Local Writers
We are lucky to have such energy and talent in our pool of local writers. Louise Kennedy is making a huge international impact with her short stories and then best selling novel Trespasses, but there are many others too! Anna Burns has won NI its first Booker Prize, for Milkman.
Pauline Burgess, Sheena Wilkinson and Kelly McCaughrain are inspiring our young writers with their teen/YA fiction, whilst Jan Carson, Michelle Gallen, Susannah Dickey, Rosemary Jenkins, Jamie Guiney, Olivia Rana and Bernie McGill are producing compelling short stories and fiction, to name but a few. Come in and browse or email for recommendations.
Thriller lovers are well catered for by Claire Allan, Sharon Dempsey and Steve Cavanagh, plus many others writing in the south of Ireland.
We also try to support debut writers and those just starting out on their publishing journey, by stocking their books in store - look out for Jim Simpson, Rosemary Mairs and others in store. Please email to ask for new writing recommendations.
And of course, the wonderful children and picture book writers, such as the by now legendary Oliver Jeffers ( yes, he's from Northern Ireland!), Barry Falls, Chris Haughton, Paddy Donnelly, Martin Waddell and other new and emerging authors and illustrators.
Dara McNulty and Kerri Ni Dochartaigh are bringing new insights to nature writing for young and old.
And politics ... always a fresh take, always someone with brains to consider how best to address this troubled corner of the world. Look to Glenn Paterson, Malachi O'Doherty, Eamonn Mallie and Susan McKay for insight and wisdom.
A New Dream, Nigel Tilson and William Cherry ( paperback)
£17.00
The story of Northern Ireland’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 journey
This is the ultimate underdog story: the story of a team who were resigned to operating in the backwaters of women’s international football before an inspirational figure instilled belief and passion in them. Players who had pulled on the green jersey year upon year, campaign after campaign, never dreamt they could reach the heights of appearing at a major tournament. That was until Kenny Shiels came along and sparked a new dream. He was a coach who had been there and done that in several countries, winning plenty of trophies along the way. Shiels had successfully managed a Northern Ireland international boys’ team in the past but he was keen to bring his know-how to the senior international stage. The veteran manager immediately set about reinvigorating the experienced players in the squad which he inherited - and introducing younger players who could step up to a higher level. He found a blend that worked. And he moulded a togetherness which players often describe as “one big family’. Flanked by his son Dean, goalkeeping coach Dwayne Nelson and a strong backroom team, he instilled a hunger and drive that led to a maiden appearance at a major tournament. Through words and the brilliant pictures of William Cherry this book charts, in chronological order, Northern Ireland’s incredible journey to UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 - often against the odds - and the part the senior women’s team played in the record-breaking tournament in Englan
A Year in the Woods, Paul Clements
£17.99
Montalto through the seasons: a lovely contemplation of woods, flora and fauna from Paul’s year spent on this Northern Irish estate.
After Dad, Claire Shiells (Paperback Sept 2022)
£9.99
A bittersweet love story exploring why good people sometimes do bad things... Millie Malone, a spirited, thirty-something journalist returns home to Northern Ireland after a life-changing decision leaves her London life in ruins. A family reunion soon unravels, opening old wounds and igniting new grievances regarding the murder of her father by the IRA decades earlier.Retreating to the family cottage in Donegal, Millie soon meets Finn McFall, a fisherman originally from west Belfast, who loves to paint and recite Irish poetry. In the new modern Ireland, Millie believes religion is no longer a barrier for love. But she soon finds home is a place still struggling with a fragile peace and simmering sectarianism.
As events unfold, Millie is forced to decide between love and loyalty, eventually having to ask herself the ultimate question: can love really conquer all?
Alone, Barry Falls ( paperback 4 Mar 2021)
£7.99
Barry Falls is a NI based illustrator who brings his wonderful art and comic understanding of reading aloud to this book, it is full of humour, rhyme and joy.
There once was a boy called Billy McGill who lived by himself at the top of a hill. He spent every day in his house all alone for Billy McGill liked to be on his own. But life doesn't always turn out how you plan it...
One day Billy hears the squeak of a mouse - destroying his perfectly peaceful existence. So he gets a cat to catch the mouse. But the cat and the mouse make friends.
So he gets a dog to chase the cat. But they all play together too. So then he gets a bear...
then a tiger... and on it goes, until Billy's house is so filled with characters that he has to move out. Will he find that he still craves peace and quiet, or is it actually quite lovely to have company and friends?The brilliant second book from Barry Falls is a laugh-out-loud tale of growing chaos, with a lovely message about how it's good to have friends.
Bad Bridget : Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick (paperback Jan 2024)
£10.99
Bad Bridget : Crime, Mayhem and the Lives of Irish Emigrant Women,
Ireland in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was not a good place to be a woman. Among the wave of emigrants from Ireland to North America were many, many young women who travelled on their own, hoping for a better life. Some lived lives of quiet industry and piety.
Others quickly found themselves in trouble - bad trouble, and on an astonishing scale. Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick, creators of the celebrated 'Bad Bridget' podcast, have unearthed a world in which Irish women actually outnumbered Irish men in prison, in which you could get locked up for 'stubbornness', and in which a serial killer called Lizzie Halliday was described by the New York Times as 'the worst woman on earth'. They reveal the social forces that bred this mayhem and dysfunction, through stories that are brilliantly strange, sometimes funny, and often moving.
From sex workers and thieves to kidnappers and killers, these Bridgets are young women who have gone from the frying pan of their impoverished homeland to the fire of vast North American cities. Bad Bridget is a masterpiece of social history and true crime, showing us a fascinating and previously unexplored world.
Before My Actual Heart Breaks,Tish Delaney (paperback Oct 2021)
£9.99
_'If I could go back to being sixteen again, I'd do things differently.''Everyone over the age of forty feels like that, you total gom,' says my best friend Lizzie Magee. When she was young Mary Rattigan wanted to fly. She was going to take off like an angel from heaven and leave the muck and madness of troubled Northern Ireland behind.Nothing but the Land of Happy Ever After would do for her. But as a Catholic girl with a B.I.T.C.H. for a Mammy and a silent Daddy, things did not go as she and Lizzie Magee had planned.
Now, five children, twenty-five years, an end to the bombs and bullets, enough whiskey to sink a ship and endless wakes and sandwich teas later, Mary's alone. She's learned plenty of hard lessons and missed a hundred steps towards the life she'd always hoped for. Will she finally find the courage to ask for the love she deserves? Or is it too late?'
. . A touching tale of how one woman survives a tough beginning to eventually end up exactly where her heart belongs.' ANNE GRIFFIN, author of When All is Said
BEGIN AGAIN, Oliver Jeffers
£20.00
A powerful, thoughtful and bold comment on humanity and its future from one of today's most thought-provoking artists. In his first picture book created specifically with a wider audience in mind, Oliver Jeffers shares a history of humanity and his dreams for its future. Where are we going? With his bold, exquisite artwork, Oliver Jeffers starts at the dawn of humankind following people on their journey from then until now, and then offers the reader a challenge: where do we go from here? How can we think about the future of the human race more than our individual lives? How can we save ourselves? How can we change our story? Illustrated in his instantly recognisable style, Oliver Jeffers's exploration of the state of the world today is insightful, moving and powerful.
A must-have for every forward-thinking person who wants the next generation to inherit a world to be proud of.
Being Various, New irish Short Stories ed. by Lucy Caldwell (paperback Oct 2020)
£10.99
Anthology of new writing from Ireland
Featuring brand new short stories from Kevin Barry, Eimear McBride, Belinda McKeon, Lisa McInerney, Danielle McLaughlin, Stuart Neville, Sally Rooney, Kit de Waal and many more. Ireland is going through a golden age of writing: that has never been more apparent.
Following her own acclaimed short-story collection, Multitudes, Lucy Caldwell guest-edits the sixth volume of Faber's long-running series of all new Irish short stories, continuing the work of the late David Marcus and subsequent guest editors, Joseph O'Connor, Kevin Barry and Deirdre Madden.
This is the new paperback edition.
Belfast Song, Mary Marken ( paperback August 2024)
£10.99
At the heart of Belfast Song are Nan Rose Murphy and Bridie Corr, childhood friends, who have been taken on as millies at a Belfast spinning mill when the story opens in 1911. They come of age against a tempestuous background of a city and a country seething with conflict – as workers struggle for a living wage, as women organise for the right to vote, and as nationalists and unionists prepare to fight each other over Irish independence from England. Then two shots in Sarajevo in 1914 spark a war across Europe and spin them, their families and their tight knit community off in directions they could never have imagined.
When those who survive the war return home, the women have to deal with the consequences of war on the men they love, and on themselves and their families. Nan Rose narrates the story up until January 1914. Then, other voices join in through letters from Sheffield and the French WW1front, in voices as individual as fingerprints. ( Written with a great ear for dialogue and local idiom, this looks great! Linda )
Big Girl Small Town, by Michelle Gallen ( paperback Feb 2021)
£9.99
Already shortlisted for a Women Comedy writing award, this has been described as Derry Girls meets Milkman. The unique blend of comedy and tragedy, with Michelle Gallen's 'Majella', is outrageous and honest.
Other people find Majella odd. She keeps herself to herself, she doesn't like gossip and she isn't interested in knowing her neighbours' business. But suddenly everyone in the small town in Northern Ireland where she grew up wants to know all about hers.
Since her da disappeared during the Troubles, Majella has tried to live a quiet life with her alcoholic mother. She works in the local chip shop (Monday-Saturday, Sunday off), wears the same clothes every day (overalls, too small), has the same dinner each night (fish and chips, nuked in the microwave) and binge watches Dallas (the best show ever aired on TV) from the safety of her single bed. She has no friends and no boyfriend and Majella thinks things are better that way.
But Majella's safe and predictable existence is shattered when her grandmother dies and as much as she wants things to go back to normal, Majella comes to realise that maybe there is more to life. And it might just be that from tragedy comes Majella's one chance at escape. 'It's a smasher' Kathy Burke
Breakdown, Cathy Sweeney ( paperback Feb25)
£9.99
Irish Tatler's Woman of the Year for Literature
AN Post Irish Book Awards's Best New Irish Writers
A novel about one woman's decision to leave everything behind 'Thrillingly relatable' Harper's Bazaar'This funny, thoughtful novel will resonate with lots of women' Good Housekeeping'You won't be able to put this down. A fascinating study of a woman who has sacrificed her dreams' The Gloss'A masterful account of one woman's dramatic rebellion against society's demands'Daily Express'A vivid portrait of a woman adrift' ObserverMothers are not supposed to go on road trips . .
. But one winter morning in Dublin, an ordinary woman wakes up in her ordinary home, her husband next to her in bed, her teenage children sleeping nearby. And - without thinking much about it - walks out the front door and never comes back.
So begins a journey which will take her into service stations and shopping centres, hotel bars and hairdressers - and the beds of strange men. Until finally, forty-eight hours later, alone in a cottage in Wales, the woman faces up to what she has been ignoring inside herself, her family, modern society: signs of breakdown.
But I Haven’t Said Goodbye: Belfast in poetry and images
£10.00
A new collaborative collection from photographer Richard Sloan and poet Geraldine Fitzgerald, to celebrate the city of Belfast in words and images.
Cacophony of Bone, Kerri Ni Dochartaigh (paperback Jan 2024)
£10.99
Two days after the Winter Solstice in 2019 Kerri and her partner M moved to a small, remote railway cottage in the heart of Ireland. They were looking for a home, somewhere to stay put. What followed was a year of many changes.The pandemic arrived and their isolated home became a place of enforced isolation. It was to be a year unlike any we had seen before. But the seasons still turned, the swallows came at their allotted time, the rhythms of the natural world went on unchecked.
For Kerri there was to be one more change, a longed-for but unhoped for change. Cacophony of Bone maps the circle of a year - a journey from one place to another, field notes of a life - from one winter to the next. It is a telling of a changed life, in a changed world - and it is about all that does not change.
All that which simply keeps on - living and breathing, nesting and dying - in spite of it all. When the pandemic came time seemed to shapeshift, so this is also a book about time. It is, too, a book about home, and what that can mean.
Fragmentary in subject and form, fluid of language, this is an ode to a year, a place, and a love, that changed a life.
Carl Frampton : My Autobiography ( paperback March 2024)
£14.99
Belfast’s Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton MBE is no ordinary boxer. One of only three fighters from the British Isles to be named the Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year, he has headlined multiple sell-out world championship bouts on both sides of the Atlantic, winning multiple world titles in the process. His dedicated army of fans have traversed the globe to be ringside throughout it all.
But Frampton’s popularity far exceeds the traditional adulation for a sporting icon; he is regarded as a symbol of hope and unity by both sides of the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland.
In this captivating autobiography, Frampton reveals the most personal aspects of being a fighter; of fears and doubts, of exhilaration and devastation, of friendship and animosity. He also recounts for the first time his high-profile, acrimonious split with Barry McGuigan, in devastating and revealing detail.
Frampton speaks openly and passionately, not only about boxing, but about his country, how far it has come and the problems it faces. This is a uniquely intimate account of a true modern-day sporting great and a local hero like no other.
Childhood Unlimited, Virginia Mendez ( Paperback, April 2022)
£12.99
In 2013, Disney released its most egalitarian film to date - but 59% of all the lines in Frozen are spoken by male characters. - 57% of children's books published annually have central male characters; just 31% have central female characters. Raising your child beyond the limitations placed on them by gender is, let's face it, an uphill battle.
If you don't know where to start, or how to start, you will find inspiration, insight and plenty of practical strategies in Childhood Unlimited. From navigating the gendered constructs that dominate children's films, television and media generally, to choosing appropriate and stimulating toys beyond the binary divide, this accessible and relatable book will make the whole process much less daunting. Based on interviews with, and research by, some of the best thought-leaders from the fields of psychology, neuroscience and education, the insights in this book will not only open the eyes of any parent or caregiver, they will inspire you to help your child to look at the world in a critical, creative and empowered way.
Free from the restraints of the stereotypes that surround gender, your child has the opportunity to reach their true potential - and this is the book that you need to launch them on that journey.
** recently launched right here in Books Paper Scissors, Virginia is an adopted Northern Irish author and a Spanish native **
Children’s Children, Jan Carson ( paperback Feb 2025)
£9.99
Read the debut short story collection from the multi-award-winning author of The Raptures, now updated with a new bonus story. '
A floating six-year-old tethered to the backyard fence; two siblings watching their parents argue inside a greenhouse; a human statue who’s lost the ability to move; a support group for the haunted: the characters in Children’s Children are all falling apart in their own peculiar ways. Told in Jan Carson’s distinctive voice, her debut short story collection contains absurdist, darkly humorous and heartbreaking stories which explore the concept of legacy, and the impact of one generation upon the next.
'These stories are pure magic, funny, sharp, heartbreaking, the short form at its absolute best. Jan Carson is a unique and very special writer, one of the greatest of the modern fabulists' DONAL RYAN, author of Heart, Be at Peace'Story after story glints with the strange, hard magic of the North . .
Close To Home, Michael Magee ( hardback April 2023 / paperback April 2024)
£14.99
He was supposed to leave and never come back. But Sean does come back. Arriving home after university, he finds Anthony's drinking is worse than ever.
Meanwhile the jobs in Belfast have vanished, Sean's degree isn't worth the paper it's written on and no one will give him the time of day. One night he loses control and assaults a stranger at a party, and everything is tipped into chaos. Close to Home witnesses the aftermath of that night, as Sean attempts to make sense of who he has become, and to reckon with the relationships that have shaped him, for better and worse.
Drawing from his own experiences, Michael Magee examines the forces which keep young working class men in harm's way, in a debut novel which shines with intelligence and humanity on every page. Close to Home is an extraordinary work of fiction about deciding what kind of a man you want to be and finding your place in the scarred city you call home.
Common Decency, Susannah Dickey ( paperback from end July 23)
£9.99
In an apartment building in Belfast, two young women's lives play out in parallel. Since her mother's death, Lily has withdrawn from the world, trapped between grief and anger. She has to break out of this damaging cycle - but how? Upstairs, Siobhan is consumed by her affair with a married man.Her days revolve around his sporadic texts and rare visits. She barely notices the strange girl who lives below and dawdles in the foyer. But Lily is keeping a close eye on her neighbour, whose life seems so much better and more fulfilling than her own.
When resentment evolves into something darker and more urgent, she decides to teach Siobhan a lesson... From the critically acclaimed author of Tennis Lessons comes a darkly powerful novel about two lives running closely in parallel but divided by gulfs of misunderstanding. With boundless wisdom and deep empathy, Dickey charts the anonymity and hidden intimacies of modern existence, and our profound human need to connect.
'Sharp as tacks, extremely funny and deeply moving. This novel is very good company.' JAN CARSONPRAISE FOR SUSANNAH DICKEY'I loved Tennis Lessons so much. Susannah is a phenomenally talented writer' ELIZABETH DAY'A raw, fierce, shockingly honest coming-of-age story' LOUISE O'NEILL'Incredibly funny .
Dare We Be Dragons? Barry Falls ( September 2022)
£7.99
A powerful and poetic imaginative adventure from the creator of Alone, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize! Who knows where we'll go... Or what we might see... What on earth will we find? Oh, what might we be? Welcome to a world where tree trunks become giants' legs, a playground swing becomes a space rocket, a grassy hill becomes a towering volcano...Even the most ordinary, everyday objects are gateways to wild and wonderful worlds in this joyful, rhyming adventure story - the perfect book to inspire imaginative play! From the creator Alone, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2022!
Don’t worry Little Crab, by Chris Haughton (paperback 2020)
£7.99
From the creator of A Bit Lost, Oh No, George!, Shh! We Have a Plan and Goodnight Everyone, comes a book about taking the time you need to overcome your fears. In the rockpool above the sea, live two crabs: Big Crab and Little Crab. Today, they're going for a dip in the sea."This is going to be so great!" says Little Crab. But then Little Crab catches a first glimpse of the water... Oh.
The waves! They're ENORMOUS. "Oh..." Will Little Crab be brave enough to go in?From the multi award-winning picture book maker of A Bit Lost, Oh No, George! and Shh! We Have a Plan comes a bold, beautiful picture book about working through anxiety and, with the support of a loved one, building up the courage to try something new.
Exile, Aimee Walsh - paperback March 2025
£9.99
Leaving home was hard. Returning is impossible. Fiadh's life is turned completely upside down on a night out in Belfast.
Pretty soon everyone has heard about what happened; it is impossible to keep the rumours from spreading, the gossip from spiralling out of control. And just as she was beginning to finally figure everything out: she was feeling positive about her move to Liverpool, she was starting to get on top of her uni work and had made some new friends. Now her life is in freefall and Fiadh is helpless to do anything about it.
She starts missing assignment deadlines, stops turning up to class and doesn't respond to any of her friends' messages. Her nights revolve around random hook ups, fuelled by drink and drugs. Without the tightknit group of friends she left behind at home or the support of the new friends she has made in Liverpool, Fiadh's life quickly descends into chaos, a chaos that nearly costs her everything.
Aimée holds a PhD in Irish Literature and Cultural History. Exile is her debut novel.
Eyewitness to War and Peace, Eamonn Mallie ( paperback Feb 2024)
£17.99
In this gripping memoir, Eamonn Mallie takes us on an extraordinary journey through his life as a journalist in Northern Ireland. From the frontlines of the Troubles to the corridors of power, Mallie’s fearless reporting and unrelenting pursuit of the truth have made him a legendary figure in Irish journalism. Having gained unparalleled access to key players, Mallie shares his reflections on his groundbreaking interviews with John Hume, Gerry Adams, Margaret Thatcher, Ian Paisley, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and a host of other influential figures involved in the peace process. From adrenaline-fuelled moments on the ground to frank conversations with political heavyweights, Eyewitness to War and Peace is a captivating read that sheds new light on the challenges and triumphs of navigating the world of journalism in a divided society. An unflinching testament to the power of investigative reporting and the enduring pursuit of peace, this is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Northern Ireland’s troubled past and its hopeful future.
Fairies Don’t Exist, by Michael O’Neill & Stephen Pierce
£6.99
This is a funny, delightful story about a long suffering Dad trying to sort his daughter out and get her to sleep ( so he can have some peace).
Super illustrations, and enough narrative to entertain the 3 - 5 year olds.
A great book. Locally produced!
Falling Animals, Sheila Armstrong ( Paperback from July 2024)
£14.99
'Lush, lyrical and cleverly-constructed. A beautiful book.' Louise Kennedy, author of Trespasses The disquieting story of an unidentified man as told by those who crossed paths with him on the last day of his life, Sheila Armstrong's debut novel is haunting, lyrical and darkly suspensefulOn an isolated beach set against a lonely, windswept coastline, a pale figure sits serenely against a sand dune staring out to sea. His hands are folded neatly in his lap, his ankles are crossed and there is a faint smile on his otherwise lifeless face.
Months later, after a fruitless investigation, the nameless stranger is buried in an unmarked grave. But the mystery of his life and death lingers on, drawing the nearby villagers into its wake. From strandings to shipwrecks, it is not the first time that strangeness has washed up on their shores.
Told through a chorus of voices, Falling Animals follows the crosshatching threads of lives both true and imagined, real and surreal, past and present. Slowly, over great time and distance, the story of one man, alone on a beach, begins to unravel. Elegiac and atmospheric, dark and disquieting, Sheila Armstrong's debut novel marks her arrival as one of the most uniquely gifted writers at work in literary fiction today.
Paperback from May 2024
First Term at Fernside, Sheena Wilkinson ( paperback Sept 2024)
£8.99
It’s a new term at Fernside boarding school, and Robin can’t wait for fun in the dorm, playing games and maybe even winning the coveted Form Shield. But for new girl Linnet, Robin’s younger cousin, there are just too many new faces and strict rules. Luckily, she has Robin for help and her very own hideaway.
And when the adorable puppy Rudy disappears, it is Linnet who is determined to find him. Even if it means dragging Robin and all her new friends headfirst into danger. There may be daring rescues, secret missions and adventures galore, but best of all are the true friendships to be made at Fernside.
Flying Tips for Flightless Birds, by Kelly McCaughrain (paperback)
£7.99
Twins Finch and Birdie Franconi are stars of the flying trapeze. But when Birdie suffers a terrifying accident, Finch must team up with the geeky new kid, Hector Hazzard, to form an all-boys double act and save the family circus school.
Recently shortlisted for the Great Reads Award, this debut YA novel is funny, warm hearted and encouraging for anyone who feels they just don’t fit ‘the mould’.
Flyntlock Bones 2 : The Eye of Mogrod, Derek Keilty (March 21, pb)
£7.99
A priceless golden chalice has been stolen from Fergus McSwaggers, fearsome chief of the squelchy Bog Islands ... and he wants it back! Can Flynn and the crew of the Black Hound solve their most dangerous case yet, battling deadly ice pirates, outsmarting squabbling clans, and facing the scariest beast of all the Seven Seas, the monstrous, cat-like Mogdrod?
All books in the series available below. Ideal for building reading confidence and vocabulary.
For kids 5 - 9
Fox and Son,Tailers, Paddy Donnelly ( paperback 2023)
£8.99
FOX & SONS - Makers of the Finest Traditional Tails for All Animals and Every Occasion!Rory’s dad, Fox, is a tailer. The BEST in the business! Animals come from all over to have their tails made by him. Rory helps his dad in the shop and one of his jobs is measuring the customers for the tails - which isn't always easy!But Rory is bored of making the same old tails.
He has his own amazing ideas ... ‘A beautiful story with a heart-warming ending ... and with foxes! I love it.’ - Chris Haughton
Ghost Wedding, David Park ( hardback May 2025)
£16.99
For fans of Sebastian Faulks, Donal Ryan and Anne Tyler comes this beautiful novel following two troubled men, separated by nearly a century, bound by the ghosts of their past.
When George Allenby is put in charge of building a lake in the grounds of an imposing Irish manor house, he intends to do the job as swiftly as possible and return to Belfast. Allenby is still wrestling with his time as an officer during the First World War, burdened by the many things he could have done differently. Almost a century later, Alex and Ellie are preparing for their wedding, sparing no expense to hire a venue overlooking the very lake Allenby built all those years ago.
Like Allenby before him, Alex is haunted by decisions he made in the past. Now, with the wedding drawing ever closer, he is at a crossroads. Telling the truth might free him from his guilt; it might also take away everything he cares about, including Ellie.
In this masterful portrait of love and betrayal, David Park reveals the many ways the past seeps into the present: destructive, formidable, but also hopeful, in the moments of fragile beauty that remain.
Grapefruit Moon, Shirley McMillan ( paperback August 2023)
£8.99
Wealthy, popular Charlotte and quiet, working class Drew couldn't be more different, but both face a common enemy at Cooke's Academy in the form of the Stewards - an elite group of students whose power to manipulate school culture is feared by pupils and teachers alike. Drew, a newcomer to Cooke's, must navigate the strict codes of masculinity laid down by the Stewards in order to have a hope of moving on to university, while Charlotte dreams of speaking freely about the constraints and abuses of the culture which is propelling her towards a life she's not sure she wants. Through drag art and poetry the unlikely pair follow a dangerous trajectory which will lead them closer to one another and further away from the paths laid out for them.
SMcM is brilliant at talking the language of the 15+, not patronising or didactic, she really 'gets' the age group and her stories are gripping. Not just for the teens either! L
Highland Boundary Fault, Emma McKervey ( paperback May 2024)
£12.99
Highland Boundary Fault is a daring and immersive odyssey that draws the reader into a mesmerising medley of myth, history, art, and a love story that travels from the Outer Hebrides to the Scottish mainland. The wild landscapes of the Highlands, the shipyards of Greenock on the Clyde estuary, the ancient worlds of story, are peopled by a cast of characters who are both archetypes, and flesh and blood, fantastical and familiar, their endeavours and struggles awakening our deepest memories and longings.
Home Birds: Days Out Getting to Know the Birds of Northern Ireland, Anne Marie McAleese
£12.99
When Anne Marie McAleese invited birding expert Dot Blakely on to her radio show, Your Place and Mine, she had no idea that it would mark the beginning of an enduring friendship and a life-changing birding odyssey. For the next two decades, the pair travelled all over Northern Ireland, exploring the wonderful world of birds and the glorious and varied landscapes they inhabit.
In Homebirds, Anne Marie and Dot tell the inspiring and often funny story of their adventures. In all weathers, they make their way around parks and loughs, up hills and along coastlines, through villages and towns, meeting a cast of oystercatchers, blackcaps, fulmars, pied wagtails, buzzards, blue tits, herons, brent geese and many more.
Illustrated with more than 100 images, Homebirds is packed with information on how to identify birds and attract them to your garden, and includes fascinating facts about the places visited. Above all, Homebirds is a celebration of the wonders of nature on our doorstep and a call for us all to get out and enjoy them.
How to Build a Boat, Elaine Feeney ( paperback April 2024)
£16.99
A gorgeous gift of a novel, hopeful and full of humanity'- Douglas Stuart, Booker-Prize winning author of SHUGGIE BAIN
Jamie O'Neill loves the colour red. He also loves tall trees, patterns, rain that comes with wind, the curvature of many objects, books with dust jackets, cats, rivers and Edgar Allan Poe. At age 13 there are two things he especially wants in life: to build a Perpetual Motion Machine, and to connect with his mother Noelle, who died when he was born.
In his mind these things are intimately linked. And at his new school, where all else is disorientating and overwhelming, he finds two people who might just be able to help him. How to Build a Boat is the story of how one boy and his mission transforms the lives of his teachers, Tess and Tadhg, and brings together a community.
Written with tenderness and verve, it's about love, family and connection, the power of imagination, and how our greatest adventures never happen alone
How to Fix Northern Ireland, Malachi O'Doherty ( large paperback April 2023)
£16.99
A highly topical and original investigation into the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland, published to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement.
Yet, in this controversial and provocative new book, Malachi O'Doherty argues that it completely ignored the real reason behind the conflict and instead left a wound at the core of society.
Part memoir, part history and part polemic, How to Fix Northern Ireland shows how the country's deep division is simply not about whether it should be governed as part of Ireland or as part of Britain - as presumed by the agreement - but rather is fundamentally sectarian, an inter-ethnic stress comparable to racism. O'Doherty reveals how the split between catholics and protestants continues to invade everyday life - from education and segregated housing, from street protests, bonfires and parades to the high politics of power sharing and Brexit - and asks what can be done to solve a centuries-old social rift and heal the relationship at the heart of the problem.
In the Dark, Claire Allan ( paperback July 2023)
£8.99
My name is Nora Logue. You've probably heard of me - most people have. I am the mother of Daisy Logue.Seven years ago, I took her for a walk in the woods. Only I came out. I have no memory of what happened that day.
I have tried to rebuild my life. Met a man, had another child - Luca. But I can't let go of Daisy, or give up hope of seeing her again.
And now, I have the chance to find out what happened to her. But what if pursuing the truth about my daughter risks my son's life? A whiplash-inducing, unputdownable crime thriller from the author of The Nurse, perfect for fans of CLARE MACKINTOSH and LISA JEWELL.
It's Your World Now, Barry Falls ( paperback, 2019)
£7.99
So go and play and live and learn. It's your world now, this is your turn to think and ask and make and do. The world is magic, just like you!' A beautiful, moving and funny celebration of life that highlights the potential of each and every child.This is the perfect book to read out loud - helping children to appreciate the wonderful things that exist in the world, and the great things that they can do. It also allows them to understand some of the setbacks that may occur along the way. And the overall message is that whatever happens, you will always be loved by those closest to you.
Barry Falls' illustrations burst from the page with exuberant detail while his rhyming text is a delight to read. This is a gorgeous, funny and thought-provoking celebration of where you might go and what you might do in life, a message from a dad to his daughter.
Ivy Newt and the Storm Witch, Derek Kielty ( paperback March 2023)
£7.99
A new, highly illustrated chapter book series for ages 5-7 featuring Ivy, an unstoppable and lovable young witch, and her friend and familiar Tom. Ivy's parents, the King and Queen of the Sand Witches, have prepared her a show-stopping birthday present - a magic act where they disappear! But hold on, they really have disappeared! Foul work is at play, and to rescue Ivy's parents, she and Tom must travel all over Miracula on broomsticks and flying carpets, making friends along the way, and pulling together to defeat Clawdelia Thorn, evil Queen of Grotland.
Jan Morris : life from both sides, Biography- by Paul Clements
£25.00
The first full account of a truly remarkable life. When Jan Morris passed away in 2020, she was considered one of Britain's best-loved writers. The author of Venice, Pax Britannica, Conundrum, and more than fifty other books, her work was known for its observational genius, lyricism, and humour, and had earned her a passionate readership around the world.
Morris's life was no less fascinating than her oeuvre. Born in 1926, she spent her childhood amidst Oxford's Gothic beauty and later participated in military service in Italy and the Middle East, before embarking on a career as an internationally feted foreign correspondent. From being the only journalist to join the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953 to covering the trial of Adolf Eichmann, Morris's reportage spanned many of the twentieth century's defining moments.
Paperback now available- see below
However, public success masked a private dilemma that was only resolved when she transitioned genders in the late sixties, becoming renowned as a transgender pioneer. She went on to live happily with her wife Elizabeth in Wales for another five decades, and never stopped writing and publishing. Here, for the first time, the many strands of Morris's rich and at times paradoxical life are brought together.
Based on a wealth of interviews, archival material, and hitherto unpublished documents, Jan Morris: life from both sides portrays a person of extraordinary talent, curiosity, and joie de vivre.
Written by Northern Ireland's own Paul Clements ( Shannon Country, Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way)
Kill for Me Kill for You, Steve Cavanagh (paperback April 2024)
£9.99
One dark evening in New York City, two strangers meet by chance.Over drinks, Amanda and Wendy realise they have so much in common. They both feel alone. They both drink alone.
And they both desperately want revenge against the two men who destroyed their families. Together, they have the perfect plan. If you kill for me, I'll kill for you...
'Steve Cavanagh's twists hit you between the eyes. You never seem them coming' ANTONY HOROWITZ'This guy is the real deal. Trust me' LEE CHILD'Steve Cavanagh writes the best hooks in the business' MICK HERRON'Steve Cavanagh is one of my very favourite authors, but even by his high standards this is an extraordinary book.
