It's Shakespeare Week on Goodreads!

But, soft! What light through yonder internet browser window breaks? It's our Shakespeare Week celebration on Goodreads—and you, fair reader, are invited!

April 23 is the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. To mark this momentous anniversary, we're pulling out all the stops for the Bard this week—just take a look at our logo! We'll be featuring Shakespeare-themed quizzes, book lists, writing prompts, and games. In addition, amazing authors who have written books based on the Bard's plays are taking your questions about comedy and tragedy…and everything in between. (Bonus points for questions in iambic pentameter.)

To kick off the festivities, we asked six authors to write a deleted scene from one of the Bard's plays. (Check them out below!) On Tuesday, we helped you answer the question, Which Shakespeare play should I read next?; on Wednesday, we took a look at famous book titles based on Shakespeare lines; and on Thursday, we investigated the writers who influenced Shakespeare. What's up next? Come back to find out!


Ian Doescher, author of William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope:
(Read the full deleted scene here.)

Jasper Fforde, author of the Hamlet-inspired Something Rotten:
(Read the full deleted scene here.)

Margaret Atwood, author of Hag-Seed, a retelling of The Tempest:
(Read the full deleted scene here.)

Malorie Blackman, author of the Othello-inspired Chasing the Stars:
(Read the full deleted scene here.)

Elizabeth Nunez, author of Even in Paradise, a retelling of King Lear:
(Read the full deleted scene here.)

Christopher Moore, author of Fool, a retelling of King Lear:
(Read the full deleted scene here.)


Now it's your turn! Write your own deleted scene from a Shakespeare play in the comments and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for #ShakespeareWeek updates.