Jump to news articles: Deborah Harkness reads from A Discovery of Witches A Discovery of Witches soon to be published in paperback! Official Update from Deborah Harkness Praise for A Discovery of Witches   EXCLUSIVE cover reveal for book 2 in the All Souls Trilogy! We announced in late 2011 that the follow up to A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES would be called SHADOW OF NIGHT. Now, with publication of the new book set for summer this year, we’re incredibly excited to share with you the UK cover! Here it is in all its glory and to whet your appetite we’ve also got a short extract from the start of SHADOW OF NIGHT. Read it here.           Deborah Harkness reads from A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES When historian – and witch –  Diana Bishop recalls a long-lost manuscript from the shelves at the Bodleian Library she soon realises that she has awakened more than just the words on the page… Filmed in the exclusive Gaffer’s Room at Blackwell’s Bookshop in Oxford, a stone’s throw from the library itself, watch author Deborah Harkness read an extract from the book. A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES soon to be published in paperback! The hardback of A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES was launched in February 2011 to huge fanfare across the world and reached number 4 in the Sunday Times bestseller list in the UK, spending a total of five weeks as a bestseller. The paperback of this brilliant first novel in the All Souls Trilogy will be published on 29.09.11, and to celebrate publication we’re launching a series of three videos of Deborah during a recent trip to Oxford. Watch the first and hear Deborah talking about the story with a backdrop of Oxford’s dreaming spires here. Pre-order the paperback here. STOP PRESS! Deborah Harkness is busy writing the second novel in the trilogy but has taken time out to exclusively share the title with her fans. SHADOW OF NIGHT will be published in 2012 so watch this space…   Official update from Deborah Harkness via Facebook It's official: Warner Brothers has acquired the rights to develop A Discovery of Witches and its two sequels for the big screen. Read the story on Deadline here: You have lots of questions. I have some answers!   1. How could you do this? I am absolutely thrilled that Warner Brothers was interested in taking on such an ambitious project. They make absolutely beautiful movies, and I have every expectation that ADOW will be terrific.   2. Why did you do this? The time seemed right, and the team at Warner Brothers seemed right. I am an enormous admirer of the work of Denise Di Novi and Alison Greenspan, who will be producing the film. Separately and together they've brought us (among other things) movies like Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, Little Women, and Practical Magic. This is a pretty diverse and intriguing set of movies, and I trust Denise and Alison with the story and the characters.   3. OK, but you have (casting approval/script approval/director approval-select as appropriate), right? Wrong. I'm a novelist and a history professor, and I would really like to continue writing stories for you. Also, I don't believe in getting in the way of talented people doing what they do best. I don't make movies. That said, as you know from hanging out here, I'm not exactly shy :) They will have my opinion when they want it, and probably when they don't.   4. When does the movie come out? A few technical details: this deal means that Warner Brothers will now begin to DEVELOP the movie to see if they CAN make it. This involves hiring a writer and a director, long before we get to things like the cast, long before we get to filming, which is all before it goes into editing, and then is shown in movie theaters. In fact, just because Warner Brothers has picked up this option DOES NOT guarantee any movie will be made.   A final plea: I believe in the power of positive thinking. It sounds dreadfully Pollyanna in this day and age, I know, but so many extraordinary things have happened to me this year largely because of the energy that you have all put behind ADOW and the support you've so generously provided. I am asking you to extend that same positive mojo to Denise, Alison, and everybody at Warner Brothers. It's easy to think negatively about the movie, but let's not. Let's go into this believing the movie WILL be made and WILL be excellent.   Praise for A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES. 'A romp through magical academia' Guardian 'Romantic, erudite, and suspenseful' O, The Oprah Magazine 'A bubbling cauldron of illicit desire…all the ingredients for an assured saga that blends romance with fantasy' Daily Mail 'Gripping and impossible to put down, this is Twilight for grown-ups – a wonderful read' Katie Fforde 'Deborah Harkness has written one of the most exciting novels I've read in years, not to mention the best witch/vampire alliance in existence. I fell in love with it from the very first page' Danielle Trussoni author of Angelology 'It's the best book I've read this year, and certainly the most intelligently written book I've read in much longer than that' Lovevampires.com 'The lead-up to - and the ending itself is superb and I had a tear in my eye several times. Is this a grown-up Harry Potter-esque book, I wonder. All-in-all, a creative tour de force' Thebookbag.co.uk 'I was gripped from the first page and didn't put it down. Thus, I spent the reading week in the company of witches, vampires and daemons, but really - with one or two notable exceptions - what a civilised bunch they are, and what a ripping yarn this is!' Cornflowerbooks.co.uk 'We cannot give Harkness's debut fiction title enough praise. It is quite simply stunning. Blending fact and fiction, history and present, delicate courtship and tempestuous tantrums, understanding your identity and losing yourself: it is a beautiful work of fiction that fastens onto your heart and feeds your mind. In other words: probably perfection' Thetruthaboutbooks.com 'This is a glorious, finely-wrought gem of a book: intelligent, thoughtful, intricate and with the kind of depth that makes it a genuine pleasure to read.   In the increasingly crowded field of modern vampire stories, this sets a new must-read benchmark – I could lose myself in here and never want to come out: what better accolade can there be? Utterly enchanting on every level’ Manda Scott ‘From the gripping first page, the reader is taken on a journey of witchcraft and romance’ The Sun ‘This is a grand romance smartly dressed up in the current fashion for the occult. Sauced-up with magic and hokum, as well as being intelligent and off-the-wall, it will be irresistible to Twilight fans’ The Sunday Times ‘Historian Harkness’s racy paranormal romance has exciting amounts of spells, kisses and battles, and is recounted with enchanting, page-turning panache’ Marie Claire ‘Like Twilight? You’ll love this’ Look ‘A vast, sexy, historical romp of a novel.  There’s no doubting Harkness’s vivid imagination’ Daily Mirror