Out of the Woodwork 132. A very happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year to you all, Fantastic Literature hope you have a great 2008. We are planning further changes for the Year, of primary importance to us is the shopping cart which we have been promised for so long, but we will also be looking to place our books in additional shopping areas, currently our Ebay shop has done well and we are looking to place books with Play.com as well.
Fantastic Literature - setting the standards for out of print on-line bookselling.

Rare J K Rowling book fetches £2M.

A handwritten copy of author JK Rowling's new book, which will never be published, has sold for almost £2m. Rowling wrote and illustrated seven copies of the Tales of Beedle the Bard, but is offering only one for sale. The collection of fairy tales, which is mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, had been expected to fetch up to £50,000 by Sotheby's. All the proceeds of the auction in London are being donated to Rowling's charity Children's Voice. Full BBC story. In a suprising twist it turns out, according to the Independent on the 15th December, that Amazon purchased the said item. Jeff Bezos said "even before establishing her charity, J K Rowling had done the world a rare and immensely valuable service - enlarging forever our concept of the way books can touch people, and in particular children, in modern times"

Peter Jackson to produce Hobbit movies

Peter Jackson, Oscar-winning director of the Lord of the Rings movies, has signed a deal to produce two films based on JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit. The filmmaker had been in dispute with New Line Cinema over income generated by the first film in the Rings trilogy. "I'm very pleased that we've been able to put our differences behind us," said Jackson. "We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth." Full BBC story

Hammer Horror to return on My Space with new Vampire film.

Cult British film company Hammer is to broadcast its latest horror venture on social networking site MySpace. Beyond the Rave, described as Hammer's first horror movie in 30 years, will be shown as 20 'webisodes' in spring 2008 before being released in full on DVD. It is billed as a vampire story set in the UK's underground rave scene. Full BBC story

The Guardian reports on Arthur C Clarke's 90th birthday wishes:

Arthur C Clarke, author of science fiction including 2001: A Space Odyssey, celebrates his 90th birthday today and continues to embrace new technology: he has marked it by releasing a video on the website YouTube.

In the nine-minute message, recorded at his home in Sri Lanka, Clarke makes three wishes. First, he would like evidence of extraterrestrial life. 'I have always believed that we are not alone in the universe,' he says. 'But we are still waiting for ETs to call us - or give us some kind of a sign.'

Clarke aims his second wish at global warming: 'I would like to see us kick our addiction to oil and adopt clean energy sources. For more than a decade, I've been monitoring various new energy experiments, but they have yet to produce commercial scale results.
His third wish is closer to home: 'I've been living in Sri Lanka for 50 years and, half that time, I've been a sad witness to the bitter conflict that divides my adopted country. I dearly wish to see lasting peace established in Sri Lanka as soon as possible.'

Captain Kidds treasure ship found:

It is a discovery big enough even to quicken the pulse of Captain Sparrow and his Pirates of the Caribbean. But there is nothing fictional about the cannons and anchors found off the shores of an island belonging to the Dominican Republic. The real-life scoundrel linked to its loss was Captain William Kidd.

Archaeologists from the University of Indiana say they have found the wreck of the Quedagh Merchant, an Armenian ship loaded with treasures – satins, muslins, silver and gold – that probably belonged to the British East India Company before being commandeered by Kidd in 1699. Treasure hunters have been vying for years to be the first to find the 500-tonne vessel apparently boarded by Kidd in the Indian Ocean. Remarkably, it has turned up in 10ft of crystal clear waters just a short paddle from the shore of Catalina Island. Yet, by all indications, no one before has investigated the site. Certainly, they have not plundered it. Full Independent story.

David Tennant is leaving Dr Who? or is he?

Catherine Tate has suggested that the next series of Doctor Who could be the last for actor David Tennant. The comedian, speaking on Radio 2's Jonathan Ross programme, said: "I think it's maybe David's last series." The BBC refused to comment on Mr Tennant's future as the show's star. Full BBC story.

Then on the 19th December, Doctor Who star David Tennant has laughed off speculation that he is planning to quit the show at the end of the next series in 2008. David Tennant, speaking at the launch of the Christmas episode, said: "Catherine Tate stitched me up good and proper. I started getting all these phone calls on Saturday lunchtime saying apparently you're leaving Doctor Who," Tennant told the BBC. "Catherine Tate's just announced it on Radio 2 - thanks Catherine

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