Isabel Costello

LATEST ARTICLES ( 368 )

• Back on the Sofa

  

  This is just a quick hello and update as you haven’t heard from me in a while and it’s lovely that the blog is still getting readers and new followers despite m... Read more

  Posted on 26 May 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Anna Vaught on How a Chance Sighting of a Photograph Led to a...

  

  One way and another it’s taking longer than expected to complete the Spring Spotlight guest season but as you’re about to see, it’s worth the wait. Read more

  Posted on 06 May 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Nicola White on Writing the 1980s

  

  Hello! I hope you are staying safe and finding ways to cope with the exceptionally challenging situation we are all living through. Read more

  Posted on 22 April 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Writers on Location – Felicia Nay on Hong Kong

  

  It’s really heartening to see the Spring Spotlight guest author series get a good reception, especially at a time when those with new books coming out need all... Read more

  Posted on 02 April 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Hannah Persaud on Writing About an Unconventional Marriage

  

  The Spring Sofa Spotlight guest programme got off to a great start last week with Eleni Kyriacou’s atmospheric Writers on Location on 1950s Soho – thanks to... Read more

  Posted on 25 March 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Writers on Location – Eleni Kyriacou on 1950s West End, London

  

  When I released the Spring Sofa Spotlight last week, commenting that books can bring comfort and refuge in troubled times, I had no idea how much worse things... Read more

  Posted on 19 March 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Spring 2020 Sofa Spotlight

  

  Books can provide comfort and refuge in uncertain and anxious times, (even if the themes aren’t particularly escapist), which makes this a good moment to be... Read more

  Posted on 11 March 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Too Much Information: Blurbs, Reviews and Spoilers

  

  As I mentioned at the start of the year, I’m taking a relaxed approach to the blog in the run-up to my Spring Spotlight on 11 March. Read more

  Posted on 05 February 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Two Books About Three Women

  

  One of the scariest things about writing is realising that you have no say over how anyone interprets or receives your work – the reader encounters any narrativ... Read more

  Posted on 28 January 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• My Books of 2019 – Non-fiction

  

  I’m a bit behind in posting the second part of my Books of 2019 (Non-fiction) but I’m sure you’ll let me off – it was a considerably happier than usual first... Read more

  Posted on 15 January 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Publication News – SCENT, Spring 2021

  

  For those who haven’t heard, I’m thrilled to return to the Sofa with the news that my second novel Scent will be released by independent publisher Muswell... Read more

  Posted on 10 January 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• My Books of 2019 – Fiction

  

  Picking my books of the year is an exercise I love but it’s also a slightly weird one when I spend all year recommending titles I’ve really rated and enjoyed... Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2019 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Writers on Location – Dominic Brownlow on The Fens

  

  This week I am very excited to be hosting Dominic Brownlow and his outstanding literary debut The Naseby Horses, set in his native Fenland in eastern England. Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2019 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Writers on Location – Helen Young on Bogotá, Colombia

  

  In the first half of this year I hosted fewer Writers on Location posts than usual but we’re making up for that now with Linda Mannheim’s American “Happy Valley... Read more

  Posted on 19 November 2019 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Writers on Location – Linda Mannheim on Western Massachusetts: ‘The Happy Valley’

  

  Following the very welcome enthusiastic reception for my Autumn Sofa Spotlight last week, today I’m delighted to be hosting one of the authors included there –... Read more

  Posted on 12 November 2019 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Autumn Sofa Spotlight 2019

  

  It’s hard to know how to introduce this year’s Autumn Sofa Spotlight, though that’s no reflection on the six fantastic books included. Read more

  Posted on 05 November 2019 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Books People Love 2019

  

  Normally I’m the one recommending books here but once a year we switch roles. The latest Literary Lunch competition attracted a record number of entries and... Read more

  Posted on 15 October 2019 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Notebook, the Craft and the Long Hard Graft

  

  Firstly, thanks so much to everyone who entered the Literary Lunch competition and a big welcome to new subscribers. The number of entries topped all previous... Read more

  Posted on 09 October 2019 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Literary Lunch Competition 2019

  

  WHAT’S THE BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ THIS YEAR?*COMPETITION CLOSES MONDAY 7 OCTOBER 6PM UK TIME – SEE END OF POST FOR HOW TO ENTER*Every autumn I run this... Read more

  Posted on 03 October 2019 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – K M Elkes on Flash Fiction

  

  This is not only the first guest post of the autumn season, it’s also the first time flash fiction has appeared on the Literary Sofa. Read more

  Posted on 25 September 2019 BOOKS, CULTURE