The full shortlists for the British Book Awards (aka the Nibbies)
are out this week, and congratulations to Wild
Things who are up for Independent Publisher of the Year and Emerald,
Kogan Page and Historic Environment Scotland who are shortlisted in the Academic,
Educational and Professional Publisher category.
Three cheers too for Carcanet’s
wonderful Michael Schmidt who is up
for Editor
of the Year! And of course, congrats to the many of you wonderful
booksellers shortlisted for Retailer of the Year, Individual Bookseller of the Year,
Children’s
Bookseller of the Year and Independent
Bookseller of the Year. Golden
Hare Books in Edinburgh had an especially good showing – they are on THREE
shortlists; being Scotland’s regional winner for Independent Bookshop of the Year,
shortlisted for Children's
Bookseller and Assistant Manager Jonathan is on the shortlist
for Individual
Bookseller!! The awards culminate in a gala ceremony presented by
Lauren Laverne at the Grosvenor House Hotel on 13th May. Good luck everyone!
Some terrific endorsements
for The People's
Flag and the Union Jack: An Alternative History of Britain and the Labour Party
(£25, hb, 978 1785903861) by Gerry Hassan and Eric Shaw which is published by Biteback on 23rd April and argues that
Labour's Britishness and its ambiguous relationship with issues of national
identity matter more today than ever before.
“This book is brimming with insights
about one of the Brexit era’s most overlooked aspects: the Labour Party’s close
ties to increasingly outmoded ideas about Britain. It’s a timely and urgent
read – because if it wants to define the post-Brexit future of the four
countries of the UK, the wider left is going to have to deal with this stuff.” John
Harris, Guardian columnist and UK Political Correspondent of the Year “What
George Orwell feared has come to pass. Britain is no longer held together
through exploiting its enormous former empire. The Union Jack, the flag of a
marauding navy, is now tattered. Gerry Hassan and Eric Shaw deftly upturn the
stone of what Britishness is, to see what lies beneath from the point of view
of the Labour Party and labour movement. There has never before been a serious
study of the relationship between Labour and Britain; The People’s Flag and the
Union Jack is both intriguing and timely.” Danny Dorling,
Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, Oxford University
“This book is long overdue and highly
relevant to the current crisis of nationalisms in the UK. Hassan and Shaw bring
clear sight and a wealth of knowledge to a neglected subject. We badly need
history like this if we are to plot our futures as nations.” Madeleine
Bunting, author, writer and commentator
“Few writers are better placed than
Gerry Hassan and Eric Shaw to anatomise not only the strange death of Labour
Scotland but also the fragmentation of the United Kingdom. This fascinating
book is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the forces
transforming our politics in this age of upheaval.”
Jason Cowley, editor-in-chief, New
Statesman
“A man called Berg, who changed his
name to Greb, came to a seaside town intending to kill his father…” So begins Ann Quin’s madcap frolic with
sinister undertones, a debut “so
staggeringly superior to most you’ll never forget it” (the Guardian), and I
LOVE this terrific window display at City
Books in Hove for Berg (£10, pb, 978 1911508540) which has just been
published by And Other Stories. Anarchic, heady, dark, this is Quin’s
masterpiece, a classic of post-war avant-garde British writing, and now finally
back in print after much demand. You can read an extract from this caustic,
thrilling and unforgettable novel here.
Some nice
reviews are coming in for The Book of Tehran (£9.99,
pb, 978 1910974247), which Comma
publish next week. “Tehran, as seen
through these stories, is a city of eccentricities and a population who like
observing the lives of others... Personally this is the first time I have been
presented with a balanced view of this multi-faceted city” says The Bobsphere, you can read that here. The Book Spine
also praised it saying “the Tehran tales
were rich and textured, impactive and real... there is a tension to many of the
stories, most provide an insight into everyday life in Tehran which defy
stereotypes.” That’s here.
There is a big
feature with lots of images from the book in this month’s All about History magazine for Ancient Peoples in Their Own Words (hb, £19.99, 978 1782747079). This highly illustrated
and illuminating volume includes citations from classical Greece, Rome, Persia,
Minoan, and the Mycenean dynasties, as well as biblical texts and a few
mysterious, undeciphered examples. It provides an exciting, highly informative,
and innovative look into the classical world and its published by Amber.
Flicking
through this lovely Amber title it
makes you wonder how our generation will look when viewed several millennia
later. Of course, it’s going to be much harder to know whether the images we
leave behind are real at all, thanks to the wizardry of photoshop! I found this
very amusing; photoshop requests taken literally!
An interesting
piece here in
the TLS on the pleasures and pains of
formal correspondence, and investigating why an email is not the same as a
letter, which has lots of references to What a Hazard a Letter Is (£14.99,
hb, 978-0993291173) which was published last year by Safe Haven, and the Sunday
Times called “curious, astute and
entertaining”.
Some lovely
reviews for Cool
Places (£18.99, pb, 978 1906889692),
the new lavish full-colour guide to the 200 very best places to stay in the UK.
There was a big spread in the Times
last month here, and in the Standard
a couple of weeks ago, that’s here. Coming up, we're hoping for a long-promised piece in
the Observer next month, and also Marie Claire magazine and Country Living online. Watch this space!
There has been
lots of publicity for 61 Minutes in Munich: The Story of Liverpool FC’s First Black
Footballer (£16.99, hb, 978 1909245396) focussing on the recent
Bayern Munich v Liverpool clash and the memories it brought for Howard Gayle
of the famous Bayern/Liverpool match in 1981.“People say I should have just kept my mouth shut at Liverpool and
played along. That was never my way. I’m proud of the colour of my skin and my
culture and my origins. I would do it all again” he said to Oliver Kay who
called it “an amazing story” for the Times and Sunday Times, that’s here.
Simon Mullock of the Sunday Mirror also previewed the Bayern
Munich v Liverpool game, calling the book “a
very good read.” Part social-history, part-autobiography, 61 Minutes in
Munich is an exposition of life in
the city of Liverpool during one of the most turbulent periods in its history. Howard Gayle details life on the streets, the racism and other
forms of abuse, of which he has only told a handful of people before; and his
ascent from teenage football hooligan to a player with Europe's leading club, a
place where only the strongest survived.
A terrific review
for Neil Price’s
much awaited The
Viking Way, (978 1842172605, hb, £30) in the Fortean Times saying “Now,
after 17 years, Oxbow is releasing a new edition at a price that makes it a
must-have for any student of religion and magic in the early Middle Ages. The
new edition of The Viking Way is essential for anyone interested in the
religion and magic of the Viking world. Five stars.” Magic, sorcery and
witchcraft are among the most common themes of the great medieval Icelandic
sagas and poems, and this fascinating book examines the evidence for Old Norse
sorcery, looking at its meaning and function and the complicated constructions
of gender and sexual identity with which these were underpinned. Combining
archaeology, history and literary scholarship with extensive studies of
Germanic and circumpolar religion, this multi-award-winning book shows us the
Vikings as we have never seen them before. The Viking Way is
out on 31st March.
Rupert Wieloch appeared on Sky News during the Total
Politics show to discuss his new book, Churchill’s Abandoned Prisoners (978 1612007533, £20, hb). He discusses how the act
of intervention by the Allies during the Russian Civil War resulted in a
hundred years of bad blood between the country and the west. The Daily Echo, a leading Hampshire
newspaper, has written an article about it ahead of Rupert’s scheduled launch
event in Winchester on April 5th. You can find that here.
Soldier Magazine called it “a very informative account of a
lesser-known conflict.” The events described in this book are not only a
stirring tale of courage and adventure but also only lift the lid on an episode
that did much to sow distrust and precipitate events in World War Two and
today, and there is likely to be more publicity to come.
A great review of Mike Sergeant’s PR for Humans (£15.99, pb, 978 1788600552) here
on Curzon PR. There’s also a
feature in PR Moment here,
an opinion piece for Cision on why
the PR industry needs to keep it human to survive here
and an article from Design Business
Association here .
PR for Humans is for pure-of-heart storytellers who want to cut
through the noise and the nonsense. It brings together the essential and timeless
principles of effective leadership communication and the principles and
techniques Mike sets out in this book will help the reader deliver more
powerful speeches, presentations, media interviews, videos, podcasts and blogs.
It’s just out from Practical Inspiration.
Always good to
end with some humour – so here
are twenty-seven jokes that are NOT rude, but ARE funny! That’s all for now
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@compass-ips.london
thanks for sharing information....
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