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Posted by Ian on April 26, 2008 at 9:18 pm
According to gossip-site Popbitch, Philip Pullman’s son got married last weekend in a full Catholic wedding ceremony. The words of Popbitch:
Wedding day bliss for Pullman
Philip Pullman may be one of our foremost
atheists but his son got married at the weekend
in a Catholic church with full mass, a choir
and a soloist who sang Ave Maria. Pullman even
gave a reading from Corinthians ending “God
is love”, to one or two raised eyebrows. He
didn’t, however, take communion.
Source.
Posted by Ian on April 20, 2008 at 4:16 pm
 You may remember that we reported back in December that Oxford City Council had rejected a planning application to redevelop the Castle Mill boatyard in the Jericho area of Oxford; however, according to the Oxford Mail, the developers in question, Spring Residential, have announced they intend to appeal against the decision. This is highly unpopular with many locals who have manned a long-running campaign against the proposal with support and patronage from Philip Pullman and others such as actor Kevin Whately (Morse, Lewis). It is rumoured that this latest turn of events will push the cost of the inquiries surrounding the proposal to over GBP 1 million of tax payer’s money. The hearing is expected to take place towards the end of the year. Read the article in full here.
Posted by Ian on April 18, 2008 at 6:30 pm
According to website Abebooks, books by Philip Pullman are the 7th most collectible available. Alongside him in the top ranks of rare and collectible books are J.K. Rowling, Tolkien and Shakespeare. The data, which is based on 2007 sales, notes that a British signed first edition of Northern Lights sold for US$3500 at the height of Golden Compass movie mania last year. You can read more here. Thanks to community members Cittagazze for the tip off!
Posted by Ian on April 5, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Writing by Philip Pullman will feature in a book to be published on November 16th marking the 60th birthday of Prince Charles. The book, to be published by the Princes Foundation and Random House will be a ’sumptuous gift collection’. It will apparently feature writing both old and new from a host of leading writers including Pullman, Jacqueline Wilson, J.K. Rowling and Anthony Horowitz. Illustrations will be provided by amongst others Quentin Wilson. Whether or not the feature from Pullman will be new is unclear, but we’ll let you know as soon as possible! For further information click here.
Posted by Ian on April 3, 2008 at 9:38 pm
The Times reports on a religious debate which took place at the Oxford Literary Festival in which Philip Pullman was a participant. Amongst others taking part were Sarfraz Manzoor and Timothy Garton. Debate varied from the case of the anti-islamic Danish cartoon, to the work of Pullman himself who was unfortunately suffering from a heavy cold. Pullman was directly questioned by one audience member on the Golden Compass movie and the religious aspects found within and why New Line Cinema had seemingly played down such debate to avoid controversy. Pullman did concede that the questioner had a point and also told the audience how last year an Oxford mosque had received hate mail which had been signed by “Philip Pullman”. You can read the report in full here.
Posted by Ian on April 2, 2008 at 3:54 am
The Oxford Mail reports on Philip Pullman’s appearance at the Oxford Literary Festival last night to discuss his new book, Once Upon A Time In The North, at which he was interviewed by journalist James Naughtie on a range of themes, but primarily his new novella. Over 700 people had packed into Oxford Town Hall to hear Pullman speak, including many younger fans. You can read about the evening in full here.
Posted by krebbe on March 28, 2008 at 6:00 am
Publisher’s weekly has featured a telephone interview with Philip Pullman discussing his recent work, including inspirations for Once Upon a Time in the North, his writings for a British comic book ( covered earlier) and progress on the long-awaited Book of Dust:
“When I’ve finished the story I’m writing for the comic, I’ll say no to everything else. I wonder how many times I’ve said that now….”
Read the whole interview here.
Posted by krebbe on March 23, 2008 at 12:55 am
With the approaching release of Once Upon a Time in the North, Philip Pullman talks to Rosa Silverman of The Times newspaper. The interview topics include the effects of corporate forces on our lives and the environment, his hopes and reservations regarding the movies, and the difficulties of writing stories that impress both the critics the public. “A lot of things about [The Golden Compass movie] were good. Nothing’s perfect. Nothing can bring out all that’s in the book. There are always compromises.” Pullman also describes his optimism that the sequels will be made and concedes that he wants to appeal to a wide audience partly because “the more readers you get, the more money you get.” It’s a candid comment, befitting a man who has built up a reputation for speaking his mind on controversial ideas. Read the whole article here.
Posted by jessia on March 21, 2008 at 3:22 am
 The American Humanist Association will celebrate Philip Pullman this summer as International Humanist Awardee. “His popular and sometimes controversial works champion such humanist values as kindness, love, courage, courtesy, intellectual curiosity, and opposition to organized dogma and tyranny.” The World Humanist Congress Evening Awards Banquet will take place Saturday, 7 June at L’Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington D.C. Read more.
“The AHA actively educates the public about Humanism, brings Humanists together for mutual support and action, defends the civil liberties and constitutional freedoms of Humanists-indeed of all peoples-and leads both local and national Humanist organizations toward progressive societal change.”
Registration information can be found here.
Posted by jessia on March 20, 2008 at 8:20 am
Philip Pullman will be speaking at the Oxford Literary Festival Monday, 31st March to launch upcoming title Once Upon a Time in the North. “The book recounts the very first meeting of these two heroes - Lee Scoresby and his hare daemon, Hester, crash land their trading balloon on to Novy Odense, a port in the far Arctic North, and so find themselves right in the middle of a political powder keg that threatens to explode into a street-fight. Honour is at stake and Lee is not a man to duck a matter of honour.”
Tickets (£15, or £10 for children) are available at the Oxford Playhouse.
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You may remember that we reported back in December that Oxford City Council had rejected a planning application to redevelop the Castle Mill boatyard in the Jericho area of Oxford; however, according to the Oxford Mail, the developers in question, Spring Residential, have announced they intend to appeal against the decision. This is highly unpopular with many locals who have manned a long-running campaign against the proposal with support and patronage from Philip Pullman and others such as actor Kevin Whately (Morse, Lewis). It is rumoured that this latest turn of events will push the cost of the inquiries surrounding the proposal to over GBP 1 million of tax payer’s money. The hearing is expected to take place towards the end of the year. Read the article in full here.
