Danny Wallace's Blog, page 2

I’m very, very, very proud to introduce you to HAMISH AND THE WORLDSTOPPERS!

It’s my first kids’ book, and it’s out in March…

Do you know a kid who’s 7? Or 8? Or 9 or 10?

Then please introduce them to Hamish…

He’s a kid who lives in Britain’s fourth-most boring town – Starkley. But Starkley gets very exciting one day, when Hamish notices that the whole world has completely and utterly stopped.

The planes in the air. The cars on the road. The people all around him.

Everything stops – except him.

It was brilliant fun imagining all the things a kid would do if all the rules had changed. And coming up with his mortal enemies – The TERRIBLES.

And great also to have the brilliant Jamie Littler illustrating Hamish’s adventure…

I’ll be all over the place at festivals in 2015, and Hamish is also coming soon to Australia, Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Turkey… look out for him…

I hope your kids (you) like it! Pre-order for day of release here!

x

First there was Dr. Ruth.

Then there was Dr. Phil.

I think there was a British one in there too, called Dr. Nick or something, but now there’s Dr. Danny.

I was amazed to be asked back to my hometown of Dundee recently to be given an honorary doctorate by the University of Dundee – the same place my dad worked in the late 70s and early 80s, and on the same stage my mum got her Masters.

They said I had to make a speech, though, so I did.

It’s just Seven Things I Know.

Things that may or may not be useful to people about to leave university, and start The Next Stage.

I was asked afterwards by a few people (maybe four) to put the words online, but thought this would be better.

My thanks again to the University – and also to the editor-in-chief of the Beano, Mike Stirling, who interviewed me on stage the night before.

I’m really proud to come from Dundee, and it was fantastic to be back.

So here’s the speech – Seven Things I Know.

Just to say – myself and my friend Pete Donaldson (who I last worked with on 6Music and Xfm) will be hosting a brand new show on Absolute Radio every Thursday night from 8pm…

In it, we will Be Men. We will Man Up. We will discuss our Man-ness. We will study each others’ Manhood.

That sounded wrong.

Anyway, join in, if you are a man or have ever met one!

Plus! There’s a podcast here…

“First, this is a terrific novel. I’ll get that out of the way, because trying to describe it is like Monty Python’s TV quiz, “Summarise Proust”. The plot is wild and unexpected, with a dash of sinister, and it’s incredibly funny.” – The Times

“★★★★★ – A hysterical delight. Brilliantly written. A hilarious and fresh take on modern life.” – Heat

“Danny Wallace’s beguiling second novel seduces the reader by stealth with some laugh-out-loud throwaway pieces of astute observational comedy, joke after joke evoking recognition in the reader. He’s as funny about local radio as Alan Partridge, which is saying something, but there’s a lot more here than superficial gloss, as Wallace probes real issues about what makes us who we are in the internet age. It’s the kind of book you have to ration to avoid it being over too quickly.” – Daily Mail

“It’s a rich comic premise, and Danny Wallace exploits it to the full. It’s funny, witty, clever, good-natured – one of those purely-enjoyable books you pick up with pleasure and put down with regret.” – The Independent

“Brilliant, hilarious, sharp.” – The Sun

“Incredibly funny. Danny Wallace writes a great male protagonist.” – Stylist

“Deftly-crafted… seemingly effortless… sharp writing.” – The List

“… will leave you completely mesmerised.” – Now

“An air of mystery, a past being reconstructed, with a booster shot of comedy…” – The Observer

“Wallace has scored another hit with this quirky novel. Packed full of gags, this is also a tender and touching story.” – Sunday Mirror

“Danny Wallace has done it again. ‘Who is Tom Ditto?’ is both a hoot and deeply engaging. Very clever stuff.” – Henry Sutton

“‘Who is Tom Ditto?’ is Danny Wallace at his very best. Funny, assured and relentlessly clever. A brilliant novel.” – John Niven

“Tremendous. Funny, beguiling and stealthily profound.” – William Boyd

“Funny yet tender. Wallace’s knack of grounding a madcap adventure with hilarious, quotidian detail gives him the edge.” – Stylist

“Brilliant. As hilarious as always.” – ShortList

“Chortlesome.” – Bella

“Danny Wallace is one of the cleverest writers around. ‘Who is Tom Ditto?’ is the most surprising book I have ever read.” – ChickLit Reviews and News

“Wallace has shown he can successfully transfer his established humour to fictional situations with ease, carefully developing a deep story with a consistently grounded humour.” – Emerald Street

“A funny and clever novel from the award-winning writer.” – Marie Claire

“A fascinating novel, stylishly written, with eccentric characters and an intriguing storyline which will keep you engrossed until the very end and beyond. Perfect weekend reading.” – Hot Brands Cool Places

“Very clever… an overwhelmingly funny writer” – Novelicious

“9/10” – Press Association

COMING SOON to Germany, France, Italy and Brazil…

Click to order a copy!

“First, this is a terrific novel. I’ll get that out of the way, because trying to describe it is like Monty Python’s TV quiz, “Summarise Proust”. The plot is wild and unexpected, with a dash of sinister, and it’s incredibly funny.” – The Times

“★★★★★ – A hysterical delight. Brilliantly written. A hilarious and fresh take on modern life.” – Heat

“Brilliant, hilarious, sharp.” – The Sun

“Incredibly funny. Danny Wallace writes a great male protagonist.” – Stylist

“Deftly-crafted… seemingly effortless… sharp writing.” – The List

“… will leave you completely mesmerised.” – Now

“An air of mystery, a past being reconstructed, with a booster shot of comedy…” – The Observer

“Wallace has scored another hit with this quirky novel. Packed full of gags, this is also a tender and touching story.” – Sunday Mirror

“Danny Wallace has done it again. ‘Who is Tom Ditto?’ is both a hoot and deeply engaging. Very clever stuff.” – Henry Sutton

“‘Who is Tom Ditto?’ is Danny Wallace at his very best. Funny, assured and relentlessly clever. A brilliant novel.” – John Niven

“Tremendous. Funny, beguiling and stealthily profound.” – William Boyd

“Funny yet tender. Wallace’s knack of grounding a madcap adventure with hilarious, quotidian detail gives him the edge.” – Stylist

“Brilliant. As hilarious as always.” – ShortList

“Chortlesome.” – Bella

“Danny Wallace is one of the cleverest writers around. ‘Who is Tom Ditto?’ is the most surprising book I have ever read.” – ChickLit Reviews and News

“Wallace has shown he can successfully transfer his established humour to fictional situations with ease, carefully developing a deep story with a consistently grounded humour.” – Emerald Street

“9/10″ – Press Association

Click HERE! to order a copy!

Well – that’s the question, isn’t it?

Luckily, I know. He’s the main character in my brand new book – WHO IS TOM DITTO? – and I hope you like him when the book comes out on April 24th.

Click HERE! to pre-order it for day of release!

It was a challenge writing a second novel, but a fun one. Tom comes home one night to find a note from his girlfriend. The note says she has not left him – but that she’s gone. In his attempt to track her down, Tom stumbles across a very unusual group of people with a highly eccentric hobby…

Oh – and he’s fairly sure he’s being followed by an equally unusual girl…

But get this – to celebrate the new book, I’ve brewed a beer!

It’s called TOM DITTO and for reasons you’ll understand if you read the book it’s an IPA… I teamed up with Nicholson’s pubs and the legendary East End brewery Truman’s to design it… it’s sweet, it’s bitter, it’s golden and like the book its heart is in London and New York. It even features a new experimental hop that they’ve just decided to name Wallex. I feel like David Attenborough discovering a bug.

The beer’s being launched next month and you’ll be able to find it at Nicholson’s pubs all through the summer…

Oh! And here’s that link again in case your eyes are too tired to look up at the other one…!

Hope you like the book…

x

I’ve been a bit quiet lately, working on a brand new project for next year…

But I’ve managed to sneak in a few other things too…

Here’s an interview I did over a few hours in a fancy club with GQ’s Icon of the Year, the brilliantly funny Noel Gallagher, which, thanks to his unique perspective on the world, caught fire pretty quickly.

And here’s what happened when I turned up at the Chicago offices of satirical paper/website The Onion, the morning a very particular story was breaking…

More on the brand new project soon…

I’m amazed and thrilled to say that I won the BAFTA 2013 Games Award for Best Performer, for my narration on Mike Bithell’s excellent Thomas Was Alone.

Mike’s created a triple BAFTA-recognised game – also receiving nominations for his story, and for David Housden’s brilliant music.

We had a great night.

If you ever download games, I can’t recommend Thomas Was Alone highly enough. A link is here…

Well, this morning on the show, I announced that a new chapter is beginning.

I have loved doing the Xfm Breakfast Show every morning, and I think we’ve worked as hard as we can to be as good as we can. And I’ve loved getting to know the greatest listeners in the world. But it’s time to do other things.

I’ve always done lots of different stuff at once, and there are three or four big commitments that require my attention next year. I will miss the show, and my very good friends Matt, Dave, Steve and Simon.

But hey! Download the very best of my breakfast show right here… with guests from Dan Aykroyd to Robert Pattinson to Tim Minchin to Morgan Freeman to whoever else you can think of…