by Bethia Wyborn | Jun 2, 2023 | Identity, longer reads
When you think of JK Rowling, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Wizards? Broomsticks? Transphobia? For some, casual racism might not be their first thought, but many believe it is present in The Harry Potter series. From stereotypes such as putting the only...
by Maddy Burgess | Jun 2, 2023 | longer reads, Planet
Ahead of the Women’s Prize for Fiction winner being announced in two weeks, BLOT sat down with Laline Paull, author of shortlisted book POD to talk about fighting the environmental crisis through fiction. If Laline Paull had to describe her Women’s Prize shortlisted...
by Shruthi Selvarajan | Jun 1, 2023 | Library, longer reads
Award-winning author of If I Stay, Gayle Forman, delves into the societal pressures of motherhood, mental health and the importance of found family. Gayle sits in her sunny backyard in New York City as she chats to me. Her dog, Rudy, is running around but not daring...
by Yasmin Wakefield | Jun 1, 2023 | longer reads, Mind
Depression lies at the centre of some of the world’s most loved novels, from The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath to Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, readers can delve into the inner workings of someone else’s mind, or be hit with the realisation...
by Shruthi Selvarajan | May 31, 2023 | Identity, longer reads
Based in 17th century France, One For All tells the story of a chronically ill musketeer – Tania de Batz, a young girl fighting a battle that has more to do with the condescending world rather than her illness itself. Chronic illness representation in fiction...
by Arthur Barratt | May 31, 2023 | longer reads, Society
Social worker by day, writer by night, Luna McNamara is the author of Psyche and Eros, a feminist retelling of the Greek myth of the same name. The book was subject to a four-way bidding war for publishing rights in the U.S., and has received translation deals in 11...
