In 1949, J.B. Priestley published Delight, a collection of short essays on the little things in life that caused even him, a self-confessed old monster , to stop and smile: from Sunday papers in the country and streets like film sets to quietly malicious chairmanship and frightening civil servants. We think we could all do with reminding about the happier things in life right now, so Waterstone s and Faber are updating Priestley s idea by publishing a collection called Modern Delight. We are approaching a wide array of people of accomplishment in the arts, politics, business, sports and elsewhere, asking them to write us a short essay on something that brings them delight. We are also asking contributors to tell us what their favourite literary delight is. Contributors confirmed so far include: Stephen Fry, Alain de Botton, Charley Boorman, Andrew Marr, Clive James, Beryl Bainbridge, Joan Bakewell, Andrew Roberts, Tom Stoppard, Alan Titchmarsh, William Boyd, Tracy Emin, Sebastian Faulks, Lynne Truss, Michael Boyd, Beryl Bainbridge, Tamsin Greig, Jon Holmes, Roy Strong, and Philip Pullman. Great Northern Books will be re-issuing JB Priestley's DELIGHT at the same time, as part of their ongoing Priestley project.