Pages & Proofs

The William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award has shortlisted a self-published book about squash among the contenders for its annual prize. Shot and a Ghost by squash player James Willstrop  features alongside titles from traditional publishers of sports books like Yellow Jersey and Ebury Press. It goes without saying that the list includes […]

Fans of fairy tales will no doubt be familiar with the art of Arthur Rackham (1867-1939). Rackham was among the most influential and creative illustrators of his time. His lavish, rich work accompanied legendary tales like Rip Van Winkle, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Cinderella and many more. These days, Rackham-illustrated works are highly collectible and […]

Visit Wellington Airport in New Zealand and you will now be greeted by a massive Gollum from The Hobbit. I’m not sure if New Zealand is doing enough to promote its link to the Tolkien movies.

Apparently Elizabeth Taylor is now the world’s biggest earning dead celebrity after the sale of her jewels, but when you plug in “Elizabeth Taylor” into AbeBooks.co.uk you notice the books of the other Elizabeth Taylor (1912-1975) – a novelist and short story writer with many fans, including Hilary Mantel. Above you can see her 1968 […]

How many of today’s famous authors would you recognise in the street? JK Rowling, sure, perhaps Stephen King, and then not many others, I’d venture. Irish author Colm Tóibín is interviewed in the Daily Telegraph and I love this little anecdote of a street meeting in Dublin. “I was waiting to get money out of […]

Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler is interviewed in the Daily Telegraph. Who knew that he was an accordion player? One way he switches off is by listening and playing music. It’s always been a passion for someone who hosted a radio playing blues music. Handler plays the accordion and sits in with a band most Thursday nights […]

The Daily Telegraph carries an interview with American writer Barbara Kingsolver. She talks about her new novel Flight Behaviour – a love story amid a theme of climate change.Kingsolver is best known for The Poisonwood Bible but Animal Vegetable Miracle is also found on a lot of reading lists. Kingsolver was a scientist before she […]

American cyclist Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his seven Tour de France victories by the sport’s governing body today after it reviewed a massive report into this doping activities from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. So where does this leave his two books? It’s Not About the Bike was published in 2000 and Every Second […]

Irish journalist Gene Kerrigan has won the Gold Dagger for the best crime novel of the year. The Rage is a “suspense driven storm of violence” set in the backstreets of Dublin. He wins £2,500 and collected the award on Thursday evening. The novel intertwines the stories of thief Vincent Naylor and detective Bob Tidey, […]

Anne Enright has reviewed Edna O’Brien’s memoir, Country Girl, in The Guardian. It sounds like an amazing book from an Irish author who lived life to the full and was always prepared to challenge the status quo. Enright writes: O’Brien was not just a floozy, she was a floozy who lived in England, a floozy […]