Pullman, Rowling part of books "Influential Elite"

By John Freeman on May 22, 2009

The DFC comic writer and award-winning author Philip Pullman and fantasy author JK Rowling, creator of Harry Potter, have been listed as two of the UK book trade’s elite, in a definitive list published by The Bookseller magazine.

Called The Bookseller Century, the list, available to read online as well as in print, recognises the UK’s 100 most influential people in 2009, including publishers, booksellers, agents, journalists, bloggers and authors.

Overall, the list features 15 booksellers, 34 publishers and seven agents.

Pullman, a huge comics fan, revealed earlier this year that he planned to revive his character, John Blake, who featured in The DFC which sadly has fell victim, like many other things, to the current financial situation.

“Everyone connected with the comic hopes that The DFC will rise again one day, and so do thousands of readers,” he noted on his official web site, “but the story of John Blake must be told. So I’m going to write it as a film and as a graphic novel.”

“This is a significant and long overdue moment for us and for the trade, a rigorous and thought-provoking selection of the decision-makers and innovators that make the book trade tick,” argues Bookseller‘s editor-in-chief Neill Denny.

The first of what is to be an annual list was compiled by the magazine’s editorial team, led by features editor Tom Tivnan. Entries were selected using four criteria: longevity, influence, innovation and turnover. Tivnan said: “It was a challenge; there is enough top level talent to fill two or three lists. We had to make some hard, difficult choices to whittle it down to 100.”

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.