Weekly book agenda: 'Mr. Nobody,' 'Abraham Lincoln,' Abu Dhabi book fair

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Mr. Nobody, a lost character in Roger Hargreaves's Mr. Men series, will debut on store shelves March 1. That title is followed a day later by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, by the author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. And from March 2 to 7, publishers and the public will gather in Abu Dhabi for the city's annual international book fair.

Best Translated Book Award shortlist
February 16
Rochester, NY, USA

Three Percent, a resource for international literature based at the University of Rochester, USA, is due to announce its finalists for the Best Translated Book Award. In order to be considered, books must have been published in the US in English translation between December 1, 2008 and November 30, 2009. Authors from 23 different countries writing in 17 different languages are on the 25-title longlist, including Orhan Pamuk (Turkey), Robert Walser (Austria), and Roberto Bolaño (Chile). Winners will be announced in March, date TBD.
http://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent/

Oddest Title Book Prize shortlist
February 19
London, UK

The Bookseller is due to announce a shortlist for its annual Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year. Those that stand a good chance of making the shortlist, according to organizer Horace Best, include Advances in Potato Chemistry and Technology, Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich, and An Intellectual History of Cannibalism. The Bookseller/Diagram Prize has been awarded every year since 1978, when it was created to provide entertainment at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Submissions will be narrowed down by a panel of UK book trade professionals; a winner will be chosen from the resulting shortlist through online voting.
http://www.thebookseller.com

Lost Man Booker Prize shortlist
March
London, UK

The Man Booker Prize has created a one-off award to honor books published in 1970, the only missing year in the history of the prize. The 22-title longlist includes books by J.G. Farrell, whose The Siege of Krishnapur won the prize in 1973; Iris Murdoch, whose The Sea, The Sea won in 1978; and previously shortlisted authors David Lodge, Muriel Spark, Nina Bawden, and Susan Hill, plus works by Melvyn Bragg and Len Deighton. The panel of judges will choose a shortlist in March. The public will then be invited to vote for a winning title, to be announced in May.
http://www.themanbookerprize.com/

'Mr. Nobody'
March 1
International

An original Mr. Men character by Roger Hargreaves, discovered in archival material, is due to be published in March. About the invisible Mr. Nobody and his quest to become a somebody, the title was in fact published in 1985 in a limited-edition run but had since been forgotten. The new addition to the catalog brings the total number of classic Mr. Men books to 47. More than 100 million Mr. Men titles have been sold worldwide since they were first published 39 years ago, beginning with the 1971 title Mr. Tickle.


'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter' by Seth Grahame-Smith
March 2
International

Seth Grahame-Smith is the author of the runaway hit Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, now on its way to becoming a feature film. In Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, he uses the same mashup of history and horror in a retelling of the life of Abraham Lincoln, beginning when the one-day US president learns at an early age that his mother was killed by a supernatural predator.

Abu Dhabi International Book Fair
March 2-7
Abu Dhabi, UAE

The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage and the Frankfurt Book Fair. In 2009, 637 publishers from 52 countries presented more than 500,000 titles in Arabic, English, and many other languages. Confirmed international authors for the 2010 event include Adam Haslett (US), Ahlam Mosteghanemi (Algeria), Bapsi Sidhwa (Pakistan), Mathias Enard (France), and Tarun Tejpal (India). Visitors can look forward to daily author lectures, book signings, poetry performances, and live cooking shows.
http://www.adbookfair.com


Read an E-Book Week
March 7-13
Worldwide
The annual Read an E-Book Week was created to promote and share the advantages of reading electronically. During this week, visitors are invited to browse the event website, where dozens of authors and book vendors offer free titles for a limited time. Going since 2003, the event took off in 2009, with more than 30,000 web hits coming from around the globe.
http://ebookweek.com

National Book Critics Circle Awards ceremony
March 12
New York, NY, USA

Among the US's most prestigious literary awards, the National Book Critics Circle Awards honor books all published in English, including translations. NBCC winners in the categories of autobiography, biography, criticism, fiction, and nonfiction are selected by more than 600 of the nation's literary critics. Among nominees for the 2010 fiction prize are Man Booker Prize-winner Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel and National Book Award finalists American Salvage by Bonnie Jo Campbell and Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips. American author Joyce Carol Oates will receive a lifetime achievement award at the NBCC awards ceremony.
http://bookcritics.org