simply stepped outside (a creepy thought!) (more…)

Order of Albert Campion Books

Albert Campion is the central character in a series of crime fiction novels and short stories by British author Margery Allingham. Campion was apparently created as a parody of Dorothy L. Sayers‘ Lord Peter Wimsey character but eventually developed his own personality. Like Wimsey, he is also a British gentleman. He is described as thin, blond, wears glasses, affable, inoffensive and bland but is also a man of authority and action. (more…)

Hundreds Pay Final Respects to Bryce Courtenay

Mourners gathered by the hundreds in Australia to say goodbye to author Bryce Courtnenay, who passed away in November only two weeks after the release of his final novel, Jack of Diamonds.

During his career, Courtenay sold over 20 million books. His funeral was held at St. Mark’s Church in Sydney, where 300 guests showed up – one of which was Australian PM Julia Gillard. (more…)

Order of Margery Allingham Books

Margery Allingham (1904-1966) was an English author of crime fiction, best known for her novels featuring Albert Campion. She started out writing for The Strand, but stopped once her Albert Campion series gained enough success. Allingham died in 1966 from breast cancer. (more…)

Order of Lorien Legacies Books

The Lorien Legacies is a series of YA sci-fi/fantasy novels by Pittacus Lore (James Frey & Jobie Hughes). The series follows nine aliens who appear to be human that were brought to Earth when they were six year-olds. Their purpose is to allow their powers to develop and then return home to their home planet, Lorien. The series picks up when they are teenagers. The first book in the series, I Am Number Four, has been adapted into film. (more…)

Order of Jobie Hughes Books

Jobie Hughes is an American novelist of YA sci-fi/fantasy under the collective pseudonym of Pittacus Lore (with James Frey) and also literary fiction. Jobie started writing at age 24 and left Ohio for New York City to attend Columbia University’s School of the Arts. He graduated in 2009 with an MFA in Creative Writing. (more…)

Order of James Frey Books

James Frey is an American author of YA sci-fi/fantasy and general fiction. He writes under the collaborative pseudonym of Pittacus Lore alongside Jobie Hughes, writing the Lorien Legacies series together. Frey struggled with addictions, which became a basis of his memoirs A Million Little Lies: Exposing James Frey’s Fiction Addiction. The memoirs made waves when it was discovered that many of the details were fabricated or embellished, such as injuries and jailtime. During the controversy, Oprah Winfrey confronted him on her show. (more…)