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| Author | Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fiction |
| Publisher | Matthew and Son Limited, London |
| Publication date | 2005 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | 0954839919 (UK) 1905294425 (US) |
The Highfield Mole is a book by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams which follows the adventures of 14-year-old Will Burrows in a tyrannical underworld to which he has travelled in an attempt to find his archaeologist father, who disappeared down a mysterious tunnel. Although the authors sent excerpts to various publishers, they did not pursue that avenue as they had already decided to self-publish the book. The authors self-published in March 2005 with a limited run of 500 hardback and 2000 softback copies, financed by the sale of Gordon's house. The book received some trade press attention before launch and the entire hardback run sold within a day. On 19 November 2005, Barry Cunningham, of Chicken House, announced that he had agreed terms to publish The Highfield Mole and a second book in the series. Cunningham, while working for Bloomsbury in London, famously signed up J. K. Rowling, and this connection has led to the book being branded "the next Harry Potter". As of June 2007, the second book in the series had been completed and the authors were working on a third. In June 2007, Chicken House announced that the book would be published in the United Kingdom in July 2007, and that they had also pre-sold the publication rights in 15 languages and are handling the film rights for the book, which is to be retitled Tunnels for the July publication. The United States publication will be released on January 1, 2008. With the announcement of the publication date, and press coverage in the U.K., the price of the books from the initial self-published run jumped dramatically. First editions of the early Harry Potter books fetch high prices, and, because of the association and the limited numbers in the initial run, speculators have been keen to invest in first editions of The Highfield Mole. A number of the copies are signed by the authors and 80 copies drawn from the 500-copy hardback run were numbered as part of a "Remarque" edition. These 80 numbered copies have a hand-drawn illustration by Brian Williams, an inscription by Roderick Gordon, and are signed by both authors. There is also a "Colony Leather Bound Edition" of ten hardbacks, numbered and signed, with a hand-drawn picture by Brian Williams bound into the book. T-shirts, postcards, art prints, and bookmarks which were issued as promotional materials at the time of publication also attract interest from collectors. On July 13, 2007, it was announced that Relativity Media had acquired the movie rights to the Tunnels series. The movies are set to be produced by Ryan Kavanough and Mark Canton.
See also
References
- Relativity digs 'Tunnels' as franchise. The Hollywood Reporter (July 13, 2007). Retrieved on 31 July 2007.
- The Highfield Mole. Matthew and Son (June 2007). Retrieved on 14 June 2007.
- Arifa Akbar (11 June 2007). Publisher of Harry Potter to reveal 'next big thing'. Retrieved on 14 June 2007.
- Paul Majendie (14 June 2007). Rowling publisher creates hype for new boy-wonder series. The Star. Retrieved on 14 June 2007.
- Nigel Reynolds (12 June 2007). A boy archaeologist as the next Harry Potter?. Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved on 14 June 2007.
- Excerpt from Radio 4's Today programme (Real Audio). BBC (13 June 2007). Retrieved on 14 June 2007.
