Cities unite to discover the lost world

The cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Bristol are joining together in a reading campaign in February next year.

The Lost World Read 2009 will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Arthur Conan Doyle and the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin.

Thousands of free copies of Edinburgh-born Conan Doyle’s The Lost World will be distributed through libraries, schools and supporting partner organisations together with a ‘quick read’ edition and a paperback comic biography on the life of Charles Darwin. 

The three cities will be joined by the county of Hampshire and the 15 library authorities of south west England. It is hoped that other cities and local authorities will also come on board.

An exclusive cover has been designed for the free edition of the book by Bristol’s Aardman Animations, featuring their most famous creations Wallace and Gromit.

The reading campaigns in each area will be supported by a programme of public, community and schools events, including performances, films, discussions, debates and readings. 

Edinburgh’s campaign will be led by the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust.

The Lost World Read 2009 will run throughout February. A dedicated website will be launched in the new year which will have details of all the activities across the UK.