In 1973-74, Britain was in meltdown. The Arab-Israeli War had sent energy prices soaring. Petrol was scarce. Offices were limited to a temperature of 17C and power cuts were frequent. A three-day working week came in as inflation took hold and miners and other workers went on strike. The northern mill town of Rochdale suffered more than most. Its cotton industry was on shut-down in the face of cheap imports, and the football team was a mirror image of the town - tired, defeated, clinging t...

The story of two men who almost single-handedly saved their football club from extinction. In the 80s David Kilpatrick and Graham Morris spied architects' plans to turn Spotland, the home of their beloved, beleaguered Rochdale AFC, into a housing estate. They set about saving the club but first had to take on the 'enemy within' - fellow directors.

Herbert Kenny, an army dispatch rider, was the first ally to push open the gates at Belsen Concentration Camp, in April 1945.He kept his story from the world until a chance correspondence with a trainee journalist brought it to light. Now, forty years on, that reporter is ready to share Herbert's incredible tale with the world.With unprecedented access to Herbert's diaries, letters and interviews, Mark Hodkinson brings to life the harrowing conditions of Bergen-Belsen and i...

Mark Hodkinson grew up among the terrace houses of Rochdale in a house with just one book. Today, Mark is an author, journalist and publisher. He still lives in Rochdale but is now surrounded by 3,500 titles, at the last count.No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy is his story of growing up a working-class lad during the 1970s and 1980s. It’s about the schools, the music, the people – but pre-eminently and profoundly the books and authors that led the way and shaped his life. It...

As Years Go By is a richly detailed portrait of a woman who has lived an incredible life, one that far transcends her best known role as courtesan to the chief Rolling Stone.From aristocratic lineage to convent school, stardom to attempted suicide, junkie to punk, folk singer to torch chanteuse, Marianne has seen her life flash by in banner headlines.Researched through over 50 interviews with her family, former lovers and friends, As Years Go B...

This classic account of the birth of a legendary group is the truly authentic version of Queen's rise to stardom. Author Mark Hodkinson interviewed over 60 friends and colleagues of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon to piece together a fascinating jigsaw of anecdotes from the days when the future superstars were playing with bands like The Reaction, The Opposition, 1984 and Sour Milk. Intimate, suprising and meticulously researched, Queen: The Early Years is a riveti...

This classic account of the birth of a legendary group is the truly authentic version of Queen's rise to stardom. Author Mark Hodkinson interviewed over 60 friends and colleagues of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon to piece together a fascinating jigsaw of anecdotes from the days when the future superstars were playing with bands like The Reaction, The Opposition, 1984 and Sour Milk. Intimate, suprising and meticulously researched, Queen: The Early Years is a riveti...

Blue Moon traces a season in the life of Manchester City. Not just any season, but 1998-99, when the once-proud club, with two League Championships and four FA Cup wins to its name - not to mention a phenomenal fan base - was forced to battle the likes of Macclesfield Town, Colchester United and Wigan Athletic in English football's third flight.Mark Hodkinson was involved in every aspect of the club through a long, stirring season, one which culminated in the euphoria of p...

The incredible true story of the first Allied soldier to open the gates of Belsen.Herbert Kenny, an army dispatch rider, was the first Allied soldier to push open the gates at Belsen Concentration Camp, in April 1945. He kept his story from the world until an encounter with a trainee journalist brought it to light. Now, forty years on, that reporter is ready to share Herbert's incredible tale with the world.With unprecedented access to Herbert's diaries, le...

Mark Hodkinson grew up among the terrace houses of Rochdale in a house with just one book. His dad kept it on top of a wardrobe with other items of great worth – wedding photographs and Mark’s National Cycling Proficiency certificate. If Mark wanted to read it, he was warned not to crease the pages or slam shut the covers.Today, Mark is an author, journalist and publisher. He still lives in Rochdale, but is now snugly ensconced (or is that buried?) in a ‘book cave’ surrounded by 3,...

**Brought to you by Penguin.THE PRISON OFFICER.CHALLENGES EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ABOUT PEOPLE IN PRISON.**Life as a prison officer was Gen's calling. But when she took her first job in a men’s prison at only 23, she was thrown in at the deep end.How did she find her place amongst gangsters, killers and traffickers?How would she navigate a mental health system on its knees?And how could she help the prisoners when most of the officers we...

WINNER OF BEST NEW AUTHOR AT THE TRUE CRIME AWARDS 2024*AS FEATURED ON CHANNEL 4's 24 HOURS IN POLICE CUSTODY*'Not many people know how much their life is worth. I do.'The value of my life, or more specifically the cost of ending it, can be measured on a sliding scale based on method, reliability and efficiency. Fifteen thousand pounds would buy you plausible deniability and a brick across the back of the head ...