Features

Our superb volunteer Belinda explores the world of verse novels and makes some recommendations… I have to confess to a slight sinking feeling when I picked up my first verse novel, One by Sarah Crossan.  I was interested in the story line but was sceptical about the verse format.  How could the details and subtleties of the story be conveyed when the word count was so much lower than a novel written in prose?  How wrong I was!  The sparseness … Read more

We’re rooting out some great but less well-known small publishers and finding out what makes them tick. This month’s small press is Old Street Publishing – founded in 2006, Old Street is an independent British publisher of fiction and non-fiction who might be recognisable from their excellent ‘Shortest History’ series. Ben Yarde-Buller kindly gave us some of his time to fill us in with all things Old Street: Q: What is Old Street Publishing’s origin story? I wish we had … Read more

Fantastic Bookshops! I love the personalised nature of the shops I’ve visited here in Devon, they’re really working with their local communities and schools to make sure everyone has the books that are right for them. And it’s such a rush, seeing my own handwriting right on the shop front of The Bookery in Crediton, where I helped them with their new branding and lettering. I’m thrilled to be their new Patron and hope I can give them a boost! … Read more

Annette Shaw is a freelance journalist with 30 years of experience, and has a regular column in Devon Life, sharing her pick of brilliant books with Devon connections.With her reputation for championing books and authors around the county, we’re delighted to have the opportunity to showcase her reviews here.   Tea At The Palace By Carolyn Robb No doubt Devon will have many events to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee and one we can all be involved in is a local street … Read more

Annette Shaw is a freelance journalist with 30 years of experience, and has a regular column in Devon Life, sharing her pick of brilliant books with Devon connections. Annette writes: “Books have been a lifelong passion. I was lucky with my early home life as we had bookshelves in every room as well as reading with mum and dad. As a teenager, when all my friends had Saturday jobs in clothes shops like Etam, I worked in the library. Bliss! … Read more

We’ve been discovering some of the less well-known publishers around the world and finding out what makes them tick. This month’s small press is Fitzcarraldo Editions, which has recently been fortunate enough to have three titles nominated on the Booker International Longlist. Sales and Marketing Executive Rosie Brown kindly gave us some of her time to fill us in with all things Fitzcarraldo: Q: What is Fitzcarraldo Press’ origin story? Founded in 2014, Fitzcarraldo Editions is an independent publisher specialising … Read more

Annette Shaw is a freelance writer and a book group organiser, and has a regular column in Devon Life, sharing her pick of brilliant books with Devon connections. With her reputation for championing books and authors around the county, we’re delighted to have the opportunity to showcase her reviews here. Adrift by Tracey Williams What would a green dragon be doing at Bigbury Bay? This quirky tale, which is true, explains all. It began on Thursday 13 February 1997 when … Read more

In 2022, Picador celebrates its 50th anniversary and the launch of the Picador Collection, a new list of contemporary classics taken from and inspired by the last fifty years of Picador’s agenda-setting and boundary-pushing publishing. Sonny Mehta first launched Picador as an imprint in 1972 with the aim of publishing outstanding international writing. The Picador Paperback Originals quickly became known for their iconic white spines, which were the mainstay of many readers’ bookshelves. These books were known for being challenging, … Read more

Bookery volunteer Tilly Lander Williams was at the heart of the Exeter Literary Festival this year, and sends us this report: Have you spotted the banners in Princesshay celebrating Exeter’s UNESCO City of Literature status? Seeing them recently, I felt a mixture of pride and nostalgia (when Exeter was first recognised as a ‘Creative City’, I was writing about it pre-pandemic). If anything, the past 18 months have proved Exeter’s love for literature even more. From the success of Libraries … Read more

The Bookery’s Cliff found himself with reader’s block in 2020 – how did he cure it? Last year was not a normal year, I think we can all agree. Amidst chaos and change, I found myself with…time on my hands. And, in common with many book lovers, I thought that a long fallow period would allow me to perhaps attack some of those long and difficult doorstops which had been stacking up on the pile just out of my eyeline. … Read more