Weekly book agenda: David Foster Wallace archive opens

(Harry Ransom Center)

An archive spanning the career of the late American author David Foster Wallace is set to open in the United States on September 14. Looking ahead: new books by Philip Roth and Rick Riordan are set to be published, and the Frankfurt Book Fair is just weeks away.

David Foster Wallace archive opens with live webcast
September 14
Austin, Texas

The archives of late American writer David Foster Wallace are set to open at the University of Texas at Austin's Harry Ransom Center. Highlights of the collection include handwritten notes and drafts, college and graduate school essays, and heavily annotated books owned by the Infinite Jest author, who died in 2008. Publisher Little, Brown and Company is expected to contribute its editorial files, including materials for Wallace's posthumous novel The Pale King, following that book's publication in April 2011. The opening of the Wallace archive will be celebrated with an evening of readings of Wallace's work by several writers and actors, set to take place September 14 beginning at 7:00pm CST. The event will be webcast live.
Webcast: http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/webcast
http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/dfw

'Noah Barleywater Runs Away'
September 30
International

Irish writer John Boyne, author of the internationally best-selling children's book The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, is due to publish a second book for children. Illustrated by award-winning Irish artist Oliver Jeffers, Noah Barleywater Runs Away is, according to Boyne, "a very different book to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - more fairytale than fable - with a mystery at the centre and a surprise at the end." Boyne is the author of seven novels that have been published in 40 languages. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, the story of a young boy growing up in WWII Berlin, was Boyne's first book for children; written in 2006, it has sold more than 200 million copies worldwide, became a best-seller in the UK, the USA, Ireland, Australia, Spain, and many other countries, and was adapted into a 2008 film.

Philip Roth, 'Nemesis'
October 5/7
USA/UK

Nemesis is the 31st title by American author Philip Roth. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author, 76, is considered one of the most important American authors of his generation. Nemesis is called "a work of fiction set in the summer of 1944 that tells of a polio epidemic and its effects on a closely knit Newark community and its children." Roth's previous novels include American Pastoral, The Human Stain, and his most recent title, The Humbling.

Frankfurt Book Fair
October 6-10
Frankfurt, Germany

The world's largest book fair, the Frankfurt fair offers more than 2,900 events, organized by publishers, cultural organizations, and other groups. More than 7,000 exhibitors from 100 countries and nearly 300,000 visitors attended the 2009 event, which featured Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, Swedish crime-writer Håkan Nesser, and Australian singer, author, and screenwriter Nick Cave. Argentina will be the Guest of Honor at the 2010 fair.
http://www.buchmesse.de/en/fbf


Man Booker Prize
October 12
London, England

The prestigious Man Booker Prize for Fiction is awarded annually to an English-language novel from an author hailing from either the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The 2010 shortlist includes Peter Carey's Parrot and Olivier in America, Emma Donoghue's Room, Damon Galgut's In a Strange Room, Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question, Andrea Levy's The Long Song, and Tom McCarthy's C. The 2010 winner will be announced on October 12 in London. Fans can keep up with the status of the awards via Twitter (@manbookerprize) or through a newly launched Man Booker Prize application for iOS, which also includes audio and video content and a GPS feature.
http://www.themanbookerprize.com/prize/man-booker-prize

Rick Riordan's 'The Lost Hero'
October 12
International

The internationally best-selling author of the Percy Jackson series, is set to release a spin-off series called The Heroes of the Olympus, beginning with The Lost Hero. In the Percy Jackson series, a 12-year-old boy diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD discovers he is the son of a Greek god and is sent to Camp Half-Blood, a camp for children with a Greek god for a parent. The Lost Hero will feature a new cast of characters from the Percy Jackson books, but the series, says Riordan, is "set in Percy Jackson's world, and Percy has an important role to play in the series." Five Heroes of Olympus books are planned in all.
http://www.camphalfblood.com

"World's Best Restaurant" publishes cookbook
Early October
International

René Redzepi, the head chef of Copenhagen-based restaurant Noma, is set to publish the first major recipe book for his restaurant, which was awarded the top honor at the San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants awards in April. Noma: Time & Place in Nordic Cuisine will feature more than 90 original recipes, as well as 200 color photographs of the dishes, ingredients, suppliers, and landscapes of the Nordic region. The book will also examine Redzepi's food, philosophy, and creative inspiration, including diary excerpts, a look at how he obtains his locally sourced products, and a behind-the-scenes look at the two-Michelin-star restaurant.