Blog
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 […]
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 […]
Harper Lee – the best kind of One-Hit-Wonder
22 February, 2016
The passing of Harper Lee on Saturday garnered a number of column inches and that rare thing on TV – footage of bookshops and books of shelves on the evening news. As one of a generation (or two? Three?) who studied To Kill a Mockingbird at school (and thankfully didn’t come away with a distaste […]
I can’t believe it’s not batter!
9 February, 2016
IT’S PANCAKE DAY! The one day a year when the average Joe feels no remorse in gorging on doughy goodness, because everyone’s doing it, right? (Although the fact that several pizza chains have 2-for-1 offers every Tuesday throughout the year means that collective dough indulgence is now commonplace…) Having willingly filled myself to bursting point […]
Doctor Faustus Returns!
3 February, 2016
My week has been brightened my the news that Kit Harington is returning to the stage for Christopher Marlowe’s play Doctor Faustus. My favourite Game of Thrones character (‘You know nothing, Jon Snow’) will take on the title role in the 400-year-old story of the man who swaps his soul for the ability to do as […]
An Anniversary Reading List
28 January, 2016
If you had come across me about this time in 2006 I was probably on the rumpled side. You see, I was doing the clichéd post-student thing of sleeping on friends’ and family’s sofas and floors, not just for the ‘fun’ of it, but so that I could do work experience placements and short-term jobs […]
Hogwarts Casts a Love Spell
20 January, 2016
Just when you thought the Harry Potter franchise had done everything possible in the name of wizarding awesomeness: the theme park, the studio tour, the two-part theatrical production coming this year – think again. Following the success of the Hogwarts Christmas meal last month, couples can now book to have their Valentine’s Day meal in […]
A Prescription for Fiction
13 January, 2016
Life is too short for bad books. I recently came across bibliotherapy: the art of prescribing fiction to cure life’s ills in an attempt to help, heal or provoke. So you’ll never have to read a bad book again. The School of Life in London runs a bibliotherapy session where you meet with one of their trained consultants […]
The story is after you!
6 January, 2016
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Oh, sorry, was that a little too enthusiastic for you? OK, granted, it’s grey outside, it’s a long way until pay day and you’re suddenly regretting the seconds you helped yourself to over Christmas. But if the idea of leaving your hibernation on the sofa with a good book is hard to […]
Jackanory 50th Anniversary
10 December, 2015
I’ve recently found out my childhood, while wonderful, was missing out on one thing: ‘Jackanory‘. A BBC children’s television series designed to stimulate an interest in reading (not that I needed any coaxing). The format usually involved an actor reading from children’s novels or fairy tales, such as The Snow Queen or A Bear Called […]
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