RSSSearch
Authors
Browse Books
Fiction
- Crime, Mystery & Thriller
- Sci-fi & Fantasy
- Women's Reads
- Teen
- Historical Fiction
- Literary Fiction
- Contemporary Fiction
- World War II
- Omnibuses & Short Story Collections
Non-Fiction
- True Crime
- Biography & Memoirs
- Popular Culture
- Food & Cooking
- Humour & Gift Books
- Self-improvement
- Writer's Guides
- Travel
- World War II
Merchandise
Catalogues
Links
Find us on »
Digg this
Facebook
TwitterNews & Events
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010
Well that’s it for 2010 here in the Allison & Busby office! A big thank you to everyone - to all our blog followers, to our loyal book readers, to the booksellers who continue to support us, the literary agents who help build our list and of course to the Allison & Busby authors who provide us with [...]
Time for Christmas markets!
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
The fact that we are experiencing a white Christmas does add a little something to the festivities. Ok, the man shouting expletives into his mobile phone (as he explains to whoever is on the receiving end that his train is delayed by an hour due to the weather conditions) does not fall in line with [...]
Novel wallpaper…literally.
Monday, December 20th, 2010
Here’s a novel (!) idea for home décor. Spineless publishing produces full text of your favourite classics with artfully cut out illustrations, all ready for you to hang on your walls. So, this Christmas, when the family becomes too much, you can stare over their shoulders and read away to your heart’s content, remembering to [...]
Testing times…
Friday, December 17th, 2010
Yesterday evening we enjoyed a very jolly office Christmas party. It involved a luminous tree; adequate amounts tinsel, tea light candles carefully strewn around the office (and not too close to our large archive of books), copious amounts of cava and mulled wine, a ridiculously large spread of food (note-to-self: remember, Chiara, when you next [...]
Cracking, Your Majesty…
Thursday, December 16th, 2010
Q: ‘What is a pedestrian?
A: ‘It’s one of those things motorists drive over.’
This is the Christmas cracker joke read by Lionel Logue, speech therapist, to George VI, patient and king, who, after a contemplative pause, responded that it wouldn’t work in his Christmas broadcast.
He was quite right. Pedestrians and the driving over thereof blatantly have [...]
Wednesday Cover Story: The importance of fonts
Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
As any self-respecting cover designer will tell you, choosing a font is very important business. Just look at our moody vampiric swirls for the Morganvilles, or the art deco typeface used for the Laurie R. King series. Finding the perfect font is as important as finding or creating the perfect image for a cover.
So, if [...]
Porn for book lovers (bookshelf series, 3)
Tuesday, December 14th, 2010
Following my battle building bookshelves and search for more inspiring book-storage ideas, today I share with you the most recent discoveries.
There is no doubt that some book collections are worth framing, but whether you have signed first editions of classics or just beautifully coloured paperbacks that would make a nice splash on the [...]
A great book to read, or wear, or…
Monday, December 13th, 2010
We should stop thinking of ourselves as book publishers. That was one of the resounding lines echoed unnervingly in my head after an ebook conference last week. Too true, of course, when the rise of ebooks is plain to see and digital opportunities for publishers and authors abound.
But this thought also coincided with a number [...]
Books at the Ballet
Friday, December 10th, 2010
My sum experience of ballet encompasses an evening in St Petersburg three years ago (we attended believing seeing the ballet was the thing to do), and a fondness for Degas. Of course, in toddlerhood, I did don a tutu for ‘ballet’, but my only memory of this class is being given dolly mixtures at its [...]
IKEA… behind Scandinavian crime writers’ success?
Thursday, December 9th, 2010
In the Metro this morning there was an article on Scandinavian crime writers noting how interest in this particular area of crime is far from losing momentum.
But did you know that there is a direct correlation between the increasing popularity of Scandinavian crime and DIY giant IKEA? According to author Matt Benyon Rees (whose books [...]
Wednesday Cover Story: I Hate Christmas (but I now love sprouts…)
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
This has got to be one of my favourite covers on our list. Simple and to the point.
And how lucky we are that the brussel sprout, that un-loved Christmas vegetable, is green and not, for example, orange. The Christmas colouring for the cover just wouldn’t have worked, would it…
But on this subject of sprouts, I’d [...]
Support Reading with the Big Give Xmas Challenge
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
‘Tis the season of giving… and this week, giving is worth double.
The Big Give 2010 Christmas Challenge runs from 6th - 10th December and means that any online donations to partnering charities made through The Big Give will be worth double the amount!
One of the charities that is part of the initiative is Volunteer Reading [...]
Fool-proofing your titles…
Monday, December 6th, 2010
A bit of ‘science’ to help authors wishing to top the bestseller lists has surfaced over the past week. The people behind Lulu.com, the self-publishing website, have created a gizmo called Titlescorer. After analyzing the titles of the hardback fiction books on the New York Times bestseller list for the past sixty years, they say [...]
Second-hand bargain book hunting…
Friday, December 3rd, 2010
Like many book lovers, I depend upon the second-hand trade for the sustenance of my addiction. Although a new book is nice, realistically, buying a new copy of every book I want to read is economically not viable. I therefore devote much of my spare time to bargain book hunting. Stalking through the wobbly shelves [...]
WORLD BOOK NIGHT LIST ANNOUNCED AND BOOK-GIVER VOLUNTEER APPLICATIONS OPEN
Friday, December 3rd, 2010
The list of 25 books has now been chosen for World Book Night - a brand new initiative which will see one million free books given away on 5 March 2011. Now applications are open for book-giver volunteers!
Rachel Caine - Tips for a wannabe writer?
Friday, December 3rd, 2010
Q. I love your series of books and read all of the time. I was wondering if you have any tips for me, I have always wanted to write a book of my own but dont know where to start? With publishers or what to write? I have some good ideas I am told but [...]
Tag Your Bag
Thursday, December 2nd, 2010
As anyone with the same appetite for books as the A&B office will know (and which Chiara has demonstrated in her recent hunt for new bookshelves), there comes a time when it is impossible to keep any more books. When your bookcases are so full that you’re stacking books on the floor around that piece [...]
Wednesday Cover Story: Covering the AIDS issue
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
Today is World Aids Day and as I thought about the AIDS issue I had a quick browse on Amazon to see what books were out there on the topic. And my search brought up a fair amount, but mostly quite stern, scientific, textbook-looking books. Of course, AIDS is indeed a very serious topic and [...]
Dr Dale on RTE One’s The Panel comedy show
Thursday, November 11th, 2010
Thursday 2nd December, 10.15pm RTE One THE PANEL
Don’t miss this episode of The Panel on RTE One featuring Dr Dale, the world’s renowned (err, only) Zombologist and author of Dr Dale’s Zombie Dictionary: the A-Z Guide to Staying Alive. He’ll be sharing his expertise about zombies and zombie survival with host Craig Doyle. Because one [...]
Adrian Magson on BBC Radio Northampton
Thursday, November 11th, 2010
Friday 3rd December, 2.00pm BBC RADIO NORTHAMPTON
Catch crime author Adrian Magson live on BBc Radio Northampton for an interview about his work and new books including Death on the Marais, the first in a brand new Lucas Rocco series set in rural France in the 1960s.
Wednesday Cover Story: Don’t read this book if you’re stupid
I bought this collection of short stories by Tibor Fischer, some years ago and must admit, purchased it solely on the basis of the title - the most blatant and yet brilliant marketing ploy I’ve ever seen. It’s a challenge, encouraging you to think: ‘well, I’ll prove to you I’m not stupid by reading it!’. [...]
Read more...
Like one book, find another!
Try it out!
Something you'd like to see on our website?
Let us know!
