So, last night we bade farewell to the lovely Sara Magness, taking ourselves off to the London Cocktail Club in Goodge Street (barely visible but for a small sign pointing underground somewhere between Nandos and The Newman Street Tavern – who knew?) to drown our sorrows in martini mixes and the like. The old-school-music track […]
One month ago, after much deliberation, I handed in my notice and made the official decision to leave my job at Allison & Busby. It wasn’t an easy choice, as I’ve absolutely loved my time here, but I was keen to take the leap and disappear off to Continental Europe for some travelling (while I’m […]
This weekend, I enjoyed a lovely surprise-visit from my Italian cousin and her family, which saw me taking them on an afternoon walk through a bit of London. I find the responsibility that comes with playing ‘London guide’ quite daunting, especially when you’ve only got a few hours to play with and the aim was […]
Since I love books, I’ve found I tend to like most things associated or derived from literature such as film adaptations, art work and even literary home wares. So I thought I’d try literature-inspired ballet and last week I sent to see the Shanghai Ballet’s production of Jane Eyre. Apparently Jane Eyre is as popular […]
A spur-of-the-moment reading of the Waterstones blog recently introduced me to a completely new concept: spine poetry. I clicked from Twitter to a guest post by author Tracy Guzeman, and was immediately intrigued. Spine poetry, it turns out, is a way of arranging the books on a shelf so their spines create some sort of mood or […]
This past week I have been visiting my husband’s family and staying in the bedroom that was his from birth. There was recently a cull of many items, so we’ve said farewell to the giant Yoda poster and a caricature of my hubby circa 1997, but a few childhood bits and pieces do remain. One […]
Designing a beautiful cover for an individual book is hard enough, but creating the right package for an entire series is a whole other feat and an even more difficult one at that. Our art editor, Christina has produced some real gems, like the covers to The Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes series (which we […]
There are many perfect reading spots, indoors and outdoors (as a child my favourite was the staircase, much to my family’s annoyance). Whilst the crowded doorways of the early morning commuter train is far from perfect, it seems that most of us persevere with reading all the same, whether we are wrestling with a newspaper […]
Over the weekend I started reading our very own The Disenchanted by Budd Schulberg. Since I’ve been here I’ve started an A&B reading list and this has been top of the pile for a while. It’s one of those books I want to force on everyone. I am utterly fascinated by Manley Halliday, the tragic […]
Earlier this week we had the pleasure of a visit from Laurie R King (bestselling author of the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series) and her lovely daughter, Zoë. I naturally tweeted the news with the picture above, but my over-excitement caused me to type too fast and I ended up tweeting the caption “Lunch in […]
As all booklovers know, it is almost impossible to walk past a book shop and not be enticed inside. Only one thing is more tempting-a bookshop that is having a sale. It is pretty much fatal- you’re guaranteed to leave with yet more books to weigh down that already complaining bookshelf. Last week I gave […]
Like anything, when it comes to book covers there are trends, but I wonder whether here in the UK our designers might be thinking with their bellies of late. I didn’t expect two books this summer to catch my eye thanks to a bright orangey-red lobster slap-dab in the middle of a fresh white cover. […]
Just like Sara last week, I recently came across one book with two very different covers. I’m currently reading The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst after being captivated by his recent release The Stranger’s Child. I’m trying to work my way through his extremely esteemed backlist (one prize and one long-list for the Man […]
I’ve been on a light-hearted reading spree lately. After finishing David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, which was great but I must admit quite long and serious, I turned to R.J. Palacio’s Wonder. Not really a light-hearted subject, I admit (the book centres on a boy born with a facial abnormality), but it does have the advantage […]
Recently, bestselling author Rachel Caine successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign to get her mega-popular Morganville Vampires books made into a Web TV Series. Fans have been clamouring to see their favourite Morganville characters on screens, and finally, thanks to these same hordes of fans who pledged their support for the project, they will see their […]
I recently came across an article about the writer Shelley Jackson’s Ineradicable Stain, a project which involves a short story being published on the skin of 2095 volunteers in the form of tattoos, with one word being ‘published’ on each person. The project aims to capture the mortal nature of both words and humanity, and […]
Recently I was lucky enough to receive a copy of R.J. Palacio’s Wonder, courtesy of a lovely friend at Random House, its publishers. I’m looking forward to reading this, which has had great success and brilliant reviews – in case you haven’t heard of it, it’s the frank, moving, and (I hear) sometimes funny story […]
Sunday 25th August, 3pm HELMDON Bestselling crime writer Adrian Magson will be appearing at Bookmarks Festival in Helmdon, Northamptonshire. Whilst there, Adrian will be reading from his latest Lucas Rocco mystery, Death at the Clos du Lac, taking part in a Q&A as well as signing copies of the book. The event is part of […]
Allison & Busby is thrilled to welcome Judith Flanders to their fiction list. The two-book deal will see Flanders’ novel WRITER’S BLOCK published in hardback in spring 2014.
We’re living in an age of sequels, prequels and strange spin-offs. Monsters’ University? Man of Steel? Give me strength. Though, having wondered through Leicester Square the other week, I found myself in the right place at the right time to high-five Hugh Jackson. So, I will be making an exception for The Wolverine. He is […]
My older brother Matthew turned twenty-nine last week and as usual I struggled to find the perfect book. (We are an entire family of book-givers) He works as a journalist/tour guide in Berlin so loves anything based on German history or culture. But Matthew’s birthday was fast approaching and my lack of German history titles […]