Features

Check out the full lists of interviews, top tens and articles.

File:Booknewsletters.jpg November 2012 Newsletter

Hi, hello and welcome! The dreaded Christmas shopping season is rapidly approaching. In fact, by the time this newsletter goes out, you'll probably be stuck in already. So we'll say what we say to you every year: don't forget to buy at least one person at least one book! If you're stuck for ideas, you could always look at our lists section. You'll find many of our favourites, all organised in a way that makes it easy to find a good book for any recipient, no matter their age or interests. We hope you find great gifts for everyone on your list - literary or not - and that you receive some great gifts yourself. And we also hope that the entire shopping experience doesn't make you lose the will to live. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Stefan Bachmann

Three years ago a young man emailed to ask if he could review for us. Normally we wouldn't have considered him - he was fifteen and we don't like putting commercial pressures on people who are still at school. He lived in Zurich and we don't post books outside the UK. There was just one thing that we couldn't pass. He wrote like an angel and over the course of a year Stefan gave us some wonderful reviews. We're not surprised that he has a deal with a major publisher but we are delighted and we certainly were not going to pass the chance to ask Stefan a few questions. Read more...

Savita Kalhan Talks To Bookbag About The Long Weekend – The Unused Quote

We were impressed by The Long Weekend and Savita had an interesting story for us when she popped into Bookbag Towers. Read more...

Louisa Reid Talks To Bookbag About All Kinds Of Nasty

We thought that Black Heart Blue was incredibly powerful and more than a little bit frightening. Louisa Reid popped into Bookbag Tower to tell us about All Things Nasty. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Cath Crowley

This has been an incredible year for YA contemporary books, and James would be hard-pressed to choose his favourite. A strong contender, though, would be the long-awaited UK release of Cath Crowley's Graffiti Moon, an enchanting story of one incredible night. It's lyrical, romantic, and full of wonderful characters. He was absolutely thrilled to be able to talk to Cath Crowley about it! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Danaan Elderhill

Danaan Elderhill brought a little magic into our lives with her book The Magic Book of Cookery. We had quite a few questions for her when she popped into Bookbag Towers. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Adam Hamdy

Battalion is an action-packed adventure set some twenty yeas into the future. It's a thriller in the true sense of the word and we'd only just caught our breaths after finishing the book when author Adam Hamdy popped in to see us. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg October 2012 Newsletter

Woohoo! Jill's personal favourite, Bring up the Bodies won this year's Booker Prize, making Hilary Mantel the first woman AND the first Briton to win twice. We are very happy about that, as we are about Mantel's rehabilitation of Thomas Cromwell. Which of the shortlist would you have chosen?

And now, we suppose, thoughts will turn to Christmas. Will you be buying books as gifts? How about a Kindle? The Kindle Fire is out later this month. Are you going to buy one? We're still thinking about it but will let you know what we think if and when we plump for one. You let us know, too. We'd be interested to hear your views. Read more...

Luisa Plaja Talks To Bookbag About Contemporary Series for Young Adults

When I read this great post about series at YA Contemporary, my first thought was, But I have shelves full of YA contemporary series! Surely there are lots of memorable ones still being published? Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Rob Keeley

Last year we were delighted by Rob Keeley's first collection of short stories. This year it was a real pleasure to read The (Fairly) Magic Show and Other Stories. We had quite a few questions to ask him when he popped into Bookbag Towers. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Stephanie Burgis

We've been thrilled by Stephanie Burgis' Magick series and delighted that she was able to find the time to pop into Bookbag Towers to have a chat with us. Read more...

Keren David Talks To Bookbag About Choosing Archie Stone As The Narrator Of Another Life

It's always fascinating to find out what makes an author write a book in a particular way. We've loved Keren David's series about Ty Lewis since we first read When I Was Joe so the opportunity to chat to her about the third book in the series was not one we were prepared to miss. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg September 2012 Newsletter

Hello, hi, how are you? Suffering from Olympic and Paralympic withdrawal? We are. What was your favourite moment? We had so many, we simply couldn't pick just one. And even for bookworms like the team at Bookbag Towers, a summer of sport was a welcome complement to reading. But we are back to normal service now. And to that end, we've been perusing the Booker the shortilist. You can find all it here, together with all the titles on the longlist. It's too close to call a winner, but you're sure to find something you want to read. Take a look! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To David Croydon

Back in the eighties David Croydon was one of the founders of a sales promotion agency and 'The Unprincipled' tells the story of the twelve years from the agency's founding through to its sale. We've thought long and hard about finding just one word to describe the book but we really can't do better than 'scurrilous'. You're best not suggesting that we can have more than one word! When David popped into Bookbag to chat to us we had quite a few questions which we felt needed an answer. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Jackie Marchant

This is a very special day for Robert James, because it's his first ever double interview! He approached Jackie Marchant, who helped put Dougal Trump's 'scribblings' together to form the wonderful I'm Dougal Trump... And It's Not My Fault in the hope of getting an interview with her. Not only did she accept, she also introduced him to the boy who some people are calling 'a modern day William Brown' and he was kind enough to also answer some questions. I hope you enjoy their answers as much as he did! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Chris Worthington

We were completely taken by the idea behind Setting The Record Straight of paying a complete stranger to take revenge on someone who has hurt you and we had quite a few questions to ask author Chris Worthington when he popped in to see us. Read more...

Emma Barnes Talks To Bookbag About Everyday Magic in Children's Books

When Emma Barnes started writing children's books, she wanted to write about real, breathing, contemporary children from everyday families and neighbourhoods having adventures of the kind that might befall anyone. Read more...

Man Booker Prize 2012

The long list was announced on 25 July and we'll know who has made the shortlist on 11 September. The winner will be announced on 16 October. Read more...

Rosie Thomas Talks To Bookbag About Whether She Writes And Travels - Or Travels And Writes

Rosie Thomas popped in to chat to us about have travel lends perspective to her writing. We were fascinated. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg August 2012 Newsletter

Hi, hello, how are you? Coming down from Olympomania (sic)? It's been marvellous, hasn't it? Even the most dedicated non-sporty geeks amongst us - ahem, Jill - have been beside ourselves with excitement.

Sport over though, we have some fantastic news for you this month! HarperCollins has acquired a fantasy debut by an 18-year-old classical musician, Stefan Bachmann. His book, The Peculiar, will be released in October. You might think that name is familiar - and you'd be right. Stefan is on Bookbag's panel of reviewers and we are so pleased to see he is enjoying such success. He is very talented, but he's also friendly, generous, enthusiastic and generally wonderful to know. You can keep up with Stefan by reading his blog. And watch this space for more about The Peculiar. We're keeping everything crossed for its success! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Renae Lucas-Hall

We felt that we were in the heart of Japan when we read Tokyo Hearts - A Japanese Love Story and it was a real pleasure to chat to Renae Lucas-Hall when she called in to see us. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg July 2012 Newsletter

Hi, hello, how are you? Andy Murray didn't win Wimbledon. Boo! It keeps raining. Boo!

There's news from The Reading Agency about this year's summer initiative for children. Every year, thousands of families all over the country are involved in the UK's biggest reading event for children in libraries, the Summer Reading Challenge, coordinated by The Reading Agency. In 2012, the Challenge is called Story Lab. The aim of the challenge is to get children to read six books from their library during the summer holidays. Just head to your local library at the beginning of the summer holidays. You can find out more here. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Susie Day

One of our favourite novels for tweens and younger teens so far this year is the absolutely outstanding Pea's Book of Best Friends by Susie Day – a definite modern classic! We were thrilled to interview Susie. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Simon Packham

We thought that Simon Packham's latest novel tackled a difficult subject with warmth and a surprising amount of humour, so we had quitea few questions for him when he came into Bookbag Towers. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Oldman Brook

We thought that The Wizard of Crescent Moon Mountain by Oldman Brook was a real roller-coaster ride. As soon as we'd picked ourselves up we asked Oldman to pop in and chat to us. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Ruth Warburton

I absolutely loved Ruth Warburton's A Witch in Winter and am just about to get my hands on the sequel A Witch In Love (released next week!) so I was thrilled to get the chance to interview her. Read more...

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2012

With eight great books on the longlist we're looking forward to finding the winner in November. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Gerry Wells

We were very impressed by Gerry Wells' book of short stories based on his experiences of crewing a Sherman tank in WWII. Chatting to him was too good an opportunity to miss. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Jenny Smith

When we read My Big Fat Teen Crisis by Jenny Smith we loved Jenny's breezy writing style. It was a real pleasure to chat to her when she popped in to Bookbag Towers. Read more...

Victoria Eveleigh Talks To Bookbag About Why Pony Books Aren't Just For Girls

Victoria Eveleigh's story about a friendship between a young girl and a wild stallion kept Sue reading well into the night. We were fascinated when Victoria popped in to tell us why pony books are not just for girls. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg June 2012 Newsletter

Wow. First we get a mini heatwave then the skies open and hundreds of people are flooded out of their homes. Where else but Blighty, eh? On the upside, though, we're loving the Sky Arts TV channels at the moment and in particular their coverage of the Hay Festival. For those of us unable to get our diaries in sufficient order to book accommodation a year in advance, it's been great. We almost, but not quite, felt as though we were there. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Cathy Farr

We loved Moon Chase and Moon Crossing and when author Cathy Farr popped into Bookbag Towers we asked her all about fellhounds, Thesk, and how she feels about being a writer. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To David Vann

It's nearly three years since we first discovered the work of David Vann and we're impressed by his latest book. The opportunity to ask the author a few questions was not one to be missed. Read more...

H A Goodman Asks Who Would You Be In An Alternate Reality?

We've really enjoyed our trips around Hal Goodman's afterlife universe, with its dark comedy and glossy plot. He wanted us to think about who we would be in an alternate reality when he popped in to see us. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Stephanie Guerra

We reviewed, and really enjoyed, Stephanie Guerra's Torn earlier this year. She was kind enough to do this interview for us. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Allan Hendry

We enjoyed End Game by Allan Hendry, a fast-paced and action-packed eco-thriller to make you think exactly where we're going - and who is likely to do something about it. We had quite a few questions for the author when he popped in to see us. Read more...

Melissa Wareham Talks To Bookbag About How She Became An Accidental Author

Here at Bookbag Towers we love dogs and people who love dogs, so we knew we'd love Melissa Wareham even if she wasn't such a good writer. When she popped in to see us we wanted to know how the girl from the Dogs' Home became a best-selling author. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Kathryn James

Kathryn James caught our attention last year with her wonderful portrayal of Nell Beecham, the 13-year-old heroine of her first novel, Mist. We're far from being the only ones who are impressed - in fact, just two days ago she won the Dorset New Horizons Award - congratulations, Kathryn! While we're eagerly awaiting book 2, Frost, we managed to persuade her to take a little time out from writing to answer some questions. Read more...

The Desmond Elliott Prize for Debut Fiction Published in the UK 2012

The prize of £10,000 will be awarded to one of the three short-listed books on 28 June Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Ellen Richardson

We thought that Charmed Summer was the 'charming' start to what looked like an exciting new series. We couldn't resist having a chat to the author. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg May 2012 Newsletter

Are you reading ebooks yet? Or are you still in love with physical books? Either way, it's undeniable that ebooks are becoming more and more popular and their prevalence raises all sorts of questions about the future of publishing generally and about the best ways to market individual books. The Authors Electric group of writers has been giving this some serious thought. Recently, and to coincide with World Book Night, they organised a two-night giveaway. 15 member authors gave away 21 books via the Amazon Select promotion scheme. In all, they gave away 15,353 ebooks. And it paid off. 19 of the titles made Amazon's worldwide top 20 lists. In the UK, 8 made the top 5 and 12 made the top ten. That is some going, don't you think?! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Francis Bennett

We loved The Crabber Stories- a book of coming-of-age short stories set on Long Island in the nineteen-fifties - and we had plenty to talk about when Francis Bennett popped in to see us. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Karen McCombie

Here at Bookbag we've always been big fans of Karen McCombie and we particularly enjoyed Life According to... Alice B. Lovely so it was a real pleasure to ask her a few questions. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Daniela Sacerdoti

We liked Dreams (Sarah Midnight Trilogy) by Daniela Sacerdoti, the start to a new teen paranormal series and had a few questions we wanted to ask the author. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Anne Allen

We really enjoyed Dangerous Waters: Mystery, Loss and Love on the Island of Guernsey so we had plenty we wanted to talk about when author Anne Allen popped in to see us at Bookbag Towers. Read more...

Linda Newbery Talks To Bookbag in Praise of Charity Shops

Here at Bookbag we were blown away by Linda Newbery's latest book The Treasure House and we couldn't wait to hear about the inspiration behind the story. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Tony Parsons

We enjoyed Tony Parson's latest novel Catching the Sun and we really wanted to know more about the background to the book when Tony popped into Bookbag Towers. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Louisa Reid

We were very impressed by Louisa Reid's debut novel Black Heart Blue and we had lots of questions we wanted to ask her. Read more...

Jon Mayhew Talks To Bookbag About The Bonehill Curse: Influences and Inspirations

Imagine you had your own magic lamp, just like Aladdin. Think of what you'd wish for! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Elizabeth Wein

We loved Code Name Verity and when author Elizabeth Wein popped into Bookbag Towers we had some searching questions to ask her. Read more...

Barbara J Zitwer talks to Bookbag about meeting the ladies at the Hampstead Heath Ladies Pond on the day her mother died

Barbara J Zitwer on meeting the ladies at the Hampstead Heath Ladies Pond in London on the day her mother died in New York and why these women, alongside her mother were transformed into the main characters for her debut novel, The J M Barrie Ladies' Swimming Society. Read more...

Barbara Mitchelhill Talks To Bookbag About Her Favourite Period in History: The Tudors

We loved Barbara Mitchelhill's Road to London and couldn't wait to hear more about Barbara's fascination with the smell of Tudor life. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg April 2012 Newsletter

Hello! Is the weather doing weird things around your way? At Bookbag Towers, the weather just can't make up its mind. It's bitterly cold one day and sunshine warm the next. It's playing havoc with our wardrobe choices. Sigh.

One piece of bookish news that caught our eye this month was about a $20m fund launched by audiobook Audible. Authors signing up to its program will benefit financially if they use social media to promote their work. You can read about it here in The Guardian. Writers will get $1 dollar for every audiobook sold through either Audible or iTunes. A dig at Kindle, we wonder? It's not as though authors aren't already using social media. All the ones we know are, anyway. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Liz Kessler

Robert recently read A Year Without Autumn. He was thrilled when Liz popped into Bookbag Towers for a chat. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Jane Prowse

We came late to the charm of Hattori Hachi but when Author Jane Prowse dropped in to see us we had quite a few questions to ask her! Read more...

William Poundstone Talks To Bookbag About Job Interviews

Ever since we read Are You Smart Enough To Work At Google? we've been trying out the questions on each other. William Poundstone popped into Bookbag Towers and chatted to us about some of the questions which are asked at job interviews. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Olga Levancuka

After years (a lifetime!) of being told to be less selfish and to put other people first it was a relief to encounter someone who had other ideas - so when Olga Levancuka came to the office with some copies of her book we couldn't wait to ask her a few questions. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Terry Murphy

Here at Bookbag Towers we really enjoyed Weekend in Weighton by Terry Murphy and we were very taken by his hero, Eddie Greene. When Terry popped into the office we had a few questions for him. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Cat Clarke

We've been impressed by both Entangled and Torn by Cat Clarke, so we enticed her into the office to ask her a few questions. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Marc Nash

We really enjoyed the collection of flash fiction by Marc Nash and it was a real pleasure to chat to him when he popped into Bookbag Towers. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Margie Gelbwasser

We found Margie Gelbwasser's Pieces of Us to be one of the most disturbing YA books we've ever read, but it was incredibly well-written. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to find out a bit more about this talented author. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg March 2012 Newsletter

Hello! How are things? Read anything good lately? Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Kai Meyer

Arcadia Awakens. is a super blend of action thriller and paranormal romance set in Sicily. We recommend it for for interesting characters and wonderful scene-setting and, of course, jumped at the chance to chat to Kai about it. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Megan Miranda

Fracture is an excellent, thought-provoking, teen chiller and a very impressive debut for Megan Miranda. We had to talk to her! Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To S B Hayes

We thought that Poison Heart was a really compelling psychological thriller with strong characters and an incredibly tense atmosphere making this one you shouldn't miss. We couldn't miss talking to the author either! Read more...

Matthew Green Talks To Bookbag About His Own Imaginary Friend

We were impressed by Matthew Green's Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend and fascinated to hear about his own friend, called Johnson Johnson. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Sam Hawksmoor

We loved The Repossession, a stunning sci-fi novel for teens, with an exceptionally likeable central pairing and a fast-moving and exciting plot. It's totally crazy in the very best way. We couldn't resist asking a few questions when Sam popped into see us. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Sadie S Forsythe

Jill enjoyed The Weeping Empress finding it enjoyably direct with a satisfying plot. It was a real pleasure when Sadie popped into Bookbag Towers to chat to us. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg February 2012 Newsletter

Hello, how are you? We've been finding out all sorts of interesting stuff this month. Not long ago Sue was introduced to the work of Scottish Book Trust and was surprised by how little she knew about it and that its work was not restricted to Scotland. We persuaded Beth Bottery to tell us more about the work the Trust does and how schools (and adults) across the UK and the rest of the world can benefit. You can - and should! - read all about it here.

We've also been reading like mad and have all sorts of recommendations to make! Read more...

Beth Bottery Talks To Bookbag About Scottish Book Trust

Not long ago Sue was introduced to the work of Scottish Book Trust and was surprised by how little she knew about it and that its work was not restricted to Scotland. We persuaded Beth Bottery to tell us more about the work the Trust does and how schools (and adults) across the UK and the rest of the world can benefit. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Edward Hogan

We were very impressed when we read Daylight Saving, a gripping thriller with a superb central pairing and tons of atmosphere. We knew that he was an author to watch so we couldn't miss the opportunity to have a chat with Ed. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Tim Bowler

Blade is one of Bookbag's favourite series for children ever - and we mean ever. OUP are giving it a reissue with four books in longer instalments rather than the original eight books in very short ones. Whatever the size of the package, this is one series you shouldn't miss. So of course, we jumped at the chance to ask Tim Bowler a few questions. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Danielle Joseph

We really enjoyed Danielle's book Indigo Blues and the chance to chat to us was too good to miss. Read more...

The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Helena Close

Here at Bookbag we were very impressed by Helena Close's novel The Clever One and we were delighted when she dropped by for a chat. Read more...

File:Booknewsletters.jpg January 2012 Newsletter

Hello and a belated Happy New Year to you all. Did you have a super-duper festive season? Was it busy-busy-busy or laid-back and relaxed? Did you receive nice presents? More importantly, were any of them books?

We're back in the saddle here at Bookbag Towers and we have been reviewing as busily as ever. There's some wonderful stuff around at the moment and you can read about our favourites right here in this newsletter.

Before we go any further, though, we did want to tell you about the Bloomsbury Institute. Have you ever wanted to get a glimpse inside the world of publishing? Rub shoulders with authors and listen to their talks? Well, now you can. Bloomsbury are organising a series of events at their London home in Bedford Square. The first is on 31st January and features two Bookbag favourites, Stephen Kelman and Nick Lake. You can find out more - and sign up to attend - by looking at the website. What a great initiative! Read more...

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