Mantel and Colfer join Brink as London Book Fair authors

18.02.10 | Graeme Neill in The Bookseller

Man Booker Prize-winner Hilary Mantel,(pic left by Eamonn McCabe), South African writer Andre Brink and children's author Eoin Colfer have been named as the three Authors of the Day at this year's London Book Fair.

Mantel, Brink and Colfer will deliver a talk on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of the fair respectively. This year's Fair will be held from the 19th-21st April at Earls Court. Each author's final schedule has yet to be confirmed but the Author of the Day initiative, which has been
running since 2006, includes events such as discussions, seminars and book signings.

Mantel said: "Sometimes, astonishing things happen to authors, and the fragile constructs of an individual imagination mesh with the workings of a huge global industry. This year my long-projected novel about a Tudor politician has made it out of the privacy of my head and into an international arena. My success has coincided with inspiring, exhilarating and sometimes confusing developments in the publishing world.

Brink, appearing on the 20th, said: "Authors are notoriously solitary creatures, so an occasion like this is a wonderful opportunity to meet one's actual readers. That is a privilege and a joy I'm looking forward to tremendously."

Colfer, appearing on the fair's final day, said: "I'm really looking forward to the day itself, particularly the meeting the readers parts where I get to chat with the people who make
Artemis Fowl as successful as it is."

Alongside the authors, more than 47 South African authors, poets, playwrights, activists and academics, representing nine of the 11 spoken languages of South Africa, will attend the fair, as part of its Market Focus on the country.