Isabel Costello
Writer represented by Diana Beaumont of the Rupert Heath Literary Agency in London. Visit my Literary Sofa blog at www.isabelcostelloliterarysofa.com for listings and in-depth reviews of the best new titles in literary and upmarket commercial fiction and features on both reading and writing.
MY BLOGS
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Isabel Costello: On the Literary Sofa
http://isabelcostelloliterarysofa.com/
Listings and in-depth reviews of the best new titles in literary and commercial fiction and features on choosing books, reading groups and lots more.
LATEST ARTICLES ( 428 )
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Guest Author – Benjamin Johncock – Q&A on The Last Pilot
There are a couple of unusual things about today’s post. One is the profound effect Benjamin Johncock’s novel The Last Pilot has had on me. Read more
Posted on 09 July 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Guest Author – Jon Teckman on Being Published but Unagented (via Open...
I said there would be no post this week but as the Literary Sofa is currently ‘having a moment’ I’ve decided to try and fit in as much as possible before I... Read more
Posted on 01 July 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Guest Author – Antonia Honeywell: Agented and Unpublished
Firstly, thank you for the extraordinary response to Nikesh Shukla’s brilliant post on the subject of diversity in fiction last week and for the many... Read more
Posted on 24 June 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Guest Post – True Diversity in Fiction – a Provocation from Nikesh Shukla
Many posts have sparked lively debate on the Literary Sofa, but today is the first time I have knowingly provided a platform for a ‘provocation’ ! Read more
Posted on 18 June 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Guest Author – Jami Attenberg on Playing with Form
Books come through my letterbox almost every day, an intriguing mix of the eagerly awaited, surprise discoveries and (occasionally) things so far off my radar... Read more
Posted on 11 June 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Summer Reads 2015
*SEE END OF POST FOR COMPETITION TO WIN YOUR CHOSEN TITLE*Welcome to SUMMER READS 2015, the 12th Literary Sofa listing of recommended new and recent titles. It’... Read more
Posted on 20 May 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Interview for the Booktrail: Languages, Travel and Foreign Fiction
Following our real life meeting at a launch last summer, Susan, who runs the excellent Booktrail blog, recently invited me for a virtual ‘coffee and cake‘ and... Read more
Posted on 19 May 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Guest Post – Voula Grand on The Next GONE GIRL (The Spells Stories Cast – Or...
Today I’m joined by a friend, the author and psychologist Voula Grand. Voula and I met soon after I joined Twitter and started the Literary Sofa blog. Read more
Posted on 09 May 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Guest Author – Danny Scheinmann on Crowd-funding His Second Novel
Welcome to today’s guest Danny Scheinmann, author of international bestseller Random Acts of Heroic Love, a book I really enjoyed a few years back. Read more
Posted on 02 May 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
My Writing Room
In case any of my followers who aren’t on social media are interested, this week I had the pleasure of being Avril Joy’s guest in her Writers’ Rooms series and... Read more
Posted on 30 April 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Guest Author – Paul McVeigh on Writing a Difficult Setting
It is a huge personal thrill to have Paul McVeigh visit the Literary Sofa. There’s a reason I’ll never forget the night Paul first crossed my radar in 2012. Read more
Posted on 16 April 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Writers on Location – Christopher Bollen on Long Island
I’m sure you know the immense satisfaction that comes from thinking a book sounds right up your street and finding that is indeed the case. Read more
Posted on 09 April 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Writers on Location – Jill Alexander Essbaum on Zürich
Hausfrau is the first novel by acclaimed American poet Jill Alexander Essbaum and I was fortunate enough to read it six months ago, knowing only that its UK... Read more
Posted on 03 April 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Guest Author – Patrick Gale on Writing A Place Called Winter
It is a huge pleasure to welcome prolific bestselling author Patrick Gale to the Literary Sofa today. Patrick’s long and successful literary career had an... Read more
Posted on 26 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Writers on Location – Eve Makis on Cyprus
These days e-mails and text messages frequently appear in novels but there’s nothing like an old-fashioned hand-written letter and I am drawn to books with any... Read more
Posted on 19 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Writers on Location – Melanie Finn on Tanzania
The list of places which have featured in Writers on Location is varied – Cuba, Arctic Norway, Mallorca, Las Vegas, to name but a few – but it is also pleasingl... Read more
Posted on 12 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Book Review – Soumission (Submission) by Michel Houellebecq
Reviewing a novel not yet available in English isn’t something I would normally do but the intense energy surrounding Michel Houellebecq’s Soumission... Read more
Posted on 06 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Paris Before and After
One morning last week I found myself on the Eurostar to Paris with a strong cup of coffee, reading a book about Baudelaire, one of my literary heroes... Read more
Posted on 04 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Guest Author – Claire Fuller on Giving Your Characters a Hard Time
As I prefer to open a book knowing the bare minimum about it (yes, that is weird coming from someone who constantly recommends books but at least I don’t do... Read more
Posted on 24 February 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Guest Author – Alex Christofi on Writing the Shard
Since starting the Literary Sofa blog in 2011, I read far more new fiction than I used to. And despite the endless stream of fantastic novels which find their... Read more
Posted on 18 February 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE