During the past twenty years, the number of local bookshops has fallen by about a  third. How then, can an independently owned bookshop, in a relatively small town, remain vibrant and relevant to the community? Warwick Books in the Market Square One reason is the...

There are some novels that haunt you- in the sense that long after you've put them down, you keep discovering something else you'd not thought of. The Cut is one such. It begins, 'The young woman runs burning along the side of the marketplace, down the High Street,...

On 2nd June, I approached Judy, the owner of Kenilworth book shop, to ask if there was any way I could promote my novel which she had on her shelves. When she suggested a book signing on 1st July at the end of Independent Bookshop week, I was delighted at the...

One of the stories my mother told me concerned my walking from our home in Lee Street, Hull to  Cavendish Road school through East Park. Though I was five, going on six, I don't remember the event. Our family moved from Hull when I was six and I've never been back to...

A Time for Peace, unread, was on a Leamington library shelf, so the next hurdle for me was to find it potential readers. The Readers' Development Officer helpfully contacted Book Club leaders in Warwickshire to which two, in Leamington, responded. The first, led by...

One of the hallmarks of an interesting artist, is their ability to learn. The David Hockney exhibition demonstrated that beautifully. When Hockney was 'blocked'- perhaps bored with his current style- he moved on to another medium. He tried photography, and an I-pad to...