My Life In Books with Red Szell

An Astonishment of Stars is Kirti Bhadresa’s debut volume of short stories. Many of the fourteen tales in the collection chart the lives of women of colour living in Canada, as they navigate relationships, aspirations, and cultural expectations. Like all good authors of short fiction, Kirti takes everyday situations an

As a child, K.J. Aiello found hope and escape in magical stories of dragons, wizards, and fantasy. These tales provided a safe space where K.J. could reframe their battle with mental illness and trauma, and envisage the vanquishing of the darkness that haunted them. In The Monster and the Mirror: Mental Illness, Magic,

Rachel Stark’s debut, Perris California, is a beautiful and heart-rending novel. Set in the 1990s in what one character calls ‘the land of momma’s boys’, it’s a story of violence, broken dreams, tenderness, and longing that shines a light on the resilience of women living in a mostly unseen America. In a style reminisc

Tara Moss has much in common with the heroines of her internationally best-selling crime novels. The Canadian Australian former model is glamourous, tenacious, quick-witted, and committed to fighting for justice. She also relishes a challenge, has a Private Investigator license, and as we’ll hear, isn’t afraid of putti

Alis Hawkins is a Welsh crime novelist with a keen eye for historical detail. Her latest series, The Oxford Mysteries, is set in the city of dreaming spires during the 1880s, at a time when the first women were being permitted to study there, albeit not on an equal footing. Her protagonist, Rhiannon Vaughan, is one of

For many of us, the coming of a new year is the time when we resolve to try and quit our bad habits and make a clean start. For most, overindulgence in the things we crave is relatively benign, but for some it is an addiction that causes untold harm to themselves and those around them. Sebastian Wocker is a journalist,