Book Alert: 闇にひそむ影

The Japanese edition of the The Figure in the Shadows (loosely translated as Lurking in dark shadows - or something like that...) will be published later this August.

Book Alert: The Tower at the End of the World

Amazon will release the next book in the Lewis Barnavelt series, The Tower at the End of the World, in September of this year. The artwork will be in the capable hands of S.D. Schindler.

Book Alert: Return of the Shuffly

It looks as though John Bellairs’s long lost classic, The Pedant and the Shuffly, will see the light of print once again thanks to the efforts of the Mythopoeic Press.

And unlike the recent reprint of The Face in the Frost, Pedant will indeed feature the original artwork of Marilyn Fitschen - which only makes sense.

Would That It Were Mine...

Publishers Weekly had a feature recently (Feb. 12) asking children's editors which books they wish they had published. Paula Wiseman, the editorial director of Silver Whistle Books, had some kind words on the books of John Bellairs:

Movie News

Muse Entertainment Enterprises  [webpage/archive] announces the following:

"Muse is also entering the children's entertainment market. It is co-producing The Never Ending Story, a live-action, special effects TV series based on the internationally acclaimed feature film franchise. It is also co-producing The House with a Clock in its Walls, a TV movie based on Ron Bellairs' classic novel."

We received an e-mail reply from Betty Palik, a spokesperson for Muse Entertainment Enterprises, regarding this passage. She tells us that the project is still in the early development stages - scripting, financing, and that sort of thing - so they are apparently quite a ways off from the actual shooting stage.

Unfortunately, they give credit on their site to "Ron" Bellairs. They said they would correct that.

Interview: Jonathan Abucejo

The Defender of the Faith speaks! The webmaster of the Compleat Bellairs, Jonathan Abucejo, sits down to discuss his vast creation, its history, and his Bellairsian interests.

Book Alert: Specter and Wrath in Paperback

New Puffin paperbacks by Brad Strickland are now available! Fans can get their mitts on copies The Specter From the Magician's Museum (staring Lewis Barnavelt and his tangled-up-in-a-web friend, Rose Rita) and The Wrath of the Grinning Ghost (staring Johnny Dixon and featuring the return of two long-quiet characters, his father and a certain bird-brained-like statue).

Read on, fans!

Book Alert: 壁のなかの時計

The Japanese edition of the The House with a Clock in Its Walls (loosely translated as Clock of inside of a wall - ?) will be published later this April.

There, Then, That Izard!

Donna recently shared this bit of trivia with us after stumbling upon a particular – and most peculiar – name:

I had assumed that Bellairs had invented the name Izard for his villains Isaac and Serena in The House with a Clock in its Walls, but today I ran across the name Izzard in The Guinness Book of Names by Leslie Dunkling (6th edition). It's in the chapter on the history of surnames, under the section "Henry Guppy's 'Peculiar' Names" [118-21].

Here's Dunkling's explanation:

Book Alert: Tower & Pedant

Brad Strickland, writing at the Compleat Bellairs:

Love My Dear Moth

It’s true we receive questions out of the blue...such as this one from Dan Rigney:

I'm a big fan of The Face in the Frost but sadly don't own a copy. I'm wondering if I am remembering correctly about an encounter with a giant moth? I manage the New York City band the Moths and we're looking for references and illustrations for a gallery page for the 2.0 version of our website. If you can remember any other mentions of moths in Bellairs work, please let me know. Much appreciated!

Book Alert: The Tower at the End of the World

Brad Strickland, writing at the Compleat Bellairs:

"Let's see... the manuscript of The Tower at the End of the World has been turned in. In it, the descendant of an old enemy of Lewis Barnavelt turns up to trouble him and his uncle. The cover artist will be S.D. Schindler, whose work may be seen on the cover and interior illustrations of The Ghost of Nicholas Greebe.

"I've had no further word on the movie adaptation of House, but it's supposed to start shooting [soon], so it may be underway."

Book Alert: The Face in the Frost

The Face in the Frost is being re-released by Olmstead Press, as seen at their website and Amazon.

We emailed Olmstead and received a nice note back from Maureen Owen when we asked about the re-releasing of Saint Fidgeta and The Pedant and the Shuffly, too:

Thanks for your note. [Face] is available now. We do not have plans, yet, to re-publish the other Bellairs titles, but on your good suggestion, we will look into doing just that.

Bellairs in the Hall of Fame

According to Haverhill's Eagle Tribune, on Wednesday, April 26, 2000 John Bellairs, along with 3 other Haverhill residents, was recognized for his lifetime achievements as an author by being honored in Haverhill's Hall of Fame. In their description of Bellairs' achievements they mention such popular titles as Sister Fidgeta and Dustin Heights.

Perhaps they were referring to Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies and the fictional locale of Duston Heights?

Memoriam: Edward Gorey

Jonathan Abucejo, writing at the Compleat Bellairs:

It pains me to relate this news to all you fans, but illustrator Edward Gorey, the popular artist behind a vast majority of the late John Bellairs' work, has died at age 75. According to Reuters/ Associated Press, "...Gorey, whose macabre pen-and-ink drawings set somewhere between the Edwardian era and the 1920s made him one of the most distinctive American illustrators, died Saturday [April 15th] near his Cape Cod home, a hospital spokeswoman said Sunday. [He had suffered a heart attack earlier in the week]."