Random House Goes Political

Old-ish news, but I feel it's still worth posting about: Random House recently released the news that they will be including a new clause in contracts with children's authors. The clause states that if an author acts in a way which damages his or her reputation as someone suitable to be associated with children, the publisher has the right to renegotiate and advance, delay publication of the book, or break the contract altogether.

I find this information rather frightening, personally. Most children don't even think to associate a face with what they read - they rarely consider the possibility that a real person is behind it. And also, these authors do not owe anybody anything. So long as they have provided an entertaining and somewhat educational book for their readers, whose business is it how they spend their leisure time? (So long as their extracurricular activities are legal, that is).

Thoughts?

Man Booker 2008 Shortlist Announced

The shortlist has been released for one of the more prestigious book awards: The Man Booker Prize. Two first-time authors, Aravind Adiga and Steve Toltz, made this year's list over Salman Rushdie's latest, The Enchantress of Florence.

The 2008 shortlist is:

Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger (Atlantic)
Sebastian Barry, Secret Scripture (Faber and Faber)
Amitav Ghosh, Sea of Poppies (John Murray)
Linda Grant, The Clothes on Their Backs (Virago)
Philip Hensher, The Northern Clemency (Fourth Estate)
Steve Toltz, A Fraction of the Whole (Hamish Hamilton)

The winning author will be presented with the award and prize money at a ceremony the evening of October 14.