'After a report in 2020 revealed that only 5% of British children’s books featured a Black or minority ethnic main character, other titles are providing much needed representation.'
Literary awards and prizes have been around for centuries, with the first British Award for Literature established in 1919 (The James Tait Black Memorial...
As Valentine's Day looms, it's not hard to find examples of romantic love. But literature celebrates the expanse of human emotion, so our books editors have picked out two moving illustrations of the other forms love takes.
For me, it is Cannon’s complete honesty and authenticity which make this an astounding read ... 'Breaking and Mending' is the perfect book to read as a medical student, a doctor, or anyone who wants to have their heart warmed by tales of genuine compassion and kindness.
Much like the 1920s and 30s, we live in a period of great change when all previously-held cultural norms and precedents seem to be shifting under our feet. All the King’s Men speaks to this time of turmoil, questioning how the individual responds to that, whether they challenge it or become corrupted by it.'
The YA fiction boom really was its own mini cultural era. Gone are the days of passing a tattered copy of The Fault in Our Stars around your entire friendship group, but how does YA lit hold up today? And how did that cultural era affect the ‘young adults’ at its centre?
Recalling the first time I read Grief, on a thankfully empty train, I’m very glad no one was present to witness what must have been a harrowing and confusing parade of expressions as I progressed. It’s a few hours I will never regret.