The Literary Sofa
Guest Authors
Guest Author – Louise Walters on handling multiple timelines and points of view (POV)
I’m delighted to welcome back Louise Walters as today’s guest author, for some quite personal reasons. Louise has been a supporter of the Literary Sofa from the very start and although she was several years ahead in her writing career, we have kept each other company through many highs and lows (understatement) and become good friends … Continue reading
Guest Author – Laura Kaye on portraying England from a foreigner’s perspective
Last week was exceptionally busy with reports from the London Book Fair and a George Saunders event – now it’s back to featuring authors from my Spring Sofa Spotlight. As you may recall, I was struck by how many of my chosen titles had important things to say about the world right now. This … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Laura McVeigh In the Shadow of the Hindu Kush
The first guest post by one of my Spring Sofa Spotlight authors, last week’s Writers on Location by Sarah Day on the island of San Domino, proved very popular and today I am pleased to be welcoming the next author in this series. Laura McVeigh joins me to talk about a very different place, the … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Sarah Day on the island of San Domino, Italy
Last week’s spring Sofa Spotlight met with a great deal of interest and enthusiasm, so a big thank you for your support and appreciation. It is a pleasure to welcome the first of my Spotlight guest authors today – the talented and lovely Sarah Day, who I can’t help noticing has a large and committed … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Claire Fuller on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset
Today’s guest Claire Fuller has visited me before on the Literary Sofa and it’s lovely to have her back. When I read her debut novel Our Endless Numbered Days before publication, little did any of us know that it would go to take the 2015 Desmond Elliott Prize for a first novel – and yet … Continue reading
Guest Author – Essie Fox on Capturing the Passage of Time
*THE LAST DAYS OF LEDA GREY now out in paperback* It’s been a slow start to the year on the blog because I’ve been incredibly busy with work – but it’s always a treat to return to ‘Sofa business’, especially today, when I am joined by my first guest of 2017. I’ve had the pleasure of … Continue reading
Guest Author – Wytske Versteeg on Writing about Motherhood
Today’s guest and her novel represent things I believe in and want to support on the Literary Sofa. Wytske Versteeg is a Dutch author, whose third novel The Boy has recently been translated into English by Sarah Welling and released in the UK by small independent HopeRoad Publishing. The Boy made it into my new quarterly Sofa … Continue reading
Guest Author – Saleem Haddad on Shelving the ‘Gay Novel’
Some of the best books I’ve ever read could be designated ‘gay novels’ and yet it’s a term that raises a lot of questions and one I hesitate to use. It’s something I’ve wanted to examine for a long time, so I am delighted that Saleem Haddad, author of superb debut novel Guapa, one of … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Fiona Melrose on Suffolk
Thanks to everyone for the enthusiastic response to my first quarterly Sofa Spotlight last week. It’s always gratifying to hear my selections described as ‘intriguing’ and ‘unpredictable’ – that’s the aim – and that readers have discovered books they’d never heard of. As mentioned, I’ll be hosting at least four of my Spotlight authors on … Continue reading
Guest Post – Alison Layland on Literary Translation
Considering my passion for foreign languages and fiction, I can’t believe it’s taken over five years to invite a literary translator onto the Sofa. Today I am delighted to be rectifying that with a visit from Alison Layland, and whilst she was busy writing her guest post, I decided to read her latest translation, of … Continue reading
My new novel SCENT – out in paperback on 19 May 2022
The Literary Sofa 