Books Archive

Marcus Rashford MBE has launched a reading campaign
Marcus Rashford MBE has just launched a book deal with Macmillan books, and he is running a books campaign over his social media channels to give children access to literature

Non-fiction November: I Am Dynamite! A Life of Nietzsche
Josh Whitehead explores how Friedrich Nietzsche shaped modern Western thought, along the way becoming nothing less than ‘the Antichrist’.

In conversation with 21 magazine
Aileen Loftus chats with John from 21 to find out more about the literary magazine and the process of translation

Five books to decolonise your bookshelf
Bana Mustafa considers the importance of reading decolonial literature and the need to decolonise your bookshelf.

Lockdown read: Intimations by Zadie Smith
Ruby Opalka reviews Intimations by Zadie Smith, as we find ourselves stuck in a second lockdown

Non-fiction November: Just Kids by Patti Smith
Just Kids by Patti Smith is a testament to New York, art, and Robert Mapplethorpe, and is the perfect escapism for the winter lockdown

How Bookshop.org is changing the world of books
Maisie Scott spotlights Bookshop.org and their ethical partnerships with local bookshops across the UK

Review: Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Maisie Scott reviews Before the Coffee Gets Cold and the novel’s depiction of time travel and the modern coffee shop

Spotlight: HarperCollins Author Academy
Aileen Loftus finds out more about the HarperCollins Author Academy and how to get involved

Six book recommendations to get you through lockdown
Books are the ultimate distraction from the endless news cycle and are an important form of self-care. Check out our lockdown book recommendations
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Non-fiction November: Free Will by Sam Harris
You’re going to click on this review of Free Will, aren’t you? You never had a choice

Troubled Blood by J.K. Rowling: More troubling than troubled
Now the Twitter storm has died down, Aileen Loftus reads Troubled Blood in light of Rowling’s problematic views on transgender identity

Shop local with Blackwell’s same-day delivery service
Maisie Scott chats with Blackwell’s Manchester about the launch of their new same-day delivery service

Review: Inside Story by Martin Amis
Martin Amis explores what it means to love, to write, and to die in his latest novel titled Inside Story.

Spotlight: #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize
Aileen Loftus explains how this years #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize will work

GCSE syllabuses overlook BAME authors
Aileen Loftus questions whether students can leave school without having studied a novel by a black author

In conversation with Comma Press
Maisie Scott chats with Zoe from Comma Press and discusses Northern soul, lockdown and the National Creative Writing Industry Conference

Lockdown read: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Gabriele Dragunaite reads Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and finds its existential content still bearable in 2020

Review: Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
Ruby Opalka reflects on Three Women by Lisa Taddeo and discusses sexuality, feminism and desire.

October read: Their Eyes Were Watching God
Jonathan Hosking reflects on Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and its depiction of marriage, race and religion