I was making a list over the past few weeks of books I’d seen in The Bookseller or around town that I might want to stock up on for holiday reading. Of course, when I actually went into Waterstone’s I managed to completely ignore said list and was lured up, down, and side to side […]
This March has been named Maisie Month, in honour of Maisie Dobbs, the character in Jacqueline Winspear‘s acclaimed mystery series set in and around London in the 1930s. Not only can you celebrate the release of two new books in the series, The Mapping of Love and Death (paperback) and A Lesson in Secrets (hardback), […]
This week sees the release of new film Trishna, an adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles set in India. I’m interested to see this one and to find out how close they’ve kept to the book, and it also got me thinking about the rising influence of Indian book-to-film adaptations here in the […]
Earlier this week, Jeremy Paxman launched his new series, Empire, on BBC1 which looks at how a small island like Britain managed to become such an imperialist power. It is indeed interesting to think about the fact that less than 6000 British officials managed to preside over 2 million people in India, but what drew […]
It’s St David’s Day, and as I hail from Carmarthen, a little town in South West Wales, I feel it’s my duty to inject some Welshness into my blog post this week. For anyone who doesn’t know, St David’s Day (or Dydd Gwyl Dewi, as the Welsh would say) celebrates the life of Saint David, […]
Today I came upon the cover of The Greatcoat – a ghost story by Helen Dunmore – and a striking cover at that. The book has just come out this month, but I could have sworn it was an old title as I was sure I’d seen the cover before, some time ago. My original […]
We’ve all done it haven’t we? Day-dreamed about winning the lottery, that is, especially following the glut of recent UK winners. But holidays, palatial residences and an indulged book-habit aside, I have recently added another item to the ‘when I’m rich’ list. Taking inspiration from the anonymous donor who has upped the prize fund for […]
I used to get excited and stay up all night to watch the the Oscars – an annual ritual, a bit like my camping out all night to get tickets to Wimbledon – but that was when the a) you could actually watch Academy Awards on terrestrial TV and b) the ceremony was much more […]
Sunday 27th May, 10.00am-10.50am CRIMEFEST: BRISTOL MARRIOTT ROYAL HOTEL Martin Edwards, author of the acclaimed Lake District mysteries, joins Kate Ellis, Tom Harper and Penny Hancock on a panel entitled: ‘Past & Present: Buried Secrets, When History Comes Back to Haunt’, with participating moderator Peter Guttridge. For more info visit Crimefest.
Friday 25th May, 4.00pm-4.50pm CRIMEFEST: BRISTOL MARRIOTT ROYAL HOTEL Cath Staincliffe, author of Bitter Blue and Missing, and scriptwriter and creator of ITV’s Blue Murder, joins Paul Johnston, Yrsa Sigurdardottir and Laura Wilson on a panel entitled: ‘Moral Dilemmas and Ethical Choices’, with participating moderator Anne Zouroudi. For more info visit Crimefest.
Friday 25th May, 2.50pm-3.40pm CRIMEFEST: BRISTOL MARRIOTT ROYAL HOTEL Jaqueline Winspear, author of the acclaimed Maisie Dobbs series set in the aftermath of WWII, joins Lee Child, Sue Grafton and Brian McGilloway on a panel entitled: ‘Kicking Ass: Spirited Protagonists and Tricky Situations’, with participating moderator Zoe Sharp. For more info visit Crimefest.
Friday 25th May, 12.30pm-1.20pm CRIMEFEST: BRISTOL MARRIOTT ROYAL HOTEL Jaqueline Winspear, author of the acclaimed Maisie Dobbs series set in the aftermath of WWII, joins Jason Goodwin, Danny Miller and William Ryan on a panel entitled: ‘The Joys and Perils of Writing Historical Crime Fiction’, with participating moderator Christopher Wakling. For more info visit Crimefest.
Friday 25th May, 11.20am-12.10pm CRIMEFEST: BRISTOL MARRIOTT ROYAL HOTEL Alison Joseph, author of Darkening Sky, Shadow of Death and A Violent Act, joins Suzette Hill, Janet Laurence and Pat McIntosh on a panel entitled: ‘Gifted Amateurs: What Does the Amateur Sleuth Bring to the Party?’, with participating moderator L.C. Tyler. For more info visit Crimefest.
Friday 25th May, 11.20am-12.10pm CRIMEFEST: BRISTOL MARRIOTT ROYAL HOTEL Zoe Sharp, author of thriller titles, including: Fifth Victim and Fourth Day, joins Gerard O’Donovan, James Sallis and Andrew Taylor on a panel entitled: ‘Law or Justice?: How Does your Protagonist Choose?’, with participating moderator Michael Stanley (Stanley Trollip). For more info visit Crimefest.
Friday 25th May, 9.00am-9.50am CRIMEFEST: BRISTOL MARRIOTT ROYAL HOTEL Cath Staincliffe, author of Bitter Blue and Missing, and scriptwriter and creator of ITV’s Blue Murder, will be moderating a panel entitled: ‘Stretching the Boundaries: Taking Crime in Different Directions’. She will be joined by Jane Casey, Dan James, Linda Stratmann and Tim Weaver. For more […]
Friday 25th May, 9.00am-9.50am CRIMEFEST: BRISTOL MARRIOTT ROYAL HOTEL Adrian Magson,author of Death on the Marais and Death on the Rive Nord, will be moderating a panel entitled: Genres and Subgenres: Where do you Fit and Why? He will be joined by Frances Brody, Mary Andrea Clarke, Pauline Rowson and Leigh Russell. For more info […]
Thursday 24th May, 5.00pm-5.50pm CRIMEFEST: BRISTOL MARRIOTT ROYAL HOTEL Martin Edwards, author of the acclaimed Lake District mysteries, will be moderating a panel entitled: ‘Forgotten Authors’. He will be joined by John Curran, Peter Guttridge, Dolores Gordon Smith and Charles Todd. For more info visit Crimefest.
Thursday 24th May, 1.30pm-2.20pm CRIMEFEST: BRISTOL MARRIOTT ROYAL HOTEL Adrian Magson, author of Death on the Marais and Death on the Rive Nord, joins Dean Crawford, Chris Ewan and Emlyn Rees on a panel entitled: ‘They’re All Out To Get You – It’s a Conspiracy’, with participating moderator Tom Harper. For more info visit Crimefest.
Thursday 12th April, 7.00pm STEPS THEATRE, DUNDEE. Three of Scottish crime writing’s best authors, including Alex Gray, author of Shadow of Sounds and A Small Weeping, descend on Dundee for an evening to talk about the writing life, their latest books and other criminally intriguing topics at Steps Theatre, Central Library, Wellgate Centre, Dundee DD1 […]
Thursday 8th March, 7.30pm-9.00pm CENTRAL LIBRARY, STIRLING. Come and meet Glaswegian crime writer Alex Gray, author of Shadow of Sounds and A Small Weeping. She will be reading from her new and much anticipated book A Pound of Flesh and signing copies afterwards at Central Library, 11–19 Corn Exchange Road, Stirling FK8 2HX. Tickets Free, […]
Wednesday 7th March, 7.00pm WATERSTONES, ABERDEEN. Come and meet Glaswegian crime writer Alex Gray, author of Shadow of Sounds and A Small Weeping. She will be reading from her new and much anticipated book A Pound of Flesh and signing copies afterwards at Waterstones, 3-7 Union Bridge, Aberdeen AB11 6BG. Tickets £3, available from the […]