News
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Titles, Titles, Titles: What Actually Works
Hallelujah… you’ve finished your first draft. A complete book. Well done. And from the outside you’ve probably had a working title in mind. And now — probably — you know it isn’t going to work. Working titles are useful because they give you something to call the thing while you write it, a handle to…
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Venice Noir 2026: everything you need to know before November
Ian Rankin said last year’s Venice Noir was ‘the most beautiful book festival in the world’. We aim to top that in 2026 with a greater range of international and Italian authors, more historic venues, and an exciting and original array of panels. Let me give you a few tips on what we have to…
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When you don’t want to eat Italian
A confession. Much as I love the local food, there are times I look at the classic Venetian menu — baccalà, spaghetti alle vongole, pizza — and think… it’s time for a change. There is a bit of a lack of variety in the standard restaurant cuisine not just of Venice but Italy at large.…
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What kind of writer do you want to be?
Robert Louis Stevenson was a remarkable man. Not only did he produce some wonderful books but he was allowed a degree of freedom few of us can enjoy today. Stevenson wrote a children’s adventure classic Treasure Island and the dark gothic horror of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. He penned the historical novel Kidnapped and…