Publishers announce a unique collaboration with Telegraph.co.uk 

Telegraph Media Group, Little,Brown Book Group and Polygon (the fiction imprint of Birlinn Ltd) today announced that the best-selling author, Alexander McCall Smith, will be writing a serial novel exclusively on Telegraph.co.uk  
 
Alexander McCall Smith will give Telegraph readers the chance to read his latest work of fiction as the story unfolds in the first project of its kind on a UK national newspaper website, with simultaneous podcast editions available to download through iTunes.
 
Starting on Monday September 15 the Telegraph website will publish 100 successive episodes of his new serial novel, Corduroy Mansions. The story, set in London, will depict the lives of the various inhabitants of a large Pimlico house. Corduroy Mansions will then appear as a hardback book in July 09 (Polygon), an audio book at the same time (under the Hachette Digital imprint of Little, Brown Book Group) and as a paperback the following year (under the Abacus imprint of Little,Brown Book Group). The three organisations are working closely together on the promotion of the series which looks certain to benefit readers both in the UK and globally.
 
Edinburgh-based Alexander McCall Smith is a prolific author. He has published more than sixty books on a wide array of subjects. His novel The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency achieved global recognition in 1999 and was subsequently made into a film in 2008 produced by the late Anthony Minghella. To date the No.1 series has sold more than 20 million copies and has been translated into 44 languages across the globe.
 
In addition to publishing daily on the website, the Telegraph will serialise the episodes each week in a format that readers can download on a Friday.  The Telegraph will publish a daily podcast of each episode, narrated by Andrew Sachs, which will then be published as an audio book by Little,Brown next summer.
 
Edward Roussel, Digital Editor, Telegraph Media Group, said:
 
‘This is a great opportunity for Telegraph.co.uk readers to share in the creation of a novel by a leading author. This innovative project will enable our readers to follow the novel every day on our award-winning website.’ 

Alexander McCall Smith said:

‘Over the last five years I have come to realise how enjoyable it is to write a daily serial novel for a newspaper. I am particularly pleased to be starting a new one for the website of the Daily Telegraph. Corduroy Mansions will be written as it is published, giving readers the opportunity to influence what happens in the story. I can't wait to begin.’

Little,Brown and Polygon have worked closely on publication of Alexander McCall Smith titles over the last six years with many titles appearing first as hardbacks under the Polygon, before publication in mass-market paperback by Little,Brown. In recent years the No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and The Sunday Philosophy Club series have originated as hardbacks with Little,Brown.

Corduroy Mansions goes live at www.telegraph.co.uk/onlinenovel on 15 September 2008.

Alexander McCall Smith is one of the world’s most prolific and most popular authors. His career has been a varied one: for many years he was a professor of Medical Law and worked in universities in the United Kingdom and abroad. Then, after the publication of his highly successful No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which has sold over twenty million copies, he devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty languages and become bestsellers through the world. These include the Scotland Street novels, the Isabel Dalhousie novels (The Sunday Philosophy Club series), and the Von Igelfeld series. In November 2008, a new stand-alone novel will be published: La’s Orchestra Saves the World.

Alexander is also the author of collections of short stories, academic works, and over thirty books for children. He has received numerous awards for his writing, including the British Book Awards Author of the Year Award in 2004 and a CBE for service to literature in 2007. He holds honorary doctorates from nine universities in Europe and North America.

Alexander McCall Smith lives in Edinburgh. He is married to a doctor and has two daughters.

Visit our new Polygon website dedicated to the many world's of Alexander McCall Smith.