Dame Judi Dench, 79, has a phobia of schoolchildren, which she says made filming her Oscar-nominated role in Notes on a Scandal (2006) a "challenging experience", the Radio Times reported. Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in the United Kingdom, Dench said she had a "wonderful time" shooting the adaptation of Zoe Heller's novel, but added: "I have always had a terrible fear of a lot of schoolchildren together. I don't know why, but I just have."
John Green’s first book to be reissued next year
John Green's Looking for Alaska, published nearly a decade ago, will be reissued in a special anniversary edition. Penguin Young Readers announced Tuesday that an "enhanced" volume on Green's coming-of-age story set at an Alabama boarding school will come out in 2015, 10 years after its original release. The book will include an introduction by Green, best known for his million-selling The Fault in Our Stars; the author's responses to reader questions; and previously unpublished material. Looking for Alaska was Green's first book. It won the Michael L Printz Award for best young adult novel. Sarah Polley, the actress and director, is planning a film adaptation of the book.
Tory Burch book gives a look at what inspires her
Tory Burch's new book is all about colour, a compilation of all of the influences that inspire her, from people to music to art to culture to travel to home design. "It's this eclectic mix and that's really what our company is about as well, so it made perfect sense. It was really taking all the references that inspire us," said Burch. Tory Burch In Color (Abrams) is arranged by colour, with each chapter featuring photographs and anecdotes related to a different hue. The New York-based designer said the book really came together once she decided to arrange it that way. "We printed out all the pictures and laid them on the floor, and it just really started to take shape and come to life," Burch said.