Filming of The Pillars of the Earth

Ken Follett on the set of The Pillars of the Earth

Ken on the set of The Pillars of the Earth

Filming of the eight-hour limited series of The Pillars of the Earth on location in Hungary and Austria is complete, and post-production is underway. Ian McShane, Donald Sutherland, Rufus Sewell, Matthew Macfadyen, Sarah Parish, Hayley Atwell, Eddie Redmayne and Gordon Pinsent headline the star-studded cast for the US$40-million adaptation.

The series is directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (Heroes, Saving Grace, Into the West), and has been adapted by award-winning writer John Pielmeier (Emmy winner Hitler – The Rise of Evil and Emmy nominated The Memory Keeper’s Daughter), who also plays the role of 'Cuthbert'.

The series is being produced by Emmy and Golden Globe nominated Tandem Communications (Ring of the Nibelungs, Impact, Lost City Raiders) and multi award-winning Muse Entertainment (Human Trafficking, Tales from the Neverending Story, Durham County) in association with Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominated Scott Free Films (CBS’s series Numb3rs, Emmy nominated minis The Andromeda Strain and The Company).

>> Ken's comments on the production
>> See the cast list

>> Production image gallery
>> More about the director and crew

The mini-series official site

See the Tandem/Muse/Scott Free website for the production, where you can follow the filming, cast and crew news and more …
www.the-pillars-of-the-earth.tv

World Without End tops German and French bestseller lists

Die Tore der Welt, the German edition of World Without End, topped Der Spiegel's paperback bestseller list on 1 February. Die Tore der Welt is published by Lübbe.

Un monde sans fin, the French edition of World Without End, is the best-selling paperback title on France's Livres Hebdo magazine (as of 18 January), with 350 000 copies in print . Un monde sans fin is published by Livre de Poche.

Ken to talk on the art of historical fiction at the V&A

Ken will give a talk on 'The Art of Historical Fiction' at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London on Friday 5 March. He will talk about researching and writing about the Renaissance, the Middle Ages and other periods of the distant past. His talk is part of the V&A's 'Evening Talks' programme, and starts at 19.00. Tickets cost £8 and can be booked online.

>> For more information see the V&A website

Eisfieber screened on ZDF in January

Isabella Ferrari as Toni Gallo

Eisfieber, a thriller based on Whiteout, was first shown on German television in January. The two-part TV mini series was broadcast on January 25 and 27 on ZDF during prime time programming.

Eisfieber is directed by award-winning director Peter Keglevic, and stars Heiner Lauterbach, Isabella Ferrari (pictured above as Toni Gallo), Tom Schilling, Matthias Brandt, Katharina Wackernagel, Sophie von Kessel, and Kim Sarnau. The novel was adapted for screen by Olaf Kraemer and Federica Pontremoli.

Eisfieber was produced by Network Movie and Constantin Film, in coproduction with ZDF Enterprises. Filming took place in Scotland and Berlin between April and July. Adaptation of Die Pfeiler der Macht (A Dangerous Fortune) is already underway.

The films will also be produced in English as international co-productions aimed at the television series market.

The Good Writing Awards

Ken has announced the launch of The Good Writing Awards. Ken, who is on the board of the National Academy of Writing, came up with the idea of an award that recognises and promotes good writing in the United Kingdom.

"I was trying to think what we could do to improve standards," he said. "the National Academy of Writing already run courses to help writers, but I hope that an award like this will draw attention to writing and make people think about how to do it well."

The awards, which will be naming both those who write well – and shaming nominees who do not – will be judged by a panel consisting of author and journalist Matthew Parris, internationally renowned literary agent Ed Victor, and Professor David Roberts, who helps run the National Academy of Writing diploma course.

Any piece of English prose or dramatic writing that has been in print, available to buy or download, or performed, in the year 2009 is elegible. Submissions should be between 100 and 1 000 words. Nominations closed at midnight on 31 December 2009, and results will be announced on 25 January 2010.

>> For more information, and to nominate submissions, see www.gwawards.org

'Pillars' is No. 2 on The Times 'top 60' list

The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival – the world's oldest literary festival – turned 60 this year, and to mark the anniversary in October, The Times created 'The NovelList' – an online poll, open to all, to find the 60 best-loved novels published in English since 1949.

The results of the poll were published on Friday 9 October, and The Pillars of the Earth is at No.2, after To Kill a Mockingbird. World Without End is also on the list, at No. 23. This makes Ken one of only three authors to appear on the list twice – the other two authors are John le Carré and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

See The Times' Top 60
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article6866761.ece

Bookmark ThrillerFest V

Ken will be a guest at the ThrillerFest in New York this year. The annual ThrillerFest celebration of the thriller world is the largest event of its kind, a meeting place for authors, readers, budding writers, and publishing industry professionals.

ThrillerFest V will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City, on July 7-10, 2010. The event is organised by International Thriller Writers Inc, which represents professional authors from around the world.

White Wedding wins MVFF award

White Wedding was chosen as joint winner of the Audience Award for World Cinema at the Mill Valley Film Festival (along with An Education, by Lone Scherfig) in October 2009.

White Wedding, a South African comedy, opened to critical acclaim and excellent box office figures in Apil 2009. Ken is the executive producer, and the film is directed by his step-daughter Jann Turner (pictured).

White Wedding stars South African actors Kenneth Nkosi and Rapulana Seiphemo (both of whom co-wrote and co-produced the film with Jann) and English actress Jodie Whittaker.

The film tells the story of two friends, Elvis (Nkosi) and Tumi (Seiphemo), who are heading from Johannesburg to Cape Town for Elvis’s wedding. Along the way, the pair meet Rose (Whittaker) – a young English doctor who has fled the altar after finding that her fiancée was serially unfaithful to her. The unlikely trio hit the road together but things don’t go according to plan...

> See the White Wedding website and Jann Turner's website

>> Earlier news