by Jean Strouse
£25.00 | Hardback
Artnet's writers and editors select their picks from recently published criticism, biographies, and graphic novels for their holiday reading list.
Find out why Jo Lawson-Tancred chose Family Romance here.
by Lois Shearing
£12.99 | Paperback
Pink-pilled was included in Stylist Magazine's list of 26 must-read books that will be massive this year, according to top literary insiders.
Read the full list here.
edited by Neil Storey
£85.00 | Hardback
'A hugely evocative read and a veritable treasure trove of facts, figures and trivia.'
Terry Staunton's 4-star review of The Island Book of Records Volume II in Record Collector.
by Darren Freebury-Jones
£25.00 | Hardback
Darren was a guest on the Folger Shakespeare Library's Shakespeare Unlimited podcast on Shakespeare and his contemporaries, and the influences on the “upstart crow” as he created a canon of timeless works.
Listen here.
by Aeron Davis
£10.99 | Paperback
Delighted to see Aeron Davis' history of the Treasury on author Sam Freedman's Best Books of 2024 list.
View the full list on Sam's very popular Substack here.
It was also one of Bella Caledonia's Books of the Year, chosen by Gerry Hassan.
by Fiona Smyth
£25.00 | Hardback
On BBC Radio 4's Start the Week, acoustic engineer Trevor Cox, musician Jess Gillam and author Fiona Smyth (Pistols in St Paul's) discussed the relationship between building design and music, with host Tom Sutcliffe.
Listen back to the episode here.
Fiona was also interview on the A is for Architecture podcast, listen on Apple Podcasts here.
by Douglas Field
£25.00 | Hardback
'The book skilfully entwines various strands. Field outlines Baldwin's life in Harlem and his difficult relationship with his stepfather. Next to this is the story of Field's early years in Shropshire, his troubles with his own father, and his developing love for Baldwin.'
James Campbell's review inThe Spectator, read it here.
by Jaroslaw Kuisz
£25.00 | Hardback
Delighted to see 'The new politics of Poland' by Jaroslaw Kuisz in Foreign Affairs' Best Books of 2024.
View the full list here.
by Lois Shearing
£12.99 | Paperback
The Herald's Neil Mackay spoke to author Lois Shearing about their forthcoming book and the growing far-right movement across the globe, for the Herald's Big Read.
Read it here.
Lois was also interviewed by The Independent's Maya Oppenheim, which you can read here.
by Thomas Paul Burgess
£16.99 | Paperback
Delighted to see 'Wild colonial boys' by Thomas Paul Burgess in the Irish Times' Best Books of 2024, as chosen by Tony Clayton-Lea.
View the full list here.
by Darren Freebury-Jones
£25.00 | Hardback
'Breaking new ground here is no mean feat, but the weight of meticulous evidence Freebury-Jones brings to the table ensures that Borrowed Feathers does so with real authority.'
Matt Ryan's review in the December issue of EPOCH Magazine, find it online here.
edited by Neil Storey
£85.00 | Hardback
'A rich and lovingly curated look at a particularly prolific year in Island Records history.'
Roisin O'Connor in The Independent's music newsletter.
'Neil Storey has once again delved into his impressive archive of record sleeves, gig posters and press cuttings to curate The Island Book Of Records Volume 2, covering the years 1969-70: Blind Faith, Fairport, Free and all kinds of hairy goodness' says UNCUT.
The book was included in The London Evening Standard's greatest reads of 2024.
Editor Neil Storey also took part in the Times Radio Old and New music interview, listen back here.
Neil was also a guest on the Word In Your Ear podcast, listen on Apple Podcasts here, and The Strange Brew podcast here.
by Ruvani Ranasinha
£16.99 | Hardback
Ahead of Hanif's 70th birthday, and following the publication of his new memoir, Ruvani has written a 'Where to start with' feature for the Guardian online, which you can find here.
By Patrick Clarke
£12.99 | Paperback
'The short-lived but lore-heavy career of early 1980s northern synth-pop duo Soft Cell is catalogued and reappraised in a compelling new oral history, from working-class 1970s Leeds to the excesses of downtown New York City in the 1980s.'
Claire Biddles' review for Tribune, read it here.
by Jean Strouse
£25.00 | Hardback
Glowing reviews of Jean Strouse's latest book have been published by the Wall Street Journal, Tablet, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Boston Globe.
by Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
Barbara Comyns was amongst the book selected for The Independent's best biographies and memoirs of 2024 list.
Read the full list here.
edited by Neil Storey
£85.00 | Hardback
The Island Book of Records Volume II received a 5-star review in Shindig! magazine: "This is perfection in print."
It also received a 4-star review in MOJO magazine: "Packed with new interviews, artefacts and delicious details".
And the Telegraph included the book in their 'best music books of 2024' list, saying of the volume: "I could spend hours poring over Neil Storey's handsomely designed Island Book of Records Volume II, the continuing story of one of Britain's greatest independent record labels."
by Peter Mason
£9.99 | Paperback
Author Peter Mason contributed to The Guardian's The Spin weekly newsletter, writing about the 1983 West Indies cricket team.
Read the piece online here.
by Douglas Field
£16.99 | Hardback
Author Douglas Field spoke to the editor of the Byline Times, Hardeep Mathru, about his new book and how it draws on both his lifelong fascination with Baldwin, and his father's Alzheimer's diagnosis.
Find it in print in the November issue of the Byline Times.
£12.99 | Paperback
This LGBTQIA+ history tour of four English cities traverses England to uncover hidden queer stories. You can now read an excerpt from the book online thanks to DIVA magazine.
Read the excerpt here.
The authors were also interviewed on BBC Radio Leeds, listen back here.
by John Bowers KC
£20.00 | Hardback
Reflecting on Keir Starmer's first 100 days in government, John Bowers KC looks at the the ethical scorecard of our new PM versus his predecessors for Prospect magazine.
Read the article here.
by The Common Sense Policy Group
£9.99 | Paperback
Ahead of the Autumn Budget, journalist Taj Ali spoke to members of the Common Sense Policy Group about welfare and public spending.
Read the article in Hyphen here.
Ed. by Peter Maxwell-Stuart
£9.99 | Paperback
'A captivating window on the real lives of those who performed or were accused of performing magic...'
E. K. Myerson reviews this new edition in the TLS.
Read the review here.
By Peter Mason
£9.99 | Paperback
'Mason paints a rich picture of Walcott's on-field success.'
Franklin Nelson reviews Mason's biography in the TLS.
Read the review here.
By Simin Fadaee
£19.99 | Paperback
For much of the twentieth century, Marx’s ideas inspired anti-colonialism and other movements for social justice worldwide.
For the ASA's Marxist Sociology blog, Simin Fadaee writes about her new book.
Read it here.
By Patrick Clarke
£12.99 | Paperback
Patrick Clarke spoke to the Yorkshire Post about Soft Cell's Yorkshire roots, and his new book, Bedsit land. Read the feature online here.
The book also featured in The New Statesman's round-up of the best books from academic presses publishing this Autumn, find their picks here.
By Darren Freebury-Jones
£25.00 | Hardback
Author Darren Freebury-Jones has been a guest on a number of podcasts, discussing his new book, including British History: Royals, Rebels, and Romantics, Talking Tudors, Ruff Radio, Reduced Shakespeare, That Shakespeare Life and Shakespeare Anyone?
Dalya Alberge also interviewed Darren for a Guardian exclusive news feature, read it here.
And the book was given a 4-star review by Emma Smith in the Telegraph.
By Douglas Field
£16.99 | Hardback
On Shepherd.com, author Douglas Field recommended his favourite lesser-known James Baldwin books. Read his list of recommendations here.
By Darren Freebury-Jones
£25.00 | Hardback
'Persuasive and precise, this exceptionally well-researched book is an invaluable addition to scholarship that examines how literary collaborations shaped the modern Shakespeare canon.'
Kirkus Review's review of Darren Freebury-Jones is online here.
By Patrick Clarke
£12.99 | Paperback
To mark publication week, Patrick Clarke was interviewed on SNACK magazine's new podcast, listen here.
The Quietus also published an extract from the book here.
Patrick was also interviewed on BBC Radio Merseyside, and BBC Radio Leeds.
By Fiona Smyth
£25.00 | Hardback
Fiona Smyth was a guest on both Dublin City FM, and the Spectator's Holy Smoke podcast, discussing her new book.
You can also find an interview with the author on the New Books Network podcast here.
The book was also given a 3-star review in The Telegraph, and featured in their Arts section here.
By Peter Mason
£9.99 | Paperback
'This book is worthy recognition of a life well-lived and a man of considerable and deserved reputation. Highly recommended.'
Steve Dolman reviews this biography of the legendary cricketer for Derbyshire Country Cricket Club's Peakfan blog here.
It was also reviewed on cricketweb.net here.
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
DJ Paulette was interviewed by Elaine Wilcox of ITV News (Granada) about how the music community is standing up to racism.
It was included on the 6pm news, and is now available on ITVX to watch back here.
By Laurie Parsons
£18.99 | Hardback
Wiki Observatory published an edited extract from Laurie Parson's acclaimed book, on how we can decolonize our battle against climate change.
Read it here.
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
DJ Paulette was a guest on Factory International's Dream Space podcast, hosted by Gemma Cairney. In the episode, we enter DJ Paulette’s dream space where music and water collide. Listen to the episode here.
She was also interviewed by Manchester Evening News ahead of Manchester Pride 2024 here.
By Douglas Field
£16.99 | Hardback
To mark the James Baldwin centenary, Douglas Field wrote a piece about the American author and activist's enduring popularity for the Literary Review here.
He was also a guest on BBC Radio 4's Great Lives episode on Baldwin, which you can listen to here.
By The Common Sense Policy Group
£9.99 | Paperback
For the Morning Star, Sylvia Hikins welcomes a brilliant book that should be compulsory reading for all MPs. Read her review here.
By Gillian Dooley
£20.00 | Hardback
Gillian Dooley was interviewed by Robert Hugill for his blog about her book on Jane Austen and music.
By David Scott
£11.99 | Paperback
'A panoramic view of Manchester’s changing sociological and cultural skyline...'
Desmond Bullen reviews Mancunians for Northern Soul here.
By The Common Sense Policy Group
£9.99 | Paperback
Howard Reed, Matthew Johnson and Elliott Johnson co-wrote this new piece for Tribune calling on Labour to tax the wealthy in order to avoid further austerity.
By Peter Mason
£9.99 | Paperback
Peter Mason was a guest on the Guerilla Cricket Podcast, previewing his biography of the legendary West Indies cricketer. Clyde Walcott. Listen here.
By Gillian Dooley
£20.00 | Hardback
Gillian Dooley compiled a list for Shepherd.com of five books that reveal the real Jane Austen. Read the list here.
By The Common Sense Policy Group
£9.99 | Paperback
Kate Pickett was interviewed on Times Radio by Jeremy Griffin (sitting in for Hugo Rifkind) ahead of the General Election. Listen to the interview here (2 hour mark).
Fellow author Jennifer Nadel also wrote an op-ed for Nation Cymru this week, read it here.
By Adrienne Buller
£12.99 | Paperback
On Pod Save the UK, author Adrienne Buller joined hosts Coco Khan and Nish Kumar to discuss how a new government could best combat the climate crisis.
Listen to the episode here.
By Ruvani Ranasinha
£30.00 | Hardback
'I had no idea I was so interesting.'
On his Substack, The Kureishi Chronicles, Hanif Kureishi
wrote about Ruvani's biography of his life and work so far.
By Gregor Gall
£20.00 | Hardback
'One of the valuable contributions the book makes is an explanation of where Mick Lynch comes from, in terms of his upbringing, sociological background, and political perspectives.'
Ewan Gibbs reviews Mick Lynch for Jacobin magazine here.
By The Common Sense Policy Group
£9.99 | Paperback
Act now was reviewed by Mike Phipps for Labour Hub here.
See also opinion pieces by various authors in Prospect, Byline Times and Big Issue.
By James Crossland
£11.99 | Paperback
James Crossland was a guest on Alexis Conran's programme on Times Radio to mark the paperback publication of his book.
Listen back here.
By Justin O'Connor
£14.99 | Paperback
Justin O'Connor's book featured in The Guardian's view on culture opinion piece.
Read the piece in full here.
By Gillian Dooley
£20.00 | Hardback
'Meticulously researched, detailed and original, Gillian Dooley's exhaustive account of the role of music in the life of Jane Austen, her family and her fictional creations is a remarkable achievement.'
Jocelyn Bury's review for the May/June issue of Jane Austen's Regency World Magazine.
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
Ahead of her appearance at WOW Festival at Manchester's Factory International, DJ Paulette was a guest on Simone Riley's show on BBC Radio Manchester to discuss Manchester's music venues, and women's place in Manchester music in the past, present and future.
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
On the Lost Ladies of Lit podcast, Avril Horner offers insight into novelist Barbara Comyns' unique blend of dark humor and her empathetic portrayals of vulnerable protagonists.
Listen to the episode here.
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
'Avril Horner's absorbing biography shows how much [Comyns] had to overcome to construct her distinctive writer's identity.'
Dinah Birch reviews Avril Horner's acclaimed biography for the Times Literary Supplement.
Read the review here.
By James Crossland
£11.99 | Paperback
In this enlightening podcast episode of the History Rage podcast, historian James Crossland takes us on a journey through the tumultuous era of the late 19th century, exploring the rise of modern terrorism and its profound impact on history.
Listen to the episode here.
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
Rosemary Hill reviews our biography of the cult favourite twentieth-century novelist, Barbara Comyns, for the London Review of Books.
Read the review here.
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
On Music Maps - The Rock n Roll Book Club Podcast, DJ Paulette talks about her early days & first gigs, influences, launching the iconic Flesh night at the Hacienda, Manchester nightlife in the 80's & 90's, the birth of the LBGTQ scene in Manchester & much more.
Listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts here.
She also appeared on the Proper Mental Health podcast - listen on Spotify here.
By Gillian Dooley
£20.00 | Hardback
'Gillian Dooley has done the burgeoning world of Austen studies a service by cataloguing the manuscripts that survive in Austen's hand'
Nicholas Kenyon's review for the May issue of BBC Music Magazine.
By John Bowers KC
£20.00 | Hardback
'A detailed examination of potential reforms to address what Bowers sees as a “sense of decay” and avoid a decline that could “unhinge the British state”.'
Read Miranda Green's review in the Financial Times here.
By Gillian Dooley
£20.00 | Hardback
An extract from the book was published by Literary Hub, on the importance of music for Austen's literary development.
Read the extract here.
By Edward Acton Cavanough
£20.00 | Hardback
Author and journalist Edward Cavanough was interviewed by The Diplomat about the domestic dynamics driving the Solomon Islands to geopolitical prominence.
Read the interview here.
By Tom Haines-Doran
£12.99 | Paperback
In an opinion piece for The Guardian, author Tom Haines-Doran responded to Keir Starmer's Labour Party announcing their plans to renationalise Britain's railways.
Read it here.
By Edward Acton Cavanough
£20.00 | Hardback
Author Edward Cavanough took part in the One Book, Three Questions feature in POLITICO's China Watcher newsletter.
He also featured on the Monocle Daily podcast with Andrew Mueller, listen back here.
By Andy Spinoza
£12.99 | Paperback
“If you want to look at any two people responsible for the way Manchester looks,” says Andy Spinoza, the author of Manchester Unspun, the chronicle of Manchester’s lightspeed development over the past four decades, “it’s predominantly SimpsonHaugh.”
Andy Spinoza spoke to Jack Dulhanty from the Manchester Mill about the city's ever-changing skyline, read the article here.
£20.00 | Hardback
Ahead of the inaugural Northern Music Awards, at which she was awarded DJ of the Year, DJ Paulette spoke to Northern Soul's Andy Murray about ambition and inclusivity in the music industry,
Read the interview here.
By John Bowers KC
£20.00 | Hardback
On his LBC Radio programme, host Andrew Marr spoke to John Bowers about his new book, which he called a "very good book".
Listen to the interview here.
By Jaroslaw Kuisz
£25.00 | Hardback
'A superb study, offering an incisive portrait of PiS's politics over almost a decade in power against the background of Poland's turbulent history.'
Stanley Bill's review for the Times Literary Supplement (in print & online) - read it online here.
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
DJ Paulette spoke to Northern Soul's Andy Murray ahead of the upcoming Northern Music Awards, for which she is nominated for DJ of the Year.
The interview will be online soon.
By Darren Freebury-Jones
£25.00 | Hardback
Darren spoke exclusively to Dalya Alberge for The Guardian about ‘striking similarities’ he's discovered between lines in Jonson’s Every Man in His Humour and later Shakespeare works, and new evidence that Shakespeare may have acted in the play in 1598.
By John Bowers KC
£20.00| Hardback
In a new comment piece for The Telegraph (in print and online), John Bowers outlines how we need new ethical timbers to stop the rot and the downward spiral in the UK's Parliament.
By John Robb
£14.99 | Paperback
On the latest episode of the We Built This City podcast, host Lisa Morton speaks to author and musician John Robb about punk, the transformative power of music, the city's music scene, and why Manchester's perpetual state of change is its greatest strength.
The 1922 Committee
By Philip Norton
£20.00 | Hardback
'As near to a definitive account as we are ever likely to get.'
Vernon Bogdanor reviews The 1922 Committee: Power behind the scenes for the Times Literary Supplement.
Downward spiral
By John Bowers KC
£20.00 | Hardback
'Bowers has written a compendious account of the incidents that eroded trust from 2019 to 2022, when Boris Johnson was prime minister - and they didn't end there. Bowers provides a sense of perspective that is hard to reach while events relentlessly unfold.'
A new review on legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg's Substack, read it here.
Downward spiral
By John Bowers KC
£20.00 | Hardback
In a feature for Prospect magazine, John Bowers KC outlines 'the patronage state'; chairs of important public bodies should be chosen on merit, but under Boris Johnson the appointments process descended into farce—and it has yet to recover.
You can read it online here.
Welcome to the club
By DJ Paulette
£20 | Hardback
DJ Paulette shares her career lessons from a thirty year career in the music industry in the May issue of Red Magazine.
How to be multiple
By Helena de Bres
£20.00 | Hardback
In a new interview with Prospect magazine, author and academic Helena de Bres talks about how she's combined her philosophical training with her experience of twinhood in her new book.
Downward spiral
By John Bowers KC
£20.00 | Hardback
John Bowers KC spoke to Matt Chorley on Times Radio about collapsing public standards and how we might restore them.
Markets and power in digital capitalism
By Philipp Staab
£20.00 | Hardback
'Jargon-free, well-argued, and thought-provoking.'
Diane Coyle's review in the Financial Times.
Wild colonial boys
By Thomas Paul Burgess
£16.99 | Paperback
Ahead of his appearance at Imagine! Belfast festival, Thomas Paul Burgess appears on BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme.
Downward spiral
By John Bowers KC
£20.00 | Hardback
'A fast-paced, hard-hitting and readable book about policing ethics in public life.'
Marina Wheeler reviews John Bowers' book for The New Statesman, which was their Book of the Day.
The new politics of Poland
By Jaroslaw Kuisz
£25.00 | Hardback
The Guardian's Warsaw correspondent Shaun Walker mentions Kuisz's book in an article about broadcast television in Poland post-election.
Barbara Comyns
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
'The research is formidable and shines new light on artistic communities in the 1930s, while dignifying Comyns's life and work with its devotion.'
Oliver Soden reviews the book for Engelsberg Ideas, read it online here.
In the same week, the book was recommended by Lucy Scholes in Prospect's Culture newsletter.
How to be multiple
By Helena de Bres
£20.00 | Hardback
'I'm a twin, why do people think we're creepy?'
Author Helena de Bres writes an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald.
Barbara Comyns
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
'A labour of love and should be received in that spirit. Let's hope it encourages new readers to discover Comyns's haunting novels and the compelling artist behind them.'
Lee Randall's review for The Spectator, read it online here.
Welcome to the club
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
DJ Paulette is a guest of The First Time With... Matt Everitt's BBC Radio 6 Music interview podcast with major artists revealing the moments and songs that shaped their careers.
Barbara Comyns
by Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
An adapted extract from the book on the Literary Hub website.
And also on Reader's Digest UK online here.
Mick Lynch
By Gregor Gall
£20.00 | Hardback
'Rather than a conventional biography, this is a dissertation on whether Lynch is a 'working-class hero'
Barbara Comyns
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
Why Barbara Comyns is the best novelist you've never heard of - author Avril Horner speaks to The Independent's Jessie Thompson about Comyns' colourful life and talents.
Culture is not an industry
By Justin O'Connor
£14.99 | Paperback
Author Justin O'Connor speaks to Alexis Conran on Times Radio about reclaiming art and culture for the common good, following their rebranding as 'creative industries by government.
The new politics of Poland
By Jaroslaw Kuisz
£25.00 | Hardback
Author Jaroslaw Kuisz co-authors a new piece for Foreign Affairs about Prime Minister Donald Tusk's journey to restoring liberal democracy after eight years of populist rule.
Barbara Comyns
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
'First-class biography'
Roger Lewis' review in The Times, read it here (£).
'A calm and measured guide through some rackety, tempestuous years, awkward human desires and mistakes. She celebrates decency and generosity and understands how friends and family fall out and fall back in again.'
Norma Clarke for the Literary Review, read it here.
Welcome to the club
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
To mark International Women's Day, DJ Paulette was a guest on BBC Morning Live, watch back here.
She was also a guest earlier in the week on BBC Radio 6 Music with Chris Hawkins.
She played and sang
By Gillian Dooley
£20.00 | Hardback
'This informative and readable book is sure to interest scholars and general readers of Jane Austen's writing, as well as those who would like greater insight into the kind of music played and enjoyed in the domestic setting in early nineteenth-century England.'
Frances Wilson's review for Interlude, the popular classical music e-magazine. Read it here.
How to be multiple
By Helena de Bres
£20.00 | Hardback
Author Helena de Bres was a guest on ABC Radio National's The Philosopher's Zone programme, exploring our enduring cultural fascination with twins, asking what drives it, and what philosophical questions around selfhood and identity are raised by twinship.
Welcome to the club
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
On the latest episode of the We Built This City podcast, host Lisa Morton speaks to author and local icon DJ Paulette about breaking barriers, cultural shifts and unforgettable nights at some of Manchester's most iconic venues.
Presence
By Ben Alderson-Day
£19.99 | Hardback
Author Ben Alderson-Day picks his five best books on hallucination for Five Books.
She played and sang
By Gillian Dooley
£20.00 | Hardback
Author Gillian Dooley is a guest on BBC Radio 3's Music Matters, discussing new discoveries around Jane Austen and music.
Mick Lynch
By Gregor Gall
£20.00 | Hardback
'Gall's thoughtful analysis is likely to remain the definitive introduction.'
Desmond Bullen's review for Northern Soul. Read it here.
The Liberal Democrats
By David Cutts, Andrew Russell and Joshua Townsley
£25.00 | Paperback
In the New Statesman, political correspondent Freddie Hayward wrote an article about the Liberal Democrats strategy, referencing this book.
Sugar rush
By Karen Throsby
£19.99 | Paperback
For Vittles magazine, author Karen Throsby wrote about the sugar tax six years on, and the demonisation of sugar and fatness.
Presence
By Ben Alderson-Day
£19.99 | Hardback
Following winning the 2023 British Psychological Society Book Award, the BPS published the following feature on their award-winning books.
Barbara Comyns
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
The disorienting vitality of Barbara Comyns’s novels is one reason they tend to be forgotten and revived every few decades. This new biography inspired Je Wilson's extended article on Comyns for the New York Review of Books.
The 1922 Committee
By Philip Norton
£20.00 | Hardback
Philip Norton was a guest on the Debated Podcast to discuss his recently published book on the 1922 Committee, how the committee was formed, its influence on the Conservatives, the importance of its Chairman and Executive, the relationship it had with Cameron and Thatcher and what the future holds for it.
Welcome to the club
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Paperback
In an exclusive excerpt, DJ Paulette pays homage to the powerful, pioneering women behind Strictly Rhythm and Maxi Records on Beatportal.
DJ Paulette also appeared on The Shift podcast with Sam Baker, to talk about how perimenopause, the career-kids conundrum, and sticking your neck out.
Wild colonial boys
By Thomas Paul Burgess
£16.99 | Paperback
In his new book, drummer Paul Burgess tells of how close his band Ruefrex came to making the big time, being fan-worshipped by U2’s Bono, and boring Seamus Heaney to tears in an airport bar by reciting his own poetry. Read an extract in the Belfast Telegraph online here.
Paul was also interviewed by John Meagher about songwriting and live gigs for the BT which is online here.
Barbara Comyns
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
'Horner weaves a satisfying late-in-life success story from the flurry of attention Comyns received in the years before her death in 1992, and makes a strong case that her "life was as extraordinary as her novels." This should earn Comyns some new fans.'
Read the Publishers Weekly review online here.
Wild colonial boys
By Thomas Paul Burgess
£16.99 | Paperback
'Wild Colonial Boys offers readers an insight into an often untold story in Northern Irish punk- that while the movement was propelled by working class catholics- it was also moved forward by working class protestants who often don't fit the punk narrative.'
Niamh Browne's review for Hot Press, read it online here.
Welcome to the club
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
DJ Paulette, who has spent three decades at the top of the DJing world, spoke to BBC News about how her success and that of other women like her has not stopped them routinely facing discrimination and being paid far less than their male counterparts.
DJ Paulette was also a guest on Hugo Rifkind's show on Times Radio.
The art of darkness
By John Robb
£14.99 | Paperback
The Big Interview with author and musician John Robb on Manchester Confidential, as he shares his thoughts on social media, the changing music scene and interviewing Kurt Cobain and Nirvana.
The Island Book of Records Volume I
By Neil Storey
£80.00 | Hardback
'The details are exhaustive, the images beautiful and wonderfully laid out in an unfussy clear manner that never overpowers the original sleeves.'
Cally Calloman's review for Caught by the River, read it online here.
Neil Storey was also interviewed on Monocle Radio's The Stack, listen back here.
Welcome to the club
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
DJ Paulette took part in the New Statesman Q&A, answering questions about culture, crisps and coming home.
She was also a guest on the Gaydio FM Breakfast show.
She was also interviewed by Manchester's Finest here.
The book was also reviewed by The Skinny here.
When nothing works
£14.99 | Paperback
David Edgerton wrote for The Guardian about the Conservative Party's hostility towards net zero targets, referencing this book as 'a vital new book' for thinking in new ways about the foundational economy.
Wild colonial boys
By Thomas Paul Burgess
£16.99 | Paperback
Thomas Paul Burgess spoke to the Irish Independent for this feature about his band Ruefrex, writing anti-sectarian songs, turning loyalist heads and blowing a live session with Dave Fanning.
Mick Lynch
By Gregor Gall
£20.00 | Hardback
Gregor Gall spoke to The Herald Scotland's Neil Mackay for his Big Read feature about the Scottish Left and firebrand union leader Mick Lynch.
Odd men out
By John-Pierre Joyce
£13.99 | Paperback
Examining the transformation of homosexual men from ‘odd’ to ‘normal’ during the tumultuous decades of the 1950s and 1960s, this book preserves the voices of a disappearing generation who revolutionised what it meant to be a gay man in twentieth-century Britain.
Derailed
By Tom Haines- Dorran
£16.99 | Paperback
What if the railways were seen as an indispensable feature of the national economy, a social good that needs to be supported? This insightful new book calls for a radical rethink of how we view the railways and explains the problems we face and how to fix them.
Bankruptcy, bullets and bailouts
By Aeron Davis
£16.99 | Hardback
The Treasury is one of Britain's oldest, most powerful and secretive institutions, one that has played a central role in shaping the country's economic system, but all too often it has escaped public scrutiny. Davis's book goes behind the scenes to offer an inside history of the Treasury, in the words of the chancellors, advisors and civil servants themselves.
The art of observer
By David MacDougall
£24.99 | Paperback
The art of the observer is a personal guide to documentary filmmaking, based on the author's years of pioneering work in the fields of ethnographic and documentary cinema. The book makes clear that documentary cinema is not simply a matter of recording reality, but of artfully organising the filmmaker's observations in ways that reveal the complex patterns of social life.
Queer beyond London
By Matt Cook & Alison Oram
£20.00 | Hardback
In Queer beyond London, two leading LGBTQ+ historians take you on a journey through four English cites from the sixties to the noughties, exploring the northern post-industrial heartlands and taking in the salty air of the seaside cities of the South. Covering Brighton, Plymouth, Leeds, and Manchester, they show how local people, places and politics shaped LGBTQ+ life in each city, forging vibrant and distinctive queer cultures of their own.
The Value of a Whale
By Adrienne Buller
£12.99 | Paperback
In this searing and insightful critique, Adrienne Buller examines the fatal biases that have shaped the response of our governing institutions to climate and environmental breakdown, and asks: are the 'solutions' being proposed really solutions? Tracing the intricate connections between financial power, economic injustice and ecological crisis, the book examines what is wrong with mainstream climate and environmental governance. Both honest and optimistic, The Value of a Whale asks us - in the face of crisis - what we really value.
Africa 2.0
By Russell Southwood
£24.99 | Paperback
Africa 2.0 provides an important history of how two technologies - mobile calling and internet - were made available to millions of sub-Saharan Africans, and the impact they have had on their lives. The book deals with the political challenges of liberalisation and privatisation that needed to be in place in order for these technologies to be built. It analyses how the mobile phone fundamentally changed communications in sub-Saharan Africa and the ways Africans have made these technologies part of their lives, opening up a very different future.
Sean Connery
By Andrew Spicer
£20.00 | Hardback
This book offers a new perspective on Connery's career. It pays special attention to his star status, while arguing that he was a risk-taking actor who fashioned an impressive body of work. Beginning with Connery's early appearances on stage and television, including well-received performances in Shakespeare and Tolstoy, the book goes on to explore the Bond phenomenon and Connery's long struggle to reinvent himself.
By John Robb
£14.99 | Paperback
On the latest episode of the We Built This City podcast, host Lisa Morton speaks to author and musician John Robb about punk, the transformative power of music, the city's music scene, and why Manchester's perpetual state of change is its greatest strength.
The 1922 Committee
By Philip Norton
£20.00 | Hardback
'As near to a definitive account as we are ever likely to get.'
Vernon Bogdanor reviews The 1922 Committee: Power behind the scenes for the Times Literary Supplement.
Downward spiral
By John Bowers KC
£20.00 | Hardback
'Bowers has written a compendious account of the incidents that eroded trust from 2019 to 2022, when Boris Johnson was prime minister - and they didn't end there. Bowers provides a sense of perspective that is hard to reach while events relentlessly unfold.'
A new review on legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg's Substack, read it here.
Downward spiral
By John Bowers KC
£20.00 | Hardback
In a feature for Prospect magazine, John Bowers KC outlines 'the patronage state'; chairs of important public bodies should be chosen on merit, but under Boris Johnson the appointments process descended into farce—and it has yet to recover.
You can read it online here.
Welcome to the club
By DJ Paulette
£20 | Hardback
DJ Paulette shares her career lessons from a thirty year career in the music industry in the May issue of Red Magazine.
How to be multiple
By Helena de Bres
£20.00 | Hardback
In a new interview with Prospect magazine, author and academic Helena de Bres talks about how she's combined her philosophical training with her experience of twinhood in her new book.
Downward spiral
By John Bowers KC
£20.00 | Hardback
John Bowers KC spoke to Matt Chorley on Times Radio about collapsing public standards and how we might restore them.
Markets and power in digital capitalism
By Philipp Staab
£20.00 | Hardback
'Jargon-free, well-argued, and thought-provoking.'
Diane Coyle's review in the Financial Times.
Wild colonial boys
By Thomas Paul Burgess
£16.99 | Paperback
Ahead of his appearance at Imagine! Belfast festival, Thomas Paul Burgess appears on BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme.
Downward spiral
By John Bowers KC
£20.00 | Hardback
'A fast-paced, hard-hitting and readable book about policing ethics in public life.'
Marina Wheeler reviews John Bowers' book for The New Statesman, which was their Book of the Day.
The new politics of Poland
By Jaroslaw Kuisz
£25.00 | Hardback
The Guardian's Warsaw correspondent Shaun Walker mentions Kuisz's book in an article about broadcast television in Poland post-election.
Barbara Comyns
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
'The research is formidable and shines new light on artistic communities in the 1930s, while dignifying Comyns's life and work with its devotion.'
Oliver Soden reviews the book for Engelsberg Ideas, read it online here.
In the same week, the book was recommended by Lucy Scholes in Prospect's Culture newsletter.
How to be multiple
By Helena de Bres
£20.00 | Hardback
'I'm a twin, why do people think we're creepy?'
Author Helena de Bres writes an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald.
Barbara Comyns
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
'A labour of love and should be received in that spirit. Let's hope it encourages new readers to discover Comyns's haunting novels and the compelling artist behind them.'
Lee Randall's review for The Spectator, read it online here.
Welcome to the club
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
DJ Paulette is a guest of The First Time With... Matt Everitt's BBC Radio 6 Music interview podcast with major artists revealing the moments and songs that shaped their careers.
Barbara Comyns
by Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
An adapted extract from the book on the Literary Hub website.
And also on Reader's Digest UK online here.
Mick Lynch
By Gregor Gall
£20.00 | Hardback
'Rather than a conventional biography, this is a dissertation on whether Lynch is a 'working-class hero'
Barbara Comyns
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
Why Barbara Comyns is the best novelist you've never heard of - author Avril Horner speaks to The Independent's Jessie Thompson about Comyns' colourful life and talents.
Culture is not an industry
By Justin O'Connor
£14.99 | Paperback
Author Justin O'Connor speaks to Alexis Conran on Times Radio about reclaiming art and culture for the common good, following their rebranding as 'creative industries by government.
The new politics of Poland
By Jaroslaw Kuisz
£25.00 | Hardback
Author Jaroslaw Kuisz co-authors a new piece for Foreign Affairs about Prime Minister Donald Tusk's journey to restoring liberal democracy after eight years of populist rule.
Barbara Comyns
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
'First-class biography'
Roger Lewis' review in The Times, read it here (£).
'A calm and measured guide through some rackety, tempestuous years, awkward human desires and mistakes. She celebrates decency and generosity and understands how friends and family fall out and fall back in again.'
Norma Clarke for the Literary Review, read it here.
Welcome to the club
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
To mark International Women's Day, DJ Paulette was a guest on BBC Morning Live, watch back here.
She was also a guest earlier in the week on BBC Radio 6 Music with Chris Hawkins.
She played and sang
By Gillian Dooley
£20.00 | Hardback
'This informative and readable book is sure to interest scholars and general readers of Jane Austen's writing, as well as those who would like greater insight into the kind of music played and enjoyed in the domestic setting in early nineteenth-century England.'
Frances Wilson's review for Interlude, the popular classical music e-magazine. Read it here.
How to be multiple
By Helena de Bres
£20.00 | Hardback
Author Helena de Bres was a guest on ABC Radio National's The Philosopher's Zone programme, exploring our enduring cultural fascination with twins, asking what drives it, and what philosophical questions around selfhood and identity are raised by twinship.
Welcome to the club
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
On the latest episode of the We Built This City podcast, host Lisa Morton speaks to author and local icon DJ Paulette about breaking barriers, cultural shifts and unforgettable nights at some of Manchester's most iconic venues.
Presence
By Ben Alderson-Day
£19.99 | Hardback
Author Ben Alderson-Day picks his five best books on hallucination for Five Books.
She played and sang
By Gillian Dooley
£20.00 | Hardback
Author Gillian Dooley is a guest on BBC Radio 3's Music Matters, discussing new discoveries around Jane Austen and music.
Mick Lynch
By Gregor Gall
£20.00 | Hardback
'Gall's thoughtful analysis is likely to remain the definitive introduction.'
Desmond Bullen's review for Northern Soul. Read it here.
The Liberal Democrats
By David Cutts, Andrew Russell and Joshua Townsley
£25.00 | Paperback
In the New Statesman, political correspondent Freddie Hayward wrote an article about the Liberal Democrats strategy, referencing this book.
Sugar rush
By Karen Throsby
£19.99 | Paperback
For Vittles magazine, author Karen Throsby wrote about the sugar tax six years on, and the demonisation of sugar and fatness.
Presence
By Ben Alderson-Day
£19.99 | Hardback
Following winning the 2023 British Psychological Society Book Award, the BPS published the following feature on their award-winning books.
Barbara Comyns
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
The disorienting vitality of Barbara Comyns’s novels is one reason they tend to be forgotten and revived every few decades. This new biography inspired Je Wilson's extended article on Comyns for the New York Review of Books.
The 1922 Committee
By Philip Norton
£20.00 | Hardback
Philip Norton was a guest on the Debated Podcast to discuss his recently published book on the 1922 Committee, how the committee was formed, its influence on the Conservatives, the importance of its Chairman and Executive, the relationship it had with Cameron and Thatcher and what the future holds for it.
Welcome to the club
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Paperback
In an exclusive excerpt, DJ Paulette pays homage to the powerful, pioneering women behind Strictly Rhythm and Maxi Records on Beatportal.
DJ Paulette also appeared on The Shift podcast with Sam Baker, to talk about how perimenopause, the career-kids conundrum, and sticking your neck out.
Wild colonial boys
By Thomas Paul Burgess
£16.99 | Paperback
In his new book, drummer Paul Burgess tells of how close his band Ruefrex came to making the big time, being fan-worshipped by U2’s Bono, and boring Seamus Heaney to tears in an airport bar by reciting his own poetry. Read an extract in the Belfast Telegraph online here.
Paul was also interviewed by John Meagher about songwriting and live gigs for the BT which is online here.
Barbara Comyns
By Avril Horner
£30.00 | Hardback
'Horner weaves a satisfying late-in-life success story from the flurry of attention Comyns received in the years before her death in 1992, and makes a strong case that her "life was as extraordinary as her novels." This should earn Comyns some new fans.'
Read the Publishers Weekly review online here.
Wild colonial boys
By Thomas Paul Burgess
£16.99 | Paperback
'Wild Colonial Boys offers readers an insight into an often untold story in Northern Irish punk- that while the movement was propelled by working class catholics- it was also moved forward by working class protestants who often don't fit the punk narrative.'
Niamh Browne's review for Hot Press, read it online here.
Welcome to the club
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
DJ Paulette, who has spent three decades at the top of the DJing world, spoke to BBC News about how her success and that of other women like her has not stopped them routinely facing discrimination and being paid far less than their male counterparts.
DJ Paulette was also a guest on Hugo Rifkind's show on Times Radio.
The art of darkness
By John Robb
£14.99 | Paperback
The Big Interview with author and musician John Robb on Manchester Confidential, as he shares his thoughts on social media, the changing music scene and interviewing Kurt Cobain and Nirvana.
The Island Book of Records Volume I
By Neil Storey
£80.00 | Hardback
'The details are exhaustive, the images beautiful and wonderfully laid out in an unfussy clear manner that never overpowers the original sleeves.'
Cally Calloman's review for Caught by the River, read it online here.
Neil Storey was also interviewed on Monocle Radio's The Stack, listen back here.
Welcome to the club
By DJ Paulette
£20.00 | Hardback
DJ Paulette took part in the New Statesman Q&A, answering questions about culture, crisps and coming home.
She was also a guest on the Gaydio FM Breakfast show.
She was also interviewed by Manchester's Finest here.
The book was also reviewed by The Skinny here.
When nothing works
£14.99 | Paperback
David Edgerton wrote for The Guardian about the Conservative Party's hostility towards net zero targets, referencing this book as 'a vital new book' for thinking in new ways about the foundational economy.
Wild colonial boys
By Thomas Paul Burgess
£16.99 | Paperback
Thomas Paul Burgess spoke to the Irish Independent for this feature about his band Ruefrex, writing anti-sectarian songs, turning loyalist heads and blowing a live session with Dave Fanning.
Mick Lynch
By Gregor Gall
£20.00 | Hardback
Gregor Gall spoke to The Herald Scotland's Neil Mackay for his Big Read feature about the Scottish Left and firebrand union leader Mick Lynch.
Odd men out
By John-Pierre Joyce
£13.99 | Paperback
Examining the transformation of homosexual men from ‘odd’ to ‘normal’ during the tumultuous decades of the 1950s and 1960s, this book preserves the voices of a disappearing generation who revolutionised what it meant to be a gay man in twentieth-century Britain.
Derailed
By Tom Haines- Dorran
£16.99 | Paperback
What if the railways were seen as an indispensable feature of the national economy, a social good that needs to be supported? This insightful new book calls for a radical rethink of how we view the railways and explains the problems we face and how to fix them.
Bankruptcy, bullets and bailouts
By Aeron Davis
£16.99 | Hardback
The Treasury is one of Britain's oldest, most powerful and secretive institutions, one that has played a central role in shaping the country's economic system, but all too often it has escaped public scrutiny. Davis's book goes behind the scenes to offer an inside history of the Treasury, in the words of the chancellors, advisors and civil servants themselves.
The art of observer
By David MacDougall
£24.99 | Paperback
The art of the observer is a personal guide to documentary filmmaking, based on the author's years of pioneering work in the fields of ethnographic and documentary cinema. The book makes clear that documentary cinema is not simply a matter of recording reality, but of artfully organising the filmmaker's observations in ways that reveal the complex patterns of social life.
Queer beyond London
By Matt Cook & Alison Oram
£20.00 | Hardback
In Queer beyond London, two leading LGBTQ+ historians take you on a journey through four English cites from the sixties to the noughties, exploring the northern post-industrial heartlands and taking in the salty air of the seaside cities of the South. Covering Brighton, Plymouth, Leeds, and Manchester, they show how local people, places and politics shaped LGBTQ+ life in each city, forging vibrant and distinctive queer cultures of their own.
The Value of a Whale
By Adrienne Buller
£12.99 | Paperback
In this searing and insightful critique, Adrienne Buller examines the fatal biases that have shaped the response of our governing institutions to climate and environmental breakdown, and asks: are the 'solutions' being proposed really solutions? Tracing the intricate connections between financial power, economic injustice and ecological crisis, the book examines what is wrong with mainstream climate and environmental governance. Both honest and optimistic, The Value of a Whale asks us - in the face of crisis - what we really value.
Africa 2.0
By Russell Southwood
£24.99 | Paperback
Africa 2.0 provides an important history of how two technologies - mobile calling and internet - were made available to millions of sub-Saharan Africans, and the impact they have had on their lives. The book deals with the political challenges of liberalisation and privatisation that needed to be in place in order for these technologies to be built. It analyses how the mobile phone fundamentally changed communications in sub-Saharan Africa and the ways Africans have made these technologies part of their lives, opening up a very different future.
Sean Connery
By Andrew Spicer
£20.00 | Hardback
This book offers a new perspective on Connery's career. It pays special attention to his star status, while arguing that he was a risk-taking actor who fashioned an impressive body of work. Beginning with Connery's early appearances on stage and television, including well-received performances in Shakespeare and Tolstoy, the book goes on to explore the Bond phenomenon and Connery's long struggle to reinvent himself.
