Month: August 2018

Back-To-School: Volunteer Interview

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Cathie (holding the book) is a CCB volunteer and a Granny, and works part time for the University of Exeter training primary teachers. Her invaluable experience makes her the perfect co-ordinator of our Schools Outreach Programme. We chatted to Cathie about her role in this week’s blog: In a nutshell, what’s your role at CCB? My role is to lead the schools outreach team. We identify local authors who would like to work with us and take them into schools, … Read more

Review: Under the Rock

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Benjamin Myers is a critically acclaimed writer most well-known for his innovative and atmospheric novel ‘The Gallows Pole’ which is set in the Calder Valley. Under the Rock is an exploration and memoir of the same area of Yorkshire, based on the 15 years or so since Myers made his home there. What fascinates Myers is the connection between the land and the people who live there; the impact of the people on the land and the influence of the … Read more

Review: Girl, Balancing & Other Stories

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Girl, Balancing and Other Stories front cover

Helen Dunmore was a prize-winning, bestselling novelist, poet and children’s writer; her short stories were published less often but Girl, Balancing & Other Stories proves she also mastered this genre brilliantly. In a dazzling variety of settings she demonstrates her skill within the economy of the form, creating vivid and distinctive characters, recognisable as ‘ordinary’ people, often to give an individual’s story within a known historical or contemporary scenario. She is especially adept at creating characters with a sophisticated mix … Read more

Devon Literary Adventures

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To celebrate the lovely weather, the start of the summer holidays and the stunning county of Devon, we’ve rounded up some hot-spots perfect for literary adventures on a summer’s day. Over the years, writers have been inspired by Devon’s rugged beauty. If you can’t understand why, Ian Sansom wrote an article titled ‘Devon Sent: Why Writers Can’t Resist the County’ to shed a little light on the matter! The Hound of  the Baskervilles | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle First up, … Read more