Bailey’s Prize for Women’s Fiction 2016 – Winner announced

Irish author Lisa McInerney was announced as the winner of the Baileys’ Prize for Women’s Fiction for her debut novel, “The Glorious Heresies”.

Also shortlisted for the Desmond Elliot Prize 2016, long listed for the Dylan Thomas Prize 2016 and the Theakstons Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year “The Glorious Heresies” explores the dark underbelly of Cork with a cast of murderers, gangsters, drug dealers and prostitutes.

Margaret Mountford, Chair of the Judges, said, “After a passionate discussion around a very strong shortlist, we chose Lisa McInerney’s “The Glorious Heresies”, a superbly original, compassionate novel that delivers insights into the very darkest of lives through humour and skillful storytelling. A fresh new voice and a wonderful winner.”

Or, as the Sunday Times put it “The Glorious Heresies” heralds the arrival of a glorious, foul-mouthed, fizzing new talent”

National Crime Reading Month - June 2016

I recently saw James Runcie at the Hay Festival talking about his Grantchester series of crime novels.

Runcie told how he had loosely based Sidney Chambers, the vicar and part time sleuth of the novels, on his own father, Robert Runcie (Archbishop of Canterbury 1980-1991) and the talk was peppered with fascinating family anecdotes.

The Grantchester Mysteries start in the 1950’s and will go up to the Silver Jubilee year, 1977. The fifth title of the planned series of six, “Sidney Chambers and the Dangers of Temptation” has just been published in hardback.

In the Q&A session afterwards Runcie dropped in some tantalising hints as to how the story might develop in the final novel of the series. As a big fan of the TV show starring the gorgeous James Norton as Sidney and Robson Green as Geordie, I am now inspired to read my way through the entire series starting at the beginning, where else?, with “Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death”.

More Hay Highlights

 1. The weather

It’s not often that the weather is kind to the Hay Festival but this year we could truly say we made Hay while the sun shone. It was great to see the crowds picnicking on the grass instead of running for cover. Sunglasses and sandals were the order of the day instead of umbrellas and wellies, bliss.

2. Michael Palin – Travelling to Work

Michael Palin talked about his series of diaries covering the years 1969-1998. Amongst the revelations were how Monty Python’s Flying Circus got its name, it just sounded funny and how he came to be a BBC travel presenter par excellence. Palin was very flattered when the BBC told him how much they wanted him to front their new programme, a modern day Around the World in Eighty Days, only to discover that he wasn’t their first choice, second or even third, the likes of Alan Whicker having already turned down the job.  

3. Roger McGough and LiTTLe MACHiNe

LiTTLe MACHiNe are a group of three musicians who perform famous poems set to music. They kicked off the session and then Liverpool poet, Roger McGough joined them to recite his funny and thought provoking poems with occasional backing music from the group. The performance ended with a rousing audience sing along of the old Scaffold favourite “Lily the Pink”, goodness only knows what anyone passing the tent thought was going on!

James Runcie book signing at Hay

4. James Runcie – The Grantchester Novels

This was my most surprising Hay highlight. In a fabulous session historical novelist, S J Parris talked to James Runcie about his Grantchester crime series of books. 

More of this in the next post when we celebrate National Crime Reading Month.

Hay Highlights

Ruby Wax's sell out talk based on her new book, "A Mindfulness Guide for the FRAZZLED" was my Hay Highlight on Bank Holiday Monday. With her usual outrageous, over the top, witty style she had the audience performing mindfulness exercises one moment and roaring with laughter the next. 

As well as being a comedian and TV writer, Ruby holds a Master's degree in Mindfulness based Cognitive Therapy from Oxford University, so she really knows her stuff and this came across. I came out of the tent feeling much less frazzled than when I went in.

"500 years ago no-one died of stress: we have invented this concept and now we let it rule us. Rest has become a dirty word, and our idea of satisfaction is answering the last email. We're sleepwalking through our own lives. Ruby Wax shows us how to wake up from this stupor with a scientific solution to modern problems: mindfulness."