To follow up on my earlier post about the Puffin Classics reissues of Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island, it turns out that Budge Wilson, author of Before Green Gables, wrote the introductions to both.
My copies are still in the mail, but they should arrive soon.
Puffin Classics will reissue Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island on 6 August 2009 on the U.K. (available in Canada on 24 November 2009), joining their reissue last year of Anne of Green Gables with an introduction by Lauren Child. As you can see from the covers above, the authors of the introductions to the second and third books are to be confirmed, although Amazon suggests that Budge Wilson has written the introduction to Anne of Avonlea. I’ll let you know once I hear anything more.
The following reissues have been scheduled for 2009:
My review of three new Anne books—Imagining Anne: The Island Scrapbooks of L.M. Montgomery, by Elizabeth Rollins Epperly; Before Green Gables, by Budge Wilson; and Looking for Anne: How Lucy Maud Montgomery Dreamed Up a Literary Classic, by Irene Gammel—appears in today’s The Globe and Mail on pages D1 and D9 of the Books section.
UPDATE: The review is no longer freely available on the Globe and Mail website, but the full text of the review can be found here.
An article titled “Wilson tackles ‘daunting’ prequel to Anne of Green Gables” can be found at CBC.ca, along with an interview with the author of the recently released Beyond Green Gables.
Before Green Gables and 100 Years of Anne Shirley
This episode comes to you from the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada, where a large group of people braved a moderate snowstorm to attend the launch of Before Green Gables, the prequel of Anne of Green Gables.
The book launch coincides with the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the introduction of Anne Shirley to the world. To mark the occasion, Canada Post has unveiled two new stamps one for Anne Shirley and one for Prince Edward Island, the Royal Canadian Mint unveiled their new Anne Shirley quarter and Girl Guides of Canada have unveiled a new patch.
This episode of Just One More Book includes interviews with author Budge Wilson, editor Helen Reeves, LM granddaughter Kate Macdonald Butler, the Right and Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, LM Montgomery expert Betsy Epperly, publicist Alina Goldstein and the many voices of Anne Shirley enthusiasts.
Visit the site and click on the interview link for the audio.
Yuka draws our attention to the following articles:
Anne of Green Gables turns 100:
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2008/01/26/anne_of_green_gables_turns_100.html
The once and future Anne Shirley:
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2008/01/26/the_once_and_future_anne_shirley.html
Gentle Island:
http://www.thestar.com/Travel/article/296791
Coming soon: A Green Gables prequel:
The following event has been posted on the website of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto for Tuesday, 12 February 2008, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM:
100 Years of Anne
Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables was published in 1908. This special evening features Budge Wilson, award-winning author of Before Green Gables, and Dr. Elizabeth Epperly, one of the world’s foremost scholars of L.M. Montgomery and editor of Imagining Anne: The Island Scrapbooks of L.M. Montgomery. Kate Macdonald, Montgomery’s granddaughter will be in attendance. The evening will be introduced by the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson. Book signing follows.
There’s a blurb about the Budge Wilson prequel planned for release next month in yesterday’s Globe and Mail:
Penguin plans Anne prequel for anniversary
December 19, 2007 at 4:59 AM EST
Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables, the classic novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. That yarn is now in the public domain—Montgomery died in Toronto in 1942—but Canada’s Penguin Group is marking the anniversary next month with a “prequel” it has commissioned in association with the Montgomery estate.The novel, to be published Jan. 29, is called Before Green Gables and it’s the work of veteran Nova Scotia author Budge Wilson.
Not only that, but Nimbus Publishing is releasing a new abridgment of Anne of Green Gables by Deirdre Kessler, called Anne of Green Gables: Stories for Young People. Illustrated by David Preston Smith and scheduled for publication in May 2008, the book is available for pre-order on Amazon.ca. No word yet on whether this is a re-issue of Kessler’s 1983 A Child’s Anne.
Here’s a look at the cover art:
Amazon.ca now includes cover illustrations of three titles forthcoming from Penguin in early 2008: the centennial edition of Anne of Green Gables, Budge Wilson’s authorized prequel, Before Green Gables, and Elizabeth Rollins Epperly’s book-length study, Imagining Anne: The Island Scrapbooks of L.M. Montgomery.
Amazon.ca and Chapters.Indigo.ca are taking pre-orders for Montgomery studies that will appear in 2008!
Elizabeth Epperly’s Imagining Anne (scheduled for release in hardcover on 29 January 2008): Amazon.ca: 37% off!; Chapters/Indigo: 34% off!
Penguin Canada’s centennial anniversary edition of Anne of Green Gables (scheduled for release in hardcover on 29 January 2008) Amazon.ca: 37% off!; Chapters/Indigo.ca: 34% off!
Budge Wilson’s prequel Before Green Gables (scheduled for release in hardcover on 29 January 2008): Amazon.ca: 37% off!; Chapters/Indigo: 34% off!
Irene Gammel’s Looking for Anne: The Life and Times of Anne of Green Gables (scheduled for release in hardcover on 1 May 2008): Amazon.ca: 37% off!; Chapters/Indigo: 34% off!
Gammel’s book will also be published in the United States by St. Martin’s Press in summer 2008. Cover art for all these books will be posted here when it becomes available.
Sullivan Entertainment has issued a press release announcing that Kevin Sullivan will write, produce, and direct Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning, a prequel to their 1985 miniseries. They are launching a search for a new actor to play Anne. The project should be released sometime in 2008. To find out more, visit http://www.sullivanmovies.com/.
It’s not clear whether the movie or miniseries will coincide with the *other* Anne prequel, written by Budge Wilson and scheduled for publication next March by Penguin Canada.
Benjamin Lefebvre
Jason Nolan