Blog
CrimeFest Bristol: A Roundup
18 May, 2015
Susie and I have just returned from a trip to Bristol, for this year’s CrimeFest. It was a weekend of celebration as Catherine Aird was announced as the recipient of this year’s lifetime achievement, ‘Diamond Dagger Award’, and L C Tyler collected the Goldsboro Last Laugh Award, for Elsie and Elthered mystery, Crooked Herring. There were also […]
Laurie Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! King and the Pirates
15 May, 2015
If you’re lucky enough to have a ticket to ENO’s Pirates of Penzance, on at the Coliseum at the moment, we’re VERY jealous. Directed by the wonderful Mike Leigh, the production runs until the 4th July. A&B favourite, Laurie R King’s book Pirate King is set around the set of a film by the same title, […]
Reintroducing The Literary Gift Company
13 May, 2015
A while ago now, I wrote a post introducing The Literary Gift Company, whose innovative book-related products are guaranteed to make any book lover smile. Well, now I have inevitably been drawn back into their fold, and have found a selection of items which are destined for my birthday wish list. The first being an […]
Sharing Suzette A. Hill at Gladstone Library Talk
11 May, 2015
Back in February, Suzette A. Hill gave a talk about her books and her writing to a lucky few at Gladstone Library – did you manage to catch it?! For those who weren’t able to head along, we’d like to share a recording of Suzette’s talk – via this link. The author of A Little […]
What’s in a Title?
8 May, 2015
Sometimes book titles can be incredibly obscure and give nothing away about its content. Like Shadow in the Wind or A Bend in the River. They hint at something mysterious and literary without actually making much sense at all. On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are some book titles that get straight to […]
Katharine Moore
6 May, 2015
We’re very proud of the reissues of three Katharine Moore titles, in e-book format this year – Summer at the Haven, Moving House and The Lotus House were all made available in March. And as we look forward to a three generation, literary celebration (in June Katharine’s daughter, the poet Jane Kingshill, will be joined […]
Mr Darcy – reveal yourself!
1 May, 2015
Having recently written a blog in which guinea pigs are to star as Pride and Prejudice characters (I still can’t quite believe this is real), Jane Austen is at the forefront of my mind. So news that Dr Susan Watson may have found the ‘real’ Mr Darcy has me both pleased and intrigued in equal […]
Do You Believe the Hype?
29 April, 2015
Every now and again a book appears that everyone is raving about; the critics love it, readers can’t recommend it enough. But sometimes I find it almost puts me off – what if I don’t like it? Am I then somehow wrong in my judgement? For example, The Deaths by Mark Lawson, eventually fell a […]
Knowledge is Beautiful
24 April, 2015
On a day-to-day basis we are bombarded with information, facts and figures and it can be hard for our minds to digest it all. So author, designer and data journalist David McCandless has set out to make it all a little easier for us. His book, Knowledge is Beautiful, uses colourful infographics to ‘ visualise captivating and […]
Wednesday Cover Story: Alternative Alanna
22 April, 2015
We recently requested some old editions from our author, Alanna Knight, for scanning, and just look what we received… These editions from the late 70’s really show how covers change over time! I quite like them actually, they remind me of surreal anime books, and I’ve decided the one on the far left looks a […]
A Maisie Dobbs Announcement…
21 April, 2015
For immediate release TELEVISION AND PUBLISHING DEALS ANNOUNCED FOR BESTSELLING SLEUTH MAISIE DOBBS SLAM TV has acquired the option to develop a TV series based on the Maisie Dobbs historical mysteries by award-winning New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Winspear. SLAM TV is a new UK-based production company headed by actors Stephen Mangan (Episodes) and […]
Pride and Prejudice Finds Another Face
20 April, 2015
Few of us can ever un-see the iconic image of Colin Firth as Mr Darcy slowly emerging, dripping wet, from a lake in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Over the years, Jane Austen’s classic has been adapted for the big and small screen, also re imagined as other novels. Recently we have seen the […]
London Book Fair Roundup
17 April, 2015
We’ve been out of the office for the past few days, enjoying some sunshine in Kensington Olympia. This year’s London Book Fair was a runaway success, and all of us enjoyed meeting up with authors, agents, publishers and booksellers, as well as saying hello to lots and LOTS of bookworms. It’s always lovely to meet […]
We Won’t Pick Up a Penguin
15 April, 2015
At the risk of appearing to write a politically-motivated blog, which is not my intention, I have decided to share an article featured on the BBC News website this week. It speaks of library books that have received the most complaints, one of the most recent additions being a tale of two male penguins that […]
Looking forward to a CrimeFest
13 April, 2015
We hope that we will be seeing some of you at next month’s CrimeFest, in Bristol? CrimeFest is a convention for people who like to read an occasional crime novel as well as for die-hard fanatics. Many of our authors attend each year, as the festivals sees top crime novelists, readers, editors, publishers and reviewers […]
Living the Dream
10 April, 2015
A job advert went viral last week that has to be one of the most enviable in the world: a Police Constable on the Isle of Scilly -where the number of crimes last year was twenty-four. Sergeant Colin Taylor wrote that required attributes would be ‘unflinching confidence’ to know what to do when alerted to […]
Letters Live
8 April, 2015
I am lucky enough to be starting my bank holiday weekend with Benedict Cumberbatch. On Friday 3rd April, I’m going to see LETTERS LIVE: inspired by Letters of Note, the bestselling anthology compiled by Shaun Usher, and To the Letter by Simon Garfield, LETTERS LIVE is a series of curated, live events that celebrate the […]
Colouring Makes a Comeback
8 April, 2015
This week I read an article in The Guardian that made me think, thank goodness it’s not just me. Yes, the colouring book has made a comeback. Currently topping the Amazon bestseller list, many adults are indulging in an activity that is both relaxing and nostalgic. I first brought the colouring back into my life […]
Another One (sadly) Bites the Dust
6 April, 2015
I was saddened to see the news that the Forest Bookshop in the Forest of Dean will shortly close it’s doors after 40 years of match-making readers and books. In an article in The Bookseller, owner Douglas McLean said ‘the past 40 bookselling years have seen the happiest of times. We’ve had some wonderful events, […]
Wednesday Cover Story: Alfie Across the Sea
1 April, 2015
Bill Naughton’s well-loved classic, Alfie, has been enjoyed in both book and film forms for generations. Whether you’re a Michael Caine or Jude Law fan, the Casanova will charm and amuse you. It’s always great to see our favourite book covers interpreted by other publishers accross the seas. Take a look at the below, which […]
Authors Respond to Controversial New App
30 March, 2015
In the last week a controversial app has come to the attention of authors and readers alike: Clean Reader. Its purpose is to find ‘offensive’ language within books and replace these words with a milder alternative. With a scale from ‘clean’ to ‘squeaky clean’ even words such as ‘damn’ or ‘vagina’ can be substituted for […]
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