Endymion Spring

Local boy makes good. It's a cliché but it is also true for author Matthew Skelton. Matthew grew up in Edmonton, went to U of A, then on to Oxford for his PhD. Pretty good thus far. But life in the ivory tower of academia can be hard, with shockingly few winners in the bitter battle for a full-time job (vs an endless series of low-paying lectureships, assistantships, etc). Matthew found himself living in Europe living on £ 12 a week. So he set out on another quixotic quest, writing a fantasy novel about libraries, books and a brother and sister. The chances of getting a first novel published are about as slim as getting a tenure-track job in the humanities. But somehow Matthew's novel, Endymion Spring, made it out of the slush pile, created a publishers' bidding war and went on to bestseller status and talk of "the next Harry Potter" in the UK!

The Journal's Paula Simons tells the incredible story [here].
Our Teen Librarian, Kathleen, blogged about the book [here].

And I've saved the best for last (yes, another cliché!): Matthew Skelton appears in person, at the Library this Saturday! Free admission. All welcome.

Matthew Skelton 1:00pm, Saturday October 20, 2007