Books

It’s been a few weeks since the start of the year and the weather is starting to conspire against your resolutions to run miles each day and shed last year’s weight gain. It’s not that you made the wrong resolutions – you just chose the wrong time of year. Save that for Spring, when the […]

For your chance to WIN a gift box of Sister & Co. products and TWO copies of Skin Food by Sister & Co. founder, Sophie Thompson, simply email publicity@octopusbooks.co.uk with your name before Friday 5th October, and we will randomly select a winner. The Sister & Co. products included are: x1 Raw Coconut Drinks for Hair, […]

October is Black History Month in the UK, which celebrates the history, contributions and achievements of the black community. It’s also an opportunity to discuss issues faced by black people throughout history and in the present day. Here are some of our favourite books that celebrate and explore black history: What is Race?   An […]

With holidays on the horizon, now is a great time to help your pupils pick out some books to read over the break. Not only is it a great way to relax, but important for helping children keep up the reading skills they’ve developed over the past academic year and stopping the so-called ‘summer slide’. […]

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.62″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid”] Here at BKMRK, we’re all about those books that you’ll never forget. And so, we thought it would only be appropriate, and necessary, to write a TOP 10 on the TOP 10 books you’ll always remember. Whether you read these […]

Anne Perry Book: it’s cheating to say this, because I’ve already read it, but in 2017 the novel The Roanoke Girls, by Amy Engel, publishes – and it’s awesome. Do you love Flowers in the Attic and the works of Virginia Andrews? Are you a fan of southern gothic? Do you like novels about really […]

Need some last minute present inspiration? Look no further than our stunning selection of Food and Drink titles. Whether you’re looking to recapture flavours from a shared holiday or want to help someone discover a new favourite cuisine, you’ll find the perfect book in our Christmas gift guide. Sirocco Fabulous flavours from the East, Sabrina […]

To celebrate the long-standing heritage of Virago Modern Classics and the designers who made the hardback range such a success, in Autumn 2015 we launched three sets of mugs and notebooks based on some of our best loved classics. We’ve now added three new designs to the collection for 2016 – Angela Carter’s The Magic […]

TRUE ROMANCE As a Valentine’s Day treat I took my husband to see True Romance (1993), his favourite film, on the big screen. It was the first time I’d seen the movie in five or six years, and it still holds up, though it’s written by Quentin Tarantino and therefore skates along the dodgy edge […]

No gimmicks, no trending, no on-brand statements… these are all about the scares, and nothing else. Happy Halloween! The Tower by Marghanita Laski A woman goes touring in Italy. Her husband’s not too keen on the idea of her going alone. You suspect the man’s not too keen on her doing much without him. She […]

London, any city in fact, is a coming together of many, many stories. Writers of the fantastic have long been fascinated by the potential of cities as locales for their stories but London, with its unique combination of great age, many cultures and continuing significance, has been the setting for perhaps more than its fair […]

Whilst feverishly catching up on the Gollancz list Harriet, our new-ish Marketing Assistant, has discovered the wonder that is C. Robert Cargill. Here is her review of Dreams and Shadows and Queen of the Dark Things.   I have had two truly wonderful experiences over the past month: discovering C. Robert Cargill and seeing Justin […]

We interrupt your normal Friday Reads with a special post.

Today Gollancz says farewell (for now) to Mark Stay who is off to have adventures in film making and become our future Robot Overlord! Mark is an integral part to the Gollancz Team and we’re going to miss him terribly. We also couldn’t be happier for him. Good luck, Mark!

Now, we’ll let Mark tell you a little but more books, films and robots! 

I was half an hour late to work this morning. Nothing wrong with the trains (well, nothing more than usual), no tradesmen to let in, no alarm-clock-failing-to-go-off. I was late because I wanted to drop Bilbo Baggins and Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) off at school this morning for World Book Day. OK, I’m […]

Well, over the last few weeks, its been Christopher Brookmyre, a Glasgow crime/suspense/humour novelist who has written some astonishingly Glasgowicious stories! Quite Ugly One Morning has one of the most memorable beginnings I have ever read (I mean, ALL the senses are assaulted in that one); Boiling A Frog was a fascinating look at religion, […]