Sonny Hall’s poetic success has come seemingly out of nowhere: his debut collection, published in April 2019, went on to sell over 1.5 thousand copies within its first few months of release. But what is it about this new collection which has attracted so many, and what does it mean for poetry in a modern age?
‘Purist and Elementary’: Issues of Censorship and Book Banning
Leah Golder discusses the reality of book banning and censorship.
To what extent should we have a creative licence?
‘Public Domain Day’, otherwise known as New Year’s Day , marks the expired copyright on texts entering the public domain. A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh, Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises and Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd to name a few released in 2022. The significance of giving way to creative licence can be seen in the development since The Great Gatsby’s release in the US in 2021, with 34 new print editions published in the past year and the development of a television adaptation by Michael Hirst.
Stories within Stories: Secondhand Books
Secondhand books don’t often have much financial value. However, last year 54 million used books were sold online in the UK. So, what is the appeal? Don’t get me wrong, I love a shiny, previously unopened paperback from time to time but there is something about secondhand books that captures me more.
The Brave New World of Cover Design and Audience
We are living in an age of book covers that pander to social media users, viewing their prospective purchases on small smartphone screens. Publishers have to know their particular audience, and their books must be able to catch your eye immediately. But must universal success always come in the form of bold strokes of bright colour and block titles that swallow up the page?
The Resurgence of the ‘Cosy Crime’ Genre
When the dulcet tones of Boris Johnson graced our screens in March 2020, we gathered anxiously around the television, waiting for the grim truth that we all knew was coming. Rolling out before us was a weary drain of time – weeks and months of uncertainty, wandering around the same muddy field, dreading the unrelenting enthusiasm of Joe Wicks, glancing at one another as if to say is it too early for a glass of wine?. As doors locked and days opened up, we settled onto our sofas and looked for something to do.
Whose Responsibility is Representation?
Following a recent article published by The Guardian, detailing Monica Ali’s depression caused by the reaction to her novel Untold Story, the conversation surrounding who is responsible for representation in literature resurfaced. Should the role fall solely on the same people who are under-represented? Or should society, as a whole, strive for equal representation for all writers and experiences?
Forgotten Women: The New(ish) Trend in Literature
Abi Ramsay discusses the rising trend of modern retellings of Ancient Greek tales.
Prescribed Books
Francesca Lea discusses how books have become the nation’s favourite form of therapy in a stress-filled world.
How Instafeminism is Damaging the Feminism 101 Genre
If there’s one thing the Florence Given v Slumflower scandal has highlighted, it’s the snobbery surrounding ‘feminist 101’ books. Searching Twitter for both influencers’ names returns Tweets like: ‘loooool not Florence Given and The Slumflower fighting over who monetised the Pinterest quotes they shared on Instagram and put in a book’.
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