The Literary Sofa
Isabel Costello
Summer Reads Extra 2019
How’s your summer going? Mine’s been great and incredibly busy so far – definitely time to wind down with my last post before taking a nice long break*. I’m glad to hear that many of you are enjoying books you discovered on my Summer Reads selection and/or the guest author series which ended last week … Continue reading
Guest Author – Peter Papathanasiou – Resilience on the road to publication
Five years ago, a friend asked if I’d be willing to meet up with a Greek-Australian writer who was new to London and the UK publishing scene and share a few tips. That writer is today’s Sofa guest Pete Papathanasiou, who joins me with the final post in my Summer Reads line-up just ahead of … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Alison Layland on Rural Shropshire
This is the penultimate guest post about a title from my Summer Reads selection and I’m delighted to welcome back Alison Layland, who wrote about her work as a literary translator on her first visit to the Sofa some time ago. Her new novel Riverflow could be described as an ‘eco-thriller’ (if that’s not already … Continue reading
Guest Author – Louisa Treger – A Brutal Paradise
As you are about to discover, this week’s guest post by Louisa Treger is many things. Like her new novel The Dragon Lady it’s a beautiful and vibrant piece of writing. It could have held its own in my Writers on Location series except that it has a wider geographical focus than the novel’s principal … Continue reading
Guest Author – Ros Franey on Inventing Truth
The summer programme is now in full swing and it’s wonderful to be receiving positive feedback both on the books people have discovered via my latest selection and the guest posts from Bev Thomas and Judith Heneghan. No doubt that will continue following today’s visit from Ros Franey, whose debut novel leapt out from my … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Judith Heneghan on Kiev
The summer guest author programme got off to a fascinating start last week with Bev Thomas’s post on what it means to be a ‘good enough’ mother. Coincidentally, motherhood is also a theme in today’s featured debut Snegurochka by Judith Heneghan but it’s not the focus of today’s post – that is firmly on the … Continue reading
Guest Author – Bev Thomas – What does it mean to be a ‘good enough’ mother?
Once again my Summer Reads selection was greeted with huge enthusiasm and I’d like to say a big thank you for all the interest, appreciation of the blog and help getting the word out about these wonderful books. This last bit matters because I don’t often choose titles which are getting a big marketing push … Continue reading
Summer Reads 2019
It’s that time again, and I’m excited to bring you this year’s Summer Reads selection. My search sprang many surprises, producing a dozen fantastic books revealing all kinds of lives: from the real and ‘ordinary’ to some which are anything but, plus several dogs! The majority are set during different periods of the 20th century … Continue reading
Update from the Sofa
I hope regular readers will excuse my unscheduled absence from the Sofa these last few weeks – it’s been more chained-to-desk than lounging around for me lately but there’s lots of good stuff to update you on. Firstly, a very big thank you to everyone who voted for me in the Saboteur Awards – I … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Lisa Blower on Stoke-on-Trent
This is the final guest post from my first Sofa Spotlight of 2019 and (much later than usual) the first Writers on Location piece of the year, so I’m very pleased to be featuring award-wining short story writer and novelist Lisa Blower and her new collection It’s Gone Dark Over Bill’s Mother’s from independent publisher … Continue reading
My Novel – Now out in paperback
