Vote! Vote! Vote! for Bruno Jackson

Exciting news! A new literary prize is being set up by World Book Day, and Serious Things, my latest novel, is on the longlist. You can help put it on the shortlist by voting, and maybe posting a comment, on their webpage. If you feel so inclined. Here's how WBD puts it:

Thousands of books are published every year, and only a small percentage makes the mark that it should.

The World Book Day team asked publishers large and small to submit books they thought deserved to reach a wider readership – most specifically those that would make good subjects for discussion, those that don’t merely entertain, but give greater food for thought.

From the many submissions received, we have selected fifty titles we feel fulfil the criteria. Each and every one brings something different, refreshing and stimulating.

This is an opportunity to vote for your favourite book on the list, so that we can find The Book to Talk About 2009.

Despite getting some excellent reviews, Serious Things has failed to find many readers, chiefly because the big retailers haven't put it on their promotion tables. Indeed, in Edinburgh Blackwell they haven't got a single copy. This sort of thing is not uncommon for 'literary' fiction.

I'm quite proud of my novel and would love more people to know about it; so if you've read and liked it, please vote and/or post a comment (which is a kind of vote) here.