We are delighted to announce that Alexander McCall Smith’s wonderful first novel, The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency has been selected by readers as part of World Book Night 2013.

The first of Alexander McCall Smith’s much loved and bestselling Botswana series, The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency has become one of the most  beloved books of recent years since it was first published in 1998, and introduced the world to the unforgettable Mma Ramotswe. Next year will be the 15th anniversary of the series, and the World Book Night celebrations will mark the highlight of a year of activity and celebration around the books.

World Book Night 2013 launches today with the announcement of the full list of titles, and the official opening of the giver recruitment process.  20,000 members of the public will volunteer to give away 20 copies of one of 20 books on 23^rd April 2013 to help spread a love of reading.  In total, 400,000 books will be distributed by individual givers  –  the equivalent of an average day’s book sales in the UK. An additional 100,000 books will be distributed centrally by World Book Night through charity partners and institutions.

World Book Night CEO Julia Kingsford said:

“Fiction and non-fiction, classic and contemporary, prize winners and bestsellers; this year’s World Book Night books are united by being brilliantly enjoyable reads. With the help of 20,000 passionate volunteers putting them directly into the hands of those who don’t regularly read, they’ll inspire hundreds of thousands of people across the country to fall in love with reading.”

If you would like to be a giver at next year’s World Book Night, here’s how you can register to take part: http://www.worldbooknight.org/about-world-book-night/apply-to-be-a-giver

And for more information on WBN, and the full list of next year’s books, see here for details: http://www.worldbooknight.org/books/2013

Alexander McCall Smith today announced the launch of an ambitious and exciting project to stitch the entire story of Scotland from pre-history to modern times.

The Great Tapestry of Scotland is the brainchild of the author, and together with historian Alistair Moffat, and with the artistic talents of Andrew Crummy, (not to mention stitchers from all over Scotland!) they haved formed a team set to produce one of the world’s longest tapestries through one of the biggest community arts projects ever to take place in Scotland.

The aim is to create a series of over one hundred and fifty panels that tell the key stories in Scottish history- everything from Duns Scotus to the formation of Rangers. Each panel will focus on a specific historical chapter, and interwoven through each will be other tales of the time.

Alexander McCall Smith said: ‘A great project is about to be launched. I believe that it will bring happiness and delight to many people.’

The project will take over a year to complete and the finished tapestry will go on display from August 2013.

For more information on the tapestry, visit the website http://scotlandstapestry.com/

Since we relaunched the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series with a new cover style from designer Mark Ecob, we have received quite a number of comments from fans. Many have been positive, but it’s also fair to say there has been some less favourable reaction from those who are unhappy with the change in style.

When we first started talking about changing the cover style, we realised it would be a difficult decision to make. In many ways, it’s unusual for a long-running series to have maintained its original look for so long – and a testament to how good those illustrations were. Next year will mark a decade of Little, Brown and Abacus publishing Alexander McCall Smith’s books, and 15 years since The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency was first released. Quite simply, we felt it was time for a change, and that we needed to keep the series feeling fresh, and Alexander McCall Smith agreed.

The process for finding suitable designers and deciding on a new direction certainly wasn’t taken lightly nor in isolation – it was the result of over a year’s conversation and debate between ourselves, retailers and the author himself. Our aim was to create something fresh, vibrant and lively which showed the colour and warmth of the books, while also clearly reflecting the African setting, and we feel Mark’s designs achieve this brilliantly. Alexander McCall Smith himself said:

‘I am delighted with the new design, which has lovely humour in it while at the same time capturing the atmosphere of Mma Ramotswe’s world.’

There’s no doubt that they are very different from Hannah’s wonderful illustrations, and it’s easy to see why they might initially surprise those expecting the same approach on The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party and The Limpopo Academy for Private Detection.

One key thing we feel about the new covers is that they are designed to be part of a series, and we think it is when the whole series is viewed together that they really come into their own. In the end though, we know book jackets are a very subjective issue (we have enough disagreements in house every week to prove that point!) and we will never win everyone over. The most important thing  is what’s inside the covers, and that remains unchanged – and as brilliant – as ever.

Starting this Monday 30th April, and running all week until Friday4th May, BBC Radio 4 have been dramatising Alexander McCall Smith’s first book in the Scotland Street series, 44 Scotland Street.

The play stars Carol Ann Crawford as Domenica, James Mackenzie as Bruce and Euan Lee as Bertie, and runs in five 15-minute slots, broadcast each morning at 10:45am.

If you’ve missed any of episodes, they are available to hear again on the BBC’s iPlayer service for the next few days: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01gvkw5.

Have you been listening so far? And if so, what did you think?

The new Scotland Street novel, Bertie Plays the Blues is released on the 24th May in paperback.

The arrival of a new No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency book is always reason to celebrate – and with the paperback of The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party released on the same day, then there’s double the reason to be excited . . .

To find out more about the new novel click here, but here’s Alexander McCall Smith’s own summary of what lies in store for fans:

‘The Limpopo Academy of Private Investigation’ features the visit of an extremely important person – a hero, as it happens, of our two heroines. This is a great treat for the ladies as they have much to say to him. And he, it transpires, has things to tell them too. And as for the apprentices, I’m sorry to say that Fanwell gets himself into deep water, which is extremely unfair, as if anybody deserves to get into trouble it must be Charlie.’

Those who subscribe to the Alexander McCall Smith newsletter will have read an exclusive extract from the new book already – if you haven’t signed up yet, then just enter your name and email address into the boxes towards the bottom of the right-hand column on this page, and you’ll receive regular news and updates, all written by the author himself.

And if you still have to catch up with the previous title in the series (in which Mma Makutsi’s big day approaches), then now is the perfect time  – with the paperback also published today!

We’re excited to announce that the new title in the Botswana series, The Limpopo Academy for Private Detection, will mark the launch of a brand new cover style for the whole series. Published alongside the paperback edition of The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party on the 29th March, both books feature a new illustrative style, which we can reveal here:

We love them – and we’d love to know what you think too! Let us know in the comments below. We’ll have more pictures to show soon . . .

If you haven’t already, today is the deadline to submit your top ten nominations for next year’s World Book Night giveaway via the World Book Night website.

So, if you’d like to see The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency or any other Alexander McCall Smith title in the final list of the nation’s favourite 25 books, then register on the site now and get choosing your ten best reads. Once you register, you can discuss your books, make recommendations and share your top ten with others.

Alexander McCall Smith is a supporter of World Book Night and recently chose his top twenty books for Foyles – you can read his article here: http://www.foyles.co.uk/alexander-mccall-smith-favourite-books

Summer draws to a close, and Autumn is nearly upon us - it must be time to catch up on the latest events in the life of our favourite philosopher and private investigator, Isabel Dalhousie. And she’s got a whole new look for the new season . . .

In The Charming Quirks of Others  – which is out now in paperback – Isabel finds herself contemplating an act of heroic and alarming self-sacrifice.

And in just under two weeks, the new Isabel Dalhousie novel entitled The Forgotten Affairs of Youth is released, in which Isabel finds herself beset by temptation, and attempting to steer a course between love and laissez-faire. Both titles feature the brand-new cover look, which will be rolled out across all the titles in the series. Let us know what you think!

And for a fascinating glimpse of the real Edinburgh behind the Dalhousie series (and of course the Scotland Street series too) have a look at this short film of Alexander McCall Smith taking Sarah Crown from The Guardian on walking tour of his home city.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/video/2011/aug/16/alexander-mccall-smith-edinburgh-video?INTCMP=SRCH

World Book Night, held for the first time this year in March, was a book event like no other. The unprecedented giveaway at the heart of the nights’ activity - 20,000 people giving away 1 million specially printed copies of their favourite books (40,000 copies in all of 25 brilliant titles) – generated a huge amount of excitement up and down the country, and kick-started a nationwide conversation about what our favourite books are.

And plans are already underway for next year’s event. Readers across the UK are now being invited to submit their top ten nominations for next year’s giveaway via the World Book Night website. The interactive site enables you to discuss your favourite books, make recommendations and share your top ten with others.

All you have to do is register with the site, and choose your ten favourite books. You can also view the top 100 selections as they currently stand.

The deadline for voting finishes at the end of the month on 31st August. So, if you’d like to see The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency in the final list of 25 titles to be away next year, then get voting!

P. S – Alexander McCall Smith himself is currently choosing his own top ten titles – look out for these on the site very soon!

The latest instalment of Alexander McCall Smith’s Scotland St series is out now in paperback and there are startling developments afoot in the lives of Edinburgh’s most eccentric – and loveable – residents!

Click here to find out more (including what young Bertie is up to now), and to read the first chapter for free click here.

And in more exciting Scotland Street news, The Scotsman newspaper has just announced that the series is to be turned into a stage play, to be perfomed at the fringe at this year’s Edinburgh festival. See here for more details.