Sunjeev Sahota shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015

15th September 2015

Many congratulations to Sunjeev Sahota, whose novel THE YEAR OF THE RUNAWAYS is one of six books shortlisted for this year’s Man Booker Prize. The novel tells the story of three Indian immigrants living in a house in Sheffield, and the devout, extraordinary woman on the other side of the city who will change at least one of their lives.

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Andrew Harding sums up his time as BBC’s Africa correspondent

10th September 2015

Andrew Harding signed off this week as the BBC’s Africa correspondent with this moving blog:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-34138616

At J&N we’re delighted that he now has more time to write his wonderful book about Somalia.

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Kevin Fong to give the 2015 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

2nd September 2015

Kevin Fong, a flying doctor and expert in space medicine, will use the Royal Institution Christmas lectures to explore how an immense controlled explosion propels astronauts into a beautiful and hostile environment where a single mistake can mean death in seconds.

The lecture series, How to Survive in Space, will hopefully include a live two-way video chat with Tim Peake, Britain’s first European Space Agency astronaut, who is set to arrive at the International Space Station for the start of his mission, Principia, days before the lectures begin.

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BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week:Francis Bacon In Your Blood

25th August 2015

Adrian Scarborough reads Michael Peppiatt’s intimate and indiscreet account of his thirty-year friendship with the defining artist of our time.

Michael Peppiatt met Francis Bacon in June 1963 in Soho’s French House to request an interview for a student magazine. Bacon invited him to lunch, and over oysters and Chablis they began a friendship and a no-holds-barred conversation that would continue until Bacon’s death in 1992.

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Hallie Rubenhold has historical novel adapted for the BBC, starring Natalie Dormer

18th August 2015

A TV adaptation of Hallie Rubenhold’s Lady Worsley’s Whim aired on BBC2 as a racy period drama titled The Scandalous Lady W on 17th August. Starring Natalie Dormer as the spirited young heiress, over 2.5 million people tuned in to watch her make history with a divorce that shocked the country. To keep this number on the rise, watch it here.

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Mrs Engels longlisted for Guardian First Book Award

17th August 2015

Gavin McCrea’s Mrs Engels has been long-listed for the 2015 Guardian First Book Award as one of ten débuts selected by judges for their flair and originality. His novel, set in both Manchester and London, imagines a world where Friedrich Engels marries a simple factory worker, Lizzie Burns, whilst joining Karl Marx in stirring up a revolution, and Lizzie’s own heart.

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Alex Bellos on The Royal Society Winton Prize Shortlist

5th August 2015

Judge Sarah Waters: “The best science writers can move and thrill us just as much as Austen or Dickens”

The Royal Society has announced the shortlist for The Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books 2015, the only major international prize that celebrates science writing for a non-specialist audience.

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Sahota and Smaill Longlisted for Man Booker Prize

30th July 2015

We are thrilled to announce that The Year of the Runaways, by Sunjeev Sahota, and The Chimes, by Anna Smaill, have been selected for the ‘Man Booker Dozen’; the long-list of 13 books in the running for the £50,000 Man Booker Prize.

This year’s list was selected from 156 novels by a panel of five judges chaired by Michael Wood, and also comprising Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, John Burnside, Sam Leith and Frances Osborne.

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Tim Butcher Launches Website

14th July 2015

Facebook and Twitter aficionado Tim Butcher has finally bitten the bullet and got himself a website. It’s great to see all the information you need about his wonderful three books, Blood River, Chasing the Devil and The Trigger (just out in paperback) all in one place.

http://www.tim-butcher.com/

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Namwali Serpell Wins The Caine Prize for African Writing

7th July 2015

Namwali Serpell has become the first Zambian writer to win the prestigious Caine prize for African writing, for a short story described as “truly luminous” by judges.

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