As her latest Jackson Brodie thriller comes out, the award-winning author discusses cosy crime, sniffy critics, and how she investigated her own family’s secretsKate Atkinson has an idea for a fun side-hustle: at some point in the future, when she’s done with the second world war, and with her jaded private eye, Jackson Brodie, she’ll bring to life the creative projects that have hitherto existed only as facets of her characters’ lives. She’ll take the fortune teller Madame Astarti from her third novel, Emotionally Weird, and put her at the centre of her own series of mysteries; she’ll conjure up a script for Green Acres, the rural soap opera that features in her two short-story collections, 2002’s Not the End of the World and last year’s Normal Rules Don’t Apply; she’ll craft episodes of the TV police procedural Collier, in which Brodie’s one-time girlfriend Julia played a pathologist. And finally, she’ll flesh out the breathtakingly hammy murder mystery that a cast of clapped-out actors perform at Burton Makepeace, the stately home that is the setting for her new Jackson Brodie novel, Death at the Sign of the Rook.Writing these scenes – teeming with aristocrats, actors, Russian countesses, clergymen and a “fastidious little Swiss detective” – were Atkinson’s treat, she tells me, as she constructed the novel during lockdown. “I would have done so much more of that,” she explains, as we sit sipping coffee in a studiedly antiquated hotel near her home in Edinburgh. “But I... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-08-10 08:00:37 UTC ]
My friend Sarah Foot, who has died aged 75 after a short illness, was a Cornish writer, social worker and much-loved member of the celebrated Foot clan. She was the daughter of the diplomat and politician Hugh Foot (later Lord Caradon), niece of the former Labour leader Michael Foot and sister... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Myrmidon has acquired the true story of a young British girl and her family trapped in France during the Second World War after her father is incarcerated by the Nazis. Kate Nash, director at Myrmidon, acquired world rights to the memoir, titled Nell and the Girls, direct from the author,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US marines veteran Phil Klay, whose short story collection about the Iraq war won a National book award, chooses his favourite books about homecoming after conflictI’ve spent years trying to untangle my feelings about returning from war, and I’m hardly the only veteran writer to do so. In his... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Angry Robot has signed a two books from Arthur C Clarke-nominated author Matthew De Abaitua. The publisher bought world English rights in a deal wit Sarah Such of Sarah Such Literary Agency. The first book, If Then, is a novel in two parts, covering both the First World War and an English town... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two Roads has acquired the new novel by Sara Gruen, whose Water for Elephants (Two Roads) is one of the titles chosen for World Book Night 2015. Publisher Lisa Highton bought UK rights to At the Water’s Edge from Sarah Lutyens at Lutyens and Rubinstein. At the Water’s Edge is a “gripping and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary world praises Miller for his intelligence, wit and literary acumen, and lasting pride in his Scottish rootsKarl Miller, founding editor of the London Review of Books, critic and award-winning author, has died, aged 83.After stints as literary editor of both the Spectator and the New... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin is donating a copy of Jeremy Paxman’s history of the First World War to every... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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World War I is remarkable in military history for its massive scope and loss of life, with more than nine million combatants killed. But its role in religious history is less appreciated, and an array of books coinciding with the July centennial could change that. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The author of "World War Z" and "The Harlem Hellfighters" says it's okay to have over 200 drafts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The existence of the D-notice (aka DA-notice) committee is under threat, reports the Sunday Times. It cites sources who say some officials in the Ministry of Defence, which is considering a review of the system, want to fold the committee into the new press regulator or place it within the MoD's... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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My friend Paul Westlake, who has died of cancer aged 65, was a pillar of the radical publishing world from the mid-1970s onwards. He was an advocate of workers' co-operatives and gained much experience in ensuring that the output of independent publishers reached the bookshops.In autumn 1976,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hutchinson has acquired a new anthology of life-writing from and about the First World War,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bookseller is to run a category preview on First World War titles in the issue of 13th... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oscar season is over, which means one thing: it’s on to the summer blockbusters. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The embattled St. Mark's Bookshop has a new defender. Lucky Ant, a year-old, hyper-local crowd-funding platform, is helping the 35-year-old East Village literary landmark raise the money it needs to move to a cheaper location. The online campaign, at Luckyant.com, launched Wednesday at midnight,... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2012-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The History Press has signed The First World War in 100 Objects by battlefield specialist Peter... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Andrew Martins First World War novel The Somme Stations (Faber) has won this years... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orbit has acquired a fantasy retelling of the events of the Second World War by American author... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 07/10/2011 - 10:59 Penguin has acquired a diary written during the Second World War by a teenage concentration camp internee, striking a deal directly with the author at her home in Prague. Viking publishing director Venetia Butterfield... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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