I reviewed #SheWhoRemains by #ReneKarabash transl @izidoraangel.bsky.social publ by #PeirenePress for @ftweekend.com This compelling tale of rites and wrongs in the Accursed Mountains is up for the International @thebookerprizes.com www.ft.com/content/9248...

and congrats to publishers: #FigTreePenguin @tinderpress.bsky.social, #Harvillbooks, @faberbooks.bsky.social, @europaeditions.bsky.social, #HutchinsonHeinemann

Shortlist for the 2026 Best First Novel Award | The Authors’ Club Since 1891 The Authors’ Club is delighted to announce the shortlist for the 2026 Best First Novel Award, now in its 72nd year. Lucy Popescu, chairing the judging panel, commented: “We are delighted to announce…

Delighted to reveal the shortlist for the #AuthorsClub #BestFirstNovelAward #BFNA2026, now in its 72nd year. Congrats to: #RupertDastur, #ChristinaFonthes, @juliakellywriter.bsky.social, @michaelpedersen.bsky.social, #ThomasPeermohamedLambert, #XenobePurvis, www.authorsclub.co.uk/shortlist-fo...

Women Without Men — Shahrnush Parsipur’s powerful tale of misogyny and escape in Iran The Booker-longlisted novel follows the interwoven stories of five characters in search of new, sometimes surreal, destinies

I reviewed #WomenWithoutMen — Shahrnush Parsipur’s powerful tale of misogyny and escape in Iran,transl by Faridoun Farrokh, for @financialtimes.com Longlisted for this year’s International @thebookerprizes.com www.ft.com/content/493c... via @ft

@tinderpress.bsky.social @canongate.co.uk, @profilebooks.bsky.social books.bsky.social, @serpentstail.bsky.social entstail.bsky.social, @4thestatebooks.bsky.social oks.bsky.social, @faberbooks.bsky.social ks.bsky.social, @europaeditions.bsky.social, @grantabooks.bsky.social, @johnmurrays.bsky.social

Congrats to: #RupertDastur, #ChristinaFonthes, @connorhutchinson.bsky.social, #RoweIrvin #GurnaikJohal, @juliakellywriter.bsky.social, #Sanam Mahloudji, @michaelpedersen.bsky.social,
#ThomasPeermohamedLambert, #XenobePurvis, @anthonyshapland.bsky.social & #LucySteeds

Longlist announced for Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award 2026 Today, the Authors’ Club announces the longlist for the annual Best First Novel Award, now in its 72nd year. The longlisted books are as follows…

Delighted to reveal the longlist for the AuthorsClub Best First Novel Award #BFNA2026, now in its 72nd year.

Review: The Shitheads, at Royal Court Upstairs Play by fiery new writing talent explores our naivety in the face of environmental change, the instinct for survival, and the desire for knowledge

I reviewed Jack Nicholls’ audacious debut play #TheShitheads, at @royalcourttheatre.bsky.social Upstairs exuberantly co-directed by Aneesha Srinivasan and #DavidByrne www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/revi...

Aamma Mohdin & Mir Rahimi talk about their experiences as refugees and the stigma surrounding mental health in different cultures. They also discussed the effects of sport on younger people in refugee camps.
#FLF26 #FLF2026 #FavershamLiteraryFestival

Safe and warm in the Old Brewery Store, cultural historian Dame Marina Warner discusses the concept and history of Sanctuary, with @lucyjpop.bsky.social. #literature #books #history

Packed house to hear Dame Marina Warner say how important libraries are as public spaces where we come together, in this National Year of Reading 2026.

Review: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, at Theatre Royal Haymarket Tender musical is a quietly affecting story about friendship, loss, facing our demons and the power of community

I reviewed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by #RachelJoyce music by #Passenger for @newjournal.bsky.social
at #TheatreRoyalHaymarket til 18 April. www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/revi...

Dame Marina Warner Sanctuary is an ancient right – a haven, a place of refuge and freedom from harm. But what does sanctuary mean in today’s world? With the growth of nationalism and individualism, the concept has...

And looking forward to seeing Marina Warner again at @favlit.org and talking about Sanctuary: www.favershamliteraryfestival.org/2026/events/...

Aamna Mohdin & Mir Rahimi A deeply personal exploration of the refugee crisis with Guardian correspondent Aamna Mohdin, author of Scattered: A Memoir of Three Homecomings, and Mir Rahimi, an advocate for peace, justice, and...

Looking forward to @favlit.org Festival and talking to Aamna Mohdin and Mir Rahimi: www.favershamliteraryfestival.org/2026/events/...

Great to have Andrew Lownie talking about his book Entitled and the arrest of Andrew TODAY. Great timing. Check out all our events here: www.authorsclub.co.uk/events/

We also have book reviews from @marklorch.bsky.social, @andrewmueller.bsky.social, @lucyjpop.bsky.social, @sneweyy.bsky.social and more, on everything from the warrior poets of Myanmar to the importance of "outsider science", and of course original poetry, our cryptic crossword and brainteaser...

Review: Safe Haven, at Arcola Theatre Play inspired by Kurdish uprising following the 1991 Gulf War is painfully and urgently resonant

Chris Bowers’s debut play, set in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, is both articulate and engaging: I reviewed for @newjournal.bsky.social at @arcolatheatre.bsky.social www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/revi...

Review: American Psycho, at Almeida Theatre Musical based on Bret Easton Ellis’s searing yuppie satire is intoxicatingly good

I reviewed 5 * #AmericanPsycho Rupert Goold's directorial swansong at #AlmeidaTheatre for @islingtontrib.bsky.social www.islingtontribune.co.uk/article/revi...

The Roof Beneath Their Feet — on higher ground International Booker Prize winner Geetanjali Shree’s 2001 novel, now available in English, is a compassionate story of class, desire and friendship

I reviewed The Roof Beneath Their Feet by #GeetanjaliShree transl by #RahulSoni for @ftweekend.com publ by @andotherstories.bsky.social — on higher ground www.ft.com/content/9396...

Review: Guess How Much I Love You?, at Royal Court Theatre Profoundly affecting play immerses the audience in a couple’s dilemma from start to finish

I reviewed Guess How Much I Love You? by #LukeNorris for @newjournal.bsky.social at @royalcourt.bsky.social til Feb 21: At the centre of Luke Norris’s profoundly affecting play Guess How Much I Love You? are two beautifully nuanced performances: www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/revi...

Review: Woolf Works, at Royal Ballet and Opera Captivating contemporary ballet captures some of Virginia Woolf’s artistic spirit

I reviewed Woolf Works at #RBO for @newjournal.bsky.social: www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/revi...

Review: Sunny Afternoon, at Alexandra Palace Award-winning jukebox musical follows band through their meteoric rise to fame

I reviewed #SunnyAfternoon for @newjournal.bsky.social at #AlexandraPalaceTheatre til 31 Jan - 5 star performance: www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/revi...

Review: A Woman in Mind, at Duke of York’s Theatre Romesh Ranganathan and Sheridan Smith star in Alan Ayckbourn tragicomedy

I reviewed Woman in Mind for @islingtontrib.bsky.social At #DukeofYork'sTheatre til 28 Feb: www.islingtontribune.co.uk/article/revi...

Review: The Horse of Jenin, at Bush Theatre Palestinian writer-comedian is effortlessly charismatic in buoyant one-man show

I reveiwed The Horse of Jenin by #AlaaShehada for @newjournal.bsky.social At @bushtheatre.bsky.social til 22 Jan www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/revi...

published by @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social

Daniyal Mueenuddin and the making of 20th-century Pakistan This Is Where the Serpent Lives is an excoriating epic of class and power following the landowners and staff of a family-run farm

I loved Daniyal Mueenuddin's novel. I reviewed for @theobserveruk.bsky.social. observer.co.uk/culture/book...

@yalebooks.bsky.social

Shelf awareness: books to look out for in the first half of 2026 From Made in America to Beauty of the Beasts, Lucy Popescu offers up her pick

My pick of books to look out for in Jan-June 2026 from @faberbooks.bsky.social @canongate.co.uk @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social @jonathancape.bsky.social @saltpublishing.com @picadorbooks.bsky.social @littlebrown.bsky.social @dauntbookspub.bsky.social www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/shel...

Looking forward to this:

Arborescence — seeds of hope for a planet in crisis Rhett Davis’s novel set in a near-future Australia sends out a strong message about humanity’s need to change

I reviewed Arborescence by #RhettDavis publ by #FleetBooks @LittleBrownUK for @ftweekend.com
- online now. Seeds of hope for a planet in crisis ft.com/content/5f0b... via
@ft