On 14 February, Mr Jones goes on
general release in the UK. You can see a trailer for it here. Starring James Norton in the lead
role, it tells the story of Welsh journalist Gareth Jones, who first broke the
story of the Holodomor (man-made famine) in 1930’s Ukraine when up to ten
million Ukrainians died following Stalin's decision to punish them for opposing
collective farming. After exposing the famine Jones was murdered a few months
later in Mongolia on the orders of the KGB, aged just 29. Jones is a national
hero in Ukraine but almost unknown here. The Guardian gave the film four
stars – that review is here. Welsh Academic Press has an
excellent book that ties into the film, Gareth
Jones: Eyewitness to the Holodomor by
Ray Gamache (pb,
£19.99, 978 1860571282) This is an extraordinary story of the efforts made by
the Aberystwyth journalist to investigate the Soviet Government’s denials that
its Five Year Plan had led to mass starvation and alert the world to the
suffering, exposing Stalin’s policies and prejudices. I think this will get a lot
of media attention, the story has resonance today due to Russia's occupation
and annexation of Crimea and eastern Ukraine, and also highlights the issue of
fake news. Gareth Jones’s credibility and integrity were attacked and
denigrated by Soviet sympathizers as the film shows, most famously by Walter
Duranty of the New York Times who has since been discredited for
publishing stories fed to him by his Soviet handlers.
New Year, new you and all that. Hay
House should certainly be your go-to publisher for supplying physical and
spiritual nourishment to your customers, so I think it’s helpful to see what
their top ten bestsellers are at the moment – see it as a quick hack for ten
sure-sellers!
Good Vibes, Good Life: How Self-Love
Is the Key to Unlocking Your Greatness (978
1788171823) by Vex King
Life and Soul: How to Live a
Long and Happy Life (978
1788173537) by William Roache
Breaking the Habit of Being
Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One (978 1848508569) by Joe Dispenza
Moonology: Working with the
Magic of Lunar Cycles (978
1781807422) by Yasmin Boland
Becoming Supernatural (978 1781808313) by Joe Dispenza
Super Attractor: Methods for
Manifesting a Life beyond Your Wildest Dreams (978 1401957162) by Gabrielle Bernstein
You Can Heal Your Life (978 0937611012) by Louise Hay
Angel Numbers: The Message
and Meaning Behind 11:11 and Other Number Secrets (978 1788173476) by Kyle Gray
The Universe Has Your Back:
How to Feel Safe and Trust Your Life No Matter What (978 1781804254) by Gabrielle Bernstein
Fuck It: The Ultimate
Spiritual Way (978
1781802960) by John Parkin
Loving this
pic of the amazing Stormzy with a copy of Comma’s Refugee Tales III (£9.99,
pb, 978 1912697113) anthology this week! Still Disappointed is the #1
trending video on YouTube at present, and you can watch it here.
Lots more
reviews for Comma’s Palestine +100 (£9.99, pb, 978 1910974445) this week, including this one from Electronic Intifada that called the
collection 'refreshing' and 'unique'. World Lit Today also reviewed
the collection, saying it offers 'moments of insight and humour'.
The School Fundraising
Handbook: How to Maximise Your Income from Grants, Sponsorship and Many Other Sources
of Finance (pb,
£16.99, 978 1785834264) by Lindsey Marsh
is a great way to get schools off to a good start in 2020! It’s an absolute
treasure trove of tips, tools and key contacts to help schools in the UK save
money and boost their income. This indispensable guide throws schools a
lifeline by revealing the abundance of fundraising streams available to them
and sharing shrewd advice on how to coordinate specific projects and
initiatives successfully and is an invaluable resource for keen parents, school
business managers, PTA members and anyone involved in school fundraising. It’s
just been published by Crown House.
Coast: Where the Land Meets
the Sea by
David Ross (£19.99,
hb, 978 1782748984) has been picked as Book of the Month in Coast
magazine’s February 2020 issue. It says ‘Dorset’s mighty Durdle Door,
Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland and Antony Gormley’s iconic iron men at
Crosby Beach in Merseyside are just several British coastal sites to star in a
new photojournalism book documenting the magic of where the land meets the sea.
From deserted beaches and busy ports to surfers’ paradises and a ship-breakers’
yard, Coast is a celebration of shorelines all around the world – a visual
feast comprising 160 photographs complete with fascinating captions. Your
coffee table will thank you.’ It’s published by Amber
Two terrific events coming up as part
of the celebrations for Carcanet’s 50th anniversary. Firstly there’s a
launch for Gabriel Josipocivi’s Forgetting (£10.99, pb, 978 1784108908) at Daunt
Books in Hampstead on 30th January, you can find out more about that one here
and
then there’s a PN Review 250 celebration in Manchester on February 3rd, that
information is here.
So Brightly at the Last:
Clive James and the Passion for Poetry (£18.99,
hb, 978 1913062071) was a New Statesman Recommends title over the
Christmas period. This offbeat and affectionate book is full of surprises, wit
and warmth and is selling extremely well online, so do keep it on display! It’s
published by Red Door.
The new series of the Great Pottery
Throw Down began this week on Channel 4 and you can find out more about
that here.
Lorenz
have an ideal companion volume, The Practical Potter
by Josie Warshaw (978
0754834304, hb, £15) which shows you how to create your own beautiful ceramics,
with practical step-by-step instructions. It explains all the basic pottery
techniques in six clear sections, each including an inspiring gallery of work
by contemporary ceramic artists. Over thirty projects explore the fantastic
creative possibilities with clay – from a simple hand-coiled pot needing the
minimum of equipment, to a press-moulded plate with printed overlays.
Accessible and inspiring, the book uncovers both the practical essentials and
the artistic secrets.
Westminster returns this week of
course, with a majority government for the first time in recent years. A new
book, The Public Affairs Guide to Westminster: The
Handbook of Effective and Ethical Lobbying (£19.99, pb, 978
1860571343 ) by Robert McGeachy is the essential handbook for organisations seeking to
influence legislation and shape policy development in the UK Parliament and at
UK Government level, and is packed with invaluable advice on devising cost
effective public affairs strategies and campaigns that achieve success on a
limited budget. It's part of a three-book series that includes The Public Affairs Guide to Scotland: Influencing Policy and
Legislation (978 1860571268,) and The
Public Affairs Guide to Wales (978 1860571428). They are all published by
And if after less than a week , you are
sick of Westminster already, then this from Cassetteboy will probably be right
up your street!
Robert Harvey’s
Night Sky: Stargazing with the Naked Eye (hb, £19,99, 978 1782749189) made it on the Daily
Mail’s Illustrated Books of 2019 list, which you can see here. Night Sky presents two hundred colour photographs of stunning
nocturnal vistas all visible to the naked eye ranging from the majesty of the
Northern Lights as seen from Norway or Canada, to seeing the clarity of the
Milky Way over an Italian forest, from witnessing a lunar eclipse in Indonesia
to charting the course of the International Space Station across the Indian
night. There are also additional inset photographs indicating the formation of
the constellations and fascinating captions It’s published by Amber.
Congratulations to Lorna Goodison, Jamaica's poet laureate who was
selected as the recipient of the Queen's Gold
Medal for Poetry 2019 and will be presented with the medal by the
Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2020. The Gold
Medal for Poetry was established
by King George V in 1933 at the suggestion of the then Poet Laureate, John
Masefield, and is awarded for excellence in poetry. Each year’s recipient is
from the United Kingdom or a Commonwealth Realm. On receiving the award, Lorna
said ‘I am honoured and deeply grateful. As one of a generation of
Commonwealth writers whose engagement with poetry began with a need to write
ourselves and our people into English Literature, I feel blessed. Love and
justice, hope and possibility, healing and redemption are the themes I've always
turned to, and that this enterprise has led to my being placed in the company
of the memorable poets who have been awarded this medal before me is truly
humbling.’ You can see more on the Carcanet website here.
A great review of Nigel Fletcher-Jones’s Treasures
of Ancient Egypt (£19.99, hb, 978-1782748595)
in the Jan/Feb issue of Kindred Spirit magazine saying 'This book lavishly
illustrates why so many of us continue to be utterly enchanted by ancient
Egypt. Looking at different eras of the country’s history and the best of what
has been discovered by archaeologists, you learn plenty about the country’s
rulers and beliefs. Some of the more obscure pieces will amaze you, such as
some of the naturalism found in ancient Egyptian art. If you are unable to
travel to the exhibition of treasures from Tutankhamun’s reign in London,
compensate with this lovely book.’ It’s published by Amber.
Well, we’re not going to get a better
excuse than that for a three minute burst of cultural appropriation, so let’s
watch this timeless classic from The Bangles!
Chinese food is justifiably loved the
world over, but take a closer look, and you’ll discover that there is much more
to this nation’s cooking. A new book from Lorenz, China: A Cookbook: 300 recipes from Beijing and Canton to
Shanghai and Sichuan (978 0754831006, hb, £25) by acknowledged
expert Terry Tan, is a must-have
reference for anyone who is passionate about the food of China. From bustling
cosmopolitan cities to remote rural landscapes, the varied food and cooking is
explored, from aromatic soups and simple stir-fries to banquet-style roasted
meats, with congees, dim sum, and sizzling street food along the way. Its 600+
pages are bursting with local recipes and ingredients, with fascinating
background information on regional geography and culinary history and beautiful
photographs of both the food and this extraordinary country.
With all that is happening in Iran, Jack Straw has been
doing lots of interviews over the last couple of days, including BBC
Breakfast, Radio 4’s Westminster Hour and Emma Barnett R5
this week. The Times have asked for a piece too, which hopefully will
include a mention of Jack’s excellent Biteback title, The English Job: Understanding Iran and Why It Distrusts
Britain (£20, hb, 978 1785903991). This book seeks to illuminate
Britain’s difficult relationship with Iran, and in doing so provide a better awareness
of this extraordinary country. William Hague said of it ‘Jack Straw has developed
a rich understanding of the country’s culture, psychology and history revealed
in this book. It will be required reading for anyone who wants to understand
how to improve relations with Iran in the coming years, and is an accurate
record of the attempts many of us have made to do so.’
The Observer is publishing an
article this Sunday (12th January) featuring all the authors that are
shortlisted for the Portico Prize,
including of course Glen James Brown with Ironopolis
(pb, £9.99, 978 1912681099) published by Parthian. The six books explore
Northern lives and landscape across fiction and non-fiction and the winnong author
will win £10,000 which will be announced on 23rd January
And in this week’s Hot Topics, here's Ricky Gervais telling it like it is at
the Golden Globes, here are some eye-popping ice sculptures in
China and here are some celeb reactions to Harry and
Megan’s decision.
That’s all folks, more next week!
This weekly blog is written for the UK
book trade. If you would like to order any of the titles mentioned, then please
talk to your Compass Sales Manager, or call the Compass office on 020 8326
5696. Every Friday an e-newsletter containing highlights from the blog is sent
out to over 700 booksellers and if you’d like to receive this then please
contact nuala@compassips.london
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