Penguin Canada issued a press release late last night that they will undertake a major Canadian and international publishing program in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Lucy Maud Montgomery's debut novel ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, including publication of an official prequel, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the book's original publication in 1908. As an unabashed fan of Lucy Maud Montgomery's work, much of the news is welcome - though I'll still have to get used to the idea of a prequel.

Budge Wilson, a Governor General's Literary Award finalist with twenty-nine novels to her name, has been commissioned to write the prequel, titled BEFORE GREEN GABLES. "When Penguin asked me to write this prequel, I was faced with an enormous challenge. But it was this challenge that made me want to write the book. "Given the appalling deprivation and emotional starvation of Anne's years in the Thomas and Hammond households and during her four agonized months in the orphanage, one is mystified as to how she became the person she was when she made her first journey to Green Gables with Matthew Cuthbert. How could she have become so vibrant a person, so talkative, so articulate, so optimistic, so full of extravagant dreams? This was the enticing puzzle that drew me into the project."

For those leery of a prequel, Penguin has lots of other plans in store for the anniversary, including a special collectible 100th anniversary edition of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES featuring the original cover art of M.A. Claus and W.A.J. Claus. A third project, IMAGINING ANNE: THE SCRAPBOOKS OF L.M. MONTGOMERY will bring to life Montgomery's own thoughts and interests using selected pages from her own scrapbooks from the years 1893 to 1908.