What We're Reading – October 2019

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine EvaristoSince studying Lara as a student, I have been a fan of Bernardine Evaristo’s work, and am delighted to see her win the Booker Prize this year. Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives of twelve black characters with different backgrounds and experiences, most of whom identify as female, living in London. I’ve enjoyed getting to know them through my reading and seeing how their lives are linked or overlap in different ways. What I found particularly interesting about this book is how each character responds in their own way to the universal questions of self and identity, particularly the tensions between personal, public and political gender discourse and the effect it has on the relationships the characters have with others. This feels like a very important book, and a must-read if you’re interested in what’s happening in UK fiction today.Rachel Stevens, Director LiteratureCommon People - An Anthology of Working-class Writers (ed Kit de Waal). An exceptional collection of essays, poems, memoir and short stories celebrating working-class life, culture and literature. There are many highlights, but I especially recommend Lisa McInnery’s essay ‘Working Class: An Escape Manual’, which considers how working-class writers and artists are co-opted into other identities when they achieve success. Debut author Adam Sharp’s ‘Play’, a memoir of his relationship with a substance-addicted father, is poignant and deftly handled - he’s a writer to... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2019-10-30 09:49:28 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "What We're Reading – October 2019"


Transworld signs 70-year-old debut author as 'summer lead' title

A debut novel by 70-year-old Anne Youngson has been pre-empted by Transworld and is set to become the publisher's lead fiction title for summer 2018. Transworld editorial director Jane Lawson pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights including Canada to Meet Me At The Museum, described as "the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones to be 'transformed' ahead of Pullman release

Waterstones in Tottenham Court Road (TCR) is set to be “transformed into Lyra’s Oxford” the night before Philip Pullman’s first Book of Dust novel is published. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pullman's His Dark Materials series get new-look jackets

Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is getting a new look from Scholastic UK this October to mark the publication of La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sheen to narrate La Belle Sauvage

Michael Sheen will narrate the audio version of Philip Pullman’s first instalment of the Book of Dust trilogy. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Rosie Project author and his wife sign deal with Two Roads

Two Roads has acquired Two Steps Forward, a novel from husband-and-wife team Graeme Simsion, debut author of The Rosie Project (Penguin) and Anne Buist. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gaiman, Pullman and Trollope in 'yoga challenge'

Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, Joanna Trollope, Lemn Sissay and Joanne Harris are throwing their weight behind a five day yoga challenge next week, organised by The Society of Authors. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom Hanks' event sells out in under two hours

Tickets to actor Tom Hanks' only event in the UK to promote his new collection of short stories, Uncommon Type (William Heinemann), have sold out in under two hours.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Philip Pullman leads writers condemning 'pernicious' book discounts

His Dark Materials novelist says today’s steep price cuts devalue authors’ work and cheapen the experience of readingWith more than two months to go before Philip Pullman’s long-awaited new novel from the world of His Dark Materials is published, pre-orders have sent La Belle Sauvage flying up... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pullman calls for reintroduction of fixed book prices

Philip Pullman has called for a reintroduction of a minimum price for books to protect independent bookshops, calling them “the lantern bearers of civilisation”. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Six 'vengeful' P D James stories coming this October

Faber is to publish Sleep No More, a new collection of short stories from the late "Queen of Crime" P D James. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indie bookshops slam heavy discounting on Pullman

Independent booksellers have slammed the heavy discounting of new hardback titles by larger retailers as “pretty close to chaos” and “enormously detrimental to authors” ahead of the release of Philip Pullman's first Book of Dust novel (Penguin Random House Children's and David Fickling Books). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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La Belle Sauvage cover and more details revealed

Philip Pullman has revealed the storm-swept cover of La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors for Grenfell auction closes raising £150k

Philip Pullman has confirmed he will name a character in his Book of Dust series Nur Huda el-Wahabi, after a young Grenfell Tower victim. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bids flow in for Pullman character to be named after Grenfell Tower victim

A campaign to name a character in the second part of Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust series after one of the Grenfell Tower fire’s young victims has helped raise more than £17,000 in just over 16 hours. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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First Book of Dust novel to be called 'La Belle Sauvage'

The title of the first novel in Philip Pullman's new series The Book of Dust, a companion series to his famed His Dark Materials trilogy, has been revealed as La Belle Sauvage. The book, set for publication this autumn, will feature a new hero, 11-year-old Malcolm Polstead, and his daemon... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Foyles bookseller Coles lands two book deal with Hot Key

Hot Key Books has acquired a new teen series from debut author and Foyles bookseller Chloe Coles. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Exclusive Pullman essay heads IBW exclusives

Publishers have ramped up their support for Independent Bookshop Week (IBW) this year, with a raft of exclusive editions, including an essay by Philip Pullman. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Short stories: How well do you know the genre? Take our quiz

These literary gems are proof that good things come in small packages. How many classic short stories have you read? How much do you know about their authors? Take our quiz and find out. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2017-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dylan Thomas Shortlist of Authors 39 or Younger: UK, US, Australia, Sri Lanka

The Dylan Thomas Prize is unusual for its flexibility. The shortlist includes a book of poetry, two books of short stories, plus novels—two of them debuts. The post Dylan Thomas Shortlist of Authors 39 or Younger: UK, US, Australia, Sri Lanka appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rankin, Hannah and Cleeves among first CrimeFest anthology contributors

Crime fiction festival CrimeFest will release an anthology of short stories next year to mark its 10th anniversary, with new stories from contributors including Ian Rankin, Lee Child, Sophie Hannah and Ann Cleeves. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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