SHORTLISTED FOR THE EDGE HILL SHORT STORY PRIZE 2018LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2018WINNER OF THE EAST ANGLIAN BOOK AWARD FOR FICTIONMadame Zero is a remarkable collection of dark, sensuous stories set in sometimes conflicting landscapes
- rural, industrial, psychological
- all of which are hauntingly resonant with dread. Whether set in an apocalyptic storm, a local swimming pool, or a surgical theatre, Hall`s stories inhabit a hinterland between the natural & urban, the mundane & surreal, human & animal.

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Toby, a survivor of the man-made plague that has swept the earth, is telling stories. Stories left over from the old world, & stories that will determine a new one. Listening hard is young Blackbeard, one of the innocent Crakers, the species designed to replace humanity. Their reluctant prophet, Jimmy-the-Snowman, is in a coma, so they`ve chosen a new hero
- Zeb, the street-smart man Toby loves. As clever Pigoons attack their fragile garden & malevolent Painballers scheme, the small band of survivors will need more than stories.
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The story of the Trikkala is a strange one. Reported sunk in 1945, she sails into port one year later, barely afloat, her crew & valuable cargo missing. What happened during that year at sea? What secrets of betrayal & murderous greed were played out on the desolate islet of Maddon`s Rock? ...

With the rest of the Blue Door Theatre Company in London training to be actors, poor Maddy has been left all alone in the little town of Fenchester. She longs to follow the others to the big city, but she is 12 years old, & she has maths homework to do. However, Maddy has never let a bit of schoolwork come between her & her dreams. When she finds that a famous Dutch film director is in town, she leaps at the opportunity: she will be a film star. But stardom isn`t an easy life (in spite of the personal dressing room & the lovely costumes) & there are setbacks & difficulties along the way. But with such a stubborn & talented leading lady as Maddy, surely even Mrs Potter-Smith & the headmistress can`t stop the show from going on? Maddy Alone is the second book in the Blue Door series, following on from the classic of children`s literature The Swish of the Curtain. ...

From Tuscan tomato & bread soup to monkfish stew, simple spaghettis or lemon & pistachio polenta cake, Made at Home is a colourful collection of the food that Giorgio Locatelli loves to prepare for family & friends. Over 150 simple family recipes from the bestselling chef With recipes that reflect the places he calls home, from Northern Italy to North London or the holiday house he & his wife Plaxy have found in Puglia, Made at Home is a celebration of favourite vegetables combined in vibrant salads or fresh seasonal stews, along with generous fish & meat dishes & cakes to share. Early every evening, Giorgio`s `other family`, the chefs & front of house staff at his restaurant, Locanda Locatelli, sit down together to eat, & Giorgio reveals the recipes for their best-loved meals, the Tuesday Pizza & the Saturday ` Italian` Burger. In a series of features he also takes favourite ingredients or themes & develops them in four different ways, amid ideas for wholesome snacks, from mozzarella & ham calzoncini (pasties) to ricotta & swiss chard erbazzone (a traditional pie), crostini to put out with drinks, & fresh fruit ice creams & sorbets to round off a meal in true Italian style. ...

” Funny, wise, learned & compulsive.” (GQ). Bill Bryson turns away from travelling the highways & byways of middle America, so hilariously depicted in his bestselling The Lost Continent, The Life & Times of the Thunderbolt Kid & Notes from a Big Country, for a fast, exhilarating ride along the Route 66 of American language & popular culture. In Made in America, Bryson tells the story of how American arose out of the English language, & along the way, de-mythologizes his native land
- explaining how a dusty desert hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn`t won, why Americans say `lootenant` & ` Toosday`, how they were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up
- as well as exposing the true origins of the words G-string, blockbuster, poker & snafu. ”A tremendously sassy work, full of zip, pizzazz & all those other great American qualities.” (Will Self, Independent on Sunday).

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The 92-page book is an insider s guide to the makers of India s dynamic & cosmopolitan city Bengaluru. It is a celebration of the city & the talented people who reside & work here. The highly-curated guide profiles the city s finest artists, artisans, craftspeople, designers, makers & shopkeepers who come together to produce & sell some extraordinary things. The journey to create the book took authors Fiona Caulfield & Maegan Dobson-Sippy deep into the city. They traversed narrow lanes in the oldest parts of the city & explored the edges of the modern metropolis on a quest to reveal Bengaluru`s most authentic shopping experiences. Every entry has been personally visited & for each entry that made the book, another three or four did not. These books are not simply about luxury shopping; Fiona & Maegan are equally as excited by colourful churis (bangles) bought from a street stand as by stunning diamond necklaces from the Royal jeweller, thought to be the Tiffany`s of India. They share advice about Bengaluru`s markets & bazaars, including the little-known wholesale fabric market, as well as revealing small textile studios painstakingly practicing art forms as they were done hundreds of years ago, & reveal an atelier creating jewel-encrusted costumes for globally acclaimed movies. The intention of the book is to take the reader beyond a simple shopping transaction, as evoked at the beginning of the book, in an extract from Pablo Neruda s poem, Ode to Things. Fiona & Maegan share the story of the city & the people through its objects & marketplaces. They believe that you are not just buying an object, but that you are connecting to the maker, recognising their creativity & mastery, as well as supporting & encouraging their future. The book contains a Love Bengaluru section, opening with an essay How to Love Bangalore by acclaimed Bengaluru-based writer, Arshia Sattar. The chapter also details the best places to stay, dine & ways in which to explore the city & surrounding areas, as well as essential tips on how to get around. The Made in Bengaluru book comes with a matching travel journal, designed as a keepsake, & to enable the traveller to record their impressions of the city, be that in a sketch or in notes. The books are completely h&-made in India, & are the result of design collaboration with Aneeth Arora of the acclaimed clothing brand péro, based in New Delhi. The Made in Bengaluru book has a madder red natural dye h&-woven cotton Khadi cover, the fabric of India s independence. The matching travel journal is covered with Bengali handloom checks. Both books are printed on paper that is made by hand in the age-old method in the small village of Sanganer, on the edge of the pink city Jaipur in Rajasthan, & have h&-made bookmarks & h&-embroidered labels, created by ladies working in the péro atelier. The covers are h&-printed & the books are h&-bound & finished all at Judge Press in Bengaluru. ...

Looking at how Britain pays its way in the world today. Like Andrew Marr's HISTORY OF MODERN BRITAIN or Michael Palin's HIMALAYA, the book will have a coherence & life beyond the television series, mirroring its basic structure, but looking at some issues in greater depth, & telling additional stories to illustrate some of the ideas. This book is about the things that Britain produces in order to pay its way in the world, from physical goods that we can see & feel, to intangible services that are much harder to quantify. We don't have to be prejudiced in favour of certain types of value: we shouldn't assume finance is modern, & manufacturing out of date for example. What matters is what sells & for how much. From manufacturing to technology, design & the services industries, this book will provide a cutting edge analysis
- via entertaining stories
- about what we make & why it matters.

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From the world renowned National Geographic comes this stunning collection of the world’s most amazing trips. Each chapter ...

What are countries famous for making? For Japan, the answer might be electronic goods. For Germany, automobiles. For France, perhaps a Louis Vuitton bag. But what about Britain? Here, Evan Davis sets himself the task of finding out. Offering a fascinating look at our manufacturing industries & revealing the various companies that might not be household names, but are very much world leaders in their fields, he shows how we have learnt to specialise in high end & niche areas that are the envy of the world. Taking in our disappointments & successes, Made in Britain is a brilliantly readable tour of our economic history, exploring the curious blend of resilience, innovation & economic free-thinking that makes us who we are. ...