- BBC Radio 4 Drama based on Memento Mori in Jan/Feb 2018
- BBC Radio 4 Drama based on The Driver’s Seat – Jan/Feb 2018
- BBC Radio 4 Original Drama inspired by Spark’s time writing ‘black propaganda’ for radio broadcasts against the Germans during the Second World War
- A BBC TV (UK-wide) documentary about her life
- A Sky TV documentary about her writing, presented by Ian Rankin
- A major concert at the Barbican, London on 18 October 2018
I love this quote from the great lady herself: “Be on
the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur.”
Hear hear!
And here
is Maggie Smith in her 1969 Academy Award winning portrayal of Spark’s most
famous creation.
Many will be wondering what life in North Korea is really
like under Kim Jong Un. A fascinating new book The
Sun Tyrant: A Nightmare Called North Korea (pb,
£12.99 978 785902215) gives readers a frightening insight, and is a truly
unique account. When Londoner JP Floru tags along with three friends running the marathon in
Pyongyang, little could have prepared him for what he witnessed. Shown by two
minders what the regime wants them to see during their nine-day trip, the group
is astounded when witnessing people bowing to their leaders’ statues; being
told not to take photos of the leaders’ feet; and hearing the hushed reverence
with which people recite the history invented by the regime to keep itself in
power. Often, the group did not understand what they were seeing: from the
empty five-lane motorway to the missing fifth floor of their Yanggakdo Hotel on
an island in the Pudong River; many answers only came through extensive
research of the few sources that exist about this hermit country. Shocking and
scary, The Sun Tyrant uncovers the oddities and tragedies at the heart of
the world’s most secretive regime, and shows what happens when a population is
reduced to near-slavery in the twenty-first century. It came out this summer
from Biteback.
JP Floru has done a really interesting 15-minute Ted Talk on
his experience and this book – which you can watch here.
Pressure cookers – who knew, but they are “a thing” and
with a whole new generation of multi-featured versions now available, they are
definitely back in fashion. The New Complete
Pressure Cooker: Get the Best from Your Electric or Stovetop Model
by Jennie Shapter
(£15.00, hb, 978 0754832881) is the top title on this form of cooking.
It contains over 120 tried-and-tested recipes with timings and settings for
both types of machines, dishes from soups and stews to puddings and preserves
with loads of practical step-by-step techniques and tips. This book will take
you through the basics of choosing a pressure cooker (and the bestselling brand
Instant Pot is included in it) how they work, which best suits your
needs, as well as providing you with lots of exciting recipes to try. It was
featured in all the Trinity Mirror local papers this week – with a big
pic of the cover. It’s published by Lorenz.
Well, what a good excuse to have a burst of this absolute classic
belter from Queen and David Bowie!
The Guardian has just published an article about
the myth of radicalisation in a Birmingham school related to a forthcoming
title; Countering Extremism in British Schools? The
Truth about the Birmingham Trojan Horse Affair by John Holmwood and
Therese O'Toole (pb, £12.99, 978
1447344131). You can read the whole piece here.
In 2014, an alleged plot to ‘Islamify’ several state schools in
Birmingham led to the vilification of a previously highly successful school.
This important title contests that narrative and shows how it was used to
justify an intrusive counter extremism agenda. It is published in November by Policy
Press and is a short, approachable and jargon-free book about a topic very
high on the current political agenda. It directly challenges the narrative put
across by the media and will particularly appeal to anyone engaged with
schooling and those interested in recent counter-extremism policies.
An interesting article in the Telegraph this
weekend by Frances Wilson about the art of writing a diary. Among the many
famous diarists she mentions is Alistair Campbell,
and the sixth volume of his Diaries which
is published by Biteback; saying that “Campbell’s own struggle has
always read more like a Jeffrey Archer novel than a diary” which is
certainly a very backhanded compliment! Alastair
Campbell Diaries: Volume 6: From Blair to Brown 2005 - 2007 (£25.00, hb, 978 1785900846) is out on 19 September
and as this volume opens, Blair has just won a historic third term. But any joy
is short-lived and by the time it ends two years later, Brown is Prime
Minister. Many books have already been written about the Brown/Blair
relationship, but none with the intimacy and the unique perspective of Alastair Campbell. Campbell was virtually alone in
seeing that process from both sides, as Brown began to lean on him almost as
much as Blair had done. Meanwhile we continue to get an insight into Campbell's
mental health struggles, his attempts to rebuild a normal family life, and the
plethora of new challenges he takes on which introduce dozens of new
characters, not least the rugby stars he worked with for the British and Irish
Lions, and football legend and charity match teammate, Diego Maradona.
We
mentioned the amazing and colourful Illustrated
Guide to Dyslexia for its great cover
and design last week, and this week it was referenced in the Guardian in
a fascinating article talking about the benefits of dyslexia as espoused by
Jamie Oliver. “I genuinely think that when someone says to you, ‘Johnny’s
got dyslexia’, you should get down on your knees, shake the child’s hand and
say: ‘Well done, you lucky, lucky boy’,” the chef said. Positivity about
the condition is a growing part of the campaign to improve awareness and coping
strategies and the British Dyslexia Association is exploring the theme during
the annual Dyslexia Awareness Week
next month, with events in schools and the hashtag #positivedyslexia2017. The
article goes on to talk about the Illustrated Guide
to Dyslexia and its Amazing People (hb, £13.99, 978 1785923302) by Kate Power and Kathy Iwanczak Forsyth which is out
on 21 September from Jessica Kingsley. You can read the whole article here.
And don’t forget that this month JKP also publish Dyslexia is my Superpower (Most of the Time)
(£12.99, pb, 978 1785922992) by Margaret Rooke which contains personal tips and tactics from over a
hundred children and young adults who reveal the creative benefits of dyslexia,
which enable them to thrive in school and beyond. The first-hand accounts are inspiring in the way they normalise dyslexia
and reveal the many success stories. There is an additional section for
professionals who work in education, and the book contains some stunning illustrations
by 8-18 year olds with dyslexia. It was mentioned in the Culture Section of the Telegraph
this week.
A massive piece in the Mail this week, talking
about a new title which reveals disturbing images from the devastating 2013
Boston Marathon terror attack, offering a new look at that terrible atrocity. Maximum Harm: The Tsarnaev Brothers, the FBI, and the Road to
the Marathon Bombing (hb, £29.00, 978 1611688498) is by
investigative journalist Michele R. McPhee and unravels the complex story behind the public
facts. McPhee untangles the many threads
of circumstance, coincidence, collusion, motive, and opportunity that resulted
in the deadliest attack on the city of Boston to date and is a compelling and
passionate exposé – there will be more on this story to come I’m sure. It is
published by the University Press of New England and available from Oxbow.
You can read the Daily Mail article here.
Publisher Michael Schmidt has paid tribute in the Bookseller
to poet John Ashbery who has died aged 90 last Sunday. Carcanet has
published Ashbery since 1977, starting
with Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. In
the years that followed, he became one of Carcanet's "cornerstones",
said Michael. The press has published almost 40 books by Ashbery, including his collaborations, fiction,
essays, poems and translations and will publish
Ashbery's Collected Poems: 1990-2000 (£20.00, pb,978 1 784105 25 9)
in January 2018. You can read the tribute here.
How do we raise sweet young boys to become aggressive? Why
do so few fathers take parental leave? Why do men rape so many people every
year? Why do we still judge success on financial prowess? Why are three times
as many men killing themselves as women? In short, how does our masculine
determination to be dominant not only impact on the women and girls in our
lives, but also the men and boys. The answer to all these questions, and more,
can be determined by discovering what it really means to Be A Man by
journalist and former ‘lad’ Chris Hemmings,
published by Biteback. Books about modern manhood are very definitely a
growth market at present; titles from Robert Webb and Grayson Perry are already
flying off the shelves; and there was a big piece in the Guardian
talking about this newest bloke-book on the block this week which you can read here.
Dame Jenni Murray said of it “I love this book. It’s what I've been
longing for – a young man who, as a result of his own experience, is courageous
enough to say traditional masculinity is bad for everyone. Bravo, Chris
Hemmings!” Whether you view this new wave of titles as a bit of a fad or a
genuinely encouraging sign that “men are joining our conversation about
toxic masculinity” as the Guardian journalist puts it, there’s no
doubt that things have moved on quite a bit since Kipling’s 1895 advice. Be A Man (pb, £12.99,
978 1785901676) is out now.
Of course, we are very glad that Chris Hemmings has
seen the error of his ways and is now apologising profusely for his former
laddish behaviour. However, there is still some fun to be had with the tricky
business of what is and isn’t “manly” – as this amusing
video (rather rudely) demonstrates!
We raved about Salt Creek (£14.99, hb, 978 1910709412) by award-winning
Australian author Lucy Treloar a couple
of weeks ago, and sure enough on its publication in the UK it has had some
cracking review coverage, being chosen as Book of the Month in the Times
Saturday Review who said “Treloar writes with beauty and a winning
compassion.” and Historical Pick in the Sunday Times who
called it “an impressive debut.” “Beautifully written … one to watch”
said Good Housekeeping magazine and “emotional…engrossing…rich in
character and local colour” said Women and Home and the Daily
Mail have given it another rave review today. It’s just out from Aardvark
Bureau.
Let’s finish with a rather cute version of that old bluegrass song,
called – yep, Salt Creek!
That’s all for now folks! More next
week!
This blog is taken from an e-newsletter which is sent weekly to over 700 booksellers as
well as publishers and publicists. If you would like to order any of the titles
mentioned, then please talk to your Compass Sales Manager, or call the office
on 020 8326 5696.
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