Last year when I noticed a new competition from Bath Flash Fiction called Novella in Flash (2019 entry here), I thought straight away of my St Andrews 2016 collection ‘In Sunshine and in Shadow’ which with some stringent editing could have qualified. But in the end I was too busy expanding this into the novel … Continue reading Novella in Flash – Three Men (and one writer) on the Edge
So now I have read two of the novels shortlisted for the 2018 Sir Walter Scott Prize which seems like a good time to tell you what I think. I was attracted to Sugar Money when I saw it was set in Grenada because a) I had never read a novel set in Grenada and b) … Continue reading Historical Fiction: The Sir Walter Scott Prize
In a world full of cultural offerings where the smallest village has its own literary weekend, you might wonder if here, right between the hip and cool Bristol Litfest (by the way when do we get to see this year’s programme, guys?) and the star-studded Bath and Cheltenham extravaganzas, we actually need another. But let’s … Continue reading Who needs another Literature Festival? We do!
Ever since I became embroiled in what turned out to be fictional biography (and turned into In the Blink of an Eye), I’ve been fascinated by how different authors approach this genre. I was therefore delighted to accept a review copy of Love and Ruin by Paula McLain, the story of American journalist Martha Gellhorn … Continue reading Love and Ruin by Paula McLain
I’m just back from the Comedie du Livre, an open air book festival in Montpellier, France which runs over three days and isn’t quite like anything I’ve attended in the UK. Yes, it’s a literary festival under canvas but somehow not like Hay-on-Wye. Although there are guest speakers giving talks on two small festival stages , … Continue reading A French book fair and fair prices for books.
