Blog
Celebrating inspiration, creativity and good books
His master’s voice: David Almond mythophone
Imagine this... It's the hottest day of the year. You are meandering through the hordes of sun-scorched drinkers, eyeing up their ice cold pints, when you spot it. Slap bang in the middle of the village green! A giant ear…
Making space to create
Carving out space to create is not always easy. I journey from creative chaos to fresh beginnings and discover seven ways to make space for inspiration. Emerging from chaos Spring is a good time for new projects. But fresh shoots…
Spring picks from World Poetry Day
Last week, World Poetry Day heralded the beginning of spring here in the Northern hemisphere. People shared lines from their favourite poems and journalists penned poetry-related pieces. Here are five weird and wonderful World Poetry Day picks from around the…
Recording an audiobook: lessons from the studio
Recording an audiobook version of my poetry collection Limehaven would be fun, I decided. After all, poetry is music. And rhythm and rhyme must be spoken before it can be heard. There’s real joy in reading aloud. All those deliciously…
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
To celebrate the recent BBC adaptation of this wonderful book, I'm republishing a review I wrote some years ago. If you didn't see the series — or even if you did — read the book! A sumptuous tale of magic…