20 years ago, Precious Ramotswe established The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in Gabarone, Botswana. The subsequent novels in Alexander McCall Smith’s series became a literary phenomenon, and have since been translated into 46 different languages. A prolific and much-loved writer, Alexander has written and contributed to over 100 books, and his series, 44 Scotland […]

One of Iran’s leading poets, Azita Ghahreman’s work is lyrical and intimate, addressing themes of loss, exile and female desire, as well as the changing face of her country. Her latest collection, Negative of a Group Photograph, brings together three decades of poems brought to life in English by the poet Maura Dooley, working in […]

The tale of Achilles and the Trojan War has been told many times, but what about the stories of the women? In The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker imagines The Iliad from the perspective of Briseis, the former queen awarded to Achilles as a prize of war. Drawing together the feminist focus of her […]

You have ten minutes. Ten minutes to go anywhere you like, with anyone, in any time - the past, the future, in this world, out of this world - where would you go? Open a book and read yourself there, pick up a pen and write yourself away. Stay close to home, enter a different dimension, go […]

Q: What do an American pilot who’s crashed in the desert, a teenager full of money-making schemes, and a dog suffering through a very bad day have in common? A: They all narrate the new, hilariously funny novel, Red Birds, by acclaimed author Mohammed Hanif (A Case of Exploding Mangoes). Through the inhabitants of the […]

Come and celebrate the launch of three of the most anticipated and emotionally charged poetry books of the year. Carol Ann Duffy’s final collection as Poet Laureate, Sincerity, is a frank, disarming and deeply moving exploration of loss and remembrance in their many forms. Carol Ann has received numerous awards for her candid and heartfelt […]

You have to see it to be it, so the saying goes. But Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené were struggling to find awe-inspiring, amazing and relatable black British female role models, because society rarely permits these women to be seen and heard. To remedy this, they wrote Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible, […]

What does it mean to be a man and how is that shaped by adolescence? In his memoir, The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness, Graham Caveney details his upbringing as a working-class boy in Accrington. His world is changed by the discovery of literature, music and his acceptance to the local Catholic grammar school. At […]