Dickensblog

Penguin has been named "the official publishing partner for Dickens 2012." They'll be publishing a new biography, a nice-looking special-edition boxed set, and an abridged version of David Copperfield (No, no, no! You don't abridge Dickens! Ever!), and supporting city reads in London and Portsmouth. (The first link above also lists some forthcoming books about Dickens from other publishers.)

And within Penguin itself, some of the staffers have decided this would be a good time to read all his books. Copywriter manager Louise Wilder reports on the project here, describing how in the course of one book — The Pickwick Papers — she went from feeling "terrified" to feeling "Dickens is going to be my friend." In fact, she's "already starting to get quite defensive of him." I know that feeling. 🙂 Welcome to the Dickensian Side, Louise! We're delighted to have you.