The concept of “genius loci” – the spirit of a place, often with a connotation of protection or nurturing – is the foundation of Esther Rutter’s revivifying blend of memoir, literary history... Read more »
Christie Watson is the first in a handful of big name authors with new thrillers out this month. Winner of the Costa first novel award for her debut, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away,... Read more »
After 11-year-old Gopi’s mother dies unexpectedly, she and her older sisters Mona and Khush channel their grief at the local sports centre where their father, known as Pa, teaches them to play... Read more »
36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem by Nam LeA winner of the Dylan Thomas prize for his short story collection, The Boat, Nam Le’s first poetry collection focuses on themes of anti-Asian racism,... Read more »
George Orwell’s years as a colonial policeman in Burma in the 1920s preoccupied him for the rest of his life. Straight out of Eton, he was thrown into a world that mirrored... Read more »
The small town of Ours is a haven for freed slaves. It’s tucked away in the woods a few miles north of St Louis, but it isn’t marked on the map and... Read more »
It’s 1843, and along with hundreds of his fellow ministers, Reverend John Ferguson has broken away from the Church of Scotland to form a new denomination. His zeal is dented only by... Read more »
Cyrus Shams really doesn’t have much going for him. He is a barely recovering alcoholic and unpublished Iranian-American poet who scratches a living in Indiana by role-playing terminal patients for trainee doctors.... Read more »
Keiran Goddard is a poet and novelist whose debut novel, Hourglass, was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott prize in 2022. His second novel, I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, is a worthy successor. A... Read more »