The Bookseller.com

4th July 2009

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R&J launch book club with Daily Mail

01.08.08 Anna Richardson

"Richard & Judy" producer Cactus TV will launch a new writers book club with the Daily Mail when the chat show duo moves to UKTV this autumn.

The Daily Mail New Writers Book Club will start in October and will feature one book a month. Each title will be covered on-air in a similar style to the current Best Read and Summer Read strands, with an author film and celebrity reviews.

The broadcast will be flagged in a double-page spread in the Daily Mail's Weekend supplement the preceding Saturday, featuring an interview with the author, a synopsis, and articles from Cactus TV m.d. Amanda Ross on reasons for selection, the celebrity reviewers and "Richard & Judy's" Judy Finnegan and Richard Madeley.

Ross said at a presentation to publishers and retailers yesterday (31st July) that although it was "scary to attempt to discover 12 new writing stars in a year", she was confident that they would succeed.

Cactus TV is calling for submissions from publishers for the first three monthly slots by 18th August. The submissions deadline for January February and March slots is 27th October. Début books in both fiction and non-fiction are eligible, and the first six monthly selections will feature in a category at next year's Galaxy British Book Awards, which will take place on 3rd April.

The strand will be part of the new "Richard & Judy" prime-time chat show, the flagship show of the UKTV's new entertainment channel Watch, which will run weekdays from Tuesday to Friday with a highlights show on Mondays. The channel will launch on 7th October, supported by an extensive publicity campaign in print and on TV. "It's a fresh, modern and exciting channel with books at its centre," said Ross

"Richard & Judy" will also host another Christmas books show, which will run for five weeks and feature books in six categories: celebrity autobiography, history/serious non-fiction, humour/stocking fillers, children's picture books, coffee table books and food & drink. Submissions deadline for the strand is 25th August.

The "Richard & Judy" Best Read and Summer Read strands will continue as usual.

For submission details for the Daily Mail New Writers book club, click here. 

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