The Open Door series is an adult literacy series of novellas by well-known Irish authors, and was launched in the mid-nineties by Irish publisher New Island, and author Patricia Scanlan. Scanlan had spent some time working in public libraries in Dublin before she became a full-time writer, and was acutely aware of the literacy problems facing a large segment of the adult population, and the dearth of appropriate reading material available to them.
The Open Door texts are subject to specific editorial guidelines, which help the author to create a novel for the purpose intended. These include a discernible plot, a few, well-developed characters, simple language with the occasional challenging word, and short chapters to create the feel and the structure of 'regular' novels. All texts are no more than 10,000 words and sentences are kept short.
These characteristics of the texts have also endeared them to students learning English as a foreign language, and they are gradually being marketed as such, with co-editions containing glossaries being produced by German ELT publisher Cornelsen in 2006. Audio editions have also been published by WH Howes. In summer 2007, Irish language editions of some of the most popular Open Door titles were published with the language school market in mind.
At present there are five series of the Open Doors in print, with a new series of the English language editions is planned for the autumn of 2007. One poetry anthology, edited by Niall McMonagle, was also published under the series banner. All royalties from domestic sales of English language titles are donated to a charity of the author's choice.
Books published in the first series:
Sad Song - Vincent Banville
In High Germany - Dermot Bolger
Not Just For Christmas - Roddy Doyle
Maggie's Story - Sheila O'Flannagan
Billy and Jesus are off to Barcelona - Deirdre Purcell
Ripples - Patricia Scanlan
Books published in the second series:
No Dress Rehearsal - Marian Keyes
Joe’s Wedding - Gareth O’Callaghan
The Comedian - Joseph O’Connor
Second Chance - Patricia Scanlan
Pipe Dreams - Anne Schulmanl
Old Money, New Money - Peter Sheridan
Books published in the third series:
An Accident Waiting to Happen - Vincent Banville
The Builders - Maeve Binchy
Letter from Chicago - Cathy Kelly
Driving with Daisy - Tom Nestor
It All Adds Up - Margaret Neylon
Has Anyone Here Seen Larry? - Deirdre Purcell
Books published in the fourth series:
Fair-Weather Friend - Patricia Scanlan
The Story of Joe Brown - Rose Doyle
The Smoking Room - Julie Parsons
World Cup Diary - Niall Quinn
The Quiz Master - Michael Scott
Stray Dog - Gareth O'Callaghan
Books published in the fifth series:
Mrs. Whippy - Cecelia Ahern
Mad Weekend - Roddy Doyle
Behind Closed Doors - Sarah Webb
Secrets - Patricia Scanlan
Not a Star - Nick Hornby
The Underbury Witches - John Connolly
Famous quotes containing the words open, door and/or series:
“Philosophy is written in this grand book—I mean the universe—
which stands continually open to our gaze, but it cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and interpret the characters in which it is written. It is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometrical figures, without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it.”
—Galileo Galilei (1564–1642)
“We are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind’s door at 4am of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends. We forget all too soon the things we thought we could never forget.”
—Joan Didion (b. 1934)
“As Cuvier could correctly describe a whole animal by the contemplation of a single bone, so the observer who has thoroughly understood one link in a series of incidents should be able to accurately state all the other ones, both before and after.”
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)