Unbound Catalogue Spring 2020

FRONT COVER

AUTUMN 2019 HIGHLIGHTS Effin’ Birds Aaron Reynolds 978-1-78352-695-6 £14.99 Cain’s Jawbone Torquemada 978-1-78352-741-0 £20.00 Of Mouse and Man Jim’ll Paint It 978-1-78352-840-0 £25.00 Fuck Yeah, Video Games Daniel Hardcastle 978-1-78352-787-8 £12.99 Ring the Hill Tom Cox 978-1-78352-835-6 £16.99 The Last Landlady Laura Thompson 978-1-78352-845-5 £9.99 How to Be a Craftivist Sarah Corbett 978-1-78352-843-1 £10.99

Unbound Unit 18 Waterside 44–48 Wharf Road London N1 7UX Tel. 020 7253 4230 For a full list of contacts visit www.unbound.com Head of Sales Julian Mash julian@unbound.com Head of Rights Ilona Chavasse ilona@unbound.com Head of Publicity Amy Winchester amy@unbound.com To order any of the books in this catalogue please contact your PGUK rep.

If you’re unsure who that is, contact Julian Mash at julian@unbound.com.

Dear Reader, Welcome to our spring 2020 catalogue. Once again we have a wonderfully diverse selection of books, from groundbreaking anthologies to women philosophers via small robots and electric vehicles.

To kick off the year we welcome Robert Llewellyn back to Unbound, this time in the company of his Fully Charged friends. Fully Charged is the world’s number-one clean energy and electric vehicle YouTube channel, and The Fully Charged Guide to Electric Vehicles & Clean Energy is a snapshot of the latest innovations in these fields from around the world. The book is published in January 2020 and you can read about their tips on how to choose an electric vehicle on page 8.

February sees the publication of A Curious History of Sex by Dr Kate Lister, an eye-opening exploration of the weird and wonderful things human beings have done in pursuit (and denial) of the mighty orgasm, based on the hugely popular Twitter account @WhoresofYore. You can read Kate’s interview with editor Imogen Denny on page 15.

I’m guessing you’ve heard the names Plato, Kant, Nietzsche and Locke – but what about Hypatia, Arendt, Oluwole and Young? The history of philosophy has not done women justice, something we hope to rectify with the publication of The Philosopher Queens in June. This is the long-awaited book about the lives and works of women in philosophy by women in philosophy. This collection brings to centre stage twenty prominent women whose ideas have had a profound – but for the most part uncredited – impact on how we see and understand the world.

We have two important and illuminating anthologies out in May: Made Possible presents the authentic experiences of a range of professionals from diverse backgrounds who all boast remarkable achievements – in sport, the arts and politics, among other fields – regardless of the fact they happen to have a disability. And What Doesn’t Kill You: Fifteen Stories of Survival features writers and performers – including Rory Bremner and Cathy Rentzenbrink – who share the stories of their secret battles and take you on a journey through the darkest recesses of their lives.

These are just some of the highlights: and I haven’t even had time to mention our ‘From the Shop Floor’ feature, where we hear all about

the ongoing success of the wonderful bookshop-deli-café that is The Mainstreet Trading Company – as always, we encourage our readers to support their local independent bookshop!

Happy reading (until next time…), Julian Mash, Head of Sales

CONTENTS From the Shop Floor

The Mainstreet Trading Company

How to Choose an Electric Vehicle

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A guide from Robert Llewellyn and his Fully Charged friends

A year of correspondence between a cook and a gardener

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An interview with Kate Lister, founder of Whores of Yore

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An extract from Unbound’s latest issues-based anthology

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The best of Jim’ll Paint It: you name it, he’ll paint it

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The answer is right here

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An excerpt from this anthology on survival, strength and success

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Meet some helpful, adorable and (mostly) useful robot friends

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Rhubarb Rhubarb

Behind the Scenes of A Curious History of Sex Made Possible

Of Mouse and Man

Where Are All the Women Philosophers?

What Doesn’t Kill You Small Robots

Catherine Spencer: England Rugby Captain On life as a rugby player and being a woman in sport The Laughing Baby

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The extraordinary science behind what makes babies happy

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A few words on accents, from Sunday Times bestselling author Tom Cox

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Motivation from fitness blogger and author Bangs Carey-Campbell

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Author Poorna Bell on what she has learned about women’s strength

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January to June 2020

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January to June 2020

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A peek at the writer’s bookshelf

The Place My Voice and I Are From

Top Five Ways to Get out of a Workout Funk 100 kg of Inner Strength New Titles: Spring New Titles: Digital

Shelfie: Alex Preston

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FROM THE SHOP FLOOR: THE MAINSTREET TRADING COMPANY Address: Main St, St Boswells Scottish Borders, TD6 0AT Opening Hours: Tuesday–Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m Sunday: 11 a.m. to 4.30 p.m Monday: Closed Tel: 01835 824087 Email: info@mainstreetbooks.co.uk Mainstreet Trading opened their doors in 2008, with a mission to ‘champion what we love, and offer customers a wonderful shopping experience’. They have more than achieved that objective, attracting a loyal customer base and winning numerous awards over the years, including Independent Bookshop of the Year 2012, Children’s Bookseller of the Year 2010, and Scottish Independent Bookshop of the Year 2011.

In 2012 they developed the beautiful barn behind the main shop to create a Deli & Home shop and won Deli of the Year two years later. We caught up with the shop’s owner, Rosamund de la Hey, to find out more about the space and why she thinks bookshops are so important.

How many staff do you have?

We have about twenty-two staff, but this is across the whole business (books, café, deli and home) – they are a mix of part-time and full-time.

On the books side, it’s really Vivian and me, with Di, Susanna and Jack working part-time.

Tell us about the shop. Where is it located and how is the stock laid out?

We are in the rural Scottish Borders, in a beautiful village called St Boswells. It’s not the most obvious place for a shop of our type, so many people thought us crazy to open in 2008. We planned the shop as a destination, so the books are laid out with the emphasis on light, discoverability and serendipity – lots of big tables so you can really see the covers. The best thing is when customers come in for coffee, and then discover all sorts of books they didn’t realise they needed.

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What was your aim when starting the shop?

To put the right book in the hands of the right customer and have the pleasure of sharing the books I particularly love.

What sort of customers do you have?

A complete mix of our local families and the older generation, plus masses of visitors. We are situated just off the A68, which takes you south to Newcastle or north to Edinburgh, so we get lots of passing trade, plus people visiting family in the area. You can always tell when it’s the holiday season.

Do you have an events programme?

Yes. I always knew events would be a big part of the shop as my background is in PR and marketing. It’s a great way of encouraging new people to visit the shop, and introducing them to new writers we love. We try and programme a broad range of events from cookery and biography, to travel and fiction.

What shops do you admire and why?

So many! We know and love our fellow Scottish and northern indies, not least The Golden Hare (this year’s winner of Indie of the Year at the Nibbies), and I’m really excited to visit two brand new shops just opening in Edinburgh: The Portobello Bookshop and Toppings, Edinburgh, both of which look beautiful in photographs online. The city is now blessed with numerous brilliant indies – all of which carve out a different identity.

What has been a recent bestseller for you?

In the past two months, our top three sellers have been No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg, Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller and After the Party by Cressida Connolly – the latter two influenced by their shortlisting for the Walter Scott Historical Fiction Prize.

Who decides what to stock?

I do, along with Vivian, who is particularly good at spotting smaller, beautiful presses and championing them.

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HOW TO CHOOSE AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE A guide to some of the top electric vehicles on the market, from Robert Llewellyn and his Fully Charged friends. Are you ready to make the ‘big switch’?

So, you want to buy an electric vehicle (EV). Good! Why? Is it because you want to do your part in helping to care for the planet?

Is it purely for financial reasons? Is it a tax dodge? Whatever your reason, you probably have some questions. Where do I start? How far can I drive it? Which is the best EV for me? These are all excellent questions, and Fully Charged’s Robert Llewellyn and Fifth Gear’s Jonny Smith are here to help guide you gently on your way.

© P Cox / Alamy Stock Photo

© Tramino

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BMW i3 It’s hard to believe this pillarless, rigid, carbon-fibre four-seater masterpiece first appeared in 2012. It still looks as fresh today as it did then – very few cars possess the style of an i3’s minimal cabin. In fact, it was a generation before its time – most people weren’t ready to accept it. From the bare carbon door shuts and skinny large diameter alloys to the recycled material dash and wool upholstery, the i3 was radical in looks but with obvious practicalities.

In 2019 the i3 REx range extender version was cancelled, and the year before it featured the most subtle of facelifts. Not that it needed one. Now there is a 120 Ah lithium-ion battery pack that delivers a range of 193 miles. The i3S is an even sportier version (the vanilla flavour i3 is pretty engaging in all ways) that manages 177 miles. The ranges aren’t headlinegrabbing, but it feels like you’ve been allowed to buy a concept car through BMW’s back door.

There is no doubt in my mind that the i3 will go down in history as an EV classic.

DS3 Crossback E-Tense The Citroën luxury quirky sub-brand enters the pure EV arena with a premium baby fivedoor SUV that will share a Common Modular Platform (CMP) with the upcoming Vauxhall Corsa and Peugeot 208. Designed to rival Volvo’s XC40 and Audi A2 e-tron (due in 2021), the Crossback has a cabin that oozes tactile materials, quality infotainment and diamond shapes. Lots of diamond shapes.

The distinctly designed posh Citroën will have a 100 kW motor, 50 kWh battery, a WLTP range of around 185 miles, 80% charging in 30 minutes and 0–62 in 8.7 seconds. The bigger DS7 E-Tense will go on sale in 2020.

© Kaukola Photography / Shutterstock.com

© VanderWolf Images / Shutterstock.com Mercedes-Benz EQC Merc are not entirely new to the EV game, as some Fully Charged followers may know.

The B-class Electric Drive was a piston car adapted to EV and also hydrogen power (called the F-cell). The EQC is their first ground-up electric car in the EQ subbrand, and like Audi it has launched with a conventional-looking SUV. It wears a distinctive front grille arrangement with fibreoptic illumination and some faux exhaust © Grzegorz Czapski / Shutterstock.com outlets at the rear – presumably so as not to scare off conservative buyers.

The EQC has a WLTP score of 280 miles and with an 80 kWh battery pack can rapid charge to 80% in 40 minutes. 4Matic means 4WD in Merc speak. Twin electric motors combine to make 408 hp and 0–62 in 5.2 seconds. The EQC has a beautiful cabin with huge screens and infotainment. By 2020 you’ll also be able to buy a smaller version of this © Tramino car, as Mercedes roll out more EQ products.

Me? I’m waiting for a lovely ’leccy Merc estate car.

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© Fully Charged © Fully Charged

Rivian I hate the term ‘game changer’, so let’s just say that the Rivian products have stolen the lion’s share of headlines and promise to disrupt the traditional manufacturers. It can do 0–60 as quick as a McLaren or Lamborghini, but is able to tow over 3,500 kg and carry more luggage than a van. Think Tesla meets Range Rover, so pure EV with off-roading capabilities never before seen in an electric vehicle combined with stunning luxury. When products like these sell for less than $80,000, I start to see the scale of electric car scope, and I see the acceptance of plug-ins even among the most staunch engine enthusiasts.

Rivian has plucked engineers from established car makers and tech companies, and is about to sell one of the most disruptive EVs of 2020. The Rivian R1T double cab truck has been so influential that Ford have reacted by promising a fully electric version of their most popular model – the F-150 pick-up. This isn’t the first time that the big established companies are playing catch up, but it’s only a good thing to see. America, TRUCK YEAH.

© Fully Charged

Tesla Model 3 The Model 3 in right-hand drive cannot come soon enough. It distills the DNA from its big brother Model S and makes it feel far more relevant, nimble and exciting for European drivers. Having driven a Model 3 in America, I was pleasantly surprised by its proportions, comfort and feel. Design-wise it’s not exactly beautiful, but it’s the packaging as a whole that really convinces me that this car will be seen a lot on British roads in 2020.

The £50,000 and £70,000 Performance Pack all-wheel drive cars (0–62 in 3.7 seconds – oof) will emerge in right-hand drive first, followed by the rear wheel drive c.£30,000 version probably towards the end of 2020. One thing we do know is that Model 3s in Europe will come equipped with CCS charging ports.

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Volvo Polestar 2 The Polestar 1 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) was due to be launched in 2019 so Polestar 2 will be Volvo’s sub-brand’s first pure EV. The Polestar 2 will be a mid-sized high-rise saloon priced between £30,000 and £50,000 to rival Tesla’s Model 3. It will offer a range as high as 300+ miles, and as much as 400 bhp on tap. It is pretty, because Volvo’s design language is smashing it out of the park right now. Their interiors are only a few notches down from Bentley.

© Grzegorz Czapski / Shutterstock.com

Find The Fully Charged Guide to Electric Vehicles & Clean Energy on page 56

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© VDWI Automotive / Alamy Stock

© Fully Charged

Volkswagen ID At the time of writing, this car still hasn’t been delivered, but at the time of reading it will be hitting the streets. Not one or two, not in special showrooms where there’s a nine-month waiting list. I predict this will be the first genuinely mass-market electric car that will be widely available and will blow people’s minds, and it might just, if they are lucky, pull Volkswagen’s reputation out of a toxic cloud of diesel fumes.

If you have ever driven a VW Golf, this is much better. It just feels solid, confident, agile, it has an amazing turning circle, it’s incredibly easy to drive, it has an impressive range and it can charge very fast.

I truly believe this car, along with the Honda Urban EV, will make electric cars normal and mainstream. We will start to see genuine mass adoption.

RHUBARB RHUBARB Rhubarb Rhubarb is the correspondence over one year between a cook and a gardener, two good friends who bonded through a mutual terror of what they call ‘professional mothers’. Finding themselves in a perfect world of cupcakes and gym bunnies, they decided to decode and demystify their own skills, sharing nononsense gardening tips and simple but delicious recipes along the way, with hilarious consequences.

Dear Gardener, My dog walks over the years seem to have become nature walks. As a born and bred city girl, I never pictured myself in a cagoule looking at acorns and blackberries but I do find myself walking along noticing certain things – a particularly beautiful blossom tree, some wonderful daisies, or a splendidly shaped, very green oak leaf. After twenty years of incarceration here, the country has had its benefits – the main upside for me being the joy of owning dogs and a good look at what’s going on outside… I’ll be on Countryfile next.

At the moment I keep seeing anemones on my walks, but when I look them up, one looks completely different from the other. Help. I hear some are small – how small? I am not entirely sure what or where they can be squeezed into. In fact, I am not entirely sure about anemones at all and seem to know nothing about them – do people actually grow anemones in their garden? Do they come in different shapes as well as sizes – and are they alpine flowers? I am wondering if I should grow them. Are they another spring flower to add to the array, or do they come out a bit later? I’m sure I saw some in the woods last year, which means they must like shade – is my deduction correct? I’ve just remembered (this very second, as I write) watching someone like Monty Don on television at the Chelsea Flower Show discussing anemones and interviewing someone from Japan, so this means they must grow everywhere. Think I’m becoming the Poirot of Plantworld.

By the way, you mentioned asparagus the other day and asked what are my most favourite things about it. Well, the thing I like most about asparagus is that I never go off it – ever. I sometimes overuse certain ingredients or eat something just one time too many, but this never happens with asparagus: it’s always delicious.

Many would say asparagus soup is a waste of the hallowed vegetable, but I think not. It is smooth, velvety and luxurious. If you have 12

some slightly over-the-hill-looking specimens, these are perfect for the job, and it is very easy to make.

— Cook Velvet Asparagus Soup Serves 6 1 onion, chopped 3 or 4 bundles (or approx. 550 g/20 oz) of asparagus Salt and pepper 1 potato, chopped (optional) 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock Juice of half a lemon 30 ml (1fl oz) double cream A snipful of chives to finish off Sweat the onion in a little oil and butter over a low heat, until softened.

Cut off any woody ends from the asparagus, chop into pieces and add to the onion. Add some salt and pepper and leave to soften for about 5 minutes, but make sure nothing catches or sticks. Add the stock (and the optional potato for extra thickness) then leave to cook for about 20 minutes. Liquidise the soup; if you are a purist, you may want to sieve it afterwards… Stir in the lemon juice. Add the cream over a gentle heat then serve, sprinkled with the chives.

Dear Cook, Try not to get Anemone Anxiety. The sweetest ones are the tiny blue or white starry flowers which you find in woodland. But buy your own – honestly, they can be squeezed into every pot. The corms (the anemone version of a bulb) are small and knobbly and look rather like wizened walnuts, which is how to distinguish them from daffodil bulbs (which look a bit like onions but are not for the kitchen) and from crocus bulbs (which look like small daffodil bulbs – simple).

There is indeed a Japanese anemone – a lovely, tall-stemmed plant that looks great winding its way through the autumn border (so not just a spring flower). There’s a gorgeous white one, ‘Honorine Jobert’, which works well in shadier spots, too. I can see where the confusion has arisen as there are loads of different varieties of anemone that don’t look as if they should be related: Anemone coronaria is yet another type – this 13

© Laura Jazwinski

one is excellent as a cut flower in early summer so, once again, not just a spring flower. For your info, these get planted at the same time as tulip bulbs. Again, many to choose from – go for anything with ‘De Caen’ in the name as they are gorgeous, with velvety petals in rich, jewel-like colours. A must.

Thanks for the mouth-watering recipes, and also thanks for not asking me how to grow said spears: asparagus requires patience and, like many of us, a bed of its own. The key is not to harvest the spears in the first year – advice that I absolutely know you could not be trusted to follow. If you ask me again in a year’s time, I’ll know you’re committed.

— Gardener

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Find Rhubarb Rhubarb on page 73

BEHIND THE SCENES OF A CURIOUS HISTORY OF SEX Dr Kate Lister, lecturer and curator of the online research project for the study of historical sexuality, Whores of Yore, speaks to Unbound editor Imogen Denny about turning her popular Twitter account (@WhoresofYore, more than 275k followers) into a fascinating book that will make readers both chortle in surprise and howl in outrage.

Imogen Denny: How did this book, A Curious History of Sex, come about?

Kate Lister: I’d love to say it was all well planned out, but that just wouldn’t be true. It grew out of my Twitter feed, @WhoresofYore, and that certainly wasn’t planned. I started tweeting little bits and pieces of sex history I found interesting or that I was researching, and the feed started to grow. It turns out other people like learning about sex history as well. The bigger the feed got, the more I started to do with it. I built the website and started blogging about sex history. People seemed to like my writing, and then Unbound approached me to ask if I had ever thought of writing a book – and the rest, as they say, is sex history.

ID: When did you realise that you could make a career out of researching sex work? And when did your interest in the history of sex begin?

KL: I’ve always been fascinated by history – and sex, to be honest. Even as I child, I would sit in the library reading as many history books as I could get my hands on. And when I wasn’t reading those, I was trying to work out what was happening in the sex scenes of the library’s Mills & Boon romance novels. Not knowing what sex was, it didn’t make much sense, but I was fascinated by it nonetheless. I’m still trying to work it all 15

out to this day. I didn’t set out to make a career of it, but I kept studying and eventually moved into academia. It was the Twitter feed that really changed it all for me, because it allowed me to talk with and listen to the sex work community today; I don’t want to be someone who researches sex work; I want to be someone who supports sex workers with their research.

From the archives of Richard von Krafft-Ebing © Wellcome Collection, CC BY

ID: Which was your favourite chapter to research, and why?

KL: That’s like asking me to choose a favourite child! I suppose the one that took the most work is the chapter on the clitoris. I wanted that one to be the longest in the book because clitorises never get enough attention. I enjoyed writing the chapter on pubic hair, because so many of the sources I was using made me laugh. The one that surprised me most was the chapter on testicular gland treatment in the early twentieth century. I had no idea that there were cases of young men having their testicles stolen to feed the black market in testicle transplants.

ID: How do you think attitudes to sex have changed since you started working in this field?

KL: Attitudes are changing all the time and that’s thanks to all the people working in the field of sex 16

© Wellcome Collection, CC BY

history. For a long time, it wasn’t even regarded as a serious subject. Now, there are many brilliant historians working on sex history. It’s certainly becoming more mainstream, but it remains a subject many people are uncomfortable with. It can lead to embarrassed sniggers, awkward silences and people making jokes about it, but we’re getting there.

ID: What would you most like to see change in relation to society’s sexual norms in the next couple of years?

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© Wellcome Collection, CC BY John Milton Laws

Silver-bound hinged cowrie shell containing a painting of a man unlocking the

KL: I hope that we chastity belt of a reclining woman. can get over our own embarrassment and provide proper sex education in schools. We need to talk to our kids about sex and sexuality, but we also have to talk to them about consent, porn, online grooming, sexting, Tinder and everything else. Right now, we have a generation of kids learning about sex from porn and no one there to tell them what porn is and reassure them that people don’t actually have sex like that! I hope that we can stop moralising around sex and sex work, in particular. We need to Nineteenth-century four-pointed urethral ring for the treatment of masturbation. The ring would be fitted around the penis before decriminalise sex work to keep bedtime, and if the wearer had an erection during the night, the teeth workers safe. would bite into the penis and wake the poor chap up.

ID: Do you have a favourite anecdote or fact from the book?

KL: Yes! That ancient Sanskrit has a number of terms for the clitoris: yoni-lingam (vulva-penis), bhagankura (sprout of the vulva), and my personal favourite, smara-chatra, which translates to ‘umbrella of the God of Love’.

To find that out, I had to email Professor Wendy Doniger – an expert in ancient Indian texts. She was so lovely and very patiently talked me through the original ancient Sanskrit language used for the vulva in the Kama Sutra.

ID: What is your preferred term for ‘dancing with your arse to the ceiling’ (1904)?

This condom dates to around 1900 and is made of animal gut membrane, known as caecal. The gut would be cut to size and dried out, and required soaking in milk or water to rehydrate it. They were then fastened on the penis with a ribbon or string, and then washed out after use and reused – several times.

KL: Oh, there are so many! I think my favourite slang terms are actually for cunnilingus – ‘sneezing in the cabbage’ and ‘impersonating Stalin’ being two of my favourites. Slang tells us so much about how sex was understood throughout history.

ID: Do you have another writing project in the pipeline? A second volume, perhaps?

KL: I think there’s scope for a second volume! I’ve enjoyed writing this one so much, and as I say in the book, there is so much more to talk about. Even as I was writing this one, I was spotting new and interesting areas to dig into.

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Find A Curious History of Sex on page 59

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MADE POSSIBLE Social affairs journalist Saba Salman has reported on equality and disability issues for over twenty years. In one of Unbound’s newest anthologies, Made Possible, she brings together a diverse range of contributors with learning disabilities, all of whom have won accolades in their own fields of film, theatre, television, campaigning, politics and more. Their achievements are astounding, regardless of the fact they happen to have a disability, and in this book they share their personal stories of success – in their own words. Below is an extract from Shaun Webster’s piece, ‘Father Shaun’.

I am standing on my dad’s doorstep. It’s twenty years since he called me a retard. I haven’t seen much of him since then. He told me I’d never work, never live on my own, never have a relationship. I’m here today, holding the MBE I was awarded for services to people with learning disabilities. I came on the bus from the flat where I live alone. I’ve got an ex-girlfriend standing next to me for moral support. I haven’t told my dad I’m coming.

He opens the door. He smells of booze. He looks at me, confused.

‘All right, Dad? You still a pisshead?’

‘You can’t talk to me like that!’ he says.

‘Why not?’ I say. ‘You’ve said so much bad stuff to me. You told me I’d never have a job, never live on my own. I’ve been abroad, Dad. I’ve met Prince Charles. He gave me this MBE.’ I hold up the medal.

He’s gobsmacked. I feel proud that I proved him wrong.

I’ve been wanting this day for years. It’s not revenge – it’s to prove who I am now.

My dad pushed me to push myself to prove him wrong. His words drove me to get where I am now, like an engine. He said to me I’d never have a job, never have kids and never do anything. He said I was too dumb.

My dad was embarrassed about my learning disability and embarrassed that I went to a special school. I believed what he said for years.

In the past, I used to be ashamed of my learning disability because my dad used to put me down, especially after he’d been drinking. In the past I used to despise having a learning disability. I used to feel embarrassed, like a second-class citizen. But not now. I’m proud of my learning disability because I feel like I’m breaking down barriers as a human rights speaker and campaigner, which is what I got my MBE for.

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I travel the world through my job as an international project worker at CHANGE, which is a human rights charity. My main job is to train organisations on how to make information accessible for people with learning disabilities and encourage them to support people better by actually listening to what they want. I feel that I’m changing attitudes and making a difference. I’ve got everything I wanted in life – kids, grandkids, work, a home – and I got it myself. It wasn’t easy, but I got there.

My learning disability is a bit of me, but it’s not a big deal and it doesn’t define me. It hasn’t stopped me having a life.

Success for me is about believing in yourself and making your own decisions. Success is about earning your own money and living independently. You can’t have one without the other. Being employed gives you power, and having a role and responsibility makes you more independent. And when people are employed and live on their own, they can inspire others. The money I earn gives me opportunities to do things I always wanted to do – live in my own place, go to the pub, go shopping.

I knew I didn’t want to live with my mum till I was thirty or forty.

So I put my name down for a council flat when I was sixteen years old. I moved out at twenty-one into a council flat in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, with my younger brother.

My mum had split up with my dad by then – she’s an amazing woman, we have a brilliant relationship – and she also wanted me to be able to live on my own. The flat was close to my mum’s, and my brother supported me with things like reading letters and cooking, but I felt I wasn’t getting the chance to try things on my own. I love my brother and he wasn’t doing anything bad; he just thought I’d struggle, so he did things for me. But I wanted to do everything like everyone else did – I wanted to cook, clean, dust, pay my bills – just like a normal person.

So I moved out on my own and I had help from a housing support organisation called KeyRing, which helps people to live independently.

The stepping stone to self-belief for me was when I got my own place. I got help from KeyRing with answering letters, dealing with bills, making appointments, that sort of thing. I had a fantastic support worker who made an action plan for me about things I wanted help with and I learned to do things on my own…

Find Made Possible on page 86

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OF MOUSE AND MAN You name it. I’ll paint it. On Paint.

Jim’ll Paint It has spent the last five years creating some truly unhinged art, each one based on a request and brought to life with painstaking detail using nothing but an archaic version of Microsoft Paint and an optical mouse. Of Mouse and Man is a collection of his best work, as well as brand new paintings and unique insights into his creative process.

A Swan Wearing Bjӧrk as a Dress 29 March 2019

Requested by Kirsty Phipps

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Gastric Surgery

Kitty F

‘Dear Jim, Can you paint the very hungry caterpillar undergoing gastric bypass surgery?’

‘Vanessa Felt through the s a small army down.’

21 August 2014 Requested by Si

26 August 2 Requested

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Ross Kemp on Toast Redux 18 February 2017 Requested by Toby Da Moose Phillips

Re-painted in celebration of four years of Jim’ll Paint It.

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Tory Squat Party 28 March 2018 Requested by Matt Durstan Tilke

‘Tory squat party. Boris has a nosebleed from snorting too much speed, May is drinking Special Brew and Hunt is burning the Criminal Justice Bill while Farage, in full hunting gear, is calling the police.’

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Of Mouse and Man is published in October 2019

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WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN PHILOSOPHERS? You’ve probably heard of Plato, Kant, Nietzsche and Locke – but what about Hypatia, Arendt, Oluwole and Young? The Philosopher Queens is a long-awaited and beautifully illustrated book that brings to centre stage twenty prominent women whose ideas have had a profound – but for the most part uncredited – impact on the world. Just ask yourself: how many women philosophers can you name?

Ban Zhao (45–120) Ban Zhao is the first woman historian and perhaps the greatest woman intellectual in ancient Chinese history. The most outstanding achievement of Zhao’s dazzling career was her contribution to the Book of Han, a history covering the twelve emperors from Emperor Gaozu to Emperor Ping, whose reigns spanned 300 years of the Western Han dynasty, which preceded the Eastern Han dynasty. It was originally begun by Zhao’s father Ban Biao and continued by her brother Ban Gu, who died before finishing the script. Known as ‘broadly learned and superior in her talent’ in her day, Zhao was ordered by the Emperor He of the Eastern Han dynasty to complete the book.

At the same time, she was summoned to the palace to give instructions in proper conduct to the empress and the imperial concubines. She wrote narrative poems, commemorations, inscriptions, eulogies, arguments, commentaries, elegies, essays and other works until she died in her old age.

Hypatia (c.350–415) Hypatia was a mathematician, an astronomer and a philosopher, and one of the first women philosophers who has reliable historical records documenting major elements of her life. She edited and wrote commentaries on various mathematical texts, including books in Ptolemy’s Almagest. It was in this text that Hypatia made her most notable mathematical contribution 26

through devising an improved method of long division described as a tabular method.

Hypatia’s popularity was also partly due to her openness towards a variety of different people and perspectives. Although a pagan herself, she accepted and taught many Christians and Jews, which was significant given the rising religious tensions of the period.

She was far more than an academic and a talented mathematician; she was a public intellectual who used her role in society to make a positive difference through the connections she made.

Mary Astell (1666–1731) Mary Astell analysed women’s subjugated condition in relation to men and offered considered solutions. However, Astell’s writing isn’t limited to her feminist thought: her prolific output includes arguments on theology, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and the political intricacies of the day. She feels curiously contradictory to modern readers, writing both scathingly and radically about the negative effects of marriage for women in one text, while being a thoroughgoing conservative about existing social hierarchies in another.

In the same treatise, you’re likely to find witty satire alongside earnest Christian piety.

Although she was largely forgotten shortly after her death, we can find her ideas resonating throughout the history of feminist thought.

Scholars are connecting her work with modern feminist theorising about power, autonomy, trauma and separatism, with recent work even linking her thought to the phenomenon of ‘gaslighting’. Some claim her as the first English feminist – a thinker who didn’t just point to inequalities between men and women, but theorised those inequalities, called for their remedy and offered solutions.

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Edith Stein (1891–1942) In philosophy, Edith Stein is a more marginal figure than she perhaps ought to be. During her short philosophical career, she was part of one of the most exciting philosophical movements of the twentieth century – phenomenology – that is, the movement which also included or inspired other famous philosophers such as Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.

To understand Stein’s work, then, we first need to understand phenomenology. Most simply, phenomenology aims to centre firstpersonal descriptions of human experience as philosophically enlightening. Stein’s key development was in arguing not just that knowledge of other minds is already given, but that it is given through an experience of empathy, through direct recognition of the other as a person.

Iris Murdoch (1919–99) Many know Iris Murdoch either primarily or exclusively as a novelist. She published twenty-six novels, starting with Under the Net in 1954, selected as one of the Modern Library’s 100 best English-language novels of the twentieth century. Her prolific, distinctive prose – which characteristically wrestles with philosophical themes such as good and evil, sexual relationships, morality and the power of the unconscious – made her one of the most revered novelists in post-war Britain and, as a result, a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

For many years, Murdoch’s literary success was thought to have surpassed her achievements and influence as a philosopher.

This view is now shifting. Recent scholarship has traced the substantial, even transformative, influence of Murdoch’s distinctive thought on 28

Anglo-American philosophy, and contemporary thinkers are returning more and more to her prescient writings, finding them a rich resource for grasping the complexities of our lives as moral beings.

Mary Midgley (1919–2018) Mary Midgley was a vibrant moral philosopher whose inexhaustible imagination and persistent questioning of the twentiethcentury analytic philosophical paradigm spanned her long life. But despite her refreshingly accessible style of writing and engagement with real-world problems, Midgley’s broader philosophical vision has been largely unappreciated. Certain aspects of her work are widely known – such as her engagement with animal ethics and criticism of Richard Dawkins – but the breadth of Midgley’s philosophy stretches far beyond these topics.

Unlike many other analytic moral philosophers who often focus on abstract puzzles or defend specific philosophical doctrines, Midgley was more concerned with broadening and augmenting our vision of things. Her books brim with rich ideas about human moral life, particularly examining human beings, our nature and our place within the world.

Azizah Y. al-Hibri (b. 1943) Dr Azizah Y. al-Hibri is one of the great Islamic philosophers of the modern day. In a time of heightened discourse surrounding gender, Islam and their relationship, al-Hibri is a premier scholar at the juncture of women and Islam. Her work should be better recognised as a vital contribution to contemporary philosophy.

Al-Hibri’s research has focused on the intersection of Islamic law and gender equality. Much of her scholarship can be summarised in the pursuit of answering one question: how does Islamic jurisprudence fit into the twenty-first century? Throughout her career, 29

her work has examined the creation and maintenance of Islamic law that is compatible with gender equality and human rights for all. Al-Hibri’s work is crucial in the modern understanding of faith-based legal reasoning, as she examines the effects of patriarchy on how religion has been interpreted.

Angela Davis (b.1944) Angela Davis was born in Birmingham, Alabama. At the time, African Americans were still segregated on the basis of race by state law and denied basic civil rights enjoyed by whites in the areas of education, housing, public accommodations, police protection and voting. At a time when many Black women in the American South could only aspire to be farm hands or domestics, it would have been impossible to foresee that Angela Davis would grow to become an internationally recognised icon by the age of thirty, and a quintessentially American activist, feminist and academic philosopher.

Davis is perhaps the most iconic symbol of the American Black Power Movement. Exposed to communist and socialist theories by her parents and later as a student, Davis has spent her life working to understand and describe the full extent of capitalist state oppression in the United States, both through her scholarship and her political activism on behalf of Blacks, women, the poor and the powerless.

All illustrations Š Emmy Smith

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Find The Philosopher Queens on page 91

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WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU In this anthology, Elitsa Dermendzhiyska has collected fifteen stories of survival, from Cathy Rentzenbrink, Rory Bremner and Irenosen Okojie, among others. Writing about a time of crisis, each piece in this collection reveals how personal struggles do not mean failure, they need not define us, they can become the basis for success. The extract below is taken from broadcaster Ed Mitchell’s piece, ‘Not Wasted’.

For most people, alcohol is not a problem; they can take it or leave it.

They can stop at one drink, recork an unfinished bottle of wine and happily take months off. Then there’s a minority of any population (and this is true in the animal kingdom, too) that have a genetic propensity not only to take enthusiastically to alcohol but to become dependent on it. A proportion of those will die as a result. It’s not just a gene or even an array of genes; it’s an interaction of many genes that express themselves in response to environmental influences, including the nutrition, famines, hardship and pollution encountered by the previous generation.

Intriguingly, in my case – and everyone is unique – the compulsion to consume alcohol can simply fade for no apparent reason. The inner voices urging me to drink are stilled. Serenity reigns and I am comfortable in my own skin. Blessed are these moments. I have tried to pin down what causes this. Is it hormonal changes? Is it something to do with nutrition? Sleep patterns? Phases of the moon? Solar activity?

Whatever it is, I am grateful – until the next storm-front arrives.

More recently, I returned to full-time broadcasting at a new nationwide business radio station called Share Radio. After two years of this, I began to feel the return of the alcohol siren call: a vodka miniature before broadcasting, an immediate need for a stiff drink coming off air and increased beers on the train home. Coupled with this, the radio station was downsizing due to lack of advertising revenue. It was clearly time to part company as I could see health problems brewing.

Subsequently, Share Radio ceased broadcasting.

*** What has kept me going for more than fifty years of drinking is, at least in the later decades, awareness of the problem, a desire to live, sheer brute stubbornness, a great deal of reading on the subject (books have constantly saved the day) and a focus on developing a personal 32

philosophy. That philosophy, a work in progress, is a patchwork of threads selected from a sewing box of ideas, mostly ancient. It’s an enduring attempt to create personal meaning. At the heart of it lies Stoicism, which is about much more than dour resilience. In many ways, it can be summed up in the Serenity Prayer that we all had to learn in rehab and recite together at the end of group therapy and AA meetings: Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the Courage to change the things I can and the Wisdom to know the difference.

In other words, the only aspect of life you can really control is your reaction to events and people.

Looking back, almost all the mistakes I have made in my life come down to excessive consumption of alcohol. I occasionally speculate and ruminate on how different things might have been without booze. It’s futile and pointless, of course; what matters is that I simply got through it all (so far). The most fortunate escape was getting out of permanent homelessness. Only my past as someone recognisable from television got me out of that deep ditch. Most of those I slept alongside a decade ago are dead. Good luck rescued me – but responding to that luck played its part, too.

*** We all create stories, constantly but mostly unknowingly, about ourselves, tweaking and adapting them as we move through life. This is the foundation of sustaining a coherent self. It’s about giving ourselves a reference point, relevance and purpose. It’s the only way we function in life. This search for meaning and some sort of workable answers to the mystery of existence is, for me, a key part of ‘keeping going’. Not being pissed all the time makes this quest that much easier.

I began by using wrestling as a metaphor for my long relationship with alcohol. But have I been wrestling? Perhaps I’ve been gripping life, clinging to it, hugging it closer, fearing its loss as it slips through my fingers. I want things to slow right down. I’ve no willpower to wrestle any more. I tell myself that it’s only a fight if I choose to perceive it as a fight.

But over the decades, that perception has shifted, the battle evolved into acceptance and, with it, the realisation that I am not my opponent and that life – what remains of it – is there to be embraced.

Find What Doesn’t Kill You on page 84

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SMALL ROBOTS Invented by Thomas Heasman-Hunt – the brain behind the hugely popular Twitter smol_robots – small robots are helpful and adorable creations who assist their human friends in a variety of very specific tasks…

Balloonbot Primary Function: Balloonbot deflates unwanted balloons so they don’t burst near your face and frighten you.

Notable Features: Capacious interior, conical exhaust port, spoked wheels for some reason.

Dimensions: Sufficient volume to hold the contents of six averagesized balloons.

Balloons are a source of joy for children and adults alike – colourful, spheroid air-prisons that liven up even the dullest party with their gentle undulations. However, for some benighted individuals, a balloon is a source of terror! It’s easy to be lulled into a false sense of security by their vibrant buoyancy, but one false move and BANG! For those who dread the sight of the latex orbs at a gathering, Balloonbot is the solution. It bravely scouts ahead of you, ensuring any balloons are safely deflated before you reach the vicinity. Some call it a party pooper, but better a pooper than a popper.

Balloonbot’s courage is boundless; it hurls itself towards its targets with near-reckless determination.

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Dairybot Primary Function: Dairybot identifies foods that contain dairy.

Notable Features: Lactose sensor, eager to please, good round friend.

Dimensions: Physically small but bighearted (metaphorically).

Ideal for the lactose intolerant, Dairybot is designed to find things that contain milk and point them out to you. For example, that piece of cheese. You probably knew that had dairy in it already, to be honest, but Dairybot likes you to know that it knows too. Well done, Dairybot – good job. It’s very enthusiastic about its task, cheerfully wandering around your home, finding dairy. Acknowledge it and it’ll move on. Ignore it and it will stand next to its discovery, becoming increasingly forlorn. You should really make sure to keep an eye on it, unless you’re some sort of monster.

Cow! Definitely contains milk.

C’mon, Dairybot – you can get this one!

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Spoilerbot Primary Function: Spoilerbot fiercely guards against spoilers that may appear unexpectedly in your life, both online and off.

Notable Features: Context-based spoiler-spotting algorithm, full multimedia detection suite, extremely fast and agile.

Dimensions: Big enough to obstruct most multimedia device screens.

It’s a bitter irony that we live in a golden age of television, but also an absolutely garbage age of the Internet and everything else. At the same time that the shows we anticipate distract us from the everyday horror unfolding around us, that same horror threatens to encroach into the cordoned-out space we have for various streaming services, satellite providers and plain old airwaves and ruin it all with an inconveniently placed spoiler about what’s coming up. Spoilerbot is the guardian against such rude behavior from the boring real world, interposing itself between your unwitting eyes and whatever screen is blaring its inconsiderate previews. You’ll never know Spoilerbot is there – it keeps very quiet until it’s needed, because the whole point is that you no longer have to tread carefully when you scroll through your social media feed.

Except to avoid all the awful people and things on it, obviously.

Can’t help you there.

No! Close that laptop: it’s full of spoilers!

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Find Small Robots on page 65

Catherine Spencer captained England at the 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup. During her career she won six of the eight Six Nations competitions she took part in, and captained her team to three championship titles, a European cup, and two Nations Cup tournament victories.

Unbound editor Ella Chappell talks to her about her life as a rugby player, her experiences as a woman in sport, and her forthcoming memoir, Mud, Maul, Mascara.

© Lucy Mohr

CATHERINE SPENCER: ENGLAND RUGBY CAPTAIN

Ella Chappell: What is your first rugby memory?

Catherine Spencer: Growing up in a rugby family I have quite a few early memories relating to the sport. Playing a ‘version’ of rugby with my two brothers on my parents’ landing is probably one of the first! This helped set me in good stead for when I made the leap to Sunday morning mini-rugby. I also have some early memories of watching Bath play rugby at Twickenham. As a family we have always supported Bath because my dad grew up near there. One year we watched them play in the cup final. At the end of the game the crowd were allowed onto the pitch and we even had a picnic there – how times have changed.

EC: What was your proudest moment as captain of England Women’s Rugby team?

CS: This has to be in 2009 when we beat the reigning world champions, New Zealand, at Twickenham. They had not lost a game since 2001, but we beat them in front of a record-breaking crowd live on TV. Our warm-up was not ideal; delays to the end of the men’s match meant that we had to adapt quite considerably, but this brought us closer together. This game helped us to garner more media interest, which then grew through to the World Cup. I loved captaining that game.

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EC: What’s a typical day in the life of a professional rugby player?

CS: I actually can’t answer this question because I was never a professional rugby player. I was never paid by club or country through the whole of my playing ‘career’. However, this did not stop my life being dominated by the sport. I had to go to work because I had bills to pay, but my priority was representing my country. My days would normally start early with a pre-work training session (normally weights). After, I would grab breakfast with my training partner Sophie Hemming before heading to work. I worked as a manager at a leisure centre; I managed to negotiate flexible hours there, which helped considerably in the lead-up to the 2010 World Cup. I would eat lunch at work, which would be something I prepared the evening before – making sure that I was getting the correct protein and carb balance. After work I would either head back to the gym for a cardio-based session or would head to club training, often arriving early to fit another required session in beforehand. We would be provided with a training schedule by our strength and conditioning trainers. In the evening I would organise myself for the next day: prepare food, get my kit ready, do any necessary washing and so on. It taught me to be organised!

And then I would try and get to bed at a decent hour to ensure a good night’s sleep before starting the process again.

EC: You mention in your book that women in rugby run into a lot of discrimination. What advice would you give to a young woman entering the world of sport?

CS: I started paying mini-rugby in the late eighties, and my England playing career started in 2004. The game has come a long way since then and even since I retired. Now, although there are those who still don’t fully support women’s sport, it is much more accepted that women do play sport. Many rugby clubs are now actively building their playing offering for women and girls – during my time we had to plead with clubs to offer a corner of the training pitch. Women’s sport is now also starting to be seen as a good business opportunity for sponsors, so there is more money creeping into the game. It is now possible to make some kind of a living as a female athlete. However, my advice is: don’t let money be any kind of motivator. You will be the best athlete if you do it for the love of the game or the desire to keep improving. Money might make your life a little easier, but it won’t, on its own, make you a better athlete. It also does not last forever, so think about who you are alongside the athlete. Having something else to 38

think about and work towards – be it education or work – will help you to become a more rounded person, which has actually been proven to help on the pitch too.

EC: Can you tell us a bit more about what your company, Inspiring Women, does?

CS: I set up Inspiring Women in 2014. It is the platform ‘putting female voices first’. This is achieved through finding, encouraging and facilitating the booking of female public speakers. I am trying to do my bit to redress the gender balance in the world of public speaking. We provide speakers for anyone, from corporate organisations to sports clubs to schools. We have a great speaker list and I am very proud of how far we have come. I say ‘we’ – I founded the business and run the operations on a daily basis on my own. It is something I enjoy, and I like the personal touch that we offer. One day I might have an office full of staff, but for now I am enjoying the challenge myself.

EC: In Mud, Maul, Mascara, you talk about being treated like a ‘product’. What would you say is a common misconception of you?

CS: Becoming a ‘role model’, whether you like the term or not, whether you feel comfortable being that public person, is something that comes with the ‘job’. It means that the world feels that you are an open source of time, whether that time is spent attending a function, supporting a school sports day or delivering a coaching session. My free time was extremely precious. It was important to switch off from the sport at times, and I don’t think this was always understood.

Sometimes people forgot that there was a human being underneath the ‘England rugby player and captain’ title, and if I had to turn down a request, there was a good reason.

EC: Can you describe your perfect weekend?

CS: My perfect weekend? I am going to sound old and boring, but it would start with a nice mug of tea brought to me in bed. Then maybe a trip out for breakfast followed by a stroll along the sea. Perhaps a visit to a garden or a wander around a little town or village. In the evening, dinner with friends and a glass of wine. All very ‘normal’ stuff: something I craved a lot during my very not normal rugby life!

Find Mud, Maul, Mascara on page 64

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THE LAUGHING BABY The laughter of tiny babies is endearing, infectious and powerful enough to reinvigorate even the weariest parent. Long before they can talk, babies can communicate their experience of the world through laughter and tears. Until now, however, psychologists and parenting experts have largely focused on moments of stress and confusion. Developmental psychologist Dr Caspar Addyman decided to change that.

When I ran my global survey of baby laughter I asked parents, ‘What one thing is guaranteed to make your baby laugh?’ The results could not have been clearer: tickling came out top, with more votes than the next four items combined (peekaboo, funny noises, funny faces and other people laughing). If parents want to make their babies laugh, tickles are the way to go.

Many of the first-ever laughs parents hear from their babies are as a result of tickling. A parent of a baby boy in the UK told me: ‘His first laugh was in his sleep at about two weeks old; his first awake laughs were for tickles.’ Several mothers reported that a dad’s ‘tickly whiskers’ or bushy beard provoked the first-ever laughs. One of my favourite quotes came from the mother of a three-month-old from the USA, who said, ‘I was doing “chipmunks” on his stomach (rapid tickles with fingertips) and working my way up to his cheeks and he just went ballistic. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen.’

THIS SIMPLE JOY IN SUCH TINY BABIES MAKES IT SEEM TICKLING IS A PRIMAL FORCE OF NATURE This simple joy in such tiny babies makes it seem tickling is a primal force of nature. But how can we be sure this is something we are born with, not something we learn? Perhaps tickled babies laugh because their parent is laughing? In the 1940s, sceptical psychologist Clarence Leuba decided to test this possibility with his own two babies. From the babies’ births, Leuba and his wife avoided tickling them during normal play. All tickling was under ‘laboratory conditions’; Leuba wore a mask to hide his facial expression so the babies would not be laughing in response to his smiles. Tickling was a serious business and yet tickling provoked laughter in both babies at about six months old. This is older than most of the babies in my survey, but in the normal range. Although, let’s be honest, Dr and Mrs Leuba were clearly not the most normal of parents.

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Natural history suggests tickling is in our genes. Plenty of other animals love it too. Our pet cats and dogs, obviously. Shakespeare noted that trout like being tickled and some foolhardy soul discovered that sharks like it too. A video of Cookie the penguin from Cincinnati Zoo chasing his keeper’s hand for more and more tickles has 14 million views. Meanwhile, tickling even provokes laughter in chimps, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans.

In the 1970s baby chimpanzees were observed making tickle requests. Usually it would be infants requesting tickles from their mothers, but tickle play was also common in juveniles. These are some of the earliest communicative signals we see in chimpanzees.

Mother chimpanzees tickle their very young babies on their necks and the babies smile and raise their arms defensively. One-year-old chimpanzees make the same smile and raised arm gesture before being tickled as an invitation to play. Amazingly, this might be true of all mammals‌

Find The Laughing Baby on page 80

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THE PLACE MY VOICE AND I ARE FROM: A FEW WORDS ON ACCENTS The Sunday Times bestselling author Tom Cox considers how his itinerant lifestyle has softened the edges of his accent. You can hear Tom’s voice reading the audiobook of 21st-Century Yokel.

His latest book, Ring the Hill, is published on 3 October 2019.

I am from a Place, but I have been around a bit, so maybe the truth is that I am from lots of Places now. I am also not originally from a Place in the way that some people are from a Place. I am not from a Place in the same way that my mum, who is from Liverpool, is from a Place.

I am not from a Place in the same way my friend Pat, who is from the Black Country, is from a Place. Where I am from, if we are talking about the first two decades of my life, is an Almost Place: not the middle of the middle, but the end of the middle, not even quite conspicuous for its middleness. For people who live in southern Britain, the distinction might not be important; for me, or people from just north of where I’m from, it’s crucial. All my mum and dad had to do in 1975 was buy a house twenty miles further up the country’s oesophagus, in an area that really didn’t look all that different to ours, with its similarly large quota of pebbledash terraces, spoil heaps, chip shops and miners’ welfares, and it would all be so much more clear-cut. I don’t quite feel like a card-carrying midlander but if I claimed to be a northerner to, say, my Sheffield friends, who live not much more than half an hour north of where I went to school, they’d laugh me out of the room. It’s the same place, but it’s also not. If you listen closely you can hear signs of it in my accent, such as the fact that my accent sounds like nails scraping on the walls of Yorkshire, asking to be let in. It’s been softened a lot, sanded down by years of living in East Anglia and the South-West, years of living with and around southerners, but it’s still very much there. Posh people from anywhere south of Birmingham think I sound northern. Non-posh people from anywhere north of that think I don’t. It’s all part of the confusion of being from the End of 42

the Middle. It’s also an aspect of the larger complexity of life on a small island where, wonderfully, you can drive ten minutes up a road and hear voices that sound like they’re from a different planet. We joke about accents in Britain but they are a more heated topic than we will admit.

When we discuss them, we discover that we are essentially still the people we were two centuries ago, locked proudly into the culture of our own village and rarely leaving it.

WE JOKE ABOUT ACCENTS IN BRITAIN BUT THEY ARE A MORE HEATED TOPIC THAN WE WILL ADMIT I know what I used to sound like. I can have a listen if I want to remind myself, since what I used to sound like is preserved on a VHS tape recorded when I was sixteen. There is nothing more illustrative of the softening of my accent to me than meeting up with the Nottingham friends I still know from that period, who good-naturedly ripped the piss because I sounded ‘Yorkshire’ and ‘like a farmer’ to their ears back then, and realising that in the two decades I’ve been away someone has flipped the picture: to me, they are now the ones with the coal and strong tea in their voices. But there is a difference: their accents are undiluted Nottingham; mine is North Nottinghamshire, made less gritty by my time away. It’s a disused colliery where grass and four or five trees have grown, masking the iron ore underneath. It also retains just the faintest hint of passive Merseyside, owing to the fact that it’s where most of my blood relatives – my mum’s side of the family – are from.

THEY ARE NOW THE ONES WITH THE COAL AND STRONG TEA IN THEIR VOICES My dad’s accent is stronger than mine but it’s marginally more southern, more Nottingham, less North Nottinghamshire–Derbyshire border, more factory, less pit. Growing up, as he greeted me with phrases such as ‘ALL RIGHT, YOTH?’ and ‘ET’S LET’S ’AY A GLEG’, I was barely aware he had any accent at all. That’s what will happen when you live in the End of the Middle and manage to go until just after your nineteenth birthday without meeting a properly upper-middle-class, university-educated person from southern England. To me, Nottingham was the refined southern accent in my immediate life, with the exception of perhaps Leicester, but Leicester didn’t really count, as it was way down south, over forty miles away, and you only went there on special occasions.

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By my mid-twenties, I was obviously still sounding comically common and upcountry to some of the privately educated newspaper editors I was working for. ‘’Ey up, Tum!’ one would say in a slightly off parody of a Nearly Northern accent when he answered the phone to me: a joke that, at least to his ears, never got old. Prior to nervously recording a segment for an arts show on the BBC, I was offered an elocution lesson so listeners would find it easier to understand me. After the show was broadcast, I was told the presenter thought me a ‘new and different voice’. What he meant, I now realise, is that unlike most of the other people who appeared on the show, I sounded a bit working class and northern in a hard-to-pinpoint way. I have never consciously tried to change my accent and it makes me a little sad to think that when I was younger and a little less sure of myself, any of these experiences might have had any insidious impact on the way I spoke.

I DON’T FEEL THAT THE A hill is not a mountain .

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around,I and about, hills: it DevonCMYK Before moved from to Lam the Peak MATT includes a northern hill, a hill Spot UV District in ends December 2017, I could feel that never and the smallest in England. Each chapter myhill accent rushing back, doing a happy takes a type of hill – whether it’s a knoll,larynx cap, cliff, at tor or even jig in my the knowledge that a mere bump – as a starting it might be free again. I have no point forsoon one of Tom’s characteristically unpredictable doubt that if I’d decided to stay in the and wide-ranging explorations.

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Because old,of missing parts of amy accent have good walk in the hills is never vanished; it’s more that they’re just just about the hills: you never know where it might lead. napping.

It usually only takes a couple of drinks, or time spent with people from my homeland, to wake them up.

£16.99

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Find Ring the Hill on page 82

TOP FIVE WAYS TO GET OUT OF A WORKOUT FUNK Bangs Carey-Campbell, fitness blogger and author of The Pocket Cheerleader: Your Badass Guide to Getting Moving, shares her top tips on how to get inspired when workout demotivation strikes.

As committed as we may be to our workout regimes, we all inevitably go through a period when, for whatever reason, the wheels just come off and we can’t be arsed. Sometimes that workout funk can be short-lived and you find yourself lacing up your trainers again in no time, but other times it lasts longer, and you sink further and further into the couch.

So, if you find yourself in a workout rut and can’t find a way to dig yourself out, here are some tips to get you moving again.

1. Don’t beat yourself up When we fall out with our workout habit, we tend to start a narrative about how rubbish we are, how we’re a failure and everything we do is useless. That attitude isn’t exactly helpful when you’re trying to ramp yourself up. So just go easy on yourself. Everyone goes through a period of can’t-be-arsed-ness with exercise – it’s not a problem unique to you.

And most importantly, it won’t last forever. Treat yourself well, savour the rest: see it as giving your body a bit of a break. When you do get back to it… look out, world!

2. Get a workout buddy Working out with a friend is a great way to get your mojo back. When you know you’ve arranged a workout with someone, you’re less likely to flake out. You can be each other’s cheerleaders, motivate each other when the going gets rough and be a reminder to your buddy of why exactly you’re putting yourself through another set of those horrendous burpees.

3. Do something completely different Maybe the entire reason you’re in a workout funk to begin with is because you’re just bored with your current routine. Take a chance and try something completely left field. If you’re a seasoned gym-goer, how about signing up for aerial yoga? You go swimming three times a week but you’ve lost your motivation? Sign yourself up for a Beyoncé dance 45

class. Use your body in a new and different way – engage muscles you maybe haven’t been hitting with your regular workout. But mainly, just break up the monotony by adding a bit of spice.

4. Sign up to a challenge A great way to get yourself back in the game is to sign up to a challenge.

Make it a big one so you have to commit to a training programme; a half marathon, a big trek, one of those crazy assault courses. Having a goal with a deadline will spark a fire in you and give more purpose to your training.

© Adam Laycock

5. Redefine your goals Having your fitness goals centred around weight loss or aesthetics will get you trapped in an endless loop of frustration and misery pretty quickly. Make your focus about your abilities – zone in on how much stronger you’re getting, how many more push-ups you can do or how much farther you can run. Those types of benchmarks will elicit much more pride than a number on a scale.

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Find The Pocket Cheerleader on page 58

100 KG OF INNER STRENGTH Award-winning journalist and author Poorna Bell learned as a child that little girls should be petite and demure, and that sporting achievement was not for her. So, how did she become a powerlifter who can lift twice her own bodyweight, and what has she learned about women’s strength?

When I was around eight, I remember being aware that my dad was a weightlifter. I must have overhead it, picking up snatches of conversation like a magpie, in the way that kids do.

At dinner parties, I remember some sort of terrible pectoral dance my mum asked him to do as a party trick.

My dad lifting weights was a source of pride to me. When the adults weren’t in earshot, I remember saying to the other kids: ‘My dad is a champion weightlifter, he can kick your dad’s ASS.’ (Turns out he wasn’t quite a champion – more like he came third in a university bodybuilding competition and there were only four contestants.)

Despite having a dad who could weightlift, I didn’t ever think it was something I’d be able to do. I was a little Indian girl. No one specifically sat me down and told me this, but I knew through the discourse of the world that slimness and smallness was the aspiration for girls; strength and power was for boys.

It wasn’t helped by the fact that being one of the shortest kids in my class, I was naturally terrible at any sports that required height. I also didn’t know it at the time, but I had an undiagnosed hole in the heart, which only got fixed when I was symptomatic at the age of thirty-one.

The only Indian female role model I remember in sport was PT Usha – the track athlete who came from a poor family and was big in the eighties and nineties. She put Indian female athletes on the map, and blazed a trail for brown women in sport, but we were not shown how to ignite our own flame.

Fast-forward to today, and I am now an amateur powerlifter. My hole in the heart was fixed seven years ago, and I can now deadlift over twice my own body weight. As a thirty-eight-year-old, five-foot-three woman, it is something I never dreamed I would ever do.

Powerlifting essentially is the goal of trying to lift the heaviest possible weight in three types of lift: squat, bench and deadlift. It is a competitive sport where you compete in different weight categories, and you have three attempts for each of the three lifts. It gets confused a bit with bodybuilding, which is also a strength sport, but unlike powerlifting, you are judged on your aesthetics versus lifting capability.

47

© Shani Kaplan www.shanicreates.com

Someone who I wish was around when I was growing up is Neha Prasad Ainsworth, who I met last year when I was training for my first competition. I saw her in the gym and remember thinking: I have never seen a brown woman with that kind of physique before.

Neha is twenty-six and has the most incredible body – her quadriceps alone deserve a hallelujah.

A full-time psychology student, she has held British records and is one of the top ten female UK powerlifters. She initially got into it nine years ago by going to the gym to lose weight; there she met her nowhusband, who showed her how to powerlift.

‘Initially I had people be very dismissive,’ she told me.

‘A woman lifting weights? Why on earth would she do Poorna Bell deadlifts 90 kg that? And, as a South Asian female lifter, it has been tricky. We don’t have so many role models as athletes, let alone as female strength athletes.

‘I’d get comments about how my small bone structure wouldn’t let me get far, or how South Asians aren’t built for strength. It also goes against the South Asian female ideal of being mild and meek.’

To me, she’s a walking, talking, inspirational poster for powerlifting. It makes me smile to think that at some family gathering a little brown girl thinks she can do weights when she’s older because Auntie Neha does it.

Neha is an elite athlete, but the thing is, give or take, at an amateur level, anyone can do it. When I tell people I powerlift, they look at me as if I’ve got some secret ability that they don’t.

WHEN I DEADLIFT, I’M NOT THINKING OF HOW MUCH I WEIGH OR WHETHER I LOOK SLIM I’m not exceptional. The only difference is that I have finally reunited my brain and my body, so that now, they are helping rather than sabotaging each other. That’s important to recognise because society does set up women to fail and be permanently dissatisfied with our bodies, so that we don’t achieve our full strength potential.

That loss of dialogue we have within ourselves is one of the most regretful things I’ve experienced.

When you’re born, the conversation between your mind and body is absolute.

You trust it to tell you what it needs. But over time, this beautiful language you share is replaced with a discourse of diet and needing 48

© John Arano on Unsplash

to be slim. It’s the reason why the biggest fear for women, regarding weightlifting, is the fear of ‘bulking up’. It is rarely a fear held by men.

For me, this endless pedalling towards the mirage of slimness created a disconnect between my mind and body. And I don’t know what this worry has ever gotten me, beyond fitting into a dress which has at best given me about sixty seconds of pleasure.

There is no comparison between that and, say, doing a deadlift.

When I deadlift, I’m not thinking of how much I weigh. Or whether I look slim.

I know that on a day I do deadlifts, I need to eat enough. I can’t cheat my body of food because the barbell will not go up. It teaches you a lesson about ability, and how food isn’t good or bad; it is simply fuel.

There is something uncompromising about the mathematics of needing to fuel your body properly.

Just before a deadlift, I dip my hands in powdered chalk. The air briefly turns with plumes of white as I clap my palms together to get rid of the excess.

No matter how much weight is stacked on that bar, I approach it in the same way: with respect, care and reverence. I bend down. My hands grip the iron. My back is straight, my lats are tight. In the brief moment before I take a deep breath to brace, a waterfall of thoughts begin in the same order.

Can I do it? Am I strong enough? What if it doesn’t go up?

This will go up. You are strong enough. You are mighty. Now lift.

And in those brief seconds, between the bar leaving the ground until I lock out at the top, there is no thought. My mind is clear, the silence fills every molecule of me and I feel the purest form of serenity.

I don’t know that in all of my years of going to the gym, I have ever felt anything close to this.

‘How did you get into powerlifting?’ is a question I am commonly asked.

I understand how it must seem so strange, to willingly squeeze yourself into a singlet that looks like the world’s most unflattering Babygro, and then lift weights that seem impossible to lift without injuring yourself.

49

I got my first gym membership at twenty-five. While my male friends goofed around in the weights section, I wore baggy clothes to be as invisible as I possibly could, and half-heartedly drifted from the treadmill to the cross trainer.

I continued in this way more or less for about ten years. But four years ago, my husband Rob passed away unexpectedly, and I realised that there was actually a practicality to being physically strong.

SITTING ALONE IN MY FLAT, THE LOSS OF MY HUSBAND ALL AROUND ME, WITH THINGS NEEDING TO BE MOVED AROUND, I REALISED THIS JUST WOULDN’T DO. I COULDN’T RELY ON OTHER PEOPLE TO DO THINGS FOR ME Before, using the template of what my father’s strength represented to my mother, I relied on Rob to do a lot of the heavy lifting – literally. He moved furniture, did the grunt work in the garden, flipped our mattress – anything that required strength. And, if I’m being honest, I loved his solidness and physicality – from his broad shoulders to his big, calloused hands.

Sitting alone in my flat, the loss of him all around me, with things needing to be moved around, I realised this just wouldn’t do. I couldn’t rely on other people to do things for me. More than that: I didn’t want to depend on anyone.

I tentatively hired a personal trainer named Tyrone, certain I was going to hate him on sight. But he was wonderful and exactly what I needed at that point in time. He was a strength trainer, and he also became this reassuring, safe, male figure that I came to rely on.

When he suggested doing deadlifts, I thought he was mad. Even more so when he brought me into the free weights training section. But with him, I learned how to do certain lifts, and my confidence grew.

‘We’ll get to that one hundred mark one day,’ he said, referring to a 100 kg deadlift, and I laughed. It seemed impossible and scary – a pipe dream.

Our lives moved in different directions – Tyrone moved to a different city, and I quit my job to go travelling for eight months. When I came back, I felt rudderless around the gym, so I hired another personal trainer. This time, it was a recommendation from my friend Hasiba, who referred me to Jack, who co-owns a gym called Richmond Fitness Club.

At first I gave him the same old goals. ‘I’d like to get strong, but also not get too bulky.’

Bulky. If I knew then how hard it actually is for women to bulk up, 50

how it requires such a precise way of eating and training, I would’ve saved myself a lot of hours worrying about nothing.

Over the course of our sessions, I got to know Jack better. Jack confounds the stereotypes: he looks like a man mountain, but he is one of the most intelligent, softest people I have ever met. He is an ex-Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and cage fighter; after he retired, he switched to powerlifting.

Powerlifting to me, then, was still this vague, alien concept.

But coinciding with taking Jack on as a trainer, I was working out one day in the gym when a PT and fellow powerlifter named Aleem approached me. At first I glared at him for interrupting my workout.

Despite this he patiently explained that the gym was running an unofficial powerlifting competition. Would I consider signing up, he asked, as it would not only help me but might encourage other women to do the same?

The last part was really what finally made me add my name to the list.

I told Jack, expecting him to laugh, but he takes powerlifting, especially for women, seriously. He encouraged me to sign up as a way of focusing my training.

What I discovered was that every week, I saw my body get quantifiably stronger, and that was far more enjoyable and rewarding than any amount of cardio. It’s something that acts as an antidote to panicking about doing weights and getting bulky.

When I asked Jack about this, he said it’s about two things: ‘The most common theme, in terms of what’s so appealing about strength training with the women I train, seems to be the sense of accomplishment that comes from hitting set goals and then pushing past them.’

But the second thing, he says, is that progress has to be earned, it can’t be given to you. On competition day, you might go in with the intention to break records or be the best lifter in your weight category, but really, you’re competing with you-rself.

You’re going in there to lift the most amount of weight you can possibly handle. ‘Only you can make it happen,’ says Jack, ‘and when you do, it’s very rewarding.’

ONCE A WOMAN CAN DRAW FROM THAT SAME WELL OF STRENGTH, YOU REALISE HOW MUCH THAT TRANSLATES INTO OTHER AREAS OF YOUR LIFE When you use that as a motivator as opposed to weight loss, it reconfigures the entire foundation you operate from.

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Once that is locked in, you start to realise the transferable power of physicality. Men don’t have to think about it as they are naturally bigger and stronger, and the world is moulded around them. But once a woman can draw from that same well of strength, you realise how much that translates into other areas of your life.

You hold your back straighter. Groups of men don’t intimidate you in quite the same way as they did before. But above all, you carry this sense of achievement and grounding into your work and other areas of your life.

It’s something Jack sees on a regular basis. ‘Charlie, a female lifter on my team, hit her first ever 100 kg deadlift a day before a very important job interview. After the interview she said it had been her best one ever. She walked in there more confident than ever and she felt unstoppable.

She credits the feeling to hitting that big deadlift the day before.’

In March, I did my first official powerlifting competition with ABPU, the federation I’ve just joined. The goal was to qualify me for the Euros in June. I’d been told that the atmosphere was incredible, but nothing prepares you for when you’re actually there.

You walk into that room filled with iron and chalk, and you see more female weightlifters than you have seen in your entire life. You are all different shapes and sizes, and you have all worked so hard for this one day.

For a moment, your throat tightens and your eyes prickle because you wish every single woman in your life knew what it was like to feel the hum of this kind of strength. And how it has been denied to most of us, for most of our lives.

If you’re lucky, like me, you’ll have someone like Jack, who is no longer just my trainer. He has become one of my dearest friends, and is an anchor to safety, strength, loyalty and love. You may be lucky to have a team – something I never thought was possible until I became part of one – who has given up a Saturday to see you lift. Their presence and cheers ground you to everything you have done so far.

When your name is called, you’ll worry you can’t do it. And in that walk to the bar, you feel the dryness of chalk on your palms. You place your hands on the bar. You have worked for this.

Every part of you moves into alignment, from the tough things you have overcome to the joy that exists in your life. You are grounded, you are earthed, you are here.

This is you, in absolute serenity. You surrender to it. And up that bar goes.

Poorna Bell’s second book, In Search of Silence, was published in May 2019 by Simon & Schuster. This essay originally appeared on Boundless, Unbound’s online literary magazine unbound.com/boundless 52

Spring Titles

January to June 2020

January

ANOTHER LIFE NICK DANZIGER

From award-winning photojournalist Nick Danziger comes this extraordinary record of life on the edge in the world’s poorest regions Foreword by Amartya Sen (Nobel Prize for Economics, 1998) Introduction by Rory Stewart Afterword by Kailash Satyarthi (Nobel Peace Prize, 2014) In 2005, Nick Danziger began to create an archive of photographs recording the lives of women and children in eight of the world’s poorest countries. He returned five years later, and again in 2015. Had the United Nation’s millennium development goals made a difference to their lives?

The stories he tells – in pictures and words – are unforgettable and have created a unique document, one that reveals the uncomfortable truths of a globalised planet.

Title: Another Life Pub Date: 09/01/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-653-6 Price: £50.00 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Nick Danziger is one of Europe’s finest photojournalists, having spent a life documenting what he sees in bestselling books, and in awardwinning documentaries and photography. His work is held in museum collections worldwide and his ‘mirror’ image of Tony Blair and George W. Bush won the World Press Photo Award in 2004. www.nickdanziger.com 54

January

WEST OF WEST

Travels Along the Edge of America SARAH LEE AND LAURA BARTON

From the edge of America, at the end of Route 66, West of West investigates what the American West means in an age of political turbulence Santa Monica, where the wooden pier juts out into the Pacific Ocean, marks the end of Route 66. The great American journey west culminates here, and it is on this short stretch of coast that Sarah Lee began shooting her photographic series in 2015.

In West of West Sarah Lee and Laura Barton explore the idea of the West in shaping American identity, with its idealism and notions of the frontier, and what the American West means in an age of political turbulence, when the East is the rising global force and the frontier is shifting once more.

Title: West of West Pub Date: 23/01/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-769-4 Price: ÂŁ25.00 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Sarah Lee (@sarahmlee) is a photographer for the Guardian. She has been an official BAFTA photographer since 2015. Laura Barton (@missbarton) is a writer and a broadcaster who regularly contributes to BBC Radio 4.

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January

THE FULLY CHARGED GUIDE TO ELECTRIC VEHICLES & CLEAN ENERGY ROBERT LLEWELLYN & HIS FULLY CHARGED FRIENDS

From the team behind the popular Fully Charged YouTube channel, a snapshot of the latest innovations in electric vehicles and renewable energy around the world Did you know that high levels of air pollution lead to more than 40,000 premature deaths and 6 million sick days each year in the UK alone? Faced with statistics like this, the future of the planet can seem bleak. But what if we told you that renewables are already generating more than 30 per cent of our electricity each year?

In The Fully Charged Guide to Electric Vehicles & Clean Energy experts from around the globe explore how sustainable technology – everything from solar panels to wind turbines and electric vehicles – is getting cheaper, more effective and more available, and how by making everyday changes, we could see the ‘big switch’ within our lifetime.

Title: The Fully Charged Guide to Electric

Vehicles & Clean Energy Pub Date: 23/01/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-858-5 Price: £16.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Fully Charged is a YouTube show produced and hosted by Robert Llewellyn (Red Dwarf, Scrapheap Challenge, Carpool), which focuses on electric vehicles and renewable energy. It is popular across the world and currently has 400k subscribers. youtube.com/fullychargedshow @fullychargedshw 56

January

JAKI LIEBEZEIT

The Life, Theory and Practice of a Master Drummer JONO PODMORE (ED.)

An exploration of the life and legacy of the highly influential Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit is remembered as the groove and power behind the legendary German band Can, but he left another legacy – a complete practical theory of drumming based on the natural principles of movement he observed during his lifelong research into music.

Shortly after Jaki died in 2017, Jono Podmore and John Payne contacted his collaborators to see if the complete theory could be pieced together, and this book is the result: a comprehensive overview of not only the drum theory, but also Jaki’s profound practical vision as applied throughout his life, featuring previously unseen photos and reproductions of his own artwork.

Title: Jaki Liebezeit Pub Date: 23/01/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-781-6 Price: £14.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Jono Podmore, Professor of the Practice of Popular Music at the prestigious Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, Germany, is best known latterly for his tireless work curating the archives of Krautrock pioneers Can. Podmore has also been working on his own musical projects under his Kumo alias across multiple releases and performances worldwide since 1995. @JonoPodmore 57

January

THE POCKET CHEERLEADER Your Badass Guide to Getting Moving BANGS CAREY-CAMPBELL

A motivational fitness book to help you find, nurture and love your inner badass We’re living in the #Fitspo era, where you can open up Instagram and marvel at how perfectly your favourite fitness star can execute a yoga pose on white, sandy beaches. But how does that translate to you getting off your ass and working out right now, today?

The Pocket Cheerleader aims to take the focus away from losing weight and trying to fit into whatever body ideal has been deemed acceptable for us.

It’s about celebrating your body through movement, keeping you motivated, inspired and interested in the sweat life. It’s a reassuring voice, a high five, a nudge when you don’t want to train.

Title: The Pocket Cheerleader Pub Date: 23/01/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-754-0 Price: £9.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Bangs Carey-Campbell is the Head Instructor and Master Trainer at a boutique spin studio in London, making it her mission to motivate and inspire people to stay active every day. She was previously Fitness Editor at ELLE magazine, and she blogs at www.bangsandabun.com/ blog/ @BangsandaBun 58

February

A CURIOUS HISTORY OF SEX KATE LISTER

An eye-opening exploration of the weird and wonderful things human beings have done in pursuit (and denial) of the mighty orgasm Sex is one of great universal levellers, but to say that humans have overthought it is something of an understatement. Dr Kate Lister began the Whores of Yore project in 2015 with the aim of starting a much-needed conversation about the history of sex, which would give voice to the voiceless and ultimately extract the prudish stick from the arse of society.

This meticulously researched history interrogates all aspects of sex, with chapters on vulvas, penises, food, machines and hygiene, and it’s illustrated with images that will make your toes curl, from a toothed urethral ring to the first mechanical vibrator.

‘An eye-opener. Thoughtful but fun, scholarly but spritely . . . and a bit rude!’ Sir Tony Robinson

Title: A Curious History of Sex Pub Date: 06/02/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-805-9 Price: £25.00 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Dr Kate Lister is a lecturer at Leeds Trinity University, where she researches the history of sexuality and curates the online research project Whores of Yore. Kate also writes for iNews, Vice and the Wellcome Trust, she won a Sexual Freedom Award for Publicist of the Year in 2017. thewhoresofyore.com / @WhoresofYore 59

February

FACT HUNT

Fascinating, Funny and Downright Bizarre Facts About Video Games LARRY BUNDY JR

A full-colour compendium of the strangest, funniest and most captivating facts and stories from video-game history A bumper collection of facts about video games from YouTuber extraordinaire Larry Bundy Jr, this book debunks myths and urban legends, delves into developers’ biggest successes and failures, explores the odd characters behind the games and unearths the obscure, the forgotten, the cancelled and the abandoned aspects of the gaming world.

With sections on botched game launches, pointless peripherals, unreleased video-game movies, weird guest fighters and more, alongside contributions from famous gaming guests such as Stuart Ashen and Did You Know Gaming?, you’re guaranteed to learn a ton of entertaining new information.

Title: Fact Hunt Pub Date: 06/02/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-832-5 Price: £20.00 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Larry Bundy Jr’s YouTube channel, which focuses on video-game history, currently boasts over 350k subscribers and over 50 million views. He was the first YouTuber to have a television show commissioned, Guru Larry’s Retro Corner, which aired on Sky TV for eight years. youtube.com/LarryBundyJr/ @LarryBundyJr 60

February

DON’T HOLD MY HEAD DOWN LUCY-ANNE HOLMES

A frank and revealing memoir about the search for better sex, from ‘No More Page 3’ campaigner Lucy-Anne Holmes In her mid-thirties, Lucy-Anne Holmes still felt like a novice when it came to sex. But when she tried to find out what she could do about it, she realised everything she googled was geared to men’s pleasure rather than to women’s. Determined not to let this stop her, Lucy penned a list, less bucket more fuckit, and set out to discover what her sex life was missing.

Lucy has written the book about sex she wanted to read. It will make you snort with laughter one minute and weep the next; it is frank, eye-opening and inspiring, and will speak to women everywhere.

‘Every woman should get a copy’ Stylist ‘Essential reading’ Caitlin Moran

Title: Don’t Hold My Head Down Pub Date: 06/02/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-877-6 Price: £9.99 Rights: World English

NON-FICTION Lucy-Anne Holmes is a writer and the founder of the successful ‘No More Page 3’ campaign. Her last novel, Just a Girl Standing in Front of a Boy, won the Romantic Novelists Association’s ‘Rom Com of the Year’ in 2015. She lives in Hertfordshire with her partner and young son. @LucyAnneHolmes 61

February

CELEBS AT HOME

What the rich and famous get up to behind closed doors ANDY BUSH

Cartoons depicting famous people in humorously mundane situations, from Absolute Radio presenter Andy Bush What do celebrities get up to when they’re at home and away from the glare of the public eye?

Andy Bush always wondered about the mundane, boring stuff famous people must do, and he illustrated his musings. For the first time, the very best of Andy’s drawings are compiled together into an essential guide that attempts to answer such important questions as: Does Elton John sometimes lose his remote down the back of the sofa?

Title: Celebs at Home Pub Date: 06/02/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-819-6 Price: £9.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

Do Kraftwerk put the bins out together?

And does Lady Gaga’s snack ever get stuck in the vending machine?

‘Bush can literally draw anything’ Mel Giedroyc

NON-FICTION Andy Bush is a broadcaster, illustrator and writer who presents the Hometime Show on Absolute Radio. Previously, Andy spent ten years presenting the Heart Breakfast Show in the West Country. He writes and draws for the Huffington Post. @bushontheradio 62

February

THE COMING AGE OF IMAGINATION How universal basic income will lead to an explosion of creativity PHIL TEER

A manifesto for how automation and universal basic income will free humanity and welcome a new age of creativity Universal basic income is a very old concept that is fast becoming the radical idea of the twenty-first century: every adult paid a living wage, no strings attached. Basic income could eradicate poverty, or help us avoid a dystopian future where robots have taken all our jobs. But universal basic income will have another effect too: a massive creative explosion.

From the Romantic poets who invented consumerism to cities like New York, Glasgow and Berlin that were transformed by their creative residents, The Coming Age of Imagination proves that when we no longer have to worry about money, we are able to be creative on a mass scale.

Title: The Coming Age of Imagination Pub Date: 06/02/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-593-5 Price: £10.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Phil Teer was a co-founder of the legendary creative agency St Luke’s, an experiment in employee co-ownership and creative working that Harvard Business Review called ‘the most frightening company on earth’ and Fast Company called ‘the ad agency to end all ad agencies’. He has also advised brands and governments on their creative strategies.

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February

MUD, MAUL, MASCARA

When fighting for a dream can make you and break you CATHERINE SPENCER

© Lucy Mohr

The inspirational story of a woman who just wanted to have fun, find love and win the Rugby World Cup Catherine Spencer captained the England women’s rugby team to three championship titles, a European cup, two Nations Cup tournament victories and the 2010 World Cup final. All this while holding down a full-time job, because the women’s team, unlike the men’s, did not get paid for their sport.

But Catherine is also a woman who just wants to be happy, have fun and fall in love. Warm, funny and inspirational, her memoir is an attempt to reconcile these alleged opposites, to show the woman behind the international sporting success. It’s a book for anyone who has ever had a dream, or selfdoubt, or a yearning for a really good, mud-proof mascara.

Title: Mud, Maul, Mascara Pub Date: 20/02/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-813-4 Price: £18.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Catherine Spencer is a former captain of the England women’s rugby team. She has written for mainstream and rugby media, and appeared as a studio pundit and commentator for the BBC and Sky Sports.

Catherine was named England Player of the Year in 2006. She is the founder of the speaker agency Inspiring Women.

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February

SMALL ROBOTS

A collection of one hundred (mostly) useful robot friends THOMAS HEASMAN-HUNT

A spotter’s guide to 100 small robots, as featured on the Twitter account of the same name Small Robots began with a simple idea: to draw cute robots and post them on Twitter. The ’bots would be kind, helpful and, when called upon, fiercely defensive of the marginalised and oppressed. They would offer idiosyncratic solutions to everyday anxieties: they bring tea, remember names, complain in restaurants on your behalf.

This book compiles a hundred of the best and most beloved ’bots, delving into their fictional backstories. It also contains new art that puts the robots in context, illustrating how they perform their all-important tasks in the world of their large human friends.

Title: Small Robots Pub Date: 20/02/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-822-6 Price: £9.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION By day, Thomas Heasman-Hunt works for the NHS as a specialist in data quality. By night, he runs the popular @smolrobots Twitter account, which he launched in November 2017. He is also a published author with his debut sci-fi novel, Legacy, released through Cynefin Road.

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March

GIRL WITH A GUN

Love, loss and the fight for freedom in Iran DIANA NAMMI AND KAREN ATTWOOD

The first-of-its-kind true story of a girl who became a front-line fighter with the Peshmerga aged just seventeen Diana Nammi grew up in the Kurdish region of Iran in the 1960s and 70s, where she became involved in political activities as a teenager and played a part in the revolution of 1979. But the new Islamic regime tolerated no opposition, and after Kurdistan was brutally attacked, Diana found at the age of seventeen that she had no choice but to become a soldier in the famed Peshmerga fighting force.

As well as being the startling account of Diana’s twelve years on the front line, leading the struggle for women’s rights and equality for the Kurdish people, Girl with a Gun also tells a powerful story about love and family.

Title: Girl with a Gun Pub Date: 05/03/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-872-1 Price: £16.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Diana Nammi founded the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation in 2002. She has received major awards from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Women’s Refugee Commission. Karen Attwood has been a journalist for over twenty years, and has been published in all UK national newspapers. @KarenAAttwood 66

March

BARKING

LUCY SULLIVAN A bold exploration of grief, mental health and the ghosts that haunt us Alix Otto is having a very bad day. It has been a year since they fished her friend’s body out of the river, and she finds herself driven to the brink by her own thoughts; the figments of a mind addled by loss, too much booze and not enough sleep.

Sectioned and left in the hands of the health system, Alix is about to discover just how fine a line exists between the outside world and the psychiatric ward at St Jude’s. Drawing on the author’s own experience of a mental health crisis, Barking seeks to encourage fellow sufferers to open up and share their stories too.

‘Barking is everything comics should strive to be . . . A powerful and haunting metaphor for mental health and the human condition that you’ll never forget’ Jeff Lemire

Title: Barking Pub Date: 05/03/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-880-6 Price: £16.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

GRAPHIC NOVEL Lucy Sullivan is an animator by training, and this is her first foray into comics. She graduated from Kingston University in 2005 with a BA (Hons) in Illustration & Animation, and has since taught there, as well as at Westminster University and London College of Communication. @LucySullivanUK 67

March

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO DAYS GILES PALEY-PHILLIPS

The lyrical story of a teenage boy finding hope in the face of his mother’s terminal illness

To cope, the boy develops a powerful bond with his freethinking physiotherapist, Freya.

She, unlike anybody else, is able to lift his spirits and finally open his eyes to a world full of possibility, hope and love.

@ Darren Arthur

One Hundred and Fifty-Two Days tells the story of a teenage boy whose mother is terminally ill.

Following a bout of pneumonia, he is barred from visiting her as she receives end-of-life treatment in hospital. His life at home, meanwhile, is increasingly empty and isolated, as his father turns to drink to mask the pain and escape the challenges they face as a family.

Title: One Hundred and Fifty-Two Days Pub Date: 05/03/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-770-0 Price: £12.99 Rights: UK & Comm (excl. Canada)

FICTION Giles Paley-Phillips is the author of nine books, including The Fearsome Beastie, which has sold over 70,000 copies, winning the People’s Book Prize 2012 and the Heart of Hawick Children’s Book Award 2013. Giles has been a judge on ITV’s Share a Story. He writes a column for Title magazine and co-hosts BLANK podcast. @eliistender10 68

March

HOW TO COME ALIVE AGAIN A guide to killing your monsters BETH McCOLL

A relatable, honest, practical guide for anyone who has a mental illness – or knows and loves someone who does It doesn’t matter that you’ve lived in shadows, that you’ve slept through years of your life, that you’ve done things you’re ashamed to admit even to yourself. It doesn’t matter that you’re an anxious, depressed, spaghetti-brained mess with a shouty monster brain that keeps you from conforming to society’s definition of normal.

Beth McColl has been there – sometimes she still is there – but in this book she shares what’s worked for her and what hasn’t, what’s gotten her into trouble and then back out of it again, and what she wishes she’d known from the start.

‘Essential reading’ Daisy Buchanan, author of How to Be a Grown-Up

Title: How to Come Alive Again Pub Date: 05/03/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-876-9 Price: £9.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Beth McColl is a twenty-something writer. She is an advice columnist for Dazed & Confused magazine, and has written about love, sex and mental health for Metro, Brooklyn Magazine, Gradient and Ask-Men. She lives in London. @imteddybless 69

March

EILEEN

The Making of George Orwell SYLVIA TOPP

The never-before-told story of George Orwell’s first wife, a woman who shaped the life of one of the twentieth-century’s greatest writers From the time they spent in a tiny village tending goats and chickens, through the Spanish Civil War, to the couple’s narrow escape from the destruction of their London flat during a German bombing raid, Eileen is the first account of the Blairs’ nineyear marriage. It is also a vivid picture of bohemianism, political engagement and sexual freedom in the 1930s and 40s.

The year before George met her, Eileen had published a futuristic poem called ‘End of the Century, 1984’, and he would go on to name his greatest work in homage to her memory. This touching story of an unjustly overlooked woman offers a completely new perspective on Orwell himself.

Title: Eileen Pub Date: 05/03/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-708-3 Price: £25.00 Rights: World English

NON-FICTION Sylvia Topp is the author of numerous essays, including ‘Hidden Husbands’ and ‘You Can’t Get to Barnhill from Here’. She has worked for The Soho Weekly News, The Village Voice and Vanity Fair. She was the wife of Tuli Kupferberg, a Beat poet. Together Sylvia and Tuli wrote and designed over thirty books and magazines.

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March

THE CARPET MERCHANT OF KONSTANTINIYYA, VOL I REIMENA YEE

An Eisner-nominated graphic novel set in seventeenth-century Istanbul, about a carpet merchant in the aftermath of his transformation into a vampire Born into an esteemed family of scholars, the young Zeynel meets Ayşe, an Anatolian girl from a tiny village, who harbours big dreams. Where he is insecure and pressured to live up to the expectations of other people, she is sure of herself and knows exactly how to achieve what she wants. Perhaps there is more to their meeting than just chance.

Twenty-five years later, Ayşe is a successful businesswoman, and Zeynel her contented husband.

But on a trip one evening, he plays Good Samaritan to a mysterious traveller, who turns out to be his undoing… Now he must learn to let go of the things he holds most dear in order to protect the people he loves.

Title:

The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya, Vol I Pub Date: 05/03/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-577-5 Price: £22.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

GRAPHIC NOVEL Reimena Yee is an artist, writer and designer originally from Kuala Lumpur. She has drawn for Adventure Time, Image Comics, Girls Make Games, and a cornucopia of smaller businesses. You can find her comics at reimenayee.com. @reimenayee 71

March

TASTING VICTORY

The Life and Wines of the World’s Favourite Sommelier GERARD BASSET

A memoir by the late Gerard Basset, OBE, Master Sommelier and founder of the Hotel du Vin Group This the memoir of Gerard Basset, the greatest wine professional of his generation. It charts his success in co-founding and selling the innovative Hotel du Vin chain, and recounts in detail just how he managed to earn his unprecedented sequence of qualifications: Gerard is the only individual to hold the famously difficult Master of Wine qualification simultaneously with that of Master Sommelier and MBA in Wine Business.

But it is his pursuit of the most important award of all that forms the book’s core – how, at his seventh attempt, and after a training regime that would shame most Olympic athletes, the fiftythree-year-old Gerard Basset was finally crowned the Best Sommelier of the World.

Title: Tasting Victory Pub Date: 19/03/2019 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-860-8 Price: £25.00 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Gerard Basset was co-founder of the hugely successful Hotel du Vin Group, and in June 2011 was appointed OBE, acknowledging his extraordinary contribution to the British hospitality industry – the crowning glory of a remarkable career that saw him become one of the most credible, approachable and respected figures in the wine world.

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April

RHUBARB RHUBARB

A Correspondence Between a Hopeless Gardener and a Hopeful Cook MARY JANE PATERSON AND JO THOMPSON

This correspondence between a Leiths-trained cook and an awardwinning gardener is full of recipes and advice to help you make the most of the year Rhubarb Rhubarb collects the witty, wide-ranging correspondence between Leiths-trained cook Mary Jane Paterson and the awardwinning gardener Jo Thompson.

Two good friends who bonded through a mutual terror of what they call professional mothers, they decided to demystify their own skills.

Jo would find herself panicking about what to cook for Easter lunch, but after a couple of emails from Mary Jane, the fear subsided and a delicious meal appeared on the table. Meanwhile, Jo helped Mary Jane combat her irrational fear of planting bulbs by showing how straightforward the process can be. The book is full of sane, practical advice for the general reader, complete with gardening tips and seasonal recipes.

Title: Rhubarb Rhubarb Pub Date: 02/04/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-870-7 Price: £20.00 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Mary Jane Paterson trained at Leiths School of Food and Wine. Her first culinary adventure was documented in her mother Jill Lowe’s novel Yadav: A Roadside Love Story. Jo Thompson is one of the UK’s leading garden designers, and has won several gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. She is a contributor to the Sunday Times’ Gardening section.

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April

ACT 3

The Art of Growing Older

JUDY REITH AND ADRIAN REITH How to re-imagine your life after 50 Life was once considered over at 50. Now we’re living much longer – an extra 20 or more years than our grandparents. The reality is that we have a whole new stage of life to look forward to. But how do we prepare for it?

Act 3: The Art of Growing Older tackles our fear and uncertainty about this unprecedented lease of life by providing a structured, step-by-step plan that covers all of its various aspects. With chapters on Health, Home, Money, Work, Relationships and Purpose, Act 3 will help you make the most of what could be your most fulfilling years.

Title: Act 3 Pub Date: 02/04/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-699-4 Price: £12.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Judy Reith has been a coach and parenting expert for twenty years. She is the author of 7 Secrets of Raising Girls Every Parent Must Know, Be a Great Mum and Transform Living with Teenagers. Aged fifty in 2006, Adrian Reith left a successful advertising career to retrain as a coach: he now works with executives and leaders to help them make the most of life.

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April

STIM

An Autistic Anthology

LIZZIE HUXLEY-JONES (ED.) Stim is an anthology of writing and art by autistic people, including short fiction, essays and illustrations Around 1 in 100 people in the UK are autistic, but the dialogue around autism often follows a bleak and predictable path – ‘problem’ children, unemployment, parents desperately seeking answers. It is rare that autistic people get to talk about their own experiences, or show how creative, smart and funny they are, how different to the stereotypical image most people hold.

Recently, the tide has started to turn, and this anthology represents an important step in autistic people reclaiming the power to speak for themselves. It brings together essays, fiction and artwork to showcase the immense talents of people who just happen to be on the spectrum.

Title: Stim Pub Date: 02/04/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-904-9 Price: £9.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Lizzie Huxley-Jones is an autistic person and occasional writer, based in London. She currently works as an editor at the independent micropublisher 3 of Cups Press. @littlehux

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April

THE WORLDWIDE FORAGER ROGER PHILLIPS

The bestselling author of Wild Food looks at how edible plants from all over the world have ended up in our back gardens In The Worldwide Forager, the legendary Roger Phillips presents his latest food discoveries. It includes an extensive selection of foraged plants from all over the world – from camas, which was eaten as a staple food by the Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest, to hosta, the common garden plant consumed as a succulent vegetable in Japan.

The book also contains an abundance of research and recipes pertaining to mushrooms from across Europe, alongside a range of ideas for making your meals more colourful and delicious with ingredients grown in your garden.

Title: The Worldwide Forager Pub Date: 02/04/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-882-0 Price: £25.00 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION In 1975 Roger Phillips set out to develop an encyclopedic collection of books to show the difference between plants as diverse as mosses, roses and annuals. His first book, Wild Flowers of Britain (1977), sold 400,000 copies in the first year. He has since written more than twenty additional volumes, selling over six million copies worldwide.

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April

THE TANGO EFFECT

Parkinson’s and the healing power of dance KATE SWINDLEHURST

A memoir exploring the transformative healing potential of the tango for people with Parkinson’s disease Every hour in the UK two people are told they have Parkinson’s disease.

For Kate Swindlehurst, the diagnosis was a turning point: refusing to be defined by her condition, she chose a radically different path.

This is the story of the extraordinary year in which Kate explored and documented ‘the tango effect’ – the emotional and social benefits of dance on Parkinson’s symptoms. What began with a single tango lesson grew into an exploration of the dance itself, its history and its incredible healing potential.

Intimate and unflinching, her account challenges our perceptions of living with a chronic condition and takes an honest look at the dark side of the illness while celebrating moments of joy, interconnectedness, acceptance and liberation.

Title: The Tango Effect Pub Date: 02/04/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-803-5 Price: £14.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION After thirty years as a teacher, Kate Swindlehurst moved to Cambridge, gained a distinction in Anglia Ruskin’s creative writing MA, won an Arts Council Escalator Award and spent two years as writer-in-residence at the University Botanic Garden. Her novel The Station Master won the 2017 Adventures in Fiction Spotlight competition. kateswindlehurst.com 77

April

IT’S ALL IN THE MIND

The Life and Legacy of Larry Stephens JULIE WARREN

The first biography of Larry Stephens, the man who transformed British comedy through his work with Tony Hancock and The Goon Show British popular culture would probably be very different had Larry Stephens not been born.

After a stint as the writer of Tony Hancock’s solo material, he teamed up with Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe, Spike Milligan and Michael Bentine to create The Goon Show, arguably the world’s most influential comedy programme.

For the first time, the life and work of this unsung hero of British comedy has been thoroughly explored using unrivalled access to Larry Stephens’ personal archive of letters, photographs and artwork, plus interviews with Stephens’ many notable friends, family members and colleagues.

‘A must-read for anyone who loves British comedy’ Kevin McNally

Title: It’s All In The Mind Pub Date: 16/04/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-862-2 Price: £25.00 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Julie Warren is a virtual assistant specialising in research. She currently lives in Essex and pretends to channel Larry Stephens on Twitter. @lsggbg

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April

TALES FROM THE COLONY ROOM DARREN COFFIELD

The definitive oral history of London’s most notorious drinking club

Tales from the Colony Room is an oral biography, consisting of previously unpublished and long-lost interviews with central characters in the scene, and on your voyage through this lost bohemia you’ll sip champagne with Francis Bacon, queue for the loo with Christine Keeler, get laid with Lucien Freud and kill time with Doctor Who. All this with a stellar supporting cast ranging from George Melly to Damien Hirst.

© Guy Moberly

To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the closure of London’s most infamous arts establishment, the Colony Room Club in Soho, former member Darren Coffield has written the authorised history of this notorious drinking den.

Title: Tales from the Colony Room Pub Date: 16/04/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-816-5 Price: £25.00 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Darren Coffield has exhibited with many leading artists including Damien Hirst, Patrick Caulfield and Gilbert and George at venues ranging from the Courtauld Institute, Somerset House to Voloshin Museum, Crimea.

Coffield worked with Joshua Compston on the formation of Factual Nonsense, the centre of the emerging Young British Artists scene.

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April

THE LAUGHING BABY

The Extraordinary Science Behind What Makes Babies Happy CASPAR ADDYMAN

How laughter and smiles define our cognitive and emotional development at the start of life The laughter of tiny babies is endearing, entrancing and infectious; it is also a fascinating window into what they are learning. Long before they can talk, babies communicate their experience of the world through laughter and tears.

Until now, however, psychologists and parenting experts have largely focused on moments of stress and confusion. Dr Caspar Addyman is a developmental psychologist who decided to change that. He started the Baby Laughter project, collecting data, videos and stories from parents all over the world.

This book is the culmination of his research, showing how babies provide the origin story for our incredible abilities.

Title: The Laughing Baby Pub Date: 16/04/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-796-0 Price: ÂŁ16.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Dr Caspar Addyman is a developmental psychologist who studies how babies learn about the world. He is a lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London and previously spent a decade working at the worldrenowned Birkbeck Babylab. @czzpr 80

April

BIRD THERAPY JOE HARKNESS

An acclaimed guide to how birdwatching can improve your wellbeing Foreword by Chris Packham When Joe Harkness suffered a breakdown in 2013, he tried all the things his doctor recommended: medication helped, counselling was enlightening, and mindfulness grounded him. But nothing came close to nature, particularly birds.

How had he never noticed such beauty before? Soon, every avian encounter took him one step closer to accepting who he is.

In this groundbreaking book filled with practical advice, Joe explains the impact that birdwatching had on his life, and invites the reader to discover these extraordinary effects for themselves.

‘I can’t remember the last book I read that I could say with absolute assurance would save lives. But this one will’ Chris Packham

Title: Bird Therapy Pub Date: 16/04/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-898-1 Price: £9.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

‘I was impressed and enchanted.

Highly recommended’ Stephen Fry

NON-FICTION Joe Harkness has been writing a Bird Therapy blog for the last three years. In 2017, he had articles published in The Curlew and Birdwatch magazine as well as recording three ‘tweets of the day’ for BBC Radio 4.

He is employed as a Special Educational Needs coordinator and has worked in the youth sector for nine years. He lives in Norfolk. @birdtherapy 81

ives in Norfolk. hor of the Sunday elling The Good, The Furry and Hill Sports Book ing Me the Head rcia. 21st-Century nglisted for the Prize and the titular p the Witch won a on Award.

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April

RING THE HILL TOM COX

Sunday Times bestselling author Tom Cox writes around, and about, hills, in his latest set of inimitable explorations

A hill is not a m You climb it for it quietly inside marked ‘Quite A it makes its infin who you are.

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Ring the Hill is around, and abo includes a north that never ends hill in England. takes a type of it’s a knoll, cap, a mere bump – point for one of characteristical and wide-rangin

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Ring the Hill is a book written around, and about, hills. Each ‘Dial 999 and choose option 3, “Hill”, to speak directly to a chapter takes of cost hill – hill.’

‘Fun hills are waiting to chata justtype with you. Calls 60p per minute peak time!’ whether it’s a knoll, cap, cliff, tor or even a mere bump – as a starting point for one of Tom’s characteristically unpredictable and wide-ranging explorations. idea of a hill as something you might get in touch with in a

crisis, big or small . . . at a point when you needed perspective:

Tom’s lyrical, candid prose roams from an intimate relationship with a particular cove on the south coast, to meditations on his great-grandmother and a lesson on what goes into the mapping of hills themselves. Because a good walk in the hills is never just about the hills: you never know where it might lead.

Tom’s lyrical, ca roams from an relationship wit cove on the sou meditations on grandmother an what goes into t of hills themsel good walk in th just about the h know where it m

www.unbound.com

Title: Ring the Hill Pub Date: 16/04/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-901-8 Price: £9.99 Rights: UK & Comm (Excl. Can)

‘Cox’s writing is loose-limbed, engaging and extremely funny’ Guardian

NON-FICTION Tom Cox lives in Norfolk. He is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling The Good, The Bad and The Furry and the William Hill Sports Book longlisted Bring Me the Head of Sergio Garcia. 21st-Century Yokel was longlisted for the 2018 Wainwright Prize, and the titular story of Help the Witch won a 2019 Shirley Jackson Award. @cox_tom 82

May

THE ARROW OF APOLLO PHILIP WOMACK

An epic children’s adventure set in the legendary past: three friends must find the magical Arrow of Apollo before evil consumes the world The gods are leaving the Earth for other worlds where they can live in peace, and only a few retain an interest in the mortals left behind.

Meanwhile darker, more ancient forces are wakening…

Silvius, son of Aeneas, is given a task by a dying centaur. The dark god Python is rising and massing an army of unstoppable power.

The only thing that can save the world is the Arrow of Apollo – but it has been split into two. Against his father’s wishes, Silvius and his friend Elissa must travel to the land of their enemies, the Achaeans, to bring the pieces of the Arrow together and use it to lay Python low once more.

Title: The Arrow of Apollo Pub Date: 14/05/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-867-7 Price: £8.99 Rights: World/Audio/Film & TV

FICTION Philip Womack is the author of six books for children, including The Broken King and The Double Axe. He teaches creative writing and children’s literature at Royal Holloway, University of London, and contributes to many publications, including the TLS, Literary Review, the Financial Times and Tatler. @WomackPhilip 83

May

WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU Fifteen Stories of Survival

ELITSA DERMENDZHIYSKA (ED.) Stories from sucessful people, including Cathy Rentzenbrink, Rory Bremner and Emily Reynolds, on the struggles that shaped them There’s a myth about the famous and successful that paints them as godlike characters leading spotless, unblemished lives. But under the surface you’ll find that these people were often shaped by great personal struggle. They just didn’t become defined by it.

In this book, you’ll meet acclaimed writers, beloved comedians, ingenious artists, distinguished academics, polar explorers and boxing champions who share the stories of their secret battles and take you on a journey to the darkest recesses of their minds.

And as they face their deepest fears, the authors will grapple with questions that haunt us all.

Title: What Doesn’t Kill You Pub Date: 14/05/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-764-9 Price: £9.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Elitsa Dermendzhiyska went from stock investing in Washington DC to the rat race in London and promptly burned out. To avoid actually getting therapy, she spent the next two years interviewing therapists, psychiatrists, NHS clinicians, authors, artists and entrepreneurs from South London to Silicon Valley – this book is the result.

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May

PIRATES IN THE NAVY

How Innovators Lead Transformation TENDAYI VIKI

This Thinkers50 title is a fresh, practical guide to carrying out innovation in large companies Faced with the choice of starting your own company or joining a large corporation, Steve Jobs thought that it was ‘more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy’.

Trying to build your own startup is hard. But there is nothing harder in business than trying to innovate inside large corporations.

This is a book about how to actually get innovation done in companies and how to transform them in the process. It answers key questions for intrapreneurs and their managers such as how to influence leadership to prioritise innovation, how to work with naysayers and how to start a movement that changes how innovation is managed.

Title: Pirates in the Navy Pub Date: 14/05/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-894-3 Price: £14.99 Rights: World/Audio/Film & TV

NON-FICTION Tendayi Viki is originally from Zimbabwe and now based in London where he is managing partner at consultancy firm Benneli Jacobs. His design of Pearson’s Product Lifecycle won the Best Innovation Program 2015 at the Corporate Entrepreneur Awards. He is the co-author of The Corporate Startup and The Lean Product Lifecycle. @tendayiviki 85

May

MADE POSSIBLE

Stories of success by people with learning disabilities – in their own words SABA SALMAN (ED.)

In Unbound’s latest groundbreaking anthology, high-achieving people with learning difficulties share the stories behind their success There are 1.5 million people with learning disabilities in the UK today, but our media and our politicians barely mention them at all, other than to present them as a burden on the state or objects of pity.

Made Possible is a powerful, one-of-a-kind anthology that challenges the dominant narratives and shatters these lazy stereotypes. It presents the authentic experiences of a range of professionals from diverse backgrounds, who have all made remarkable achievements – in sport, the arts and politics, among other fields – regardless of the fact they happen to have a disability.

Here they tell the stories behind their success, in their own words.

Title: Made Possible Pub Date: 28/05/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-826-4 Price: £9.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Saba Salman is a freelance social affairs journalist and regular writer for the Guardian. She has reported on equality and disability issues for more than twenty years and was a reporter on London local papers before moving on to the nationals. Saba is a trustee of the charity Sibs, which supports the siblings of disabled children and adults. @Saba_Salman 86

May

GALACTIC KEEGAN SCOTT INNES

2023: after Earth is decimated by pestilence and war, mankind attempts to colonise a distant planet. Here, Kevin Keegan sets up his new football academy…

The near future. Earth has been invaded by an alien race known as the L’zuhl, and those humans lucky enough to survive have been evacuated to the furthest reaches of space to rebuild and fight back against the onslaught. On the distant planet of Palangonia, there lives the former England manager Kevin Keegan, now manager of Palangonia FC. Keegan just wants to focus on the football but constantly finds himself sucked into the battle against the L’zuhl, whether he likes it or not. And now, with whispers of a L’zuhl spy on the loose in the compound, it falls to Keegan himself to find the culprit before it’s too late.

Title: Galactic Keegan Pub Date: 28/05/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-651-2 Price: £9.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

FICTION Scott Innes was born in 1984 in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, and is now based in East Sussex. He has worked for the NHS in various capacities for almost fifteen years. Scott has been the writer of the @GalacticKeegan Twitter account since early 2014, in which time it has accumulated more than 70,000 followers.

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May

THE SCOTTISH BOY ALEX DE CAMPI

A violent, sexy thriller about a fourteenth-century English knight and his Scottish prisoner, by bestselling comics writer Alex de Campi

Given the boy – Iain – as his squire, Harry begins to notice things: Iain speaks French, reads Latin, and when he finally cuts his filthy hair, the face revealed is the most beautiful thing Harry has ever seen. Together they win tournament after tournament, but twin secrets smoulder underneath: their growing passion for one another, and Iain’s mysterious heritage.

© Theik Smith

1333. Edward III is at war with Scotland. Nineteen-year-old knight Sir Harry de Lyon is yearning to prove himself when a powerful English baron invites him on a secret mission. They ride north, to a crumbling Scottish keep, capturing the feral boy within and putting the other inhabitants to the sword.

Title: The Scottish Boy Pub Date: 28/05/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-797-7 Price: £10.99 Rights: World English

FICTION Alex de Campi is a British–American writer of comic books and TV/ film. Her most recent books include Bad Girls, Dredd: Final Judgement, Ghost in the Shell: Global Neural Network and Twisted Romance. She’s been nominated for an Eisner award and a Bram Stoker award. She lives in New York City. @alexdecampi 88

May

BIRD BRAIN CHUCK MULLIN

Comics about mental health, starring pigeons Anxiety is a wild ride. Often, there seems to be an assumption that if you’re mentally ill, you just sit around and cry all the time. There is a certain amount of that, true, but there’s also much more to it.

Chuck Mullin has won fans with these funny, quirky pigeons that illustrate how mental health affects her everyday life. From Bad Times to Positivity, the comics use humour to provide a glimpse of what’s going on in Chuck’s head: dissociative episodes; cycles of anxiety; her struggle to accept she’s not alone; and the power of optimism on the days it’s possible.

Title: Bird Brain Pub Date: 28/05/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-785-4 Price: £9.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Chuck is a twenty-something Londoner who is full of anxiety and a love of pigeons. She likes to combine the two of these things in comics that depict life with mental illness. She was named a Digital Champion in the 2018 Mind Media Awards. @charlubby / @chuckdrawsthings 89

June

OUT OF LOVE HAZEL HAYES

The debut novel from YouTube sensation Hazel Hayes is the story of a break-up, told in reverse Out of Love is a love story in reverse, set against the bittersweet backdrop of inevitable heartbreak. It begins at the end of a relationship, and weaves together an already unravelled tapestry, from tragic break-up to magical first kiss.

It moves not from beginning to end, but from end to beginning; from the depths of grief to the heights of love, with all the madness and mundanity in between. It’s a novel for anyone who has loved and lost, and lived to tell the tale.

‘The writing sparkles with wit, and a poignant emotional reality.

I love it’ Matt Haig

Title: Out of Love Pub Date: 11/06/2020 Format: Paperback ISBN: 978-1-78352-896-7 Price: £8.99 Rights: World English ex US/Canada

FICTION Hazel Hayes is an Irish-born, London-based writer and director, who honed her craft on YouTube and through numerous short films and sketches. Her eight-part thriller, PrankMe, won Series of the Year at SITC and the award for Excellence in Storytelling at Buffer Festival in Toronto. www.youtube.com/ChewingSand @TheHazelHayes 90

June

THE PHILOSOPHER QUEENS

The Lives and Legacies of Philosophy’s Unsung Women REBECCA BUXTON AND LISA WHITING (EDS.)

How many women philosophers can you name? The first-ever illustrated guide to women philosophers, from ancient history to present day We all know about Plato, Kant, Nietzsche and Locke – but what about Hypatia, Arendt, Oluwole and Young? The Philosopher Queens is a much-needed and long-awaited profile of women in philosophy by women in philosophy, featuring original fullcolour portraits by artist Emmy Smith. The first of its kind, it brings to centre stage twenty prominent women whose ideas have had a profound – but for the most part uncredited – impact on the world.

Learn about Ban Zhao, the first woman historian in ancient Chinese history; Angela Davis, perhaps the most iconic symbol of the American Black Power Movement; Azizah Y. al-Hibri, who examined the intersection of Islamic law and gender equality; and many more.

Title: The Philosopher Queens Pub Date: 11/06/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-801-1 Price: £18.99 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Rebecca Buxton is a DPhil student at the University of Oxford, working on political philosophy and forced migration. Her research looks at the political rights of refugees and migrants. @RebeccaBuxton Lisa Whiting is completing her master’s in Government, Policy and Politics at Birkbeck, University of London. She currently works for the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation. @lisababblings 91

June

BOY SOLDIER

A Memoir of Innocence Lost and Humanity Regained in Northern Uganda NORMAN OKELLO AND THEO HOLLANDER

Abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army at the age of twelve, Norman Okello describes a journey into inhumanity and back to forgiveness and love Boy Soldier tells the harrowing, inspiring story of Norman Okello, a young man who grew up in northern Uganda under the shadow of war. After an idyllic childhood, he was abducted at the age of twelve by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army.

In captivity, he was subjected to a ruthless training regime aimed at turning him into a killing machine free from conscience and fear.

Norman struggled to stay alive while maintaining his humanity, but when he eventually managed to escape his ordeal, he was faced with the task of trying to reintegrate into a society that feared and despised him. Above all, his is an astonishing tale of survival and redemption against unbelievable odds.

Title: Boy Soldier Pub Date: 11/06/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-811-0 Price: £20.00 Rights: World/Audio/TV & Film

NON-FICTION Norman Okello is a former child soldier from northern Uganda. He now lives a fulfilling life centered on helping others and serving his community. Dr Theo Hollander has been a peacebuilding professional for over ten years. In northern Uganda, he documented hundreds of life stories of people affected by armed conflict.

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June

TO BE SOMEONE IAN STONE

Not final cover

Comedian Ian Stone remembers how his obsession with the Jam helped him grow up amid the turbulence of late-70s Britain In 1977, no-one was happy in Britain, particularly not in Ian Stone’s house. He was fourteen and his days consisted of going to school, watching Arsenal play terrible football and listening to his parents’ marriage disintegrating.

Outside, the country was divided by racism, violence and unemployment.

But late one evening, Ian’s eyes and ears were opened to a new world when the Jam walked onstage at London’s Music Machine and launched into ninety blistering minutes of some of the best pop tunes ever written. This memoir is a freewheeling tribute to the band that helped him – and thousands more – to grow up, to be someone.

Title: To Be Someone Pub Date: 25/06/2020 Format: Hardback ISBN: 978-1-78352-766-3 Price: £16.99 Rights: All ex Audio, TV

NON-FICTION Ian Stone is a stand-up comedian and broadcaster. He has gigged all over the world, and appeared on television programmes such as The 11 O’Clock Show, Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Mock the Week. He currently hosts the breakfast show on LOVE SPORT Radio. @iandstone 93

NEW TITLES: DIGITAL The following titles are from our digital list, available to order in paperback from GBS at orders@gbs.tbs-ltd.co.uk

A meditation on oppression and authoritarianism, reflecting how faith and virtue can lead to liberation.

Title: A Virtue of Disobedience Author: Asim Qureshi ISBN: 978-1-78965-075-4 Price: £9.99

The story of one remarkable man and his family who remain committed to the ideals of the original communist revolution despite decades of persecution, torture and imprisonment in China.

Title: To Survive Is Victory Author: Lin Xiangbei ISBN: 978-1-78965-059-4 Price: £12.99

After fifty years of never losing faith despite constant disappointment, a favourable draw in the FA Trophy gave Bromley FC the chance to finally make Dave Roberts’ dream come true...

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Title: The Long, Long Road to Wembley Author: Dave Roberts ISBN: 978-1-78965-055-6 Price: £9.99

Set in 1940s Colombia, Breakfast in Bogotá is about a broken architect trying to build something new.

Title: Breakfast in Bogotá Author: Helen Young ISBN: 978-1-78965-049-5 Price: £9.99

A musical journey around the continent in the company of Senegalese superstar, Youssou N’Dour.

Title: Notes from Africa Author: Jenny Cathcart ISBN: 978-1-78965-047-1 Price: £12.99

Two years have passed since the tragic events that took place in A Murder to Die For and the little village of Nasely has returned to cosy normality. But strange things are going on in nearby Black Dog Wood…

Title: The Diabolical Club Author: Stevyn Colgan ISBN: 978-1-78965-039-6 Price: £10.99

Unladylike is the first book written about feminism and wrestling – it follows one unlikely woman’s journey to becoming an infamous masked wrestler, and honestly retells the life lessons grappling teaches her on the way.

Title: Unladylike Author: Heather Von Bandenburg ISBN: 978-1-78965-033-4 Price: £10.99

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Youth cult meets occult in this New English Library style tale of a skinhead werewolf running riot in late Seventies London.

Title: Moonstomp Author: Tim Wells ISBN: 978-1-78965-045-7 Price: £8.99

The post-truth society: how we got here; where is ‘here’, exactly, and what on earth can we do about it?

Title: Not Buying It Author: Charlotte A. Henry ISBN: 978-1-912618-92-7 Price: £10.99

How to change lives with words. Dark Angels on Writing will teach you to become a better copywriter by learning techniques from fiction and poetry – as well as vice versa.

Title: Dark Angels on Writing Author: Dark Angels ISBN: 978-1-78965-043-3 Price: £9.99

A near-future dystopia, where teenagers who escaped an attack on their special school become the last hope of freeing the British people.

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Title: Underdogs Author: Chris Bonnello ISBN: 978-1-78965-035-8 Price: £9.99

A black comedy about love, loss, the death of dreams, failure, bad TV, bad jokes, brutalist buildings. And Birmingham.

Title: The Wall in the Head Author: Christopher Beanland ISBN: 978-1-78965-029-7 Price: £10.99

A story about a family torn apart by obsession and the need to rebel against a violent regime, set in a broken, dystopian Britain.

Title: The Disappeared Author: Amy Lord ISBN: 978-1-78965-027-3 Price: £10.99

A dark, philosophical thriller set in contemporary Los Angeles.

Title: Lomita For Ever Author: Trevor Eve ISBN: 978-1-78965-041-9 Price: £9.99

Not Speaking is a lively and unusual family memoir, and a slice of social history.

Title: Not Speaking Author: Norma Clarke ISBN: 978-1-78965-025-9 Price: £10.99

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Not from Above! is the debut collection of stories from musician Alexander Mayor (Alexander’s Festival Hall).

Title: Not from Above!

Author: Alexander Mayor ISBN: 978-1-78965-031-0 Price: £9.99

Seventeenth-century historical mystery thriller set in Oxford, about a detective who defends justice and human rights.

Title: Blood on the Stone Author: Jake Lynch ISBN: 978-1-78352-791-5 Price: £10.99

160 years after the disappearance of a promising young explorer, the discovery of his missing journals finally reveals the truth behind an extraordinary adventure.

Title: Green Gold Author: Gabriel Hemery ISBN: 978-1-78965-023-5 Price: £10.99

Scenes of Moderate Violence is the debut collection from award-winning poet John Moynes. If you think that modern literature doesn’t include enough time-travelling cowboys, then this is the book for you.

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Title: Scenes of Moderate Violence Author: John Moynes ISBN: 978-1-78965-037-2 Price: £8.99

A riotous history of people and things that broke the mould.

Title: Rebel Rebel Author: Chris Sullivan ISBN: 978-1-78965-002-0 Price: £10.99

No one is a bigger fan of actor Thomas Cassidy than Libby. No one. That’s why she’s totally going to marry him.

Title: Unscripted Author: Claire Handscombe ISBN: 978-1-912618-94-1 Price: £10.99

A boy discovers not a secret garden, but a secret city. His sister discovers maths and the world of alchemy and their mother tries to break the bond of their love – as India hurtles towards Partition.

Title: The Inside City Author: Anita Mir ISBN: 978-1-78965-008-2 Price: £10.99

A novel that will bring you to the dark heart of Singapore’s maid culture.

Title: Bitter Leaves Author: Tabatha Stirling ISBN: 978-1-78965-020-4 Price: £10.99

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Gabriel Stewart decided to walk a thousand miles around the UK on his gap year. This is the story of how it all went spectacularly wrong.

Title: I Went for a Walk Author: Gabriel Stewart ISBN: 978-1-912618-96-5 Price: £9.99

Two friends paddle, hike and wade 1300 km along Angola’s longest river in support of The HALO Trust’s demining work.

Title: Kayak the Kwanza Author: Oscar Scafidi ISBN: 978-1-78965-012-9 Price: £10.99

A plot to assassinate the last Habsburg Emperor reveals the competing visions for Austria at the end of the First World War.

Title: The Passing Tribute Author: Simon Marshall ISBN: 978-1-78965-016-7 Price: £10.99

The incredible true story of one woman’s campaign for equality in the armed forces.

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Title: This Queer Angel Author: Elaine Chambers ISBN: 978-1-912618-38-5 Price: £10.99

The darkly comic story of a retired Las Vegas stage magician and big cat enthusiast, dragged back into the spotlight by the consequences of one huge mistake.

Title: Bobby Denise Is Reigning Rampant Author: Daniel Ross ISBN: 978-1-912618-88-0 Price: £10.99

A sweeping fantasy of magic’s ending; a new name to set alongside Jen Williams and Den Patrick.

Title: The End of Magic Author: Mark Stay ISBN: 978-1-78965-004-4 Price: £11.99

An extraordinary story of how six children became the first astronauts to go to Mars.

Title: The Other Things Author: Jonathan Dransfield ISBN: 978-1-912618-86-6 Price: £10.99

A twisted and comedic novel about the dark side of viral videos.

Title: Viral Author: Mike Jeavons ISBN: 978-1-912618-68-2 Price: £10.99

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SHELFIE: ALEX PRESTON Alex Preston is an author and journalist. He was born in 1979 and lives in Kent with his wife and two children. He is the author of three acclaimed novels (This Bleeding City, The Revelations and In Love and War) and As Kingfishers Catch Fire, an exploration of birds in literature, from Ovid to Ted Hughes, beautifully illustrated by Neil Gower. He appears regularly on BBC Radio and television and writes for GQ, Harper’s Bazaar and Town & Country magazine as well as for the Observer’s New Review. He teaches creative writing at the University of Kent and regular Guardian Masterclasses. He is @ahmpreston on Twitter.

Can you remember the first book you bought?

I mistrust memory, and am certain that there were book token purchases as a child that I’ve now forgotten – I was obsessed with the Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone Choose Your Own Adventure franchise. The first book I remember going out to buy with my own money was Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. I’m not sure how I knew about it or why I thought I had to have it, but I clearly recall walking into Worthing, where I lived, aged twelve and buying the hardback from a (now-defunct) bookstore (possibly Dillons) opposite the (now-defunct) Our Price records. I loved the book with a fierce passion (and still do).

How big is your library now?

Too big. I’m not a collector of books, but rather an accumulator. Books jostle in teetering piles all over the house. They clamber up staircases, sit in boxes waiting to be read, or at least unpacked. I have a book problem, I recognise this, but I’m not quite ready to do anything about it.

How do you arrange your books?

We moved house a few years ago and for a while I lived the blameless life of the alphabetically organised. I had fiction and non-fiction, specialist sections for the books I taught, books related to the various writing projects I currently have on and four shelves of natural history.

Chaos, eventually, reasserted itself.

Favourite reading spot in your house?

In summer, it’s a swing-chair in the garden, recalling the swing-chair at my grandparents’ house where I did much of my happiest childhood reading. In winter, it’s a window-seat in my library.

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Do you have a regular purge?

Yes, although the purges don’t ever manage to keep pace with the books that continue to arrive, every day, delivered by an increasingly hunched and ill-tempered postman.

Favourite bookshop new or second-hand?

Much Ado Books in Alfriston is bliss – everything a bookshop should be. Wonderful staff, a stunning range of new and secondhand books, all arranged in a gloriously higgledy-piggledy collection of rooms (and a caravan). I would live there if I could.

What’s on your ‘to read’ pile?

Too much. In addition to the books I’m reviewing over the coming weeks and months, I’m also re-immersing myself in Homer in anticipation of the Corfu Literary Festival in September, when I’ll be speaking with Adam Nicolson about his magnificent The Mighty Dead.

What is your favourite edition that you own and why?

I have an original first edition (rarer, with typos that were corrected in the first edition proper) of The Great Gatsby. If it were in anything like decent shape, it’d be worth a fortune, but it’s brilliantly tatty, heavily thumbed and stamped every few pages with ‘Property of the Women’s Hospital’.

The book was given to me years ago by my grandfather, who bought it in a Hampstead charity shop.

To break the spine or keep it as immaculate as possible?

Break the spine. Books are for reading, they are not ornaments.

Do you lend books?

Yes. I believe strongly in book karma. They all come back, one way or another.

Do you like to get books signed by the author?

Every year, I get each of my godchildren twelve books signed to them by the authors I meet. When they’re eighteen, they’ll have a library of over 200 books all inscribed to them.

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GIVING NEW LIFE TO OLD BOOKS

Backlisted.fm

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