The Best Books of 2020

It isn’t easy to write a ‘best books of the year’ post. First of all, I hate being asked to choose anything. Secondly, posts of this format mushroom at this time of year – and how many, I wonder, do we really need? All the same, I decided it would be a useful exercise (and

Ten Independent Publishers to Buy From Direct

Following on from my post about ten of the best independent publisher subscriptions, I’ve put together a list of another ten indie presses from which you can buy books directly. This is by no means a comprehensive list – just a personal selection of smaller publishers I happen to admire greatly, some of whom are

Ten of the Best Independent Publisher Subscriptions

The festive season is almost upon us, and while Christmas will no doubt be very different for most of us this year, perhaps we can use gift giving for a final boost of positivity. The last few months have proved again and again how much joy, solace and human connection literature can provide in times

Ten Books to Read for Women in Translation Month

August is nearly upon us, and that can mean only one thing: it’s just a handful of days until Women in Translation Month begins. Created in 2014 by Meytal Radzinski, Women in Translation Month is an international celebration of literature by women writing in languages other than English, as well as a movement that seeks

Five of the Best Podcasts for Readers and Writers

Around eighteen months ago I started getting into podcasts – that wonderfully diverse (and constantly expanding) world in which you can listen to people talking about pretty much any interest you might have. For me, that interest is books, and fortunately there is a wealth of excellent literary podcasts out there – from publishing-industry news