Known by fans as ” The Penguin” for his back-of-the-pack speed, John Bingham is the unlikely hero of the modern running boom. In his book ” An Accidental Athlete: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Middle Age”, the best-selling author & magazine columnist recalls his childhood dreams of athletic glory, sedentary years of unhealthy excess, & a life-changing transformation from couch potato to ”adult-onset athlete.” Overweight, uninspired, & saddled with a pack-&-a-half-a-day smoking habit, Bingham found himself firmly wedged into a middle-age slump. Then two frightening trips to the emergency department & a conversation with a happy piano tuner led him to discover running
- & changed his life for the better. In turns inspiring, poignant, hilarious, & heartbreaking, ” An Accidental Athlete” is a warm & engaging book for the everyday athlete. Bingham tells stories of the joys of running
- the pride of the finisher`s medal, a bureau-busting t-shirt collection, & intense back-of-the-pack strategising. ” An Accidental Athlete” is about one man`s discovery that middle age was not the finish line after all, but only the beginning.

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WINNER OF THE EDGE HILL SHORT STORY PRIZE 2016 SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES/PFD YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD 2016 ` Greengrass is undoubtedly that rare thing, a genuinely new & assured voice in prose. Her work is precise, properly moving, quirky & heartfelt` A. L. Kennedy The twelve stories in this startling collection range over centuries & across the world. There are stories about those who are lonely, or estranged, or out of time. There are hauntings, both literal & metaphorical; & acts of cruelty & neglect but also of penance. Some stories concern themselves with the present, & the mundane circumstances in which people find themselves: a woman who feels stuck in her life imagines herself in different jobs
- as a lighthouse keeper in Wales, or as a guard against polar bears in a research station in the Arctic. Some stories concern themselves with the past: a sixteenth-century alchemist & doctor, whose arrogance blinds him to people`s dissatisfaction with their lives until he experiences it himself. Finally, in the title story, a sailor gives his account
- violent, occasionally funny & certainly tragic
- of the decline of the Great Auk.


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London's East End has always been a social & racial melting pot & never more so than today. PI Lee Arnold & his assistant Mumtaz Hakim don't mind
- it keeps them on their toes. It is November. The days are getting darker & they have a new case on their hands. A young Asian couple moves into a dilapidated house in Upton Park. The woman, Nasreen, spends much of her time working alone on the house, her husband Abdullah preoccupied with his job. John Sawyer is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. Since his discharge, he has been volatile & is now homeless. An unlikely friendship develops between Nasreen & John, one that her husband would frown upon. When John's body is discovered, Nasreen's suspicions light upon Abdullah. Did he know they were friends? Reluctant to go to the police, Nasreen reaches out to the Arnold Detective Agency. Mumtaz Hakim begins to dig into Abdullah's past & into the house itself which, she finds, holds its own grim secrets.
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It`s Christmas time, & Afam has decided to create & dance his own masquerade, just like the big celebratory Mmo (masquerades) which he sees performing at festivals. Each time he starts collecting things to make his costume, family preparations for Christmas
- haircuts, visiting the tailor, a church service, a trip to their village
- get in the way. But in the end, Afam performs the most beautiful masquerade ever!

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Captured, & about to be killed, a young African princess is dramatically rescued by a British naval officer. Taken to Engl&, she is presented at court to Queen Victoria. As an important friendship begins, Sarah embarks on a whole new life... This incredible true story is retold alongside real letters, photographs & historical documents. Recounted with insight & empathy by Walter Dean Myers, the US National Ambassador for Young People`s Literature 2012-2013, this is an important reflection on royalty, race, class, belonging &
- above all
- identity.

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`shades of Sarah Waters...irresistible`
- The Guardian `I would like to make myself the heroine of this story
- an innocent

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A compelling mix of bawdy romp & magical realism.` -Sarra Manning, Red magazine `I would like to make myself the heroine of this story
- an innocent victim led astray. But alas sir, I would be lying...` London, 1756: In Newgate prison, Tully Truegood awaits trial. Her fate hanging in the balance, she tells her life-story. It`s a tale that takes her from skivvy in the back streets of London, to conjuror`s assistant, to celebrated courtesan at her stepmother`s Fairy House, the notorious house of ill-repute where decadent excess is a must... Tully was once the talk of the town. Now, with the best seats at Newgate already sold in anticipation of her execution, her only chance of survival is to get her story to the one person who can help her avoid the gallows. She is Tully Truegood. Orphan, whore, magician`s apprentice. Murderer? ` The best erotic novel since Fanny Hill
- Amanda Craig

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” My mother is not a foodie. But for as long as I can remember, once a year, she becomes possessed of a profound & desperate need to serve up a perfect roast turkey. Faced with a walk into the village though, she might think `oh, f*** it` & decide to get a frozen one from Bejams on the 23rd & leave it to defrost in the downstairs toilet for not quite 48 hours.” From perennially dry turkeys to Christmas pudding fires, from the round robin code of conduct to the risks & rewards of re-gifting, An Almost Perfect Christmas is an ode to the joy & insanity of the most wonderful time of the year. ...

Exquisitely illustrated by award-winning, bestselling picture book creator, Oliver Jeffers, this irresistible board book gloriously brings the alphabet to life. From Astronaut to Zeppelin, this is no ordinary alphabet... Boldly colourful, funny & specially adapted from Oliver Jeffers` highly-acclaimed Once Upon an Alphabet, winner of the CBI Book of the Year, this new edition is perfect for younger readers. ...

London is the only city in the world where you could ever find Gilbert & George sharing space with the Gherkin & the Globe while the Great Fire burns & a gin drinker glugs her favorite tipple, & where members of the Bloomsbury Group hail a black cab while barrage balloons hover over Broadcasting House during the Blitz. In A London Alphabet, Christopher Brown presents a series of wonderfully whimsical linocuts illustrating every aspect of London past & present, including personalities, buildings, monuments, legends, historic events, & other metropolitan icons. From Dickens, Dr Johnson, Tower Bridge, & the Shard to the Diamond Jubilee, Wimbledon, pigeons, & jellied eels, all London life is here. A born-&-bred Londoner, Brown recounts his own memories of growing up in the capital, & also describes how he creates his distinctive prints. His unique, often humorous take on London will delight anyone who lives in or visits the city. ...