Books Archive
14th October 2013
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names juxtaposes the bleak backdrop of a Zimbabwean shantytown with the warmth that Darling and her friends radiate with their bright outlook and youthful energy, says Maisie Boggild-Jones
14th October 2013
The MANchester Booker Prize 2013
The reviews are in! Books Editor Esmé Clifford Astbury invites readers to vote for their favourite
14th October 2013
Classics digested: The Great Gatsby
Olivia Stevens revisits the novel that captured the Jazz Age – and our imagination
14th October 2013
Literary daytrip: Hathersage
Books Editor Esmé Clifford Astbury invites you to hop on a train to Hathersage and walk in the footsteps of Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennet
14th October 2013
Top five fictional diaries
In celebration of the release of the third instalment in the Bridget Jones’s Diary series, Andrew Websdale reveals his favourite fictional diaries of all time
14th October 2013
Harvest by Jim Crace
Favourite to win the Man Booker Prize 2013, Jim Crace’s Harvest is a beautifully written tribute to those affected by the Enclosure Acts, says Shanda Moorghen
14th October 2013
The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín
Colm Tóibín’s The Testament of Mary gnaws away at previously held beliefs and convictions as only good literature can, says Katie Myerscough
7th October 2013
Editors’ Picks: The Manchester Literature Festival
From 7th October to 20th October, celebrated authors will be descending on venues across Manchester. Books Editors Esmé Clifford Astbury and Annie Muir reveal their top picks
7th October 2013
The death of Mr Darcy
Elizabeth Mitchell muses on Britain’s favourite singleton becoming a widow
7th October 2013
Michael Schmidt on the life of an editor
Books Editor Annie Muir talks to the poet, scholar and editor-extraordinaire, Michael Schmidt
Get involved with Books
30th September 2013
The Booker of Bookers
Books Editor Annie Muir looks back at the ultimate Booker Prize winner, Midnight’s Children
30th September 2013
Helen Isserlis talks teenage angst, Spike Milligan and e-cigarettes
Emerging poet Helen Isserlis talks to Books Editor Esmé Clifford Astbury
21st September 2013
Manchester: a literary city?
If you thought the rainy city didn’t have much to offer in terms of literature, think again. Manchester has inspired generations of great writers and is now home to a vibrant literary scene.
21st September 2013
Top five literary nights out in Manchester
Looking to escape the madness of Freshers’ Week? Check out some of these bookish venues
21st September 2013
Celebrating the life and work of Seamus Heaney
Elizabeth Mitchell pays tribute to the great Irish poet
19th September 2013
Taking on the Man Booker Prize
Esmé Clifford Astbury considers this year’s Booker Prize shortlist and invites readers to take a stab at predicting the winner
29th April 2013
The Working Class Movement Library
Annie Muir’s finds some stirring stuff in Salford’s Working Class Movement Library
29th April 2013
Why Anthony Trollope is a Better Version of Charles Dickens
Elizabeth Mitchell argues that one of the most prolific writers of all time deserves the same reputation as his overexposed contemporary, Dickens
24th April 2013
Book Club: Celia Mullins, History Student
Celia Mullins talks to Book Club about House of the Spirits, the Isabel Allende classic, visceral prose, and Meryl Streep