More reviews of Kevin Brooke’s new book ‘The Objectors’ can be seen on Facebook and other social media platforms daily. To see the latest we’ve spotted from Creative Writing lecturer Ruth Stacey of University of Worcester’s Creative Writing team, click here
…and you will kick yourself if you miss this incredible video trailer, created with work by Joshua Falcon and MixKit Videos, music courtesy of bensound click here
Good news! A thrilling new Young Adult (YA) book from Kevin Brooke with illustrations by Seraphim Bryant.
The year is 2042. England is cut-off from the former UK, Europe and the world. As resources dwindle, The Entitlement Party creates a devastating scheme to reduce the population. On their sixteenth birthday, young people of underling class are selected at random to eliminate six people. The reward for fulfilling their contract is to win their place amongst the elite.
Samarah, Ethan and Ellie-Mae, each of whom has a different reason to object, refuse to sign the contract. As civilisation crumbles, and a programme of genocide is uncovered, the regime deploys its synthetic warriors to destroy an underling rebellion. The only force that can prevent victory for evil is the spirit and collective strength of three young people. The Objectors.
We’ve set a Zoom launch date of Sunday 18 July at 4pm and will give details closer to that time. In the meanwhile, if you’d like a sneak preview before the launch, it’s available to pre-order now and will despatched as soon as the printer gnomes get it to BPP.
UK x3 copies £24.00 +P&P
Non-UK x3 copies £24.00 +P&P
Beth O’Brien and fellow poet Brian Comber had a wonderful, well-attended double book launch for their debut poetry collections 13 June 2021. The books are now available and will be despatched as soon as the packing elf can manage it.
Beth O’Brien – The Earth is a Bookcase
To find out more, click here
UK £6.00 +P&P
Non-UK £6.00 +P&P
Brian Comber – Panopticon
To find out more, click here
UK £6.00 +P&P
Non-UK £6.00 +P&P
Mental illness affects one in four of us, yet too many people are made to feel isolated and worthless as a result. This anthology seeks to encourage everyone to be more open about their mental state, to talk, to listen, to change lives. The poetry and prose was sent in to Worcestershire LitFest and Fringe to celebrate Mental Health Awareness.
UK customers £7 +P&P:
Non UK customers £7 +P&P:
Winner of the University of Worcester Black Pear Press Prize for Fiction 2020 Cath Darwen’s first book ‘Blue Stockings’ is now available for pre-order. Here is a most readable exploration into women during the French Revolution and their portrayal in historical fiction.
Blue Stockings; or “I Have Killed One Man To Save A Hundred Thousand” is set during the chaotic events of 1789 and is inspired by the often overlooked role of French women in the violent upheavals that swept away the monarchy and successive revolutionary governments. The experiences of the main protagonist, Emile, offer a striking new perspective on this epochal moment in European history.
“Cath Darwen’s novella weaves fact and fiction to create a compelling stage full of characters, both real and invented, embarking on the starting moments of the French Revolution. This vivid scene, as if the curtains are being pulled back on history allowing the reader to witness the everyday women drawn into the bloody business, clearly demonstrates Darwen’s love of the time period and dramatic flair.” —Ruth Stacey, poet and lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Worcester
Launched in May, 2021 to celebrate the University of Worcester Creative Writing 2020 prizewinners as they published their first books…Chloe Hanks and Cath Darwen. Click here for details.
UK customers £5 +P&P:
Non-UK customers £5 +P&P:
Former Worcestershire Poet Laureate Tim Cranmore has updated ‘The Mermaid and The Mason’ and created his own illustrations for this outstanding new publication.
For UK customers £7 +P&P:
For Non-UK customers £7 +P&P:
Charley Barnes’s debut poetry collection ‘Lore: Flowers, Folklore, and Footnotes’ was launched on Valentine’s Day 2021 on Zoom.
Charley read some of her favourite pieces from the collection, and sent a link to her fascinating article about the book, which includes the information shown below:
‘At the launch yesterday, while I continue to ferret around in the back-end of plantlore and folklore to find interesting tidbits, I realised that the book isn’t really about flowers at all.
‘It’s about the type of poisons used by tribesmen who are hunting. It’s about the suicide tree and how many suspected homicides it may have been responsible for. It’s about consent. It’s about the ocean. It’s about about witchcraft and feminism and loneliness and even, a teenie-tiny bit, about love.
‘When flowers have been used, there is a footnote attached to explain an entirely different narrative. This is usually about a myth; or an explorer; or a wild historical event. Sometimes it’s about folklore and medicine—or should that be “medicine”—that used to make the world work (or at least keep it going). In many ways, ‘Lore’ isn’t only a collection of narratives, it’s a collection of sub-narratives; stories that have slipped down the cracks, and maybe a few that never even found air.’
Get your copy direct from Black Pear Press £7.00 plus P&P:
UK P&P: 
Non UK P&P:
Charley Barnes is already well known for her fiction,
publishing as C.S. Barnes. Writing, performing and
hosting spoken word events as Charley Barnes, she is
also very active in the West Midlands poetry scene. This
is her first poetry collection and celebrates her year as
Worcestershire Poet Laureate (2019-2020). She has a
BA (Hons) in English & English Language, and a
masters (Distinction) and doctorate in Creative Writing.
She lectures in Creative Writing at a number of West
Midlands universities.
‘In these pages, Barnes has shouted Boo at me, and I
am mute. Well, almost. These poems have the tender
touch of Naruder’s Love Songs and the bristling brutal
barb of Anne Sexton. In Lore, she guides us through a
veritable Pre-Raphaelite landscape—as deadly and
murky as it is full of life-giving sensuality. Ephemeral
folktales and folklore are grounded by the historical and
the place-specific, both aspects weaved together with
deft precision. These poems come in the form of howling
riptides and gentle splashes.’
R. M. Francis
Roz Levens writes with a light touch but produces such heavy content!
In her latest novel ‘Pack of Lies’ she creates an entwined ensemble of believable but wildly diverse characters, all linked by one man known to them all but with seemingly no ties to each other.
The way Roz carefully, deviously, cleverly and forensically lays out her plot lines is a sheer delight.
It is a darkly humorously novel with twists and turns and great plot devices, the way she drops the crime bombs into each person and their families is breath taking.
At its heart is a seemingly simple plot of a man slipping slowly into deep trouble but the ripples and the tentacles of organised crime quickly affect so many women unknowingly linked, innocent to the horrors that unfold so rapidly and so completely.
A MUST READ story, full stop!
Martin Driscoll
Director · The Worcestershire Literary Festival & Fringe
