A great way to spend the fisrt day of October.
The publishing company Seren is 30 years old! They boldly decided to have a street party. Luck was with them and the weather was glorious. I had the good luck to be very warmly welcomed by the constituency MP. She approached from behind and clutched me in an slightly impassioned embrace. Thank you very much Madelaine. I will vist Bridgend again.
I havee a soft spot for Seren because they published my fisrt book in 1997. This was described as a good old fashioned street party. There was birthday cake and soft drink for everyone and a lucky dip. Poets Robert Minhinnick (above) and Mike Jenkins hosted the Open Mic.
There were very impressive readings of evocative prose and inspiring poetry.
Congratulations to Patrick McGuinness who made the Booker Prize longlist. , The rights to The Last Hundred Days have now been sold to Bloomsbury in America, and translation enquiries have flooded in. Patrick has also been invited to speak at the European Parliament.
The Last Hundred Days reviews:
"The opening chapter is superb. McGuinness is an accomplished poet and writes with superb clarity. The novel is littered with aperçus that have the reader reaching for a pencil." The Independent
"...the sardonic crispness and evocative power of its language distinguishes it from the run of contemporary fiction." Sean O'Brien, TLS
"The descriptions are moments of total stillness in the book, and it's spellbinding" We Love This Book Magazine
"an assured performance" The Literary Review
"stunning" The Times
"Sinister, comic and lyrical, it vividly captures the end of a long nightmare"
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