Blog
Human beans, snozzcumbers and phizzwizzards
27 July, 2016
This month, Steven Spielberg’s cinematic re-imagining of one of my favourite childhood books was released: Roald Dahl’s The BFG. My excitement is only equalled by the release of the Harry Potter script book (pre-ordered it). But before I go and see the BFG on screen, I thought best to revisit the book itself. To my utter […]
Listen up – audio books
21 July, 2016
Audio books are big business these days. It’s the fastest growing part of our industry and the number of audio books produced has doubled since just 2013*. There are so many situations recently where they have proved their worth to me. My niece is already devouring Roald Dahl on CD. Our editor Sophie has described […]
Booking a place in history
6 July, 2016
In the midst of immense sporting achievements happening around the world (the Euros, Wimbledon and the Olympics soon), I thought we should take a journey through the accomplishments of book-lovers across the globe, with a little help from the Guinness World Records… Whilst I sympathise with our author David Hingley who last week signed 500 […]
Women Making Waves
28 June, 2016
Next month, we publish Radio Girls by Sarah-Jane Stratford about the early days of the BBC in the 1920s, featuring real-life figures such as Hilda Matheson, Lord John Reith, T. S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf. The novel focuses on the brilliant women behind the BBC’s programming, notably Hilda Matheson, the charismatic director of Talks Department. The BBC was one […]
The Girl from Simon’s Bay by Barbara Mutch
22 June, 2016
Allison & Busby is delighted to announce the acquisition of The Girl from Simon’s Bay, a second novel from Barbara Mutch, author of The Housemaid’s Daughter and ‘born storyteller’ (Sydney Morning Herald). The deal was brokered with the author’s agent Judith Murdoch for World English rights. The Girl from Simon’s Bay is a love story […]
The Tony Awards – By the Book
15 June, 2016
The 2016 Tony Awards took place earlier this week and were something for any book-lover to get excited about, with many of the nominations being book-to-stage adaptations. If a holiday to America to see these productions is not on the cards, then perhaps a read of their phenomenal source material will make a good plan […]
Library Inspiration
9 June, 2016
I love my library. My bank account loves my library. My son loves our library. Books are an increasing part of that love, but his earliest associations are of place for raucous rhyme time sessions and a satisfyingly noisy sensory wall where he can push buttons to elicit elephant and tiger noises. It’s about as […]
Festivals Galore!
2 June, 2016
It’s that time of year where festivals are cropping up everywhere. If you can’t get over to Hay this year, do not fear; there’s another literary festival happening in central London: Emerald Street Literary Festival. Taking place over one day at the Royal Geographical Society, the line up features Kate Mosse, Jessie Burton, Maggie O’Farrell, the Baileys Prize […]
A book is an e-book…is still a book
25 May, 2016
Ever since e-books came to the fore, there has been a tendency to define them against their physical predecessors, to suggest that digital is a logical progression and, most commonly, that the two formats are mutually exclusive. Like a lot of book-lovers, I confess to being e-book sceptic when digital was on the rise. I […]
In fictional footsteps
18 May, 2016
Susie, our intrepid Publishing Director, is just back from a trip to Switzerland. While she was in the country of fine chocolate (some samples of which she has been kind enough to share – yum) and yodelling (which she has been kind enough not to share), she included a must-see visit for any devoted crime fan to […]
Destined for Greatness
11 May, 2016
A great part of working in publishing is hearing about the next big thing, the new rising star in the industry – although it turns out this time I already knew. Back in 2013, I blogged about an amazing poetry launch I went to for Splitfish by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. Aged only twenty-six, Kiran already […]
Helen Cadbury on The Writing Process: Pantsing v. Plotting
4 May, 2016
Over the next couple of months I’m involved in a project called Read Regional, where I’ll be visiting libraries (and one book shop) across the North, talking about my latest book, Bones in the Nest. My favourite part of every event is the Q and A. It’s always interesting to get a question nobody has […]
Get It Right – what’s that book worth?
28 April, 2016
Talk is cheap, entertainment is prolific, fashion is fast. We know that we live in a disposable, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of world. But while the economies of scale might mean that you can get a decent bite to eat with your loose change, I say that we need to take a moment and make sure we […]
Off the grid
21 April, 2016
via GIPHY *Ping* “Oh sorry was that me? I’ll just check, won’t be a sec…” Sound familiar? Yes, I hate to admit it but I am frequently guilty of being one of those people with an itchy thumb restless for the next email or status update. I’m beginning to think that simply people watching to […]
Word Travels
11 April, 2016
Bibliophiles around the world will appreciate the feeling of having too many books, and no doubt many of us may have resolved in the New Year to slim our collection. Shaheryar Malik has taken this to a whole new level: he has given away his entire book collection. If, like me, you recoiled in horror when […]
Got a spare £300,000?
6 April, 2016
A handwritten draft of a Sherlock Holmes mystery from 1893 is to be sold at a fine literature auction in New York this week. Estimates are suggesting the work could sell for as high as £300,00. The mystery in question, ‘The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter’, is one of fifty-six short stories written by Doyle about Sherlock […]
Shelfie – books on the go
31 March, 2016
Generally, when I’m reading for pleasure, I read a printed book. While my tablet is incredibly useful for work and for reading submissions, it does seem more restful to curl up with a bundle of crafted paper, ink and glue. However, there are going to be times when I just can’t squeeze a(nother) book into my […]
The Silk Road
23 March, 2016
With the number of TV channels at our fingertips these days, your average night at home on the sofa becomes something of a lucky dip of entertainment. One such surprise was stumbling upon David Baddiel’s latest show, a four part travelogue along the 2000-year-old trade route of the Silk Road. From East to West, Baddiel’s […]
Selfie-destruct
16 March, 2016
Most of us have been taking photos of ourselves for years, but it wasn’t until recently that this common phenomenon was given a name: the selfie. Since then, not a day goes by when we don’t either see them posted online or nearly get hit in the face by people too engrossed in getting the […]
Making a Murderer
3 March, 2016
Every once in a while, a show comes on TV that just blows everything else out of the water. After finally succumbing to Netflix a few weeks ago, I discover the thriller-documentary ‘Making a Murderer’ and I am now utterly addicted. (Source) Exonerated after spending nearly two decades in prison for a crime he did […]
Computer says show*
26 February, 2016
When you really enjoy the theatre and haven’t been for nearly 2 years due to a (not so little) thing like a rapidly rampaging toddler, you jump at the chance of a spare ticket from a friend. However, I’ll admit though that when I checked out the website for Beyond the Fence I wasn’t expecting […]
