The Greenhill cricket team’s new kid, Dane Faulkner, is angry, Aboriginal, doesn’t wear a helmet, and cherishes an old bat dubbed ‘Concentrate’ due to the scrawled message on its spine. He’s also a phenom. Michael Duffy wants to figure out what makes the strange, gifted newcomer tick, but has his own problems – a blinkered father, an overprotective big sister, and impaired vision that is threatening his baggy green dream. When a bigoted, bullying opponent is trumped using the Con...

Change your tools for storytelling, change your routine, learn a new form, engage with parts of the wider industry you have never had to previously. See what happens and report back. This was the challenge taken up by contributors to The N00bz: New adventures in literature, a joint project between if:book Australia and digital first publisher Editia.The book is a collection of writing about writing that documents pure curiosity and the quest to continually improve amidst r...

This volume offers a rich tapestry of insights from the realms of literature, art, and science, reflecting the intellectual spirit of its time. It compiles essays, articles, and creative works that showcase the achievements and explorations of diverse fields. From poetic musings to scientific advancements, the collection provides a panoramic view of the cultural and intellectual pursuits shaping the world.Readers are treated to an eclectic mix of topics, ranging from philosophical reflecti...

Add some levity to your reading list with this compilation of some of the wittiest and most amusing humor writing from the American literary canon. Bringing together essays, vignettes and short stories from an array of authors, including Little Women scribe Louisa May Alcott, this delightful volume is sure to ease your cares and bring a smile to your face.

How to Fail in Literature is a speech that was given by Andrew Lang at the South Kensington Museum. It discusses becoming a writer and getting published.

Jonathan “Aggers” Agnew, England’s voice of cricket, showcases some of the very best writings on the noble game, from the 1930s to the present day.In this wide-ranging and beautifully-produced anthology, Test Match Special’s Jonathan ‘Aggers’ Agnew, chooses a wide variety of writings on the sport that has consumed his life, from the 1932/33 Ashes (Bodyline) series right up to the present day. In a series of carefully considered, thematically organised reflections, he examines the i...

Michael Clarke's diary of the 2015 Ashes - honest, insightful, emotional, explosive.After a stirring 5-0 triumph against England last summer, hopes were high that Michael Clarke's World Cup-winning Australians would seize the Ashes on English soil for the first time since 2001.Ashes Diary 2015 tells the inside story of a remarkable series filled with dramatic twists and turns. Captain Clarke takes us behind the scenes of t...

The cricket world's bestselling pocket annual. The indispensable guide to the season.The Playfair Cricket Annual 2017 includes coverage of the 2016 season, including the Specsavers County Championship, Royal London One-Day Cup and the NatWest T20 Blast. It also contains: a detailed register of all current first-class county players and umpires; county records and 2016 first-class averages; current county players' first-class and List A limited-overs career records; Test ma...

1876. Custer was slaughtered at the Little Big Horn, Mark Twain wrote Tom Sawyer, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone and Essex County Cricket Club was born. Although Essex produced famous cricketers, it did not produce a famous team. By 1978 the county had won nothing, a fate aggravated by the success of neighbours Middlesex, Surrey and Kent, who seemed to win almost everything. Essex wore the mantle of clowns. And then it changed. Essex started the 1979 season winning, and carried...

It's one thing to be 14 years old and a loser. It's one thing to be the class swot, and hopelessly infatuated with someone who doesn't know you exist. But what kind of teenager is besotted with an entire sports team – when the players are even bigger losers than she is?In 1993, while everyone else was learning Oasis lyrics and crushing on Kate Moss or Keanu, Emma John was obsessing over the England cricket team. She spent her free time making posters of the players she adored. She ...

Ben Stokes is not cast in the same mould as the vast majority of English cricketers. Fiery, combative, gladiatorial - he plays the game hard and with great gusto. He is an all-rounder who bats, bowls and fields at full throttle.Stokes impresses with his physical stature and muscular brand of cricket. He doesn't back down, smashing the next ball for six, bowling his 90 mph "chin music", or taking a breathtakingly full-stretch catch at backward point.Whether it's thrashing th...

TheSWEETESTROSE150 years of Yorkshire County Cricket Club1863-2013David WarnerForeword by David HoppsGreat Northern BooksThe rich and detailed history of the world’s most famous cricket club, in all its guts and glory.The Sweetest Rose traces the story of YCCC from its birth in Sheffield in January, 1863, right up to the current season, covering its entire 150 years. A tale of triumph, trophies and inner turmoil – an enth...