As German bombs rain down on the city during the Blitz, a teenage girl discovers she has unearthly abilities…A young woman by the name of Godiva finds herself being stalked by mysterious graffiti sprayed across the city…On his first shift, a tour bus guide decides to go off route, taking his only passenger along for the ride…Often overshadowed by its higher-profile Midlands neighbours, Coventry’s quiet demeanour conceals a steadfast spirit of resilience and resource...

As seen on This Time with Alan Partridge on BBC One.THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERPraise for Nomad:'Funniest book of the year' Sunday Telegraph'Alan Partridge's Nomad is almost certainly the funniest book ever written' Caitlin Moran'Sensationally funny. What brilliant writing' Richard Osman'Sensational' Jenny Colgan'Hilarious' Jon Ronson'Brilliantly...

Comedian Jack Dee's hilarious account of how he became quite such a miserable git and a stand up comedian.'A brilliant book. So funny. It's my bible' Paul O'GradyIn this hilariously frank account of his life, Jack Dee finally reveals what turned a once optimistic young man into this grumpy middle-aged git. It's a journey that takes him from a first gig as a ventriloquist's dummy, to working in an artificial leg factory and...

Three men, three lives and three eras sinuously entwine in a dark, startling and unsettling narrative of sex, exploitation and dependence set against London's strangely constant gay underworld.Jack Rose begins his apprenticeship as a rent boy with Alfred Taylor in the 1890s, and finds a life of pleasure and excess leads him to new friendships -- most notably with the soon-to-be infamous Oscar Wilde. A century later, David tells his own tale of unashamed decadence while waiting to be releas...

Named a most anticipated book of 2025 by Vulture | The Guardian | Financial Times | The Observer | The Times (London) | Literary Hub**"A picture of postwar England unlike any other . . . A highly original memoir that will provoke, amuse, beguile—and endure." —Antony Quinn, Financial Times"Homework is wonderful Geoff-Dyer writing, which we've all learned to crave; something to delight an...

**An unflinching, brilliantly written, darkly funny, lavishly illustrated memoir by the acclaimed author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: A ringing testament about how one artist sees the world, and how his experiences have shaped his vision“Tender, addictive, informative and unlike anything else―and brilliantly illustrated. It’s a gem.” ―Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry**Simultaneously heart-breaking and h...

Filled with the bestselling, award-winning author's trademark wordplay and inventive storytelling, here is the dizzyingly entertaining, wickedly humorous story of a mysterious stranger whose sudden appearance during a family’s summer holiday transforms four variously unhappy people.Each of the Smarts*—parents Eve and Michael, son Magnus, and the youngest, daughter Astrid—*encounter Amber in his or her own solipsistic way, but somehow her presence allows th...

'The Mersey Sound is an attempt to introduce contemporary poetry to the general reader by publishing representative work by each of three modern poets in a single volume, in each case the selection has been made to illustrate the poet's characteristics in style and form'. With this modest brief, The Mersey Sound was conceived and first published in 1967. An anthology which features Roger McGough's work, alongside that of Brian Patten and Adrian Henri (The Liverpool Poets)...

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...

The nation's favourite annual guide to the short story, now in its sixth year.Best British Short Stories invites you to judge a book by its cover – or more accurately, by its title. This new series aims to reprint the best short stories published in the previous calendar year by British writers, whether based in the UK or elsewhere. The editor's brief is wide ranging, covering anthologies, collections, magazines, newspapers and web sites, looking for the b...

Vic Reeves' vivid, enchanting, and utterly hilarious childhood memoir is a comic masterpiece.Before there was Vic Reeves, there was a boy called James Moir who was much the same as any other lad.Obsessed with owning a pet crow, a master at writing his name and terrified of his father's immense moustache. Growing up in Yorkshire and then CountyDurham, the boy who would be Reeves somehow managed to escape the attentions of 'Randy Mandy' and get a crash course in pig castration, befor...