Last Wednesday 26th February, I (though arguably ‘we’) hosted the first Author’s Afterword Live! event. Alex Hay of The Queen of Fives and The Housekeepers, Lucy Barker of The Other Side of Mrs Wood, and Stacey Thomas of The Revels very kindly came down to Hampshire from London and Bath for a real life effective sequel to our previous podcast episode together. We were hosted by the wonderful and relatively new independent bookshop, Goldfinch Books in Alton which is one of those bookshops that has a real vision and as a result a thriving community.

We had a good-sized audience and great support from Louise Morrish, Goldfinch Books’ writer in residence and all-round busy literary person (her book club has 80 members!) Bookshop owner Gary set us up on a small stage with wonderful lighting and incidently saved the day with his video recording of the event when I realised my own had shut off early (I have since bought an SD card that will run to 5 hours…)

The conversation was a real deep dive into writing – I had planned some questions, but Alex, Lucy, and Stacey love talking about the writing and research process and know each other well so we went even further into topics than I’d thought possible. Among other subjects we covered Stacey’s use of language given that The Revels is set in the Jacobean period and book two will be about the 1950s (and an audience member’s question later took us back to that subject for more which was awesome); Alex dived into the need to carefully decide when to reveal aspects of a story; Lucy brought up deadlines and discussed questions of character, and later supported Alex in discussing setting and research in that vein.

There were cheers for books published, laughter at Alex’s use of reality television in a Victorian con novel, and the audience questions caused so much fantastic back and forth conversation that I’m happy to say that section of the evening overran to good effect.

I’m excited to say that I’ll be hosting a second live show on Friday 4th April at P&G Wells in Winchester; it’s the oldest bookshop in England and my long-time favourite. The authors will be Jessica Bull of Miss Austen Investigates, Flora Carr of The Tower, and Sarah Marsh of A Sign Of Her Own. Doors open at 19:00 and tickets can be purchased from P&G.

For the Goldfinch event, my thanks goes to Alex, Lucy, and Stacey, as well as Gary, Louise, Adrian, Caitlin, and Johnny. Thank you all! The video of event one will be available in the next couple of weeks – it’s going to take some time to put together.

I’m thrilled to announce that on Wednesday 26th February, I’ll be doing a live podcast recording under my podcast’s new name, Author’s Afterword, with guests Alex Hay, Stacey Thomas, and Lucy Barker. It’ll be held at Goldfinch Books in Alton, Hampshire, and will consist of a general bookish conversation with time for audience questions and book signing afterwards. I’m over the moon that Alex, Stacey, and Lucy have agreed to join me – they are fantastic both alone and as a group and I’m looking forward to a second round of conversation with them following Milestone Episode 2.

Tickets are available from Goldfinch Books here. It’s a great, fairly new, indie bookshop with a great bar and I’m happy to say it’s fully accessible. Hope to see you there!

And, because it’s only right, given it’s a podcast event, here’s the announcement in audio:

Alex Hay is the author of The Housekeepers, an Edwardian heist novel which sees a group of disgruntled former employees and associates plan to clear a Mayfair mansion of all its contents over a 24 hour period whilst the mistress of the house hosts a ball. Optioned for film, The Housekeepers was the Waterstones Thriller of the Month for May 2024. Alex’s new novel, The Queen Of Fives, is set in the Victorian era and focuses on a confidence trickster who has five days to win the hand of the richest man in England and make off with his money. It will be published in the UK on 30th January 2025.

Lucy Barker is the author of The Other Side Of Mrs Wood, a comedic tale of Victorian mediumship.  The eponymous Mrs Wood is getting on a bit, at least by Victorian standards, and when she spies a young woman watching her house she seizes both the moment and the girl and suggests an apprenticeship – that’ll keep her at the forefront of everyone’s minds! But Miss Finch has a way about her and soon Mrs Wood finds herself with a particularly gifted student who is close to stealing the spotlight.

Stacey Thomas is the author of The Revels, a beautifully written novel set during the witch trials. We follow Nicholas, a man who can hear the dead sing, as he attempts to end the witch hunts.  With a theatrical atmosphere courtesy of the period and James I’s obsession with stamping out anything related to the Occult, Thomas shows us the horrific reality of the time to stunning effect.

A few weeks ago I received a lovely hand-written invitation to an event I couldn’t miss…

Last night, Orlando Ortega-Medina’s The Death Of Baseball launched at Waterstones Kensington, a brilliant turnout of people on the basement level, canapés and wine on offer, seats surrounded by the well-known black shelves. Train strikes meant that I unfortunately had to leave early, so this post isn’t a full reflection but should give you a good idea of the book following on from my review last month. (Needless to say, I still recommend it.)

The book, a psychological thriller which opens on 5th August 1962 and continues through the 1970s, is about two young men. One, Japanese American Clyde, was born on the August date – the day Marilyn Monroe died – and as he grows up he comes to believe he is Monroe reincarnated. The other man, Syrian American Raphael, struggles with kleptomania and the affects of being told he is a special person within his Jewish faith.

Helen Lederer, interviewing, introduced Orlando; the actress (who herself became an author) met him a few years ago and they share some background – both are parents of immigrants. The star of the evening was wearing particularly appropriate attire – his shirt sported prints of Marilyn Monroe alongside other actresses.

The book begins with a first-person note to the reader in Monroe’s voice. Orlando started it that way to give the reader the belief that there might be something in his premise of reincarnation. The follow-on from the prologue, the textual transition to his character Clyde, was a part of this. (The author later said that the book cover depicts Clyde – with its rendering of Monroe, this is a fascinating idea.)

Of the idea in general, and in the context of the abuse Clyde suffers from his father, the author spoke of Clyde protecting himself by protecting Marilyn Monroe inside him. Clyde is Japanese because Orlando thought that would look interesting, a Japanese Marilyn walking down the street. In order for Clyde to embrace his identity as Monroe, he feels he must dress as her. (In the book, Clyde thinks of transitioning but it’s in the context of becoming Marilyn rather than becoming a woman.) Clyde thinks he’s Monroe because the evidence is there – the author noted Clyde’s father talking about spirits inside of his son and Clyde’s believing the idea but not what kind of spirit his father believed it was. Helen asked about why the child abuse; Orlando cited his normal upbringing, that he’s interested in bad behaviour because of the difference.

In the case of Raphael, he thrives in his religion. Orlando cited him as his favourite character. The kleptomania is not his fault, he said, it’s a psychological condition for which he needs help and support. The familial support is something he doesn’t receive; his mother doesn’t understand him and thinks he can change, easily.

Of the sexuality of both characters, the author noted wanting to make it just another part of them. The relationships/sort-of relationships in the book deal a lot with unrequited love, but Orlando, whilst having a firm opinion himself, leaves the last situation of love in the book to the reader.

The author wanted to explore how people find their identity, having felt himself a foreigner at home having been born in the USA whilst his parents had immigrated there from elsewhere. He’d wanted to explore identity in his previous book, Jerusalem Ablaze, but the opportunity had not arisen.

Orlando’s writing method gels with what you might expect upon reading the book – he writes automatically, writing down whatever flows, and goes where the inspiration takes him. Of the reading experience of the book, Helen summed it up: ‘you do have to concentrate but it’s not difficult to concentrate’.

This reader can only agree.

My thanks to the author for inviting me. The Death Of Baseball published today.

On Monday evening, poet Raymond Antrobus was announced as the winner of this year’s Rathbones Folio Prize.

The ceremony took place in the Entrance Hall of the British Library. It was the culmination of several months of discussion and well over a month of concentrated publicity; the shortlist had been announced early in April; the judges announced last November.

Beginning with live music and time for drinks and conversation, there ceremony was then officially opened. We were welcomed by Rathbones (sponsor) and Andrew Kidd (co-founder of the prize). The shortlisted authors who attended were brought onto the stage for photographs and flowers. The Chair of the judges, Kate Clanchy, then took over to tell us about the judging process, the three judges’ general opinions of the books, and to announce the winner. Alice Jolly, she said, had been a close second.

Raymond Antrobus gains £30,000 for his poetry collection, The Perseverance. Clanchy had introduced him as winner saying it was “an exceptionally brave, kind book – it seemed, in our atomised times, to be the book we most wanted to give to others, the book we all needed to read”. In a show of wonderful humility, Antrobus thanked everyone and noted the poets he spotted in the audience, spending time introducing them. He then read a poem from his collection.

Antrobus is a Jamaican British deaf poet. Born 33 years ago in Hackney, East London, he was considered dyslexic and severely learning disabled, his deafness not discovered until the age of 6. He performs his poetry often and was one of the first recipients of an M.A. in Spoken Word Education (from Goldsmiths, London).

The Perseverance, published by small press, Penned in the Margins, in October, explores issues such as his diagnosis, his mixed heritage experience, masculinity, and his beloved father’s alcoholism and later decline into dementia and death. For it, the poet has received the Ted Hughes Award, having included a redacted poem Hughes wrote about deaf children (‘Deaf School’), and writing a response to it; Hughes’ poem showed to Antrobus a lack of understanding.

The Guardian says the book ‘confronts deeply rooted prejudice against deaf people’. In an interview with literary magazine, Four Hubs, Antrobus said: “This book is me trying to find a use for all the things in my life that felt like a disadvantage, a nuisance, the things I once tried to hide”.

Have you read or do you plan to read any of the books that were shortlisted?

Yesterday I attended the shortlist announcement for this year’s Rathbones Folio Prize. It was great to see Annabel of Annabookbel and Clare of A Little Blog Of Books; we had a good natter about our thoughts so far and of course books in general. The setting was wonderful, a room with a view across the City. As the time came for the announcement we gathered towards the microphone.

Introducing the announcement, Andrew Kidd, co-founder, said:

“The 2019 Rathbones Folio Prize judges, themselves all writers of great renown, have tackled their brief – to identify the single best work of literature published in the English language last year – with amazing energy and flair. The eight, brilliant books now in the running for that distinction cut across all borders and genre, and are a testament to how writers are also the most astute and generous of readers.”

This year’s judges are writers Kate Clanchy (chair), Chloe Aridjis, and Owen Sheers. They chose the following eight books from a longlist of 20:

Ashleigh Young: Can You Tolerate This? (Bloomsbury)
Guy Stagg: The Crossway (Picador)
Alice Jolly: Mary Ann Sate, Imbecile (Unbound)
Anna Burns: Milkman (Faber & Faber)
Diana Evans: Ordinary People (Chatto & Windus)
Raymond Antrobus: The Perseverance (Penned In The Margins)
Tommy Orange: There There (Harvill Secker)
Carys Davis: West (Granta)

Established in 2013 and sponsored by Rathbone Investment Management, the Prize is open to writers from around the world who write in English. It is open to all types of books – the longlist included a collection of short stories, and the shortlist includes essays (Young), travel writing (Stagg), and poetry (Antrobus). Last year’s winner was Richard Lloyd Parry for Ghosts Of The Tsunami.

The winner of the £30,000 prize will be announced on 20th May at the British Library.