Central Park is New York City’s winter preserve. Whenever it snows here – and it does snow, though infrequently – the snow that falls on the rest of the city remains white and pristine for about half an hour, if that. It is then quickly transformed, by snowplows, into sooty curbside icebergs, more black and gray than white, littered with cigarette butts, gum wrappers, and dog urine. Only in Central Park does the snow remain pristine, and free of trash. Only in Central park are there fields of sparkling white during the days and, at night (my own favorite), little illuminated circles of snow at the base of every lamppost. When it snows I, along with many other New Yorkers, flock to Central Park like pilgrims to a shrine.
The Snow Queen is out now. Find out more here.
Last night saw Stylist magazine align their inaugural book club with the 4th Estate Literary Salon for the first time, to present ‘In Conversation With’ author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The event was held at the beautiful Walforf Hilton hotel in London. Ahead of the Bailey’s Prize, the winner of which will be announced on the 4th of June, Chimamamda read an extract from the shortlisted Americanah, going on to discuss the motifs of love, family and politics within the book with Stylist, as well as her own upbringing and resulting attitudes to love, sex and language.
We’re thrilled to present the stunning cover design for Hilary Mantel’s The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, out on the 25th September this year.
You may have seen these stylish and playful Benoît Jacques illustrations accompanying Tim Dowling’s Guardian Weekend column, so it was only right that they be used in Tim Dowling’s debut novel How To be a Husband. These cartoons have evoked our playful side, so we’ve got a competition for you. Match the chapter title to the ten respective picture from the Flickr gallery (for example: a7, b3, c5). Three entrants to pair all ten correctly will be chosen at random, and will win a copy of How To be a Husband. Guess away!
It is rare to pass a commute without catching a flash of bright blue or yellow amidst sleepy faces and monochrome suits. Such is the success of Jonas Jonasson’s runaway hit, The Hundred-Year-Old Man who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared and the recently published The Girl Who Saved The King of Sweden. We are all familiar with the iconic result, but what of the inspiration behind these quirky and charming covers? Designer Jonathan Pelham talks us through the creative process:
It is a truth universally acknowledged that many novels are preoccupied with matching single man with wife, but not so many let you enter the marital home to get up close and personal with that no-longer so-single man. How better to celebrate the publication of Tim Dowling’s How To be a Husband than to dedicate a 4×4 to some of our favourite literary male spouses? Read more…
The weekend is almost here, and how better to spend it than with food, friends, family and (sporadic offerings of) sunshine. We’ve always given you main meals to get stuck into but today we’re bringing you a light and delicious starter from the Riverford Farm Cook Book. These spinach and ricotta gnocchi make a delicious light alternative to the more usual potato or semolina ones. Read more…
What if, on a very normal day, two percent of our homes, our office, our community, simply vanished? Could we pick up the pieces and carry on as before, or would we sit and wait, anxiously expecting the same fate to become of us? That’s what the bewildered citizens of Mapleton have to figure out… Read more…
