Audrey A Roma in book form

The last big news item on Audrey Hepburn was an exhibit in Italy showcasing Audrey's life in Rome. The exhibit was sadly short-lived, yet still managed to raise nearly $100,000 for UNICEF! If you couldn't make it out to Rome to visit the exhibit, but desperately wanted to see the displays of Audrey's clothes, personal belongings, and candid photographs, never fear: a special book curated by her son Luca Dotti has been released with 192 pages of text and pictures for your enjoyment.

If you are in Europe, you can order the book through Amazon's Italian page here, or try your luck at local bookstores, as they have been spotted out and about. If you are in the U.S., the book is harder to find, but not impossible. A few sellers on Amazon have copies at around $30 (plus shipping), and would cost you near the same amount to order a copy from overseas and have it shipped to you. The best part is that all royalties from the sales go directly to the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.

In an extra bit of news: if you are on Twitter, so am I! You can now get all your Audrey news in 140 characters or less. See you there.

Audrey A Roma

Exciting news! There will be a new exhibit on Audrey Hepburn in Rome, Italy, running from October 26th through December 4th. While there will be photos and personal items of Audrey's on display, this exhibit is different from Timeless Audrey, the exhibit that has been displayed in Germany and Japan and select other locations. Audrey A Roma is a special exhibit showcasing the years Audrey lived as an Italian housewife whilst married to her second husband, Andrea Dotti.

The exhibit will have extremely rare home videos of Audrey in Rome, as well as personal and paparazzi photos of her - the paparazzi often mailed Audrey the photos they had taken of her - and when possible, the very clothes she was wearing in those pictures will be on display as well. For those who have seen Timeless Audrey, it sounds like there will be enough new material to make this exhibit worth your while, and if you haven't yet seen Timeless Audrey, then here's a sneak preview for you!



Information is still trickling in at this point, but I can give you some basics, plus a lot of lovely links to look through. The Italian branch of UNICEF, which is working with The Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund, has a new mini-site up about Audrey's work with UNICEF and the exhibit, which you can see here. 25% of ticket proceeds will go towards UNICEF Italy's ongoing mission in Chad, Africa. Not only that, but there will be a special card designed just for this Italian exhibit, and the purchase of this card turns into a donation for a course of vitamins and minerals for a malnourished child - though if you can't make it to the exhibit but would still like to help in the name of Audrey, you can buy the card online here. A really lovely blog that's heavy on pictures has been set up on Tumblr, so if you're already on there, it'll be very easy for you to follow and get a daily dose of Audrey. You may also read more about the intentions behind the exhibit, and Sean and Luca's thoughts on it, on the Children's Fund website here. And while I don't have a link yet for this last bit, I can tell you that a picture book called Audrey A Roma (Audrey In Rome) will be on sale at the exhibit and elsewhere, designed by Audrey's son Luca Dotti. It will be in Italian bookstores and the Italian Amazon, but before you complain, word is that the book is being translated into English, French and German, and will be released sooner rather than later! Stay tuned.

As for the details ... if you can make it to the exhibit, here's what you need to know: The exhibit is at the Ara Pacis Museum Lungotevere in Augusta, Rome, and runs every day but Mondays from 9am to 7pm (no entries after 6pm). Admission is 10€, but discounts can be had, and there are certain cases for free admission.

Just Being Audrey giveaway contest!

You've waited long enough, now here it is: I will be giving away three (3) copies of the gorgeous children's picture book Just Being Audrey. Highly acclaimed and already deeply loved, this book is short and sweet and beautifully written. Designed for children but accessible to all, the book gives a lovely summary of Audrey's life, from la petite ballerina in Holland to the trendsetting Hollywood icon to the UNICEF ambassador, all illustrated with divine full color (and often full page) drawings.

All you have to do is send me an email at admin[at]fabaudrey.com (replace the [at] with @, or just click on the link to automatically open your email browser), title the email "contest," and tell me your name, what your favourite piece of Audrey Hepburn memorabilia is and why. I don't expect anything big, this isn't a school essay, and you don't have to impress anyone here. Just something Audrey-related that you especially love or are sentimental about. It could even be a copy of your favourite film of hers and how it makes you feel. Don't feel pressured, just write a little something from the heart. I will pick three - if I can! - and those three will be shipped a free copy of Just Being Audrey. That's it. :)

The rules: this contest is open to anyone anywhere in the world, as long as you can receive packages from the U.S. Your book will be shipped directly from amazon.com. You do not need to give me any personal information other than your name unless I contact you saying that you have won and I will need an address to ship to. Please do not take it personally if you weren't selected in this contest, there will be more! I am already quite sure it will be hard to choose just three entries, but I am a student and can't afford to buy everyone books at this time. :)

The contest will run from now, Saturday March 19, 2011 at 1 pm PST, until next Saturday March 26, 2011 at 1 pm PST. After the contest has closed I will read all of the entries and face the difficult task of choosing three. Within one week I will contact the three winners and email them with congratulations and ask for a shipping address. I'm afraid that only the recipients of the books will be notified, though I thank you all in advance for participating and sharing your feelings on Audrey. If you have any questions that I haven't answered, please feel free to comment below. Bonne chance!

Special thanks to Kath for having the idea for the contest in the first place. :)

Just Being Audrey arrives!

I've received quite a response from you readers, so now I must have a contest giving away a few copies of this book or you'll never forgive me. :) The book was just released today though, so be patient as I get things in order!

I also wanted to tell you that if you are on Facebook, the Just Being Audrey page is giving away an autographed copy of the book. All you have to do is leave a comment on the status asking what your favourite Audrey film is and you are entered to win! Their contest runs until Friday, so if you're interested, go here. Once their contest has ended and the winner announced I think I will start up my contest. I think giving away 3 copies ought to be good.

Oh, and just to clarify: my contests are always open world-wide, not just to US residents. If you can receive packages then you can enter.

Just Being Audrey

Hello everyone! I hope you are all happy and well in this new year. My apologies for falling behind on the news a bit, it's been busy, but I have a peace offering.

Next week the sweetest children's book is coming out, Just Being Audrey. I'm sure some of you have already heard about it, but if not, just look at how darling it is. I love the illustrations so much, don't you? If you do, click here to go to the illustrator's blog and see a few more pictures from the book, which she was kind enough to share from her advance copy of the book.

The book is 32 pages and illustrated quite a lot, and is ideally for the 4-8 year old age range, but of course that won't stop any of us, will it? I think it would make a lovely little coffee table book to have laying out, and your guests could learn about Audrey in 10 minutes flat. If you do know any children, even better, as the pictures will captivate them and the text is simple enough to get Audrey's life story across to anyone, whether they like reading or not.

I think, to make up for my spotty updates, I should give away a couple of copies of this book. It's just so cute and I want to share the cuteness, and I do feel bad for not being around more often lately. Would you be okay with a contest to win a copy?

Edit: Just found a beautiful trailer for the book with loads more illustrations. I'm completely in love.

Off the C(H)uff with Sam Wasson

I've just stumbled across an interview with Sam Wasson on Huffington Post, author of the new book Fifth Avenue, 5 AM. I know I've featured this book quite a few times already, and even an interview or two with the author, but I think this one in particular deserves some attention because it gives far more light into the book and why it was written than any other article I've read so far. It's a good read, fairly short but entertaining and packed with information, and it also features the Breakfast at Tiffany's trailer that yours truly posted on YouTube a few years ago. :)

I shall be getting a copy soon to review for you, but in the meantime, has anyone read it or at least flipped through it in the bookstore? What are your thoughts?

Audrey 100

There's a new picture book on Audrey coming out November 2, and it's called Audrey 100. The premise? The 100 greatest pictures of Audrey Hepburn, as compiled by her son Sean Ferrer. What this means? Rare or private pictures, seen for the first time! The book is co-authored by Ellen (Erwin) Fontana, the director of the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund, who was also behind what I consider the best book out there on Audrey, The Audrey Hepburn Treasures.

While information is still trickling out, I can tell you that the book is slated for a release date of November 2, that it comes in at just under 200 pages, that it comes with a 9x11 photograph for framing, and that full retail price is $40 (though you can get it for less if you know where to look, of course). And, like Treasures before it, sales will benefit the Children's Fund.

Excited yet? There's more. You can pre-order through Barnes & Noble or Amazon, and you can even take a lovely virtual tour of the book here.