‘I don’t know if I should admit to this in public, but I don’t really like music.’

‘Jenny Diski told me to always remember that my reader is at least as clever as I am. It helped, that, with knowing how to do exposition — what parts of the world or the thoughts of the characters I needed to explain, and which I could leave the reader to figure out.’

‘What is admirable about The Parenthood Dilemma is that it does not seek to offer universal answers; it is more pointedly concerned with finding a space in which to consider our own questions, and how, perhaps, we might walk a mile in another’s shoes.’

‘It’s notable that so many of the ‘respondent’ writers include those who excel in both prose and poetry themselves, making this whole collection less an exercise in translations across forms, and more a showcase of daring and delight — a myriad of conversations between words, meanings, and image.’

‘How To Be A French Girl is a funny and provocative look at how certain modes of femininity are packaged and sold, the function of art and the artist today and the extent to which we can ever really escape where we’re from.’

‘I generally have an overarching idea, and a sense of the beats I need to hit, but the bits in between all come through in the writing. I like to chew on an idea for a little while before actually writing anything.’

‘A robustly intertextual work (stuffed with repeated references to films, books, paintings, records, held up like touchstones), like all the best visitors Motion Sickness speaks awkwardly and eloquently of its particular time and place in the world’

‘As necessary and difficult as childbirth itself, My Work marks an important engagement with the past and present of women’s writing’

‘With every book I read — even a terrible book — I become a marginally better writer. Or a marginally different writer anyway.’

‘He told her she would have no choice in what was put in front of her, and she would have to eat it. As a child, he said, I’d sit at the table for hours until I learnt that I had to finish or it would be waiting for me the next morning. Just, please, whatever it is, eat it.’

‘Innominate is a meticulously researched novel, borne out by Pearce’s attention to historical detail and her ability to render acutely vivid characters. However, it is the sense of place, and the sensation of deep time, which elevates this novel into something eerie.’

‘Translation is the deepest kind of reading. For the most part, I've only translated writers whose influence I was seeking.’

‘A work of unflinching emotional scrutiny and uncommon artistry, it elevates the modern American novel to new and exhilarating heights.’

‘At first, I liked how envious people were. I liked that they coveted my sons. But after a while their comments and sidelong glances began to make me feel self-conscious.’

‘The writer has now snared the couple who own the hotel, who have limited English and who he is therefore speaking to in a very slow, sonorous tone, the way one might to a dog.’

‘A Wreath for the Enemy is a compelling and ambitiously crafted coming of age story — one that is still emotionally resonant sixty-nine years after its initial publication, and more than deserving of renewed attention.’

Ships week commencing 19th June. Pre-orders now open…

‘With an expert hand, Pike builds these vignettes, these brief glimpses into her characters interconnected worlds, into a full picture of the spectrum of female experiences in the community she portrays. ‘

‘The point is, I do not know before I walk onstage what preparation awaits me. I programme my concerts as seriously as any other performer. Do I rehearse? Ha, well I rehearse a little. I am not the most prepared pianist.’

‘Generous to a fault, and still balancing passion and caution with winning ease, Penman, you suspect, could find illuminating angles of inquiry in a crate of unexposed film.’