The Scattering is a debut fiction collection from prizewinning writer Jaki McCarrick.

These skillfully crafted stories explore states of liminality: life on the Irish border, dual identities, emigration, being between states – certainty and doubt, codependency and freedom. Some explore themes of catastrophe and constraint. All explore what it means to be alive in a fraught and ever-changing world. This first collection from prizewinning author and playwright, Jaki McCarrick explores the dark side of human nature, often with a postmodern ‘Ulster gothic’ twist.
One of the stories ‘The Visit’ won the Wasafiri Prize for new fiction, and many have been published to much acclaim in literary magazines.
Buy your copy now for £7.19*

Forthcoming Title: R S Thomas: Poems to Elsi

 
Celebrate the R. S Thomas centenary, with this excellent volume that draws together 52 poems (4 previously unpublished) by Thomas to his wife, Elsi.
This collection brings together 52 poems by Thomas to his wife, the distinguished artist Mildred E  Eldridge – known as Elsi – from early meditations on their relationship to the elegies following her death.
This revelatory collection dramatises the changing dynamics of a complex and vitally creative relationship. Poems on marriage, cohabitation, birthdays, anniversaries, family and bereavement offer a candid portrait of emotional intimacy, desire, the painful process of ageing, and of loss. Elsi is a complex presence here: to the ‘to’ in the title signifies not only ‘addressed to’ but also ‘about’, ‘with an eye on’, ‘to be overheard by’, and even in one case ‘from’.
Pre-order your copy now for £7.99*
*discounted prices are available if you’re an ‘online book club member’ – if you would like to sign up for free, please click here.

New release: Exciting new anthology Newspaper Taxis: Poetry After The Beatles
Their beginnings were inauspicious. When Alan Williams booked their first trip to Hamburg in August 1960, they were regarded by peers as the worst group in Liverpool. When they returned from their third visit in December 1962, they were the best. Six months later they were the best in the world.
 

Literally hundreds of millions of people around the world have listened to, and loved, the Beatles’ music. Their impact on musicians, writers, film-makers and ordinary people has been simply, enormous. With contributions by myriad of poets, young and old, including, Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy, Elaine Feinstein, Peter Finch, Adrian Henri, Philip Larkin, Lachlan Mackinnon, Roger McGough, Sheenagh Pugh, Jeremy Reed and Carol Rumens, this book is a response to the Beatles’ creativity and capacity to influence successive generations.
All royalties from the sale of this book are being donated to Claire House Children’s Hospice, serving those children and young people of Merseyside with complex medical needs since 1998. www.claire-house.org.uk

Black + White Photography magazine have named Living in Wales by magnum photographer David Hurn in the top 50 black and white photography books.
Living in Wales is an album of one hundred and one duotone portraits of people who, in the words of David Hurn ’have enriched my life and that of Wales.’ It is a roster of the famous and distinguished in the fields of science, business, the arts, sport, the law, health, media, politics and religion.

You can get a copy of Living in Wales for only £20* – for more details click here
Meet the Author
Thursday 7th February 2013, 7.30pm: First Thursday Literary Evening Newspaper Taxis: Poetry After the Beatles edited by Phil Bowen, Damian Furniss and David Woolley with poets reading from the book and musicians playing some famous Beatles tunes, with a backdrop powerpoint show of photographs of the Beatles in their heyday. £2.50 Media Point Room, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff.