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Virago's designer birthday

02.11.07 Alison Flood

Designers including Cath Kidston and Orla Kiely are creating new cover artwork for a series of eight Virago Modern Classics, which will celebrate the imprint's 30th anniversary next year. The series will feature classic titles by authors such as Angela Carter and Muriel Spark, with specially commissioned new introductions by the likes of Zadie Smith and Jilly Cooper. It will be exclusive to Waterstone's and on sale for a limited period, with all eight titles published on 1st May next year as £10 hardbacks.

Commissioning editor Donna Coonan said the idea for the series first came to her when she noticed how many contemporary textile designers have a retro flavour to their work. "When I did a little research into textile design it became apparent just how innovative women have been in this field over the past century, so combining their work with books by influential 20th-century women writers seems a great match—a celebration of women artists," she said.

"The response we've had so far to this series, including from the designers themselves, has been just brilliant and it's caused a lot of excitement in-house. This is a designer collection everybody wants."

The first Virago Modern Classic, Frost in May by Antonia White, was published in 1978 by Virago founder Carmen Callil. Dedicated to the celebration of women writers and to the rediscovery and reprinting of their works, the list now includes authors as diverse as George Eliot, Pat Barker, Mae West, Willa Cather and Molly Keane. Callil said of the new series: "It's a great pleasure to see these splendid writers and their books live on."

The series will be promoted through a range of events at literary festivals, with Callil, Koonan and some of the titles' introducers lined up to speak. Virago is also producing a booklet for marketing purposes featuring an essay by Callil from when she founded the list, along with pieces from Koonan and Virago publisher Lennie Goodings talking about what makes a classic.

Book Virago Alison Flood

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