Anthony Burgess Centenary – a Reading List
By Rob Spence Anthony Burgess, whose centenary is celebrated this year, remarked ruefully on more than one occasion that he produced as many novels in a year as E.M. Forster…
Questions for Louise Welsh about Plague Times Trilogy
Questions by Annabel Annabel: When you began writing these books, had you already planned a trilogy? Had you ever thought that A Lovely Way to Burn could be a standalone novel, ending on…
Introducing Jane Austen Week
By Harriet Jane Austen died two hundred years ago, on 18 July 1817, at the age of just 41. She had anonymously published four novels – Sense and Sensibility (1811),…
The Stella Prize and its 2017 Winner
By Isobel Blackthorn Could there ever be enough literary prizes to satisfy the ambition of authors? For a very small literary market, Australia has a healthy complement, from the most…
A conversation with Sally Rooney, author of Conversations With Friends
Interview by Lucy Unwin We caught up with Sally at the Hay Festival 2017 where she told us: The foursome at the centre of the novel: Frances and Bobbi, the…
Questions for Amanda Craig about her novel, The Lie of the Land
Interview by Annabel Annabel: I loved reading The Lie of the Land, and it had me giggling all the way through. Before I discuss some of the themes, I’d like to ask…
Q&A with Nicholas Royle, author of An English Guide to Birdwatching
Interview by Annabel Annabel: Firstly, I apologise, but I must admit, when offered this book for review, I initially mixed you up with the other Nicholas Royle, something you must (both)…
Interview with Megan Hunter about The End We Start From
Interview by Lucy Unwin Lucy: This is a very unusual book: it may be a novel, but it has the sensibility of poetry. People won’t have had a chance to…
Q&A with Anne Sebba, author of Les Parisiennes
Helen: Hello Anne! Let me first say that I was bowled over by Les Parisiennes – it’s a real tour de force of narrative history, totally absorbing and allowing the…
Five Fascinating Facts about… Arnold Bennett
Compiled by Julie Barham 1.Bennett was an ardent Francophile, frequently looking to France as a source of literary inspiration. He would moor his yacht and paint views from peaceful French…
Guest Post: Kit de Waal – on being mixed race
Kit de Waal is the author of My Name is Leon which was published last year to great acclaim – see our review of the novel here. We are taking part in the blog…
Questions for Martine McDonagh
Interview by Annabel Narcissim for Beginners is Martine McDonagh’s third novel, reviewed by Annabel here. Annabel: How did you find the whole Unbound experience? (see our Spotlight on Publishers chat with Unbound…
‘This is Brasil.’ Guest post by Joe Thomas
São Paulo is the capital of South America. What a city: rich in culture, dripping with cash, undermined by political corruption, marked by a rich / poor disparity which fuels…
The Eds Discuss… Three Years of Shiny
What’s been the main takeaway for you from these three years? Victoria: Two main things, the first has been the friendships I’ve made with the other eds. We’ve been a great…
Q&A with Stef Penney
Questions by Annabel Annabel: This has been a vintage year for me reading books about the frozen white stuff – I’ve read so many, both fiction and non-fiction, but your…
Fairy tales: A Reading List
Selected by Helen Parry Christmas is traditionally a time of magic. Even if you’re no longer quite certain that Father C pops down the chimney with a sackful of toys…
Spotlight on Publishers: Europa Editions
Questions for Daniela at Europa Editions 1. Tell us about the genesis of Europa Editions. How did the publishing house come into being? Europa Editions was founded in New York…
A Novel Calling – Books That Were Written Just For Me
By Alice Farrant Realistically, I know searching for signs in the everyday is silly. Stepping over three drains in a row doesn’t cause bad luck, and if something bad happens…
The Promised Land: An American Reading List
Compiled by Eleanor Franzén So, the presidential election of 2016. As with the elections of 2012 and 2008, I will be telling my children exactly where I was when I…
Spotlight on Publishers: NYRB
Q & A with Edwin Frank, Editorial Director at NYRB The Eds at Shiny are all great fans of NYRB books. Can you tell us a little about the genesis…
Secret Lives: Real Women in Fiction
Written by Ann Kennedy Smith A Quiet Life by Natasha Walter (Borough Press, 2016), Mrs Engels by Gavin McCrea (Scribe, 2016) I spend a lot of my time reading other people’s private letters…
How Sarah Waters Won Over the Reading World
By Victoria Best The press release for Sarah Waters’ new novel, The Paying Guests, describes it as ‘the most anticipated book of 2014’ and for once, this feels more like fact…
Q&A with Samantha Norman
Samantha was interviewed by Harriet H: Hi Samantha – thanks for agreeing to answer some questions. I very much enjoyed Winter Siege, and wondered if you could say something about the…
Of Food and Film at TIFF16
By Diana Cheng I just came back home from the Toronto International Film Festival. Of the eight features I had watched, there are two that stirred up some ripples in…