by Maddy Burgess | Jun 2, 2023 | Identity
Ahead of the Women’s Prize for Fiction being announced in two weeks, BLOT sat down with Jacqueline Crooks, author of shortlisted book Fire Rush. Quickfire with: Jacqueline Crooks, author of Women’s Prize nominated, Fire RushIdentity In Fire Rush, Yamaye lives...
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 Yasmin Wakefield | Jun 2, 2023 | Mind
Many people turn to fiction to read about the things they are going through. Whether it’s their sexuality, their relationship, or their mental health, books can prove to be a valuable mirror for what’s going on in the real world, and our own lives. BLOT spoke to Dr...
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 Yasmin Wakefield | Jun 2, 2023 | Society
When Lynsey Pollard became a mother ten years ago, she realised it wasn’t just single mothers who were lacking representation in children’s books – the issue extended to race, disability, family set-ups, gender, culture, class and basically anything that fell...
by Liseli Thomas | Jun 2, 2023 | Library
Liseli, from the BLOT team, sat down with author Garry Kilworth to uncover the journey of his impressive career. We’ll get to the novelisation of Highlander, to the crazy adventures that came with travelling across the world from the age of 15 to spending 19 years in...
by Sophie Olejnik | Jun 1, 2023 | Mind, ReadForYourMind Campaign
To close our #ReadForYourMind campaign, we spoke to spiritual teacher Katie Queue about the benefits of mindfulness and how reading can support your mental health. What is mindfulness? Katie, who has been voted as a ‘Top Advisor’ by some of the world’s most...
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 Liseli Thomas | Jun 1, 2023 | Library
BLOT sat down with Garry Kilworth, author of the novelised Highlander to find out all we could about his impressive career. You can read the full interview with Garry if you subscribe to our June newsletter – BLOT Bookmarked! Q1. What’s one interesting fact...
by Sophie Olejnik | Jun 1, 2023 | Identity
June marks the start of Pride Month – the perfect opportunity to celebrate all the incredible contributions from the LGBTQ+ community. Diverse representation matters in every industry, and LGBTQ+ authors bring a bright and necessary light to the bookshelves of...
