Everyone’s talking about…

27th September 2012. For that is when J. K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy will hit our shelves. Rowling’s first book aimed squarely at adults is set in a small British village where life is disrupted by council elections, described by publishers Little, Brown as “blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising”. Will there be protests from the Hogwarts camp? Will it sell millions the world over? Will there be endless hype and speculation over the next 5 months? Probably.

We’ve also been trying to spread the word that our favourite feminist pop culture adventurists over at Bad Reputation are looking for contributors. They say “We are sticklers for exciting, often-quirkily-original, well-written stuff, and for inclusive feminisms which take account of the variety of identities contained on our existing team (and more besides). We aim to be bouncy and accessible and occasionally irreverent – but we want to make your brain tick, not start a fight.” So whether you want to pitch a one-off article or get stuck in with more, get to it!

In case you missed it…

Have you commented on our post about the love triangle that is (or isn’t) at the heart of The Hunger Games yet, or told us which Grrrl Rock memoirs you’d love to read?

We were in the grip of nostalgia for a good chunk of this week thanks to this post pondering whether The Babysitters Club books stand the test of time and were once again lusting over literary tattoos, thanks to Jessa’s Oscar Wilde ink.

In other news…

Tomorrow, London Dreamtime will take you on a trip through Victorian magic and the Mayan underworld with  London Dreamtime present… Smoke and Mirrors. These tales will be told by the deserted Tobacco Docks pirate ship. It’s only £2 per person but you need to email to book your place. And don’t forget, time is ticking and we’re only a week or so away from our World Book Night quiz at Cafe 164. If you haven’t already, you can book a place for your team and get swotting up – we look forward to seeing you there!

On Sunday, the Feminist Library is holding an open day for anyone who wants to find out more about the work they do and how to get involved as a volunteer. Go along at 3pm for an overview of the library and the cataloguing project, details of volunteering opportunities and the sharing of snacks, drinks and conversation.

Perhaps you spent (like us) too much of the Easter break drinking gin and embracing a 4 day weekend and have set aside this weekend to do some scribbling? FlashTag writing collective are looking for unpublished submissions of flash fiction (upto 500 words). The deadline for getting your stories in is 27th April, and the winner will be announced at a special National Flash Fiction Day shindig in Manchester in May.

And if, as the working week draws to a close, all you want to do is DANCE, then head on down to The Waiting Room on Stoke Newington High Street, where tonight, Fanny Pack is “back for more adventures in 90s neon”!

Happy weekend!

Alex Herod

Photo from  Brit.’s Flickr photostream