Girl, Woman, Other – Bernardine Evaristo

To my shame, this is the first of Evaristo’s novels that I’ve read. It won’t be the last, however. I’m sometimes cautious about Booker winners – I fear that they’ll be a bit worthy (and this is coming from someone who tries to read the shortlist every year). I think I’ve been scarred by one …

Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet

This is the second novel on this year's Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist I've read (read my review of The Mirror and the Light here) - it is clearly an excellent year for women writers. As has been said elsewhere, I think this is O’Farrell’s best book so far – it’s certainly the first confirmed …

Re-reading Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale

I’m about to start teaching this novel to an A Level set, and so I’m re-reading it for the first time in about ten years. I loved it when I first read it in the late nineties, and I love it now. There isn’t a notebook big enough for all the ideas it generates. Since …

An Interview with … Claire ‘Fluff’ Llewellyn

Today I'm chatting to Claire 'Fluff' Llewellyn about her new collection, word play, and poetic inspiration. Hi Claire. Thanks for 'dropping in', so to speak! Tell us something about your new book. My new publication, RHYME & REASON: Facets of a Life, is a collection of both non-fiction and fiction poems in metered rhyme. The …

An Interview with … Camilla Downs

Good morning! Today I'm talking to author Camilla Downs about her poetry and her creative inspirations. Hi Camilla. Let's start at the beginning. Where does a new poem begin for you? Do you have an idea you wish to explore, or do they stem from an image? Or is it something completely different? In the …

Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens

I suspect that I’ll be a tad unpopular after this, and so I’ll get straight to the point. I liked this novel – I didn’t love it. Hear me out… I do see all the things that people have raved about, and it is clear that this is a much-loved novel for  lot of readers. …

An Interview With … Marjorie Mallon

Today I'm joined by the very creative Marjorie Mallon to talk about her writing, her photography, and where all the ideas come from. Hi Marjorie - first off then, tell us a bit about the thinking behind Mr Sagittarius. What’s it about? Mr. Sagittarius is a collection of poetry, prose and photographic images inspired by …

Ali Smith’s volatile Spring

I’ll be honest – I am so intimidated by the idea of reviewing this book that I have put it off for six months. I love Ali Smith’s frenetic voice in parts of Spring so much that I feel myself beginning to hyperventilate as I read.  I don’t think, and I recognise that this is …

An Interview With … T. G. Campbell

Good morning! Today, I'm talking to T. G. Campbell, author of the Bow Street Society novels about Victorian London, multiple narrators, and commemorative mugs. Tell us a little bit about the Bow Street Society. Where did the idea originally come from? The Bow Street Society is a fictional group of amateur detectives operating in Victorian …