Thousands of free copies of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic adventure story, The Lost World, are being handed out in Edinburgh and Glasgow, as part of the Lost World Read 2009 - the third city-wide read run by the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust.
Residents and visitors to the cities can claim one of 80,000 copies by calling into any library. Some schools will also be given a supply, while other copies could be left anywhere - in bars and cafes, on trains and buses, or even on park benches.
Three editions are available: the new paperback of the original text, a quick read edition for younger and less confident readers featuring Wallace and Gromit, and a graphic biography of Charles Darwin, whose theories of evolution are explored in The Lost World.
For those who prefer writing to reading, The Lost Book, an interactive web-based project linked to The Lost World Read, has been launched. Edinburgh-based company Binary Fable will be producing an animated series with a difference. The story will be written, chapter by chapter, by members of the public who have logged onto the site.
www.lostworldread.com.
