The Enid Blyton Society

In fact, as the publishers use this website so often to check details and facts, you'd think they'd take a look at them!!

I think they do Rob.

I am not sure that you are right here, Julie, I think both you and Rob are forgetting that the serials can only be read with a password.

No - I wasn't forgetting - I was just making a joke about them looking - but I knew they don't - because they can't!

How do we know the publishers haven't secretly been inspired to join the Society — or to get their hands on each new Journal by any means for the password — just to read the continuation novels and steal ideas from them to feed to their own continuation novel authors??

At least Julie and me are both safe with our Barney mysteries, as they are no longer being published!

Tony Summerfield wrote:I am not sure that you are right here, Julie, I think both you and Rob are forgetting that the serials can only be read with a password.

That's what I always thought, Tony, but an email I had from Blyton publishers had me thinking otherwise.

Quote - I have enjoyed dipping into them there myself. Unquote.


This from the same email that says we want to keep the orginal books and not go into continuation novels.

Interesting! I guess at one time maybe they managed to look, but maybe that was a one-off.

Or maybe they really are onto you... Otherwise, maybe they got this site confused with one of the other sites (like enidblyton.net) that have Blyton continuation stories and "fan fic" available freely?

Not according to the email I have, Courtenay.

well if so, that tells us all we need to know about how lowly the publishers value our continuation story efforts!!

I think you are all getting a bit carried away here as I am quite sure that the current copyright holders haven't shown any interest in our weekly serials. Anita and I recently had lunch in London with the two people who now look after all things Blyton and there was never any mention of continuation books on our website, although they did tell us about the two Secret Seven sequels in the pipeline. I have actually been doing some work for Hodder this week and I am in regular touch with them, so I am certain I would know if they had been approached by anybody.

You mention an email that you are quoting from, Julie, but would this have possibly been with someone at Chorion?

No it wasn't Chorion, Tony. I'll email you.

Tony Summerfield wrote:I think you are all getting a bit carried away here as I am quite sure that the current copyright holders haven't shown any interest in our weekly serials. Anita and I recently had lunch in London with the two people who now look after all things Blyton and there was never any mention of continuation books on our website, although they did tell us about the two Secret Seven sequels in the pipeline. I have actually been doing some work for Hodder this week and I am in regular touch with them, so I am certain I would know if they had been approached by anybody.

You mention an email that you are quoting from, Julie, but would this have possibly been with someone at Chorion?

Lol - don't include me in the 'getting carried away' brigade, Tony - I don't rate my writing at all and would never even imagine that the publishers would be interested in what I write. I write for myself and as long as I'm averagely satisfied, then that's all that matters - though its good to know people enjoy my efforts. I'm sure that no publisher would ever consider my Enid Blyton stories (or any others) as they aren't what people are looking for these days - I'm too old fashioned.

So no - I'm pretty sure publisher's wouldn't be interested, even if they looked!

I was reminded of this thread recently when my dad and his partner were over from France (staying in London) and we went out for the day with one of his partner's grandchildren, a girl aged eight. We got talking about reading and I asked her which authors were most popular with her and her friends. She said David Walliams (Grandpa's Great Escape, etc.) was the most popular by far, followed by Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants series) and another writer whose name she couldn't remember, but who had written books with titles like Baby Aliens Got My Teacher! and My Headteacher is a Vampire Rat! Apparently, she and all her classmates loved them. When I got home, I looked up the author and it turned out to be Pamela Butchart!