A quarter of the Women’s Prize 2019 Longlist represented by Aitken Alexander
ANNOUNCING THE WOMEN’S PRIZE 2019 LONGLIST We are delighted to reveal this year’s fantastic Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist, as chosen by our brilliant 2019 judging panel. Chaired by Professor Kate Williams author, historian and Professor of History, our 2019 judging panel whittled down 163 entries to a brilliant longlist of sixteen. ‘The discussion amongst the […]
Bookseller: Jo Baker and Luiza Sauma both named as Editor’s Choice
How Lillian Li Went From Harry Potter Fan Fiction To Writing Her First Book
Author Lillian Li got her start writing Harry Potter fan fiction, and name checks Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential as the inspiration behind her debut novel, Number One Chinese Restaurant. She also drew on her own experience working as a waitress for the book: “The customer is always right, which means you partially forfeit the ability to advocate for yourself or […]
Clare Alexander joins board for New Writing North
Literary agent Clare Alexander is one of three new trustees to join writers’ development agency New Writing North along with education expert Mike Parker and writer Degna Stone. Alexander, chair of Aitken Alexander, has joined the the board for the organisation based in Newcastle which focuses on creative writing and reading in the North of England, […]
3 clients of Aitken Alexander on the 10 must-read books by black female authors for 2019
Award-winning author Diana Evans’ first novel 26a, released in 2006, was shortlisted for a number of awards, including the Guardian First Book and Whitbread First Novel prizes. She’s since written two more novels, The Wonder and Ordinary People, which came out in 2018 and was named a book of the year by the New Yorker, New Statesman and Financial Times. Set in London, it follows […]
Sam Knight: The Psychiatrist Who Believed People Could Tell the Future
[dropcap letter=”F”]or many years, Kathleen Lorna Middleton lived at 69 Carlton Terrace, in the North London suburb of Edmonton. The house, which faced one of the main roads leading out of the city, had a small plaque to the left of the front door: “Miss Lorna Middleton, Teacher of Pianoforte and Ballet.” Middleton was born […]
The Guardian: Max Porter: ‘I love slang, I love hip-hop. I love the proper use of language’
The author of Grief Is the Thing With Feathers on writing his second novel, wrangling with Brexit and subverting the missing-child genre “A culture of lying, the outrageous failures of our political system, Westminster being so corrupt, so chaotic … ” Max Porter is talking about public life in the UK today, about which he finds […]
Daisy Johnson and Oyinkan Braithwaite nominated for Lithub awards
Welcome to Literary Hub’s third annual Academy Awards for Books. Of course, the Real Book Oscars are given out at the National Book Awards ceremony; so consider these the Fake Book Oscars—they’re extra fun because you don’t even have to dress up [Ed. note: dressing up IS fun]. In putting this list together, we figured out what each […]
Oyinkan Braithwaite announced as finalist for the 2018 Los Angeles Times Book Prize
The finalists for the 2018 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were announced Wednesday, with Michelle Obama, Susan Orlean, Michael Ondaatje and Terrance Hayes among the nominees for the annual literary awards. Winners will be announced at a ceremony at USC’s Bovard Auditorium on April 12, the day before the start of the Los Angeles Times […]
MUD by Emily Thomas longlisted for 2019 Cilip Carnegie Award
Today (Tuesday 19th February 2019), the longlists for the prestigious CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals, the UK’s oldest book awards for children and young people, are revealed. Celebrating the best in children’s writing and illustration respectively, the Medals are unique in being judged by children’s librarians. The 40-strong list of titles for the 2018 Medals […]