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An Interview With Simon Loxley

Monday, December 18, 2023

Monday, December 4, 2023

Fifty Years of Appointments With "The Wicker Man"

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of The Wicker Man, the classic British horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, and Christopher Lee.

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Monday, October 2, 2023

Monday, June 26, 2023

Book Alert: The Stone, the Cipher, and the Shadows

Open Road Media will publish the 2022 Johnny Dixon title The Stone, the Cipher, and the Shadows in paperback on Aug. 8, 2023.

It began life as an e-book, was published as an audiobook earlier this year, and now will become a paperback. My how the times have changed.

Why not buy an extra copy and make your own hardcover?  Ha.

Monday, June 19, 2023

Researching Mary Zimmerman Yet Again

It wouldn't be a year ending in 3 (like 2003 or 2013) without a note about Mary Zimerman. Zimerman was a poet, playwright, and a one-time resident of Wisconsin, where John Bellairs met her when he came to town for a friend's wedding. She reportedly was a big fan of all things purple. Bellairs was intrigued and inspired to create a similarly-named character, Mrs. Florence Zimermann.

Monday, June 12, 2023

Monday, May 29, 2023

570th Anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople

This year - and indeed today - is the 570th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople. May 29, 1453, also marks one of the rare times when we can pinpoint an exact date of the events of one of John Bellairs's novels - namely, The Trolley to Yesterday (1989).

Monday, May 22, 2023

Interview Again: Derek Piotr

We met musician Derek Piotr in 2018, and now we hear he's researching and recording traditional folk music. We had to know more; he was nice enough to share his answers again. He's sharing his archive online, too, and the best thing is you can contribute to it. But first - a few words on how he got started.

Monday, May 8, 2023

Anthony Monday Available as E-books

Open Road Media will publish the three remaining books in the Anthony Monday series as e-books on May 16. The Dark Secret of Weatherend (1984), The Lamp from the Warlock’s Tomb (1988), and The Manion in the Mist (1992) join The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn (1978), published initially as an e-book back in 2014.

Monday, May 1, 2023

He was like, 'Hast thou led me to, like, Egypt, or whatever?'

The following quote from the autobiography of filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille resurfaced recently:
If 1,000 years from now, archaeologists happen to dig beneath the sands of Guadalupe, I hope they will not rush into print with the amazing news that Egyptian civilization, far from being confined to the valley of the Nile, extended all the way to the Pacific coast of North America.

Sunday, March 26, 2023

The House with a Clock in its Walls: Revisiting 50-Year-Old Book Reviews

It's not just The House with a Clock in its Walls turning 50 years old this year. It's also all the reviews from the various publishing journals. Just like the text of the book, some reviews have aged better than others. Here's a rundown of what we've collected over the years. 

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Cover Critic: The House with a Clock in its Walls (Germany, 2000)

Cover Critic is our periodic survey of readers and fans about the various artwork and illustrations of the books in the Bellairs Corpus.

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Cover Critic: The House with a Clock in its Walls (Portugal, 2006)

Cover Critic is our periodic survey of readers and fans about the various artwork and illustrations of the books in the Bellairs Corpus.

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Happy Birthday, John Bellairs

Another year rolls around and we celebrate the 85th birthday of John Bellairs.

Sunday, January 1, 2023

The House with a Clock in its Walls: 1973-2023

 
2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Dial publishing John Bellairs's The House with a Clock in its Walls, the first book in the long-running Lewis Barnavelt series and the first of several young adult novels.