The Literary Sofa
Retreat West
Guest Author – Amanda Huggins on the Importance of location in fiction
Regular visitors to the Sofa will know that short fiction doesn’t often pop up here, so when it does, it’s something really special. Today’s guest Amanda Huggins is the first short fiction writer ever to appear twice on the blog and the timing is perfect to congratulate her on winning the 2020 Colm Tóibín International … 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
The Word for Freedom – Stories of Women’s Suffrage
This week I am delighted to be featuring The Word for Freedom, an anthology just published to celebrate the centenary of female suffrage in the UK. Amanda Saint, founder of Retreat West, joined forces with fellow author Rose McGinty to bring together these 24 stories, all donated by the authors to raise funds for London … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Amanda Huggins on Japan
Welcome to the first guest post of the new season, a special one in several ways. It’s the first time Japan has featured in my Writers on Location series, and also the first time I’ve had the pleasure of hosting an award-winning travel writer. Amanda Huggins’ fiction and travel writing have been published in a … Continue reading
Finding the Words
‘There are no words.’ ‘Speechless.’ ‘Unspeakable.’ How often have you said, read or heard one of the above this year? They seem to encapsulate everything 2016 will be remembered for, alluding to the inadequacy of language to convey the full force of shock, outrage, disillusionment, at one event after another. The irony is that we … Continue reading
What the French taught me about sex (and writing it)
It’s nearly a week since my debut novel Paris Mon Amour came out and I’ll be writing about that incredible experience very soon… But in the meantime – and because I was way too busy to post this week – here are some of the pieces I’ve written elsewhere to coincide with the release. Given the longevity and popularity … Continue reading
My new novel SCENT – out in paperback on 19 May 2022
The Literary Sofa 