Kathryn, Author at Allison & Busby

The A&B Forecast

5 January, 2015

Whilst thinking about my New Year’s resolutions and upcoming schedules, I’m also looking forward to some fab new books coming out of the A&B factory in the next few months. Take a look below at my recommendations for some of our exciting new titles, and see what the rest of the A&B office is waiting […]

It’s a Small World

10 December, 2014

We’ve all heard of the six-degrees of separation; that any two people on Earth can be connected to one another in fewer than six human links, but we in the A&B office are sure the world feels even smaller sometimes. Back in July, we published the wonderful Fair Girls and Fair Horses by the Pullein-Thompson sisters – […]

Book Your Ticket

5 December, 2014

Anyone spot the article in last week’s Grazia, in which the magazine told us that literature is ‘getting immersive’ and that ‘being a bookworm never felt so sexy’? “Well that’s obvious”, you say, “I’ve been immersed in books forever and even the word bookworm is enough to send a shiver down my spine”. But have […]

Fun in Fitzrovia

1 December, 2014

A&B receive constant reminders of how lucky we are to work in beautiful Fitzrovia. Highlights for us include the miniature ice cream van in Fitzroy Square on summer afternoons (it’s really got to be the smallest in the world), working within very close proximity to some of the best restaurants and cocktails bars in the […]

Wednesday Cover Story: Helen Cadbury

19 November, 2014

Helen Cadbury is a York based writer whose debut novel, To Catch a Rabbit, was joint winner of the Northern Crime Award. A&B are thrilled to be republishing this title in January, with a brand new, second Sean Denton book to follow in the summer. If you haven’t seen it already at the cover for […]

Good things come in small packages.

17 November, 2014

Last week, Underwire Film Festival was underway in Hackney, showcasing some of the best emerging female talent in the film industry. Underwire was curated based on awards – best director, best composer, etc – which meant a good variety of shorts for each night. I went along for two of the evenings and was lucky […]

Wednesday Cover Story: L C Tyler Covers

12 November, 2014

A few months ago we gave you a sneak peak of the cover for L C Tyler’s Crooked Herring, released in September. With great reviews coming in for the first book, we knew you’d be interested to see the beautiful covers for the rest of the series. We can’t wait to see them in the flesh… […]

Girls on Film: The Bechdel Test

7 November, 2014

Here at A&B we love reading about great female characters and have been inspired by the likes of Freya Stark, Shifting Colours‘ Miriam, and Charlotte-Rose de la Force, of Bitter Greens. So we were interested to hear of the Bechdel Test– a three-step rule to see if a film has two named female characters who have a […]

Book Walks

27 October, 2014

If you haven’t stepped out on one already, why not try a literary stroll around London this month? Every year (usually in October) Footprints of London hosts a Literary Festival. Highlights include a literary history of Covent Garden- a walk following Mrs Dalloway as she goes to buy flowers for her party, a walk around literary […]

Read Yourself Well

20 October, 2014

Whilst books might not provide a medical antidote to health problems, there are emerging schemes that might go some way to helping those faced with challenging health problems. A new scheme promoting book-based therapy for dementia sufferers will be launched in libraries in England in January 2015. The ‘Books on Prescription‘ scheme comes from The […]

Prizes for Perry

13 October, 2014

The Turner Prize is rolling round again (for a tongue in cheek read on the subject, try Ruth Dudley Edwards’ Killing the Emperors) and putting art at the forefront of peoples’ minds. This weekend I saw a great exhibition by an artist who fully deserves their Turner Prize-winner title, Grayson Perry. ‘The Vanity of Small Differences’ […]

The Read for Speed

29 September, 2014

Apparently, I could read the entire Game of Thrones collection in 166 days. (Interestingly, it’s taken me over a year to watch 2.5 series). That’s reading for about 25 minutes a day, which is incidentally about the length of my tube journey. Find out your reading ‘potential’ using this Daily Mail test– just think how many wonderful […]

A Murder of Magpies

22 September, 2014

With the upcoming paperback release of Judith Flanders’ hilarious caper crime, A Murder of Magpies (originally called Writers’ Block), we’re on the lookout for the best animal collectives. See the American edition cover, below. This weekend in the Guardian we spotted an article on ten of the best collective nouns. It missed out a ‘worship of writers’, which […]

The House that Blake Built

19 September, 2014

Plans to create a museum within the house that poet William Blake lived in from 1800 – 1803 are being backed by a crowdfund campaign, launching next week. To celebrate, we are running a special offer on the hardback edition of Beryl Kingston’s Gates of Paradise, a charming love story, set against the historical events of Blake’s stay […]

Suzette A Hill’s Short Story Challenge

15 September, 2014

It was quite a challenge the Royal Over-Seas League Magazine put to our author, Suzette A Hill; to write a short story in just 50 words is no mean feat! But the author readily accepted the commission and it was challenge accomplished. We love the heartwarming photo, don’t you?! England – August 1940 Suzette A Hill That […]

A Novel Way to Order an Espresso

8 September, 2014

Some of my favourite bookshops have coffee shops on site (try the London Review Bookshop (pictured below) next time your in the capital). There’s nothing better than treating yourself to a browse through the shelves, before scouting out the comfiest seat in the cafe (usually a plush, velvet sofa scattered with a few biscuit crumbs from ghosts […]

Exclusive Lawrence Scott La Foce poem

29 August, 2014

A&B author Lawrence Scott, author of the wonderful Aelred’s Sin (out in Ebook this month) recently visited La Foce, to learn about the intriguing Iris Origo. Whilst there, Lawrence penned poems about his surroundings and we’re delighted to share one with you, below. Isn’t it beautiful? We’re dreaming of La Dolce Vita… The time was […]

Wednesday Cover Story

13 August, 2014

We’re very excited to be publishing L C Tyler at A&B next month and could not wait to show you this fab new Crooked Herring cover – hot off the press! I’m a great fan of this one – it reminds me of weekend trips in the countryside in my Dads’ Volvo. Those rolling, grey […]

Casting the Net for a Female Lead

11 August, 2014

It seems that Marvel are continuing their love for all things girl power, and have announced that they may be expanding Spider-Man’s filmic universe. A new film would feature a female protagonist, either Spider-Woman, Spider-Girl, Silver Sable, Black Cat, Stunner or Firestar. It will reportedly also have a female screenwriter. This follows Marvel’s announcement that […]

Allison & Buzz-Bee

28 July, 2014

Few insects seem as friendly and well-loved as the bee. Sartorially snappy in stripes, B rivals other mini-beasts in the garden and is far from bumbling as she floats elegantly from plant to plant. Commonly associated with honey and flowers; it’s no wonder she has such an excellent reputation. When we add to this the […]

#Shelfie

23 July, 2014

We’ve spotted a recent Twitter trend that we’re enjoying even more than this… or indeed this… You already know that the trend for ‘Selfies’ has lead to the noun being announced as the word of 2013, by the Oxford Dictionary – but did you know that the #sHelfie may soon be joining it’s ranks – recently […]