A fourth novel in E L James's multimillion-selling Fifty Shades of Grey series will be released on June 18 by Vintage Books, the publisher announced on Monday. The new book, called Grey, is told from the point of view of billionaire Christian Grey, whose explicit romance with young Anastasia Steele became an international obsession. In a statement issued through Vintage, a paperback imprint of Penguin Random House, James said she was dedicating the new book to readers who had "asked ... and asked ... and asked ... and asked" for a novel narrated by Christian. "Christian is a complex character and readers have always been fascinated by his desires and motivations, and his troubled past," she said. "Also, as anyone who has ever been in a relationship knows, there are two sides to every story." Begun as fan fiction inspired by the Twilight novels, the Fifty Shades trilogy has sold more than 125 million copies since coming out in 2011. The first Fifty Shades movie came out earlier this year and grossed more than US$500 million (Dh1.8bn) worldwide. – AP
Kanye steals the show at fashion awards
Kanye West got a lot of the attention at the annual Council of Fashion Designers of America awards in New York on Monday night. Introducing Pharrell Williams, who was receiving the evening's Fashion Icon award, Kanye West said: "It is very difficult to break perception. Fashion had to be the hardest high school I ever entered. At least I had a big brother [Williams] who talked me through it and kept me going." Williams, in turn, thanked many fashion figures who have been influential in his career and in his personal style, and concluded by saying: "I'm not a style icon. I'm just inspired. And I'm OK with that." Betsey Johnson, 72, whose whimsical designs have been gracing the fashion world for more than 50 years, came onstage to accept her lifetime achievement award and performed one of her signature cartwheels, ending it with a split. Kim Kardashian presented the media award to Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom, who called her "the queen of Instagram". Sisters Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen won for womenswear, while Tom Ford won for menswear. The accessories award went to British designer Tabitha Simmons. The Swarovski awards for emerging designers went to Shayne Oliver of Hood by Air for menswear and Rosie Assoulin for womenswear. – AP
Image Nation teaming up with Discovery Networks
Abu Dhabi production house Image Nation, which brought Ali Mostafa's From A to B to cinemas, is teaming up with pay-TV giant Discovery Networks to bring a new Arabic language factual channel to screens in the final quarter of this year. Quest Arabiya, a sister channel to the existing English-language Quest channel, will be aimed primarily at Arab men ages 16 to 44 and will feature programmes covering genres including adventure and survival, motoring, engineering, wildlife, history and people and places. The shows will be a combination of original, regionally produced material and Arabised content from Discovery's existing archives. – The National staff
