International
Women’s Day on Sunday of course, and we have many appropriate titles to talk
about today, including a collection of writing by women on the future of Europe,
a new collection from an award-winning poet, a revolutionary book reclaiming
feminism and a thrilling tale of the only woman to sail on the Golden Hind!
But first today is a book about a man! Polarising,
combative, unconventional: few embody the fraught nature of British politics
today quite like John Bercow. Biteback are publishing John Bercow: Call to Order
(hb, £20, 978 1785905582) by political journalist Sebastian Whale on
24th March, which will be serialised in the Mail on Sunday on 15th and
22nd March, after which the author will be doing a LOT of publicity. This
includes interviews in the Daily Express, on BBC Westminster Book Talk,
on LBC and on Red Box, CapX, the Telegraph’s Brexit
Chopper and Iain Dale’s podcasts. There is confirmed review coverage so far
in the Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and TLS and I think we
can assume that there will be widespread coverage of this assessment of a man
who has never been short of controversy. Based on exclusive interviews with both Bercow’s
allies and detractors, the book includes substantial new material on the former
speaker's background, character, private life and there are new revelations on the
allegations of bullying. John Bercow's own book, published three weeks ago, has
sold over 11,000 copies, and this title promises to be a much more engaging
read so I think it should do really well!
How to get more sleep is a massive preoccupation
of many of us, and How to Sleep: A Natural Method
by Lucinda Ford (978
1912054237, £7.99, pb) is a really helpful, clear and straightforward titles
which introduces eight easy-to-use techniques for falling asleep. Finding ways
to turn off the racing mind and negative thoughts or stress is an essential
step, and these simple sleep techniques, along with their accompanying notes,
are designed to calm the mind and allow sleep to come naturally. They are distilled
from the best of thinking from the East and the West, including cognitive
behavioural therapy, mindfulness and meditation, is going to be extracted in
the April issue of Fit and Well magazine. Its published by Fairlight.
Lots and lots of terrific publicity for
Feminism, Interrupted (£9.99, pb, 978 0745340067), including this Guardian article featured at
the weekend in which Lola Olufemi appears as a go-to feminist for comments on current
trans-rights issues. There is also this on the Guardian books pages, this in Pink News, this on the BBC and this in the Morning Star. This
revolutionary book reclaims feminism from merely being a popular slogan, by
exploring state violence against women, reproductive justice, transmisogyny,
sex work, gendered Islamophobia and much more, showing that the struggle for
gendered liberation is a struggle for justice that can transform the world for
everyone. Lola will be speaking
at Foyles in London on 25th
March, that info is here and at the Oxford Literary Festival
on 31st March, that info is here. If any bookseller would like a reading
copy of this title which is out from Pluto on 20 March, then do email jessica@plutobooks.com
Here's a chance to ponder the truth universally acknowledged that Austen’s men are
pretty gorgeous. No prizes for guessing who’s top of the list – but who’s last?
Here are twenty Austen men rated from ‘trash
to would smash’ according to Buzzfeed!
The buzz is really building for Comma’s
Europa28 (£12.99, 978 1912697298, pb), a collection
of 28 essays and fiction which amplifies the voices of European women and is
out next week. The London Magazine said it was ‘informative,
touching, and occasionally funny, the book is enough to make one optimistic
about the future’ that’s here,
you can read Leila Slimani's contributing
essay in the Guardian here
(we’re expecting an appearance by Leila on Channel 4 very shortly) and Lisa Dwan's contributing essay in the Irish
Times here.
Europa28 has also been included in Translated
Lit's 'Most Anticipated Books of March 2020 and you can see that list here!
Information on the Europa28 book tour is
featured on the left.
How was World Book Day for you? Here's the usual article in the Guardian
lamenting the fact that world dressing up day is only marginally related to
books – yes Sonic the Hedgehog and Elsa from Frozen we do mean you! What
it is definitely related to, at least in this part of the world, is parental
showing off, in fact I think it should be renamed World Mothers Staying Up All
Night Making A Costume That Their Child Refuses To Wear Day.
A terrific book tour schedule for On Wilder Seas: The Woman on the Golden Hind (pb, £8.99, 978 1789551136) which is a gripping tale of
true feminine courage. The brilliant bloggers
involved are @NorthernReader, @pscottwriter, @JoannaLouisePar, @LoveBooksGroup,
@cherylp59, @bookreviewb, @bookpage5 and @thebooktrailer. On Wilder Seas is inspired
by a true story of an enslaved woman who seizes the chance to escape, but unwittingly
joins Francis Drake’s circumnavigation voyage. Sailing into the unknown, a lone
woman among eighty men, this is the tale of one woman’s uncharted voyage to
freedom. It’s published by Legend on 16 March.
Talking of Francis Drake, who doesn’t
enjoy this moment when Blackadder returns to Queen
Elizabeth after his own attempts at circumnavigation….
18-24 May 2020 is mental health week,
and Andy Salkeld’s Life is a Four-Letter Word: A Mental Health Survival Guide
for Professionals (£14.99, pb, 978 1788601559) is published by Practical
Inspiration on 14 May. Andy struggled with depression, anxiety, stress and
ultimately suicide whilst working as a high-flying and often highly-strung
accountant and in his book, he gives a brutally honest critique of the
high-pressured life of professionals and the toll it can place on mental health
and well-being. The book is full of great advice and warnings of common
pitfalls, equipping readers with the confidence, tools and understanding to
save themselves and their colleagues when they are struggling. There will be a six-week
publicity campaign by The Book Publicist for this title which so far includes
being A Recommended Read by We Are The City, an article
for the The HR Director, events for International Day of
Happiness on 20th March, a piece in the April
issue of Therapy Today, and article on mental health in the workplace
for We Are The City, a Podcast/Vodcast retrospective Breaking the
Stigma' tour with Squire Patton Boggs, a panel discussion launch event
Leeds in association with Wellington Place businesses on the mental health
crisis, during Mental Health Awareness Week on 19th May, a panel discussion
launch event in association with Price Waterhouse Coopers on 20th May, a launch
event at Blackwell’s Holborn on 22nd May , a podcast slot with Dark
Coffee Podcast mental health and wellbeing podcast, a review in PQ
Magazine (an award-winning magazine for part-qualified accountants), a webinar for the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of England and Wales The Net Present Value of Happiness in April,
a slot on Men's Radio Station.com and regular blog posts for The HR
Director.
Hurrah, Comma have been longlisted
for Book Podcaster of the Year in the
London Book Fair’s UK Book Blog Awards!
The others on the list are Backlisted, Down the Rabbit Hole, Literary
Friction, Sentimental Garbage and We’d Like A Word. You can find out
more about the awards here.
A thought-provoking article in today’s New
York Times entitled Why Is Europe So Islamophobic? by Narzanin Massoumi, who is a co-editor of the Pluto
book What Is Islamophobia? (£18.99, pb, 978
0745399577) which is fully credited in the article, you can read it here. As racist undercurrents in many
western societies become manifestly entrenched, the need to understand what
perpetuates Islamophobia has never been greater. This book demonstrates that it
is not simply a product of abstract, or ideological processes, but of concrete
social, political and cultural actions undertaken in the pursuit of certain
interests. It concludes with reflections on existing strategies for tackling
Islamophobia, considering what their distinctive approaches mean for fighting
back.
Featuring over fifty crags and
sixty-nine routes in England, Scotland and Wales, Hard
Rock (hb, 978 1912560295) epitomises
all that is great about traditional climbing in Britain. Ken Wilson’s first
edition of Hard Rock was published in 1974 and quickly established itself
as the definitive representation of British rock climbing. His vision for the
book’s format as part guidebook, part literary celebration and part coffee
table visual showcase is one that has been much copied but never equalled and in
this new edition published today, editor Ian Parnell has ensured Hard Rock continues to honour the original concept, in
particular keeping the route, not the climber, centre stage. UK Climbing has
just shared this terrific 7-minute video of Vertebrate’s
MD, Jon Barton, climbing a classic Hard Rock route, Right Unconquerable on Stanage Edge.
Anglican priest and Carcanet author Rachel Mann has
been reflecting on her journey of identity as a trans woman as part of Radio
4’s Lent Lectures this week, you can listen to that here. Rachel is the author of five books,
including Fierce Imaginings: The Great War,
Ritual, Memory and God and her poetry was anthologised in Carcanet's New Poetries VII.
A really gorgeous feature in Guardian
Travel last weekend by Geoff Allan,
talking about his new title, Scottish Bothy Walks:
Scotland’s 28 Best Bothy Adventures (£16.99, pb, 978 1910636190) which
has just been published by Wild Things. Have a look here – if it doesn’t make you immediately want
to set off for a hike in the hills, then I don’t know what will! A follow-up to
the bestselling The Scottish Bothy Bible (£16.99, pb, 978-1910636107), this beautifully
illustrated walking companion guides the reader on a mix of day walks and
multi-day adventures with detailed maps, highlighting the incredible wildlife,
geography, history and culture that you will find along your walk.
I’m really pleased to tell you that award-winning
poet and dramatist Caroline Bird’s The Air Year is the
Telegraph Poetry Book of the Month,
saying ‘Bird’s poetry is consistently, effortlessly fun’ – you can read
that article here. A Carcanet poet since she was
15 years old, Bird has twice been shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. This is her sixth
collection, her previous titles In These Days of
Prohibition was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and
the Ted Hughes Award. She also was
one of the five official poets at the 2012 London Olympics. These poems about
identity, place, and finding oneself while lost in the moment are darkly humorous
with telling social commentary and the book will be launched with a reading at The
Second Shelf in London on 26th March.
And in this week’s Hot Topics, here are the facts on whether you’ll get a
refund if an event you’re planning to attend this spring and summer is
cancelled due to you know what, here's a fun map where you can check how
wealthy your neighbourhood is, here's a man who was jailed for licking an
ice cream on social media and here's the first look at the Line of Duty
Sports Relief special, featuring Lee Mack!
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
No comments:
Post a Comment