The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Tete-e-tete with pastmaster of fiction

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Friday, Apr 25, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Tete-e-tete with pastmaster of fiction

M. Dinesh Varma

British author Jeffrey Archer
to visit India
next month

CHENNAI: British author Jeffrey Archer, who has returned to the best-selling fiction’s stratosphere with his new book, “A Prisoner of Birth,” is due for his first visit to India next month.

Lord Archer, who is touring India under the auspices of Landmark chain of bookstores, will be promoting his new work, which has reportedly scorched popularity charts across geographies since launching last month.

The “Landmark-Jeffrey Archer Tour of India” from May 17 to 27 will feature visits to select Landmark outlets in India and extensive book readings. The high point, of course, will be the interaction with book-lovers in which Lord Archer is expected to discuss his fiction. A question-and-answer session is also part of the agenda, and fans can hope to gain insight into the thought processes of a pastmaster of fiction.

According to the itinerary, Lord Archer is due to arrive in New Delhi from London on May 17 for the first session with his fans at Landmark in Gurgaon. The playwright-author is scheduled to be at Landmark outlets in Lucknow on May 18, Mumbai on May 20, Pune on May 22, Bangalore on May 23 and Chennai on May 24.

He is expected to fly back to London on May 26.

“A Prisoner of Birth,” Lord Archer’s 14th novel, has already restored the author to the top of best-selling fiction after a nearly 10-year lull in fortunes. The author spins his latest work of fiction around a man who is wrongly imprisoned for the murder of his best friend.

Landmark officials are said to be in constant touch with Lord Archer’s London office to finalise the smallest detail in the 10-day itinerary. “Surprisingly, there has so far not been any discussion from their side on what kind of questions should be avoided during the interaction. Apparently, the author has no issues at all with a free-wheeling interface with book-lovers in India,” said a Landmark spokesman.

Landmark has made arrangements to invite around 500 of its regulars for the Jeffrey Archer experience in each of its outlets. Admission to the events would be free. Asked about the popularity of Jeffrey Archer in India, the spokesman vouched that the British author was easily the top best-selling author when it comes to fiction.

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