We are so proud that our authors have been featured in so many of the Best of 2019 selections and picks for 2020. In celebration of these amazing achievements, we have compiled this summary of the lists in which our authors were included, along with the praise that accompanied their selection.
BEST BOOKS OF 2019
MANDALAY: RECIPES AND TALES FROM A BURMESE KITCHEN by Mimi Aye
‘It’s rare to come across a book that opens up a largely unknown cuisine, but MANDALAY does exactly that. Burmese recipes that combine the deliverable with the authentic, written with calm authority leavened with personal touches from an engaging personality.’ – Financial Times, Best Books of 2019: Food and Drink
‘This will likely be an introduction for many to an underappreciated cuisine, partly because of the politics of the place. Worry not, you are in excellent hands. Aye is a gifted recipe writer and opinionated champion of the food of her family (see, for instance, the short section on “Why MSG is A-OK”). This is a book to read as well as cook from, packed with evocative imagery.’ — The Observer, The 20 best food books of 2019
‘The book that opened my mind, and belly, to Burmese food, a cuisine I knew little about. Aye is the most beguiling of guides, weaving in tales of Burmese family and childhood travels, alongside recipes for mohinga and pickled tea-leaf salad.’ — Tom Parker Bowles, Daily Mail, Books of the Year 2019
‘Wonderful… The perfect introduction to a cuisine that draws from its neighbours in Thailand, India and China while making dishes that are quite unique. MiMi gives detailed descriptions of ingredients, techniques and recipes - giving the home cook all the tools, tips and - most of all - inspiration to make these dishes themselves.’ — Hot Dinners, The Best Cookbooks for Christmas Presents in 2019
CTRL+S by Andy Briggs
‘After more than a dozen novels for children, Andy Briggs has turned his hand to adult SF in the fast-paced, hi-tech thriller CTRL+S… A slick plot and a neat resolution.’ — The Guardian, Best Recent Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror
LITTLE by Edward Carey
’Edward Carey’s LITTLE is one of the most original historical novels of the year. Illustrated with the author’s unsettling, black-and-white drawings, it is inspired by the early life of Marie Grosholtz, better known as Madame Tussaud, although it is filled with Carey’s own vivid imaginings… By turns macabre, funny, touching and oddly life-affirming, LITTLE is a remarkable achievement.’ — The Sunday Times, Paperbacks of the Year
LOWBORN by Kerry Hudson
A Book of the Year for the Book Shambles podcast
‘[Kerry’s] writing is bold, beautiful, honest and sometimes painful to read. It gets my vote because Kerry illustrates the realities of what austerity in the UK does to people. At a time when people are relying on food banks, facing homelessness and struggling with cuts – it’s an essential read.’ — Stylist, The Decade’s 15 Best Books by Remarkable Women Authors
‘The power imbalance in Kerry Hudson’s memoir, LOWBORN, is both individual – a childhood surrounded by chaotic, often substance-altered adults – and societal. For her, the combination meant: “1 single mother; 2 stays in foster care; 9 primary schools; 1 sexual abuse child protection inquiry; 5 high schools; 2 sexual assaults; 1 rape; 2 abortions; my 18th birthday.” Also occasional homelessness and eight out of 10 on the Adverse Childhood Experiences scale. She escaped into the middle-class world of novel writing; in LOWBORN she returns, a refugee afflicted with survivor guilt, looking for memories and raging at how little has changed.’ — Guardian, Best Biography and Memoirs of 2019
‘A frank, personal story of Britain’s impoverished hidden millions.’ — Metro, Most Revealing Memoirs and Autobiographies of 2019
‘If there were any justice in the world, there would be a copy of Hudson’s powerful examination of her impoverished upbringing and why it continues to resonate under every politician’s Christmas tree.’ —iNews, Books of the Year 2019
‘In a society which often prefers to look in the opposite direction, Kerry Hudson's LOWBORN is an essential tour-de-force unravelling the realities of being born working class in Britain. Dubbed 'one of the most important books of the year' by the Guardian, LOWBORN is by turns an indictment of the UK's failing welfare state, and a humorous, heart-warming homage to the resilience of the human spirit. Read it, learn from it and pass it on.’ — Penguin, 10 of the Best VINTAGE Books of 2019
Peter James
Number 40 in The Bookseller’s list of the Top 50 highest earning authors of the year.
SWIMMING IN THE DARK by Tomasz Jedrowski
‘The overwhelming SWIMMING IN THE DARK by Tomasz Jedrowski, a young Polish author who writes rather miraculously in English, of which he has magisterial and frankly, Conradian command.’ — Sebastian Barry, Guardian, Best Books of the Year 2019
THE SCARFOLK ANNUAL by Richard Littler
‘This is the blackest of black humour.’ — Daily Mail, The Year’s Most Essential Books 2019
HIS BLOODY PROJECT by Graeme Macrae Burnet
‘If there is anything better than a historical novel, it has to be a historical crime novel, and Burnet proves himself a bit of a master of the genre with HIS BLOODY PROJECT… Multiple perspectives make this novel more twisty and turny than it already is, and although Burnet was an unexpected addition to the Man Booker Prize shortlist, this book more than earns its place. Masquerading as true crime – one of the most popular genres of the decade – it is also a work of strong literary merit, set in a community and a time that doesn’t get too much attention from authors who aren’t part of the Scottish literary scene. Burnet contributes to his own literary heritage with this novel, and honestly it also just a really cracking read.’ — Cultured Vultures, 10 Best Historical Novels of the 2010s
THE WILD REMEDY by Emma Mitchell
’A beautifully illustrated journey through the year, focussing on how nature and the outdoors can help our mental well being. Written with wisdom and kindness, and centred on Emma Mitchell’s own experiences, this is for anyone who loves learning more about the world around us, and for those who seek a way to help an unquiet mind. This book is a joy to own, and I cannot think of anyone whose life would not be a better place for reading it.’ — Joanna Cannon, Waterstones, Top 5 Reads of 2019
SHADOWPLAY by Joseph O’Connor
‘SHADOWPLAY is an absolutely magnificent book. It's not just a portrait of Bram Stoker, but a novel of the here and now. This is one of the best books of the year, anywhere.’ – Column McCann, The Irish Independent, Books of the Year
‘SHADOWPLAY has an extraordinary sense of the period and, using shifting scenes and changing perspectives, displays a brilliant ear for tone and nuance, and a wonderful talent for evoking and creating drama.’ – Sebastian Barry, Irish Independent, Books of the Year
‘A book inspiring deepest gratitude and admiration was Joseph O’Connor’s SHADOWPLAY, whose immaculate sentences were engines of the sometimes strange inner and outer reality of Bram Stoker and Henry Irving.’ — Sebastian Barry, Guardian, Best Books of the Year 2019
‘Resurrecting Victorian theatre in all its gaudy wizardry, this novel throws the limelight on three figures: Ellen Terry, the best-loved actress of the age; Henry Irving, its charismatic actor-impresario; and Bram Stoker, friend of both and author of the vampire classic Dracula. O’Connor’s panache and subtlety wonderfully match the gusto and creative finesse of the High Victorian world he dazzlingly evokes.’ – The Sunday Times, Best Novels of the Year
‘Joseph O’Connor’s depiction of the theatre world of late 19th-century London in SHADOWPLAY is atmospheric and evocative, while he also manages to explore with verve, humour and acuity the public role and inner turmoil of the intriguing Bram Stoker.’ — Diarmaid Ferriter, The Irish Times, Books of the Year 2019
‘SHADOWPLAY by Joseph O’Connor was a glorious romp through Victorian London in the excellent company of Bram Stoker, Ellen Terry, Sir Henry Irving and the Lyceum Theatre. I believed every word of this fictionalised account of their relationship.’ — Liz Nugent, The Irish Times, Books of the Year 2019
‘I thoroughly enjoyed Joseph O’Connor’s SHADOWPLAY, which offers a dramatic and sensual insight into the lives of Bram Stoker and Henry Irving when they were working alongside each other at the Lyceum Theatre in 1870s London. O’Connor inhabits his characters with all the intensity of a method actor, re-creating an extraordinary world of creativity and self-doubt.’ — John Boyne, The Irish Times, Books of the Year 2019
‘GHOST LIGHT, Joseph O’Connor’s exquisite reimagining of Synge’s love affair with Molly Allgood, did not get the recognition it deserved. Not so SHADOWPLAY, his brilliant portrayal of Bram Stoker’s intense relationships with Henry Irving and Ellen Terry, a witty, wry, astute and tender delight.’ — Martin Doyle, The Irish Times, Books of the Year 2019
‘Now on the shortlist for the Costa Fiction Book of the Year, SHADOWPLAY is a fabulous, atmospheric jaunt back in time to Victorian London's West End, when Bram finds new inspiration and we watch as the immortal Dracula begins to take shape. An unmissable, colourful read about love, performance and creativity, you will practically be able to smell the greasepaint.’ — Penguin, 10 of the Best VINTAGE Books of 2019
‘It’s a book that totally swept me away to that lovely Victorian time in London, moonlight and fog – the atmosphere of it. He paints the canvas so well. You’re with Bram Stoker in the attic of the Lyceum Theatre where he was writing Dracula surrounded by all these ghost stories and the monstrous ego of Sir Henry Irving. Bram must have used Irving as inspiration for Dracula – he comes across as a really insecure monster in the book. It has comical flourishes as well because Oscar Wilde makes a cameo, which is very funny. You have some crazy tantrums by actors. It’s a bit like MOULIN ROUGE meets DRACULA. I absolutely loved it.’ — Oliver Callan, Irish Examiner, Well Known Figures Tell Us About Their Favourite Books of 2019
THE ’D’ MONOLOGUES by Kaite O’Reilly
Welsh Books – The Best of 2019 in Wales Arts Review
BOOKS TO READ IN 2020
ALLIGATOR & OTHER STORIES by Dima Alzayat
‘This rich short story collection exploring gender, identity, family and inheritance packs an emotional punch. Often told through the lens of everyday scenarios, the stories evoke displacement in a variety of ways: as a Syrian, as an Arab, as an immigrant and as a woman. While each story is different, they’re underpinned by experiencing “otherness”.’ — Cosmopolitan, 49 New Books by Black and POC Authors You’ll Be Reading in 2020
LOVE IN COLOUR: MYTHICAL TALES FROM AROUND THE WORLD, RETOLD by Bolu Babalola
‘In these 18 stories, writer and columnist Bolu Babalola retells love stories with a twist: she (thankfully) modernises the stories by removing sexism, racism and violence from these tales. Spanning Nigerian folktales, Greek myths to ancient tales from South Asia, these tales of romance and desire move across perspectives, continents and genre from the historic to current.’ — Cosmopolitan, 49 New Books by Black and POC Authors You’ll Be Reading in 2020
THE SWALLOWED MAN by Edward Carey
‘Edward Carey’s LITTLE (about the Life of Madame Tussaud) was a bit of a hit. This new one imagines the experiences of Pinocchio’s father, Geppetto, during the years he spent trapped in the belly of a shark.’ — The Times, Best Books of 2020
SWIMMING IN THE DARK by Tomasz Jedrowski
‘Imagine CALL ME BY YOUR NAME set in Communist Poland and you'll get a sense of Jedrowski's moving debut about a consuming love affair amidst a country being torn apart.’ — The Oprah Magazine, 31 LGBTQ Books That'll Change the Literary Landscape in 2020
THE LAST HUNT by Deon Meyer
‘The indefatigable detective duo of Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido has returned in this latest blockbuster adventure from Deon Meyer… You’ll enjoy the suspense and thrills of this runaway train of a mystery.’ — CrimeReads, Most Anticipated Crime Books of 2020
BOBBY MARCH WILL LIVE FOREVER by Alan Parks
Scottish Book Trust, 30 Scottish novels to look out for in 2020