HisDarkMaterials.org

The Campaign against age banding, led by Philip Pullman, gained additional support as well-known Harry Potter author JK Rowling joined the online petition.

BookTrade reports: Philip Pullman will host Waterstone's Writer's Table this autumn. Launched earlier this year by Sebastian Faulks, The Writer's Table allows its curator to reveal some of the books and authors that have shaped and influenced their writing.

Once more the time has come for all of you to have your say. Last year saw the creation of the Cittagazzean Scholar Awards and due to the massive response, we are holding them once again. We want you to vote for your favourites and give credit where it's due.

BBC iPlayer has recently uploaded and made available for download, the new Ruby in the Smoke film for tv.

The Guardian reports: The practice of indicating suitable ages for goods bought by or for children is rarely the subject of controversy. Apart from the children themselves, who always desire whatever happens to lie in the age bracket above, most adults find such advice helpful in avoiding potentially dangerous or inappropriate items.

Barnes & Noble in McLean, Virginia will host an appearance by His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman on July 8. Pullman will be speaking at the Barnes & Noble beginning at 2p.m. with a book signing to take place afterward.

Pullman's new comic strip, entitled The Adventures of John Blake makes its first appearance Friday, 30 May. The DFC, published by Randomhouse, is bringing back the comics for children as Pullman and many other talents will set their adventures in motion in a weekly comic strip.

Pullman will be working with illustrator John Aggs in creating the comic strip.

See some artwork

Catch an interview with Pullman, Publisher David Fickling, and Illustrator John Aggs.

Read an article in the Guardian by Philip Pullman introducing the comic.

[...]The Adventures Of John Blake is the story of a boy on a sailing ship somewhere in the Pacific. It's an adventure story, plain and simple, but it's not an ordinary ship, and he's not an ordinary boy[...]

Sign up or Visit the official site to find out more.

Update

Download a preview of the comic strip [pdf file] from The Guardian

An article from Newcastle University may get a chuckle from fans of Pullman's His Dark Materials as the electronics community presents its idea of 'Biometric Daemons.'

The Golden Compass arrives on DVD and Blu-Ray today, 29 April.

The Golden Compass is released in a two-disc special edition as well as a single-disc edition.

A Best Buy Exclusive offers fans a bonus disc included with the two-disc widescreen edition of the film. The extra disc includes footage of the cast, stunt work, and filming locations.

Please note: some places appear to be promoting an "Extended Edition" of The Golden Compass. Note that this is actually the two-disc edition of the movie. There is no extended footage available at this time outside of the early film left in The Golden Compass video game.

Initial projections have panned out as The Golden Compass film topped $300 million in foreign markets while simultaneously not making it to $100 million in the US market.

The Theatre Royal Bath Young People’s Theatre presents The National Theatre adaptation of His Dark Materials

Sunday 13th April – Sunday 20th April 2008

By Nicholas Wright after Philip Pullman

Performance Times and Prices Below
Official Web Site and Ticket Purchasing

A reminder that fans of His Dark Materials from the UK can expect to pick up their copies of Once Upon A Time In The North starting today, 3 April.

There are also reports from readers that the bookstore Borders, the online seller Amazon, and a smattering of international retail locations have released their copies of this His Dark Materials companion novel.

Publisher's Weekly posts a Q&A;with Pullman on his upcoming novella Once Upon A Time In The North, hosted by Donna Freitas.

Philip Pullman is the author of the bestselling trilogy His Dark Materials (Knopf) and two short spin-off novels, Lyra’s Oxford, and coming this April, Once Upon a Time in the North, which follows the adventures of aeronaut Lee Scorseby and reveals how he meets the armored bear Iorek Byrnison. We spoke with Pullman on the phone from his home in Oxford.

The Guardian posts an exclusive extract (and quite a lenghty one, as well) from the upcoming Pullman book Once Upon A Time In The North, a story about Texan aeronaut Lee Scoresby and his companion Iorek Byrnison.

Once Upon A Time In The North is set to appear in UK bookstores 3 April, 2008 and in USA bookstores 8 April, 2008.

The Times Online has an exclusive interview with author Philip Pullman on the upcoming novella Once Upon A Time In The North.

Philip Pullman has a new target in his sights. After taking on the Catholic Church - and scoring a not inconsiderable victory, if sales figures for his bestselling trilogy His Dark Materials are anything to go by - he is now pitting himself against a new enemy: multinational corporations.