Literary Films 2013: Coming Soon

22 January, 2013

Last week I celebrated some of the best literary films out now, but there are many more to look forward to in 2013. There are plenty of bookish films to get us through to spring, especially if you don’t mind watching a bit of teen fantasy. There’ll be zombies in Warm Bodies (8th February) and […]

Book Signing: Rebecca Tope in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire

14 January, 2013

Saturday 30th March, 11am BORZOI BOOKS, STOW-ON-THE-WOLD Come and meet A&B crime author Rebecca Tope as she signs copies of her new hardback Shadows in the Cotswolds and her other best selling Cotswold crime titles at The Borzoi Bookshop, Church Street, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, GL54 1BB. Rebecca has written nearly twenty crime novels in her writing […]

Book Talk: Rebecca Tope in Devon

14 January, 2013

Monday 18th March, 7pm OKEHAMPTON LIBRARY, DEVON Join one of A&B’s best selling crime authors, Rebecca Tope as she chats about her career as a writer and her latest books, The Windermere Witness, Malice in the Cotswolds and the upcoming instalment, Shadows in the Cotswolds. Rebecca is currently the membership secretary of the Crime Writers’ […]

Literary Films 2013: Out Now

14 January, 2013

With the cold, dark mornings and the absence of Christmas to make them feel festive, I find there’s not much to get excited about at this time of year. Cinema, however, is one exception. There are some great films out already, and I’m looking forward to even more of them coming soon. And many of […]

Author Talk: Rebecca Tope in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire

10 January, 2013

Come and meet best selling crime author Rebecca Tope as she talks about her life in rural Herefordshire, her new Lake District mystery series, and the much loved Cotswold mysteries at the Women’s Institute in Moreton-in-Marsh, Tuesday 14 February, 7.30pm.

My Not-Quite-Resolution for 2013

4 January, 2013

It’s the time of year when everyone’s talking about New Year’s Resolutions – January has only just begun, and the determination to keep fit / try a new hobby / not stuff your face with chocolate is still fresh. Personally, I haven’t really set myself any specific resolutions this year, knowing that trying to stick […]

Book Launch: Alanna Knight in Edinburgh

3 January, 2013

Come and celebrate with local crime-writer Alanna Knight as she launches Murders Most Foul, the latest release in her much-loved Inspector Faro series, at Blackwell's in Edinburgh on Tuesday 29th January, 6.30pm

Three Houses is BBC Radio 4’s Xmas Book of the Week

18 December, 2012

The delightful memoir, Three Houses, by Angela Thirkell will be read by actress Sian Thomas on BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week beginning on Christmas Eve (24 – 28 December)

Make Your Envelopes Festive!

17 December, 2012

So, it’s my last blog entry before Christmas, and I feel obliged to include some festive cheer. One thing that got me in the sleigh-bells-and-twinkly-lights mood recently was seeing the new Christmas stamps unveiled by Royal Mail, which I discovered on the BBC website. They’ve been illustrated by Axel Scheffler, famous for his drawings in classic […]

Celebrating the Illustrated Book

10 December, 2012

Last week the Guardian website published a list of writers’ favourite classic book illustrations, as part of a joint campaign with the Folio Society to celebrate beautiful books. Many of the illustrations were from children’s books, and I remember a few from my own childhood – it’s surprising what memories they can evoke. This one, […]

Aline Templeton at the Essex Book Festival

7 December, 2012

Thursday 28 march, 7.45pm  ESSEX BOOK FESTIVAL,  WITHAM LIBRARY In an engaging talk called ‘Five Red Herrings and a Flock of Hens’ Aline Templeton talks about following in the footsteps of Dorothy L Sayers with her DI Marjory Fleming crime series set in Galloway, and her latest book Evil for Evil. Part of the Essex […]

Jaqueline Winspear at The Lady Luncheon in London

3 December, 2012

Tuesday 4 December, 12.30pm – 4.00pm Enjoy a champagne reception and delicious three-course lunch in the company of three bestselling authors. Hosted by The Lady, the luncheon will take place in the elegant and historic Cavalry and Guards Club, 127 Piccadilly, Mayfair W1J 7PX, and feature guest speakers Jaqueline Winspear (author of the acclaimed Maisie […]

The Mystery Book Sculptor

3 December, 2012

As Chiara mentioned in an earlier blog post, last week was Scottish Book Week, prompting us all to ponder on our favourite Scottish books and authors. Since then I’ve come across a Scottish literature celebration of a different kind. Scotland’s mystery book sculptor, who I somehow missed in the news when she first turned up […]

D E Meredith at the Richmond Literature Festival

29 November, 2012

Come and enjoy Richmond’s annual Victorian fair and the Richmond Literary festival and meet Victorian crime writers D E Meredith, Essie Fox and Lynn Shepherd who will be speaking at the Old Town Hall, Friday 30 November, at 7pm.

A Day in the Life of a Writer

26 November, 2012

Do you ever wonder what the working day of a full-time writer might look like? Or perhaps you write yourself, and have some peculiar routines that help get you in the mood? Recently I came across an article on the daily routines of famous American writers, and some of their confessions fascinated me. Take Joan Didion, who […]

Book Signing: June Francis in Liverpool

20 November, 2012

Saturday 1st December, 2:30pm, FORMBY BOOKS, LIVERPOOL Come and meet Liverpudlian author June Francis who will be celebrating the launch of her new book The Pawnbroker’s Niece,  a romantic saga set in the Great Depression, at Formby Books, Derbyshires, 22-24, Chapel Lane, Formby, Merseyside, L37 4DU. It’s free entry so stock up on your Christmas […]

Book Launch: June Francis in Liverpool

20 November, 2012

Saturday 1st December, 12:30pm, ACADEMY OF ARTS, LIVERPOOL Come and meet Liverpudlian author June Francis who will be celebrating the launch of her new book The Pawnbroker’s Niece,  a romantic saga set in the Great Depression, at the Liverpool Academy of Arts, 32 Seel Street, L1 4BE. It’s free entry so join her for tea […]

Book Launch: Aline Templeton in Edinburgh

19 November, 2012

Come and celebrate the launch of Aline Templeton’s new crime novel, Evil for Evil, at Blackwell’s, Edinburgh on Wednesday 28th November, 6.30pm

Book Launch: Ruth Dudley Edwards in Belfast

19 November, 2012

SATURDAY 1st DECEMBER, 3.00 – 4.30pm    NO ALIBIS BOOKSTORE, BELFAST Come and celebrate the launch of Killing the Emperors, the new satirical crime novel by award-winning novelist and journalist Ruth Dudley Edwards, which attacks the world of conceptual art. Meet the author as well as Jim McDowell, Northern Editor at Sunday World, who will be […]

Twitter Favourites: Scraps from the Slush Pile

19 November, 2012

There’s been a Twitter revolution in the A&B office. For years, as the phenomenon grew, most of us refused to get involved, convinced it would be a Facebook-esque time waster. But gradually, over the last few months, the Twitter accounts have trickled through and now all but one of us are Tweeting away (@SusieAandB, @AandBChiara, […]

10 Crime Writers including Ruth Dudley Edwards at Cambridge event

15 November, 2012

The Mystery People invite you to Christmas Chrime event and a chance to meet Ruth Dudley Edwards, author of the satirical crime novel Killing the Emperor, and nine other crime writers,at Heffers in Cambridge on Thursday 13 Decemeber, 6.30pm.