Isabel Costello

LATEST ARTICLES ( 428 )

• Sofa Spotlight – Spring 2017

  

  This is only the second of my quarterly selections and already things have gone awry – I’ve discovered more excellent novels recently than I strictly ‘need’! Read more

  Posted on 22 February 2017 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Paris Mon Amour to Be Released in Paperback Under New Literary Sofa Imprint

  

  As hinted here more than once – remember my new year ‘making things happen’ mantra? – I have some pretty big news! It’s already gone live to Bookbrunch... Read more

  Posted on 07 February 2017 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Writers on Location – Claire Fuller on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset

  

  Today’s guest Claire Fuller has visited me before on the Literary Sofa and it’s lovely to have her back. When I read her debut novel Our Endless Numbered Days... Read more

  Posted on 31 January 2017 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Essie Fox on Capturing the Passage of Time

  

  It’s been a slow start to the year on the blog because I’ve been incredibly busy with work – but it’s always a treat to return to ‘Sofa business’, especially... Read more

  Posted on 25 January 2017 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Two Weeks in the Western Cape, South Africa

  

  It’s two years since I last wrote a travel piece that’s not book related, and since real life kicked in immediately following our Christmas trip, it’s taken a... Read more

  Posted on 17 January 2017 BOOKS, CULTURE

• To 2017 and Making Things Happen

  

  This is just a quick post to wish you all a very happy new year. I’ve returned invigorated from a glorious two-week burst of summer in South Africa – lots to sa... Read more

  Posted on 04 January 2017 BOOKS, CULTURE

• 2016 – My Year in Books

  

  Since the sole focus of today’s post is my literary year, it will be a rare positive verdict on 2016. Obviously it has been significant for me as the year my... Read more

  Posted on 12 December 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• 2016 – My Year in Books

  

  Since the sole focus of today’s post is my literary year, it will be a rare positive verdict on 2016. Obviously it has been significant for me as the year my... Read more

  Posted on 12 December 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Wytske Versteeg on Writing About Motherhood

  

  Today’s guest and her novel represent things I believe in and want to support on the Literary Sofa. Wytske Versteeg is a Dutch author, whose third novel The... Read more

  Posted on 07 December 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Good Sex Night at Waterstones Gower Street

  

  When I sit down to write a sex scene – and there is certainly no shortage of them in my debut novel Paris Mon Amour – I don’t think about it. I get the... Read more

  Posted on 03 December 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Saleem Haddad on Shelving the ‘Gay Novel’

  

  Some of the best books I’ve ever read could be designated ‘gay novels’ and yet it’s a term that raises a lot of questions and one I hesitate to use. Read more

  Posted on 30 November 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Writers on Location – Fiona Melrose on Suffolk

  

  Thanks to everyone for the enthusiastic response to my first quarterly Sofa Spotlight last week. It’s always gratifying to hear my selections described as... Read more

  Posted on 23 November 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Sofa Spotlight – Winter 2016

  

  It’s an exciting day on the Literary Sofa as I launch my new quarterly ‘Sofa Spotlight’ for Winter 2016. As mentioned when the blog reached its fifth... Read more

  Posted on 16 November 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Finding the Words

  

  ‘There are no words.’‘Speechless.’‘Unspeakable.’How often have you said, read or heard one of the above this year?  They seem to encapsulate everything 2016 wil... Read more

  Posted on 11 November 2016 CULTURE

• Guest Post – Alison Layland on Literary Translation

  

  Considering my passion for foreign languages and fiction, I can’t believe it’s taken over five years to invite a literary translator onto the Sofa. Read more

  Posted on 02 November 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Autumn in Paris

  

  I’ve recently returned from a typically intense five days in Paris, where I was not so much planning my next novel as wandering around waiting for the elements... Read more

  Posted on 25 October 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Writers on Location – James Terry on the Ghost Town of Shakespeare, New Mexico

  

  If you’re a keen reader of fiction it’s inevitable to find that certain themes crop up again and again and we all have our favourites. Read more

  Posted on 13 October 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Debi Alper on the Many Routes to Publication

  

  One of the best parts about running the Literary Sofa over the last five years has been getting to know my guest authors. Some I knew already, most of them I... Read more

  Posted on 05 October 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Jane Lythell on Creating a Character Who Feels Like a Real Person

  

  As some of you will know, especially if you’ve read the pieces I’ve written since my novel Paris Mon Amour came out this summer, I have a passionate interest... Read more

  Posted on 28 September 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Writers on Location – Rod Reynolds on Hot Springs, Arkansas

  

  Considering that crime fiction isn’t my area, it holds a lot of positive associations. It was five years ago in London, on a Faber Crime Writing weekend (don’t... Read more

  Posted on 24 September 2016 BOOKS, CULTURE