bookseekeragency

September 1, 2015
by bookseekeragency

Edinburgh International Book Festival

Prof. David Crystal

Every year I make it my business to spend some time at the Edinburgh International Book Festival – sometimes at the Book Fringe too, if I can make it, but definitely at the Book Festival in Charlotte Square. In addition to attending events and writing reviews, I get to meet a lot of interesting people, at book-signings, in the media yurt, and just round and about.

Ben Crystal

This year I have been lucky enough to rub shoulders with, amongst others, Professor David Crystal, the UK’s foremost academic in the field of linguistics, and his son Ben Crystal, Shakespearean actor and expert on the ‘original pronunciation’ experiment. It was a great thrill and privilege to meet David and Ben, and to talk to them, as my field of study has touched on their fields of expertise. I have several books by David Crystal, and lately have bought their jointly-edited Oxford Illustrated Shakespeare Dictionary.

Meera Syal

Other names I’m able to drop this year include poet David Kinloch, Paul Merton, Anthony Sattin the biographer of T E Lawrence, actor Meera Syal, Nicolas Parsons, Helena Nelson of Happenstance, and political geographer Erik Swyngedouw. I was also able to listen to the music of Scotland’s alternative hip-hop band Stanley Odd. Not that any of these people are unapproachable, as there is an opportunity for anyone to meet them at book-signings.

One feature that grows and moves in the village that Edinburgh’s Charlotte Square becomes, is the collection of photo-portraits taken by the Festival’s resident photographer, Chris Close. During the long fortnight he has the task of photographing the writers, celebrities, and others against a white screen, and displaying them around the Festival walkways. This has to be one of the best jobs at the Festival!

Stand-out moments from this year – for me – include the following: Ben Crystal’s presentation, to a young audience in the Baillie Gifford Imagination Lab, on getting into Shakespeare; engaging Erik Swyngedouw in discussion about dissent, trades union membership, democracy, and such; the tray-bakes in Café Brontë; the ‘end-of-term’ antics around the media centre on the last day. And just about everything else; if it is not a complete oxymoron, I would say that everything stood out. And what’s more, the sun shone all the time I was there.

I always try to escape for a while, and to take in some of the other events in Edinburgh. This year I was lucky enough to be alerted to and invited to Brite Theater’s one-woman version of Shakespeare’s Richard III, featuring Emily Carding, which was totally captivating. On my last day there I took some time to stroll through Princes Street Gardens and the Royal Mile, taking in the stalls, buskers, and Fringe events. The end of the Book Festival always seems to mark the end of summer for me. Back home the apples and Victoria plums are ripening and we’re testing out the central heating system.

Paul

‘Insight Radio’, who broadcast on behalf of the RNIB, had interviewers in Charlotte Sq.

Anthony Sattin

Helena Nelson

Nicolas Parsons being interviewed in the sunshine.

Erik Swyngedouw (left)

Photographer Chris Close

‘Busy doing nothing’ outside the Media Yurt.

Cedric Villani © Chris Close

Maggie O’Farrell © Chris Close

Ronnie Browne © Chris Close

Irving Frankel © Chris Close

Veronika Elektronika and Solareye of Stanley Odd.

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All the images in this update are © Paul Thompson, except for those from the official collection of Festival portraits, which are © Chris Close and are used here by his kind permission. No further use may be made of any of these images without the direct permission of the copyright-holders.

August 24, 2015
by bookseekeragency

Can you stick poetry to a fridge door?

Can you stick poetry to a fridge door? If so, then a haiku e-zine called the zen space. would like to hear from you. They are looking for people who can make expressive images, words-and-images, or images-with-words that convey something that is brief and ‘in the moment’. If you reckon you can do that, then why not drop them an email? Find out more here.

One idea is simply to use children’s fridge letters like the ones shown here, but according to the zen space there are many, many more ways of tackling this.

August 24, 2015
by bookseekeragency

We told you August was going to be a busy month!

… and so it has turned out to be.

Carmen Capuano, as you can see from the previous update, has been busying herself arranging too have her brilliant new novel Split Decision in the window of WHSmith. Carmen actually found time to tweet “I’m so happy I am singing” a couple of days ago. She deserves to be!

Carmen recently featured on the ‘Silver Threading’ blog. Go here if you would like to read more about her and her writing technique.

Marie Marshall has several things ‘bubbling under’ at present, so we won’t mention them until they come to the boil. However, if you would like to read eight of her poems that have never been published before now, either on line or in print, you might like to take note of this. Marie accepted an invitation from the Texas-based Poets Collective to contribute to their new anthology Collect the Day, in which more than thirty poets have written about various times of day. If you are a follower of Marie’s daily blog of poetic fragments, you will be familiar with her A dem●n’s diary series; well, there are four new poems in that series included in her eight.

Ben Crystal

Meanwhile Paul, the mainstay of this agency, has been out-and-about at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and will be until the end of the month. In Edinburgh’s Charlotte Square, Paul has been rubbing shoulders with authors, poets, publishers, actors, academics, TV personalities, and other festival-goers. He was thrilled to meet Professor David Crystal, the UK’s foremost expert in Linguistics, and to have a long chat with his son, Shakespearean actor Ben Crystal, of whom Paul is a great fan.

Paul may write an account of his Edinburgh fortnight later in this update column. He has still to see Meera Syal and to attend a one-woman version of Richard III at a Fringe venue, amongst other things.

The August busy-ness continues!

August 18, 2015
by bookseekeragency

‘Split Decision’ for all to see!

carmen small Our client Carmen Capuano got in touch in great excitement yesterday, with some important news. She’ll be counting the cars racing by on the Aston Expressway this autumn, when the large digital billboard located there is displaying an advertisement for her latest book.

“I really can’t believe that my novel will be up there for everyone to see – it’s almost beyond my wildest dreams!” said Carmen, whose reputation as an author is gaining momentum as her popularity grows. “Thousands of cars pass that spot every day – and now they will see the cover of Split Decision!”

To add further to Carmen’s excitement, WHSmith will be stocking the newly released book on its shelves, facilitating its shoppers’ searches for a good read. Said a WHS spokesman, of the decision to put Split Decision on display in a prime spot in the window, “We are aware of exactly what our customers are looking for in a book. They want something they can fully immerse themselves in; good writing with a great plot. So if they haven’t already discovered Carmen Capuano for themselves, we are happy to bring her to their attention.”

So things may not quite be ‘written in the stars’ yet for our client, but they are certainly getting higher in the sky.

split decision

August 7, 2015
by bookseekeragency

Carmen Capuano’s ‘Split Decision’ print launch!

If you can make it to the Artwork Cafe in Edgbaston, Birmingham, from 6pm to 8pm on 30th September, then you will be able to catch the launch of Carmen Capuano‘s novel Split Decision. Check out the poster below!

split-decision-poster-1

August 7, 2015
by bookseekeragency

August is Festival Month

Bluesman Alvin Youngblood Hart at Perth Southern Fried.

It seems that August is a rare old month for festivals here in Scotland, festivals of everything and anything. Bank Holiday weekend kicked off with Southern Fried in Perth, a celebration mainly of American Roots music, but these days seemingly taking in everything from food to hot rod cars. The gigs at Perth Concert Hall and other venues around the town are pretty darned good – you can read reviews of some of them here, here, and here.

Hot on the heels of Southern Fried comes the Pittenweem Arts Festival. This is another event that seems to have grown over the years. From fairly humble beginnings it now takes over the whole of the picturesque town in the East Neuk of Fife, with resident artists opening their homes and studios for the public to traipse in and out, or renting space in shops, halls, lock-up garages, anywhere. As well as the official venues, a strong ‘Fringe‘ has developed, until it seems as though there is no longer any space left anywhere.

Meanwhile, of course Edinburgh Festival has been getting underway in the Capital, with its own famous Fringe too. By the last couple of weeks of the month the Edinburgh International Book Festival will be full swing in Charlotte Square, with talks, book signings, literary discussions, interviews, and many other events. Bookseeker Agency‘s own Paul Thompson has been at Perth and Pittenweem, and will be at the Book Festival too reviewing some of the events and meeting people, so keep an eye open for him. Check the Contact page on this web site for a photo.

So far the Scottish weather has been fairly kind for festival-goers. Let’s hope that continues.

Hot rod cars at Perth Southern Fried.

Artists Lesley Haycock and Chloe Brown at Pittenweem.

Flowers, near St Fillan’s Cave, Pittenweem.

Edinburgh Book Festival atmosphere – queues are part of the culture!

August 7, 2015
by bookseekeragency

Kurt Vonnegut on the Shapes of Stories

If there is any author whom other authors cite as an influence, or look up to generally, then surely it’s Kurt Vonnegut. It doesn’t matter what genre you work in, Vonnegut seems to be the guiding light of the author’s craft. So, how does he see the construction of a story? The answer is with simple humour, that’s how. Click the picture to find out more.

July 22, 2015
by bookseekeragency

‘The Mumble’ – Scotland’s explosive Review Site!

A team of reviewers cover as many of the gigs, talks, readings, stand-ups, signings, performances, events, etc. as possible. This year you may find them on the go at Perth Southern Fried, Edinburgh International Book Festival, The Fringe, and many, many more. Click on the banner to go there.

July 13, 2015
by bookseekeragency

Two new books at P’kaboo!

It’s an exciting time at P’kaboo this month as two new books have been published in rapid succession.

SplidDsml carmen Firstly there is Split Decision by Carmen Capuano, a new novel for the young adult readership.

How was Natalie to know that the decision she was about to make between two potential dates, would forever be a pivotal point in her life? That it would mark the time where childhood innocence ended?

How could she even imagine that the wrong decision would send her life spiraling into the stuff of nightmares where she might not come out alive?

Life takes a cruel twist of fate when Natalie, a completely average [almost] 16 year old is forced to make a split-second decision… a decision that will change her future and forever alter her perception of trust, love and the realities of life.

Following two alternate plotlines as if each were the real one, the reader is kept in suspense right up until the last moment, unable to tell which guy Natalie accepted and which she turned down. And at every step there are twists and turns which will keep you on the edge of your seat, as one thread takes Natalie on a romantic discovery where events take on a more ominous edge than expected, whilst the other takes her on a dangerous slide into the dark side of life, a shadowy world of danger, where the reader is unsure whether she will make it alive to her forthcoming birthday.

This is a book of intensities, of sweet discoveries and dark revelations which you will not want to put down.

First stop for a copy is, of course, the publisher’s web site, but if you want a Kindle version head straight to Amazon. Here’s a nice tweet from Carmen shortly after publication:

carmentweet

Then there is the children’s book Pink Wish Ice Cream by Andrea Kaczmarek, with illustrations by Eva Kuenzel.

pink2 pink3 As you might guess from her name Mrs Polly Pink-Witch is a witch. In the summer she makes her delicious Pink Wish ice cream and likes nothing better than traveling from town to town in her bright pink ice cream van.

Why is Mrs Polly Pink-Witch’s ice cream called ‘Pink Wish’?

That’s a very good question, and the answer is easy too: if you buy, and enjoy, her delicious Pink Wish ice cream you get a free wish!

Of course, there are conditions attached. This means there are only certain children who get a wish granted. Mrs Polly Pink-Witch can’t stand rude children, so they absolutely never get a wish granted. And you must say please and thank you. Mrs Polly Pink-Witch knows if you really mean it; she can tell if it’s a proper please and a proper thank you.

So which children get a free wish? That’s easy too, I am sure you will guess, but what kind of wishes come true?

Again, call in at the publisher’s web site.