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Behind-The-Books Blog
Articles by chiara
Authors make for good travel agents…
Friday, May 17th, 2013
I’m heading off to San Francisco tomorrow morning (I know, lucky me) and whilst this holiday has been in the pipeline for some time, what with the excitement of the Fall of Night Book Tour which has seen me travelling around the country with Rachel Caine (author of the Morganville Vampires series) this San Fran [...]
Fancy living under the same roof as Rudyard Kipling?
Thursday, May 2nd, 2013
Yesterday we blogged about book-inspired summer homes, and now we have news over another house that may go on your wish-list. It’s The Gables, in Tisbury, Wiltshire, where Rudyard Kipling’s parents lived for over 20 years and apparently where Kipling wrote most of his famous novel, Kim. And if you fancy a home with such [...]
A week of Barcelona…
Friday, April 26th, 2013
I started the week with another trip to my new favourite haunt a few blocks from the Allison & Busby office, Iberica, on Great Portland Street. This Spanish restaurant is inconspicuos from the outside but walk through the front doors and you’ll enter into a beautiful space, featuring tables and plush leather armchairs by the [...]
Favourite things from the London Book Fair
Friday, April 19th, 2013
It’s Friday, and we’re winding down from the buzz of the London Book Fair earlier this week. I spent one day at the big event and noted an unsurprisingly huge increase in the size of the Digital section, the absence of the Cookery Corner (a regular LBF space which used to hold cookery demos to [...]
Catch The Beekeeper’s Apprentice on Radio 4 Extra…
Thursday, April 18th, 2013
Tomorrow, Friday 19th April, BBC Radio 4 Extra will be broadcasting the first episode in a four-part dramatisation of The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, by Laurie R King – the first book in her acclaimed Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series. When the young Mary Russell literally stumbles across Holmes on the Sussex Downs, it marks the [...]
Another reason to revisit Point Blank
Monday, March 25th, 2013
Earlier this month, Sir Michael Caine celebrated his 80th birthday, and as the publishers of Alfie and Get Carter, it was appropriate we highlighted it on our blog (speaking of which, there’s still time to enter our Michael Caine giveaway). Now we hear that the director John Boorman has also turned 80 years old this year [...]
Friday Fun: Paper is not dead…
Friday, March 22nd, 2013
Following our Wednesday Cover Story this week and the ongoing e-book v physical book debate, I couldn’t help but laugh at this French video I came across on YouTube. Tweeted it the other day, but I feel it deserves to be shared here, on our Friday Fun slot… Chiara Priorelli, Publicity & Marketing Manager
Yes, that’s right, we’re working in our pyjamas.
Friday, March 15th, 2013
It’s not every day you get to work at the office in your pj’s. And it’s not that surprising seeing as I kept having to fight the urge to curl up under my desk for a kip. But today, we could, and we did. So, give it up for some Red Nose Carpet fashion from [...]
Happy Birthday Sir Michael Caine!
Thursday, March 14th, 2013
Today, revered actor Sir Michael Caine celebrates his 80th birthday, and, considering he’s something of a national treasure, it’s a milestone that is getting some deserved attention. A new exhibition launches today at the Museum of London featuring never-before-exhibited photographs of the iconic actor, as well as footage from his cult classics films like Alfie, [...]
Friday Fun: Vote for the Oddest Book Title of the Year
Friday, March 8th, 2013
It’s that time again: time to pick the Oddest Book Title of the Year. There have been some wonderful entries for the Diagram prize in the past (see here, here and here) and this year doesn’t disappoint. There’s the usual mention of at least one animal and one body part, but this year I found [...]
Happy World Book Day!
Thursday, March 7th, 2013
Today is World Book Day! And what a day it is. The Biggest Book Show on Earth is about to kick off (11am today) to be broadcasted to cinemas nationwide and streamed live here; events will be taking place in schools, libraries and bookshops, eight £1 books have been released especially for the occasion; an [...]
Highlights from the RoNA Awards
Thursday, February 28th, 2013
This Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending the Romantic Novelist Association‘s Awards ceremony – a wonderfully jolly evening as romance novelists, publishers and agents, gathered at the RAF Club to support the nominees, applaud the winners and salute the genre in general. This year the awards were given out by none other than TV [...]
Follow the Bitter Greens Blog Tour
Monday, February 25th, 2013
Today marks the launch of Bitter Greens, by Kate Forsyth – a captivating novel that weaves together history and fairy tale in a unique retelling of the story of Rapunzel. The hardback is so beautiful, you may be tempted just to stare at it. But open the cover and you’ll delve into a world of [...]
Friday Lunch with Authors
Friday, February 22nd, 2013
This week we’ve had some lovely author visits. Yesterday we enjoyed a lovely tea with Emily Winslow and today we had the pleasure of an office lunch with authors Judith Cutler and Edward Marston. Conversation covered all manner of topics from cricket to cruises to capital punishment, as well as the new BBC documentary Penguins [...]
Swat up on your Nordic crime…
Tuesday, February 19th, 2013
If your knowledge of Scandinavian crime fiction is limited to Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbø, then a new guide, Nordic Noir, by crime fiction expert Barry Forshaw (editor of Crime Time and reviewer for countless publications including the Independent and The Good Book Guide), looks to change all that. Whilst we regularly mention books from [...]
Today’s pick from the web
Friday, February 15th, 2013
The weekend draws near, and for the next two days I will try to avoid looking at a computer. But before I shut off from the online world I’ll leave you with my top three picks from the web today: #1 The New York Times – Maurice Sendak’s posthumous book My favourite books as a [...]
How’s THIS for a Valentine’s gift?
Thursday, February 14th, 2013
Today, we lunched with author D E Meredith, and conversation turned (inevitably) to Valentine’s Day. Some people celebrate it (eg. Susie and Lesley) and others don’t (eg. D E Meredith and I), but we agreed that it’s definitely a more female-led celebration. (Spot the panic-stricken faces of men across of the country as they question [...]
We’re celebrating fabulous news!
Friday, February 8th, 2013
The champers is out!! Today we celebrate the wonderful news that Glass Houses, by Rachel Caine – the first book in the bestselling Morganville Vampire series, has been voted the most popular book with school children in the UK! Read more here… What a wonderful way to end the week! Chiara Priorelli, Publiicty & [...]
Would you be reading that book if it wasn’t an e-book?
Thursday, February 7th, 2013
E-books, e-books, e-books. It’s unsurprisingly the biggest topic in the publishing industry at the moment, with more books being published only in e-book format, the ongoing debate about 20p e-book offers, and the natural worries of how e-books will affect the future of the bookshop… My question to you e-book readers out there is, are [...]
The give-and-take of publicity
Monday, February 4th, 2013
As a publicist, I spend much of my week alerting the press and blogosphere about our upcoming books, hoping to get them to run a review or an author interview, or at the very least get them to mention the title in a roundup or pertinent feature article. Of course, there are hundreds or other [...]
Currently we are...
…Reading
Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn. Chiara: I was captivated by Gone Girl and both Sophie and Rachel Caine recommended this earlier book of hers so have opted for this as my holiday read. It's a long flight to San Francisco...…Tweeting
- Sophie thinks she's found The Next big Thing... http://t.co/tgLywPLfuJ
(about 3 hours ago) - ...And then discovered the goodies inside! Thanks for brightening up our day @rachelcaine =) #CheeseAndPortGalore http://t.co/HWnk9loWH8
(about 5 hours ago) - Yesterday we received this mysterious yet very dashing case from our lovely author @rachelcaine... http://t.co/ngt16C71CC
(about 5 hours ago) - RT @eurocrime: EC: Webmistress needs your help with Janie Bolitho info: http://t.co/MIvSOzlY4s @AllisonandBusby
(about 5 hours ago) - @crookslesley is pondering 'larger than life' characters who live on beyond the page in today's blog http://t.co/5mQvBUJqcH
(about 1 day ago)
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