Isabel Costello

LATEST ARTICLES ( 428 )

• Book Review – Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill

  

  I was supposed to be working this morning but realised my time would better spent telling you about Jenny Offill’s second book Dept. of Speculation. Read more

  Posted on 02 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Writers on Location – Jason Hewitt on Arctic Norway

  

  I’m really thrilled that the Writers on Location series is proving so popular. Every author’s relationship with place is different and makes for such an... Read more

  Posted on 27 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Writers on Location – Stephen May on San Francisco

  

  After the fantastic response to Naomi Wood’s Hemingway’s Havana, the inaugural post in the WRITERS ON LOCATION series, today I am delighted to welcome Stephen... Read more

  Posted on 20 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Post – Karen Joy Fowler on Animals

  

  It’s with great pleasure that I welcome New York Times bestselling author Karen Joy Fowler to the Literary Sofa today. Karen and I met briefly at an event late... Read more

  Posted on 12 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Book Review – Zenith Hotel by Oscar Coop-Phane

  

  As I mentioned last week, things on the Literary Sofa are currently all over the place with lots of guest posts in the pipeline and as it turns out this week,... Read more

  Posted on 06 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Why Paris?

  

  This half-term I spent five spring days in Paris with my two sons, 16 and 11, partly for fun and partly to start researching my second novel. Read more

  Posted on 22 February 2014 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS, TRAVEL

• Writers on Location – Naomi Wood on Hemingway’s Havana

  

  *MRS HEMINGWAY GIVEAWAY – 3 COPIES TO BE WON – SEE END OF POST FOR ENTRY DETAILS*I’m very excited to be introducing a new regular slot on the Literary Sofa:... Read more

  Posted on 12 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• A Novel View of Robert McKee’s STORY – Substance, Structure, Style and the...

  

  Robert McKee is a world-renowned lecturer in screenwriting, best known for the four day Story Seminar he developed whilst a professor at the University of... Read more

  Posted on 06 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Writing Process – My Interview on Ruth Hunt’s Blog

  As promised, for those not on Twitter or who missed it there (easily done!) here’s the link to an interview I’ve just done for Ruth Hunt’s series on The... Read more

  Posted on 03 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Post – Zoe Pilger and Hannah Westland on Their Editorial Working...

  

  It’s often said that it’s not enough to write a good book any more and I really believe that an author who’s willing and able to engage with their audience,... Read more

  Posted on 29 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Likeable Characters Debate – Apple Tree Yard & The Woman Upstairs

  

  As I sat down to write about likeable and unlikeable characters in fiction I wondered why it had taken me so long to get to what is practically my pet subject. Read more

  Posted on 22 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Book Review – Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas

  

  This article contains strong language.I think it would be reasonable to describe The Slap, the controversial global bestseller by Greek-Australian Christos... Read more

  Posted on 15 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• My First Five Years as a Writer

  

  It’s five years to the day since I started writing fiction (for someone so terrible with numbers, I am surprisingly good with dates). By that I mean actually... Read more

  Posted on 04 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Fiction Hot Picks 2014

  

  No matter what happens, I never stop reading so despite an exceptionally busy few months I am very excited to unveil my Fiction Hot Picks 2014. Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Janet O’Kane on Self-Publishing Her Crime Debut

  

  In a difficult market more and more writers are deciding to self-publish their fiction and one of the challenges they face is attracting a readership when many... Read more

  Posted on 13 December 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Story Behind Stories for Homes – an Anthology in Aid of Shelter

  

  You could say this post is a promoblog, or a literad. Whatever it is, featuring a title with the express aim of encouraging people to buy it is not something... Read more

  Posted on 07 December 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• 2013 – My Year in Books

  

  Although it always seems weird that people start talking about their books of the year before December has even begun – the newspapers were already at it last... Read more

  Posted on 28 November 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• 6⅔ Things I Learnt from Rewriting My Book

  

  It now starts here, in Colorado.Last week it was a real pleasure to be asked to write a guest post for Writers’ Workshop on the much hoped-for outcome of my... Read more

  Posted on 20 November 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Book Review – The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

  

  It’s daunting to attempt to do justice to Donna Tartt’s 784 page novel The Goldfinch in a mere thousand or so words. Last night I was part of a large audience... Read more

  Posted on 13 November 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Joy and (mostly) Horror of Houseguests

  

  Last week we had a family of French friends staying with us, which led me to reflect on the subject of houseguests. This time we were exchanging bisous by the... Read more

  Posted on 06 November 2013 COMMUNITY, HOME, LIFESTYLE, RANTS N' RAVES, SELF EXPRESSION