David Walliams to star as BBC bags Agatha Christie drama deal

Corporation's contract with Christie estate will bring new series and documentaries coinciding with author's 125th anniversaryDavid Walliams will star in a new Agatha Christie adaptation on BBC1 under a new deal to bring some of the author's best-known works to the small screen in the 125th anniversary year of the author's birth.The BBC has screened many Christie works in the past but the author has been associated with ITV for the past two decades, with its take on Miss Marple and its long-running Poirot series, starring David Suchet, which ended last year.Walliams will star in a six-part series set in the 1950s, Partners in Crime, an adaptation of two Christie books featuring married sleuths Tommy and Tuppence, The Secret Adversary and N or M.The Christie deal will also see a new three-part adaptation of And Then There Were None, Christie's most successful work which has sold more than 100m copies. Adapted by Sarah Phelps, it will be the centrepiece of its Christmas schedule in 2015."It is our ambition for Tommy and Tuppence to finally take their rightful place alongside Poirot and Marple as iconic Agatha Christie characters," said Walliams. "They are among Christie's very best work."Ben Stephenson, the BBC's controller, drama commissioning, said he hoped the new adaptations would return Christie to "the pantheon of truly great British writers" and added he was in discussion with the Christie estate about a "huge variety of things". The Christie adaptations will also be... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S signs deal for Smurfs tie-in

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 18/04/2011 - 15:13 Simon & Schuster Children's Books has signed a deal to publish tie-in titles to the forthcoming Smurfs movie. Publishing director Ingrid Selberg bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Australia, New Zealand and Canada... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Myriad's Haynes wins Amazon Rising Star award

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 18/04/2011 - 15:44 Police intelligence analyst Elizabeth Haynes has won the first Amazon Rising Stars award of 2011. The mother-of-one, who lives in Kent, came top in a consumer-review poll asking readers which one of four Amazon-selected... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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MCA reveals pre-LBF deals

Written By: Graeme Neill and Katie Allen Publication Date: Wed, 06/04/2011 - 14:50 A Freddie Mercury biography and a six-figure deal signed following a trans-Atlantic auction are among the pre London Book Fair deals agented by Mulcahy Conway Associates. The agency said it anticipated a busy... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paver and Seuss among new Bologna deals

Written By: Benedicte Page and Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 29/03/2011 - 15:32 Penguin's international deals for Michelle Paver, HarperCollins' new collection of stories from Dr Seuss and Simon & Schuster paying six figures for a young adult trilogy were among the day two deals... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WH Smith reopens shops under British Bookshops deal

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 28/03/2011 - 08:54 Seventeen former British Bookshop & Stationers stores have held their first weekend of trade under WH Smith ownership. Nine venues opened their doors as WH Smith stores and eight re-opened under their original name of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Catherine Cookson estate goes direct in ebook deal

Written By: Bookseller staff Publication Date: Mon, 28/03/2011 - 08:53 Catherine Cookson's estate has signed a deal to release 100 of her novels as ebooks directly through Amazon, cutting out her publishers Transworld and Simon & Schuster. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins signs two pre-Bologna deals

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Mon, 28/03/2011 - 08:36 read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins signs exclusive deal with Chichester Clark

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 24/03/2011 - 08:50 HarperCollins has signed a five book exclusive deal with Emma Chichester Clark to become her worldwide publisher. The deal with Chicester Clark, who has also had titles published recently by Andersen Press, was signed by... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder: Self-Publisher Signs Four-Book Deal With St. Martin's

Amanda Hocking, the 26-year-old author who shot to fame by selling more than a million copies of her self-published books, has signed a deal with St. Martin's Press. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC boosts bookshop sales by "almost £500,000"

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 23/03/2011 - 15:49 The BBC's "Faulks on Fiction" and "My Life in Books" series have boosted book sales by almost £500,000, Nielsen BookScan data indicates. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Decoder: Noted Self-Publisher May Be Close to a Book Deal

Amanda Hocking, the darling of the self-publishing world who has sold more than 900,000 copies of nine books in the last year, has been shopping a four-book series to major publishers. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New S&S deal for Aliens Love Underpants duo

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 21/03/2011 - 15:15 Simon & Schuster has signed a new picture book deal with the creative duo behind the Aliens Love Underpants series. Emma Blackburn, picture book editorial director at S&S, bought world rights to Monstersaurus from... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Julian Barnes awarded David Cohen Prize

Publication Date: Fri, 18/03/2011 - 08:20 Three-times Man Booker-shortlisted author Julian Barnes has been awarded the £40,000 David Cohen Prize for Literature for his lifetime’s achievement in literature. Barnes was presented with the award by chair of judges Mark Lawson at a gala ceremony at... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Five-figure deal to indie Inside Pocket

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two pre-LBF deals top £1m in rights frenzy

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 11/03/2011 - 10:11 Agents have claimed two big-money deals worth £500,000 each, which could mark a return to confidence in the rights market in the crucial weeks ahead of next month's London Book Fair. Simon & Schuster publishing... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC teams up with Litfest

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Fri, 04/03/2011 - 10:12 BBC4 and The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival are to link up for a fourth time, with a dedicated weekend of events, including a tribute to Harold Pinter. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three BBC live broadcasts to form part of WBN

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Mon, 28/02/2011 - 17:17 Three live broadcasts, plus coverage on Radio 4 and Radio 7 have been confirmed as part of the pan-BBC coverage for World Book Night. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Usborne buys Gym Stars series

Publication Date: Tue, 22/02/2011 - 08:30 Usborne has acquired a new series about gymnastics from debut author Jane Lawes. Fiction director Rebecca Hill acquired world English Language rights to the Gym Stars series from Sarah Molloy at A M Heath. The first two books Summertime and Somersaults... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wheelers exit Lonely Planet as BBC assumes full control

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 18/02/2011 - 16:55 Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler have ended their ties with Lonely Planet, the guidebook publisher they founded in 1973. BBC Worldwide acquired 75% of the publisher in 2007 for £89m, and has now paid a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst sets eyes firmly east with Lagardère deal

The decision by the owner of Cosmopolitan to buy Lagardère's international portfolio, and the rights for Elle, reflects the shifting sands of the magazine marketplace. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2011-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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