All That Is

James Salter

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James Salter's epigraph for All That Is

“There comes a time when you realise that everything is a dream, and only those things preserved in writing have any possibility of being real.”

Tigers in Red Weather

Liza Klaussmann

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Daisy Goodwin, The Sunday Times

This is heady, page-turning stuff - the intelligent beach read of the summer, and not a shade of grey in sight.

A Fort of Nine Towers

Qais Akbar Omar

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My name is Qais Akbar Omar. I am an Afghan, a Muslim, a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, a carpet maker, a journalist, a boxer who has enjoyed breaking many noses, and “Qais, the Cruel Kite Cutter.” I just turned 30 years old, and am the author of A Fort of Nine Towers. 

Dear Reader: a letter from Qais Akbar Omar posted by Rosanna Boscawen

Tuesday 7th May 2013 | Blog

Dear Reader: 

My name is Qais Akbar Omar. I am an Afghan, a Muslim, a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, a carpet maker, a journalist, a boxer who has enjoyed breaking many noses, and “Qais, the Cruel Kite Cutter.” I just turned 30 years old, and am the author of A Fort of Nine Towers

Get a discount on Helen Oyeyemi and Sunjeev Sahota's books posted by Rosanna Boscawen

Tuesday 16th Apr 2013 | Blog

For 24 hours only, we're offering a 30% discount on Helen Oyeyemi's novels White is for Witching and Mr Fox and Sunjeev Sahota's debut novel Ours Are the Streets.


It’s a bright afternoon in 1938 and Mary Foxe is in a confrontational mood. St John Fox, celebrated novelist, hasn’t seen her in six years. He’s unprepared for her afternoon visit, not least because she doesn’t exist. He’s infatuated with her. But he also made her up.

“You’re a villain,” she tells him. “A serial killer . . . can you grasp that?”

Will Mr Fox meet his muse’s challenge, to stop murdering his heroines and explore something of love? What will his wife Daphne think of this sudden change in her husband? Can there be a happy ending – this time?

Get 30% off Mr Fox

Qais Akbar Omar talks about growing up in Afghanistan posted by Kate Harvey

Friday 3rd May 2013 | Blog

Qais Akbar Omar's book A Fort of Nine Towers  is at times heart-breaking and others life-affirming. 

It's a book that he never set out to get published, but which has since been translated into thirteen other languages for publication around the world. 

Listen to him talking on The Current radio station in Canada here. 

Podcast: Howard Cunnell, author of The Sea on Fire posted by Rosanna Boscawen

Friday 14th Jun 2013 | Blog

Howard Cunnell, author of The Sea on Fire, a dark novel about diving, masculinity and responsibilities, talks to his editor Kris Doyle about the novel. 

In which a dot com millionaire meets a beautiful girl posted by Rosanna Boscawen

Tuesday 4th Jun 2013 | Blog

What could be better than a novel that begins with a quote from X-Men? Gabriel Roth's debut The Unknowns does just that. Sebastian Faulks says it's 'fast, funny, [and] full of snappy dialogue'.

Read the opening scene here!

Gabriel Roth
Megan Abbott

Authors Gabriel Roth and Megan Abbott write each other letters (via email) posted by Rosanna Boscawen

Monday 3rd Jun 2013 | Blog

We asked Picador authors Gabriel Roth and Megan Abbott to share an email exchange about their novels, The Unknowns and Dare Me, respectively. Prepare to be entertained.

The maps that defined Qais Akbar Omar's early life posted by Rosanna Boscawen

Wednesday 8th May 2013 | Blog

During the many wars that he has lived through, Qais and his family travelled around their country in order to stay alive. Sometimes their intention was to leave their homeland; sometimes it was only to escape from the violence that broke out to safety nearby.

In these maps, you can see his home and the paths of his family's journeys.