Book review: The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym by Paula Byrne

First Morrissey, now Barbara Pym. They say you should never meet your heroes, perhaps you don’t want to know their … More

SPOILER review: New Grub Street by George Gissing

This is one of my occasional series where I share my thoughts on the whole of a book, so if … More

There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job is interesting to me on two levels. First, the literal one. Like … More

A Theatre for Dreamers should have been fascinating. Its starting point is the true story of a community of writers … More

I’ve been a fan of Paul Simon since I saw Simon and Garfunkel’s The Concert in Central Park on TV … More

This still doesn’t seem real. One minute I’m doing ordinary, everyday things, the next I remember that everything has changed. … More

Writers often lament the fact that they are beset by distractions. Some will go to great lengths to isolate themselves, … More

Not much to look at? Today I’m a guest on the TNBBC blog, arguing that a boring workspace makes for … More

I’ve been wanting to read Misery for years but have somehow not got round to it till now (and miraculously … More

Someone recently asked me why I had made Jim, one of the protagonists in my novel Not the End, a … More