Weekly book agenda: London Book Fair, Stephen King novella

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From April 19 through 21, the English-language publishing world convenes at Earls Court in London for the annual London Book Fair, the premiere spring book event in Europe and an especially important one for facilitating film adaptations. On April 20, Stephen King's baseball novella Blockade Billy sees a limited publication.

International Antiquarian Book Fair (Salon International du Livre Ancien)
April 16-18
Paris, France

The 2010 Paris International Antiquarian Book Fair will host nearly 200 rare book and print dealers from around the world, showcasing rare manuscripts by King François I of France and Marcel Proust. The 2010 guest of honor is the Bibliothèque Interuniversitaire de Médicine, whose medical collection is said to be among the richest in the world alongside the National Library of Medicine and the Wellcome Institute in London. The fair will be open to visitors each day from 11:00am to 8:00pm with an €8 entry fee.
http://salondulivreancienparis.fr

London International Book Fair
April 19- 21
London, UK

The 2010 London Book Fair is set to take place at Earls Court from April 19 to 21. The leading spring book event in Europe, the fair spotlights the UK publishing industry - the second-largest in the world for English-language books - and also attracts up to 23,000 industry professionals from more than 100 countries around the world. It now trumps even the Frankfurt Fair as a marketplace for Hollywood scouts looking for books to turn into films. South Africa is the 2010 Guest of Honor.
http://www.londonbookfair.co.uk

Stephen King's 'Blockade Billy'
April 20
International

Independent horror publisher Cemetery Dance is set to publish an original baseball-themed novella by Stephen King. The novella tells the story of William 'Blockade Billy' Blakely, "the first - and only - player to have his existence completely removed from the record books. ... Every effort was made to erase any evidence that William Blakely played professional baseball, and with good reason. Blockade Billy had a secret darker than any pill or injection that might cause a scandal in sports today. His secret was much, much worse... ." A limited number of first-edition copies will be sold through the publisher's website.
http://www.cemeterydance.com/sh/king04.html

World Book and Copyright Day
April 23
International

UNESCO's World Book and Copyright Day has taken place each April 23 since 1995. (In the UK and Ireland, readers enjoy a head start: The event is celebrated on March 4.) The event is celebrated in Spain, where the idea originated, and around the world with all nature of book-related events. Among 2010 highlights: the Night of the Books in Madrid, with workshops and performances by more than 400 artists and a midnight closing time for more than 200 area bookstores.
http://www.unesco.org/culture/bookday

PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature
April 26-May 2
New York City, NY, USA

The Sixth Annual PEN World Voices Festival will feature 150 writers from 40 countries in more than 50 events all around New York City. Organized by PEN, which campaigns around the world on behalf of persecuted writers, the festival is chaired this year by Salman Rushdie. Other participating authors include Sherman Alexie, Philippe Djian, Toni Morrison, Patti Smith, and Jean-Philippe Toussaint. Events include readings, a cabaret, and a panel on film adaptations.
http://www.pen.org/festival

'The Carrie Diaries'
April 27/29
US/UK

Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City prequel, written for young adults, is a coming-of-age story set during Carrie Bradshaw's high school years. It tells of Carrie's small town beginnings and early friendships, and how she finds both her first love and her voice as a writer. In addition to Sex and the City, which was adapted into both a widely successful TV series and two films, Bushnell is the author of Lipstick Jungle, One Fifth Avenue, 4 Blondes, and Trading Up. The Carrie Diaries is the first of two young adult books Bushnell is set to write.

James Patterson's 'Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland'
May
International

The international best-selling author of the Alex Cross detective series is set to release Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland, the first comic book in a five-part series based on his young adult novel Witch & Wizard. Dara Naraghi wrote the book with direction from Patterson, Victor Santos provides illustrations and cover art, and J.K. Woodward contributed a painted cover. In June, Patterson's non-fiction book The Murder of King Tut will be released in a graphic adaptation, the first in a series of four. Both titles are available for pre-order:
http://www.idwpublishing.com

'Dark Life' by Kat Falls
May 1
US

Kat Falls's young adult novel Dark Life has the rare distinction of having been slated for a film adaptation before the book - the author's debut novel - was published. Due out in the UK on August 5, Dark Life is set in an apocalyptic future where global warming has caused the seas to rise, leading survivors to form an underwater community on the ocean floor. The story revolves around a boy named Ty, whose has relocated underwater with his family, and Gemma, a girl he meets from "Topside." The book movie adaptation will reportedly be directed by Robert Zemeckis for Disney.

'The Red Pyramid' by Rick Riordan
May 4
US & UK

The Red Pyramid is the first book in a new trilogy by Rick Riordan, author of the bestselling Percy Jackson books. The Kane Chronicles will focus on siblings Carter and Sadie Kane, decendants of Egyptian magicians, who battle Egyptian gods in the modern world. Riordan's Percy Jackson series includes five titles of which 12 million copies are now in print in 34 countries. The film Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, released in February, has grossed $180 million worldwide. The Kane Chronicles is already set to be published in the US, the UK, France, Germany, Finland, Israel, and Brazil, according to Publishers Weekly.