My novel, Set My Heart To Five tells the story of an android who sets out to write a screenplay capable of convincing humans that his kind should be allowed to feel. Set My Heart To Five has been itself optioned for film, so when Istoria Lit kindly invited me to write a guest post,… Read More Writer Simon Stephenson Reveals His Top Five Book-To-Film Adaptations
*Warning: There are spoilers in this one. Sorry but I just couldn’t help gushing about it* As soon as I heard about Hamnet I wanted to read it. As someone who has loved Shakespeare’s plays since childhood just hearing that I could read a story written about the writer and his son sparked my excitement.… Read More Reading the shortlist of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
As a reader wanders through the pages of LOT they find themselves reading stories that allow them to glance a tender yet uncompromising vista of American neighbourhoods. Bryan Washington uses the back drop of Houston, Texas to beautifully capture the different shades of being that create the canopy of humanity within a city. You can… Read More Reading The Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2020 Longlist: LOT by Bryan Washington
2020’s powerful, female-dominated line-up of Windham-Campbell Prize recipients unites a rich, international collection of writers whose challenging work explores pressing political and social themes across identity, culture and power. Now in their eighth year, the Prizes celebrate writers at every stage of their careers. In poetry prizes have been awarded to British-Indian poet Bhanu Kapil… Read More THE WINDHAM-CAMPBELL PRIZES 2020: And the winners are…
Recently I reviewed the sci-fi novel Re-coil and loved it. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to ask the author, J.T. Nicholas to write a guest post for my blog. So what did I want to know? What are his top 10 sci-fi books of course! So here are his choices. Enjoy! It’s… Read More What have you got on your book shelves?: Author J.T. Nicholas shares his top 10 sci-fi reads
Marianne Spence isn’t sure she wants to ignore the letter she receives inviting her to Skein Island. It drags up painful memories from her past that awaken her need to find answers to questions she never thought she would get the chance to explore. As she ponders whether she should accept the invite, a meeting… Read More Book Review: Skein Island By Aliya Whiteley – A thrilling sci-fi novel that brings the power of storytelling and ancient legends to an unsuspecting modern world
The delight of reading as a child is being able to image yourself as the hero. Looking at the adventurer on the page and seeing yourself in them can really spark a child’s creativity. Having characters that children can identify with in books is a powerful form of representation. It says to them that there… Read More Diversity in Children’s Literature: How Imagine Me Stories shines a spotlight on black characters in children’s books
We Have Always Been Here is the fantastic queer Muslim memoir of editor and photographer Samra Habib. In the book she details her life so far starting with her birth and early childhood in Pakistan. There are some beautifully written snapshots of her early life in the first part of the book. Her memories of… Read More Book Review: We Have Always Been Here – Samra Habib’s Queer Muslim Memoir
Sometimes you find a book that speaks to your soul. That is exactly how I felt about Mudlarking by Lara Maiklem. It is as if she took my favourite places in London and pressed the essence of them in to the pages of her book. Maiklem bring the history of London crashing to life like… Read More Book Review: Mudlarking by Lara Maiklem – Discovering the merky history of London from the River bed of the Thames
Every year we get ready for Pride. We fill the streets with rainbow flags and slap on a bit glitter. It is the designated time of year when most liberal, hetronomative societies in the world have to tolerate the LGBTQQIAAP (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersexual, asexual, ally, pansexual) community so they can shout:… Read More Book Review: The Stonewall Riots – A Documentary History by Marc Stein
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