Sail Away

By : Celia Imrie  | Published by : Bloomsbury India

The deliciously witty, irresistibly indulgent new novel from the top ten Sunday Times bestselling author of Not Quite Nice follows the exploits of two retired women on an Atlantic cruise ship The phone hasn’t rung for months. Suzy Marshall is discovering that work can be sluggish for an actress over sixty – even for the former star of a 1980s TV series. So when her agent offers her the plum role of Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest in Zurich, it seems like a godsend. Until, that is, the play is abruptly cancelled in suspicious circumstances, and Suzy is forced to take a job on a cruise ship to get home. Meanwhile Amanda Herbert finds herself homeless in rainy Clapham. Her flat purchase has fallen through, and her children are absorbed in their own dramas. Then she spots an advertisement for an Atlantic cruise, and realises three weeks on-board would tide her over – and save her money – until the crisis is solved.  As the two women set sail on a new adventure, neither can possibly predict the strange characters and dodgy dealings they will encounter – nor the unexpected rewards they will reap. Vividly evoking the old­world glamour of a cruise ship – and the complex politics of its staff quarters – Sail Away is at once a hilarious romp and a thrilling tale of intrigue, from the acclaimed pen of Celia Imrie.

Celia Imrie is an Olivier award-winning and Screen Actors Guild-nominated actress. She is known for her film roles in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Calendar Girls and Nanny McPhee. Celia has recently starred in the major films Bridget Jones’s Baby, Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, Year by the Sea and A Cure for Wellness.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

By : @Stu_Turton |  Published By : Bloomsbury India.

A brilliantly original high concept murder mystery from a fantastic new talent: Gosford Park meets Inception, by way of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express ‘Somebody’s going to be murdered at the ball tonight. It won’t appear to be a murder and so the murderer won’t be caught. Rectify that injustice and I’ll show you the way out.’ It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed. But Evelyn will not die just once. Until Aiden – one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party – can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot. The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath...

Stuart Turton is a freelance travel journalist who has previously worked in Shanghai and Dubai. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is his debut novel. He is the winner of the Brighton and Hove Short Story Prize and was longlisted for the BBC Radio 4 Opening Lines competition. He lives in West London with his wife. 

Folk

By : Zoe Gilbert | Published by : Bloomsbury India.

A captivating, magical and haunting debut novel of breathtaking imagination, from the winner of the 2014 Costa Short Story Award The remote island village of Neverness is a world far from our time and place. The air hangs rich with the coconut-scent of gorse and the salty bite of the sea. Harsh winds scour the rocky coastline. The villagers’ lives are inseparable from nature and its enchantments. Verlyn Webbe, born with a wing for an arm, unfurls his feathers in defiance of past shame; Plum is snatched by a water bull and dragged to his lair; little Crab Skerry takes his first run through the gorse-maze; Madden sleepwalks through violent storms, haunted by horses and her father’s wishes.  As the tales of this island community interweave over the course of a generation, their earthy desires, resentments, idle gossip and painful losses create a staggeringly original world. Crackling with echoes of ancient folklore, but entirely, wonderfully, her own, Zoe Gilbert’s Folk is a dark, beautiful and intoxicating debut.

Zoe Gilbert is the winner of the Costa Short Story Award 2014. Her work has appeared in anthologies from Comma, Cinnamon, Labello, and Pankhearst presses, and has been published in journals including The Stinging Fly, Mechanics’ Institute Review, Bohemyth, Holdfast, Lighthouse, and the British Fantasy Society Journal. In 2015 she appeared at the Beijing Bookworm Festival in China on behalf of the British Council and was commissioned by Microsoft to create a short story book. She is working on a PhD in Fiction and Creative Writing at the University of Chichester, focusing on the influence of folk tales on contemporary short stories. 

A Black Fox Running

By : Brian Carter  |  Published by : Bloomsbury India.

A beautiful lost classic of nature writing which sits alongside Tarka the Otter, Watership Down, War Horse and The Story of a Red Deer This is the story of Wulfgar, the dark-furred fox of Dartmoor, and of his nemesis, Scoble the trapper, in the seasons leading up to the pitiless winter of 1947. As breathtaking in its descriptions of the natural world as it is perceptive its portrayal of damaged humanity, it is both a portrait of place and a gripping story of survival. Uniquely straddling the worlds of animals and men, Brian Carter’s A Black Fox Running is a masterpiece: lyrical, unforgiving and unforgettable.

Brian Carter Brian Carter was an artist, poet, columnist, children’s author, naturalist and broadcaster who influenced a generation of nature writers. His six novels all explore man’s relationship with nature, the first of which, A Black Fox Running, was published in 1981.

Melissa Harrison's debut novel Clay won the Portsmouth First Fiction Award, was selected for Amazon’s ‘Rising Stars’ programme and chosen by Ali Smith as a Book of the Year for 2013. Her second novel At Hawthorn Time was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2015 and longlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction 2016. 

DAC Dhaka

By : Adnan Morshed & Nesfun Nahar  |  Published by : Bloomsbury India.

This guidebook focuses on 25 buildings in Dhaka, representing different architectural phases since the Mughal era, beginning in the early 17th century. (The earliest surviving structure in Dhaka is a small pre-Mughal mosque in Old Dhaka.) The list is neither exhaustive, nor necessarily representative of the “best” in town. Rather, the goal is to narrate the stories of the city through the buildings that played transformative roles in its architectural formation. The featured buildings (a) communicate larger ideas about Dhaka’s building tradition, (b) represent an architectural trend, (c) influence the architectural scene, and (d) offer a spatial story in the evolution of this city.

Adnan Morshed received his Doctorate and Master’s in Architecture from MIT. Morshed earned his Bachelor’s in Architecture from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), in Dhaka, where he also taught. Currently, he is an Associate Professor at the School of Architecture and Planning, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.

Nesfun Nahar is an architect and urbanist. She began her Doctorate degree research on Architectural Modernism at the Bangladeh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), in Dhaka, where she is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture.

The Real Modi (Hindi)

By : Arvind Chaturvedi  |  Published by : Bloomsbury India

This is a book written on Narendra Modi in which the Apostles of Narendra Modi have explained him in detail. This is the first such book in the country that Fully based on the facts and the facts stated by them.

Arvind Chaturvedi, who is a Master of Sociologist and a Bachelor of Journalism, is a senior journalist and is presently working in Uttar Pradesh as a Bureau Head of a prestigious news channel in the country. 

100 Great Indian Poems

By : Abhay K  | Published by : Bloomsbury India.

Bridging divisions of Hindu and Muslim, classic and contemporary, including poems in many of India's cornucopia of languages, Abhay K. gives us 100 Indian poems that from the 'stale chapati' of Dilip Chitre to the literate parrots of Basavanna, the 'clay shivalingam' of Eunice de Souza to the 'tiny sweat' of Mir Taqi Mir, give us tangible reminders of how we think, feel, and love. "Abhay K. Is a master anthologist who is superb at picking accessible poems that will reach the general reader." Nicholas Birns, New York University.

Abhay K. is an Indian poet-diplomat and the author of two memoirs and five collections of poems. His poems have appeared in over two dozen literary journals including Poetry Salzburg Review, Asia Literary Review, The Stony Thursday Book 2015, The Missing Slate, Eastlit, Gargoyle, The Caravan, Indian Literature among others and have been translated into Irish, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Slovenian, Portuguese, Mandarin and Nepali. His Earth Anthemhas been translated into twenty-eight languages.He received the SAARC Literary Award 2013.

Aap Bhi Baniye

... Adhik Saksham, Adhik Kushal, Adhik Safal.

By : Meera Shenoy  | Published by : Bloomsbury India

Management gurus tell us there are lessons to learn from inspirational lives.And that we do not have to wait a life time to integrate these lessons into our lives. The real life stories profiled in this book cover entrepreneurs ranging from some in wheel chairs to blind persons who build their businesses with zest and energy. It looks at CEOs who hire youth with disability and make products for this market, because it makes business sense. And it celebrates those who have converted disability in their personal lives to an opportunity to touch and transform other vulnerable lives. Reading these stories calms and focuses our mind and show us how lucky I am compared to the so many others. They alsoinspire us to stop whining about the vicissitudes of life and to expand our abilities to the utmost. Becoming Smarter and Wiser is a journey - Walk with Us.

Meera Shenoy has worked in senior positions in the government, in private sector and worked as a consultant with multilateral agencies like the World Bank and UNDP. The focus has been skilling underprivileged youth. Her work has demonstrated twice, both for non-disabled rural youth and for youth with disability, that skilling youth to the needs of the market and linking them to jobs can be done in scale. And placing one young boy or girl in a organised sector job takes the entire family out of poverty in a sustained manner. Meera Shenoy is the Founder-Chairperson of Youth4Jobs (www.youth4jobs.org), which focuses on helping companies build an inclusive workforce. Prasad Kaipa is a senior research fellow and a visiting professor at the Indian School of Business (ISB) and was the founding Executive Director of the Center for Leadership, Innovation and Change (CLIC) and also the CEO of the Kaipa Group in California and works with companies and senior executives in the areas of innovation and leadership development. He is a Smith Richardson Visiting Fellow at the Center for Creative Leadership since June 2010. He has been an advisor and coach focusing on innovation and leadership since 1990 to over 110 CEOs, executive team members and board members in Global Fortune 500 companies. Prasad co-founded the Entrepreneur Institute for TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) in 2002 to help entrepreneurs connect their innovative ideas, products and services with effective ways to engage and co-create with others in the ecosystem. 

My Allahabad Story

By : Himendra Nath Varma | Published by : Bloomsbury India.

My Allahabad Story recollects the author's privileged childhood in a prominent family of the city he is obsessed with. He traces his growing years in the large middle class Kayastha family bringing out in amusing detail, some quaint social customs and traditions that existed half a century ago. The author wonderfully describes the changed complexion of the city with a tinge of despair. Life and times and what happened to Allahabad has been graphically described with nostalgia. An interesting account of an Irish resident brings out the social life that prevailed in Allahabad hundred years ago, interlaced beautifully between the English, Anglo-Indians and Indians.

Born on 24th July 1943, in a distinguished family of Allahabad, Himendra Nath Varma is an alumnus of the Allahabad University. He joined the State Bank of India as a Probationary Officer and retired thirty seven years later as a General Manager. He has served on the Board of IDBI Capital Markets Ltd. and is currently on the Board of SBICAPS Securities Ltd. He lives in New Delhi & Allahabad, and loves reading biographies and listening to Hindustani classical music.

From Quetta to Delhi: A Partition Story

By : Reena Nanda  | Published by : Bloomsbury India.

This story is a cameo set against the backdrop of Partition - a decision taken by political leaders in Britain and India that shattered the lives of ordinary people like the family in this narrative who at that time were living in Quetta, Baluchistan. Viewing victims of the Partition of Punjab in the light of post traumatic stress has been long overdue. The narrator's mother’s method of coping with the traumatic present was to escape into the past by reliving her memories of Quetta and her beloved Pathans along with the mundane, insignificant little details of the women’s daily lives. Her recall hinges on the drama of the trivial, on food,rituals, clothes, religious practices and neighbourhood bonding. It was a syncretic culture, of multilinguism - Urdu,Punjabi and Seraiki, Persian and Sanskrit, of multiple identities through the biradaris - caste,mohalla and religion. The author's grandmother kept the Guru Granth Sahib at home, her mother and sisters practiced Hindu rituals, while her husband was an agnostic. And everyone made pilgrimages to Sufi pirs.

Bloomsbury,House Edition, Harry Potter & The c of s.

Bloomsbury is excited to announce they are to publish House Editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to celebrate 20 years  since  the book was  first published in July 1998. Illustrated by Levi Pinfold, who created 2017’s spectacularly successful House Editions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the covers will feature an interpretation of the door to the Chamber of Secrets, with beautiful iconography and features woven in to the design that are particular to that house.

There will be complementary hardback and paperback editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The hardbacks will be in each house colour with artwork in black and striped sprayed edges. The paperbacks will be black with artwork in the corresponding house colours. Both editions will contain additional content including an illustration of the house common room by Levi Pinfold, a house introduction and a mini-feature on house-elves.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was first published in 1998 and continued Harry Potter’s adventures at Hogwarts. It introduced some of the most-loved characters from the wizarding world, including Dobby the house- elf.

*****

J.K. Rowling is the author of the record-breaking, multi-award-winning Harry Potter novels. Loved by fans around the world, the series has sold more than 450 million copies, been translated into 80 languages and made into eight blockbuster films.

She has written three companion volumes in aid of charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos), and The Tales of Beedle the Bard (in aid of Lumos).

In 2012, J.K. Rowling’s digital company and digital publisher Pottermore was launched, a place where fans can enjoy the latest news from across the wizarding world, features and original writing by J.K. Rowling.

Her first novel for adult readers, The Casual Vacancy, was published in September 2012 and adapted for TV by the BBC in 2015. Her crime novels, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, were published in 2013 (The Cuckoo’s Calling), 2014 (The Silkworm) and 2015 (Career of Evil), and have been adapted for TV as a major BBC detective drama, Strike, produced by Brontë Film and Television.  

J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard commencement speech was published in 2015 as an illustrated book, Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, and sold in aid of Lumos and university-wide financial aid at Harvard.

In 2016, J.K. Rowling collaborated with writer Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany on the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two, which is now running at The Palace Theatre in London’s West End and opens on Broadway in early 2018. 

Also in 2016, J.K. Rowling made her screenwriting debut with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. A prequel to the Harry Potter series, this new adventure of Magizoologist Newt Scamander marked the start of a five-film series to be written by the author. The second film in the series will be released in November 2018.

Levi Pinfold studied illustration at the University College Falmouth where he developed his distinctive stylised realism. Since graduating in 2006 he has become well known for his detailed paintings and charming storytelling style. Levi grew up on a diet of Roald Dahl and Maurice Sendak and he's influenced by a variety of artists ranging from Breugel and The Romantics to Alan Lee and Dave McKean. He was voted Best Emerging Illustrator in the Early Years Awards in 2010 and won the Booktrust Best New Illustrators Award 2011. His published picture books are The Django, Black Dog and Greenling. Black Dog won the prestigious CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal in 2013. Born in the Forest of Dean, he has somehow found himself living in northern NSW, Australia. He loves clocks, writing stories and playing the banjo when no one else is looking.

Raymond Crossword Book Award.

In its 15th edition, the prestigious Raymond Crossword Book Award in Partnership with Wizcraft, Kotak and RCity as Associate Sponsors witnessed a spectacular literary event. The exceptional and bestselling literary works of the year 2017 were celebrated at the majestic Royal Opera House - Mumbai. 

Raymond Crossword Book Award is the only Literary Award in India for Indian Authors spread across Lifetime Achievement, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s, Translation and Popular Categories . Speaking on the occasion, Maulik Desai, Head Crossword Bookstores said, “For the last 15 years, the Raymond Crossword Book Award has discovered  new and exceptional authors and shared a wealth of literary talents to a wider audience.”

Sudha Murty, Padma Shri (2006) and prolific author in both Kannada and English, was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award for her exemplary contribution to Indian writing in English.

Accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award, veteran author Sudha Murthy said, “ I was surprised when I came to know that I'm getting this award. I thought this is their way of telling me to retire, " she said in jest. 

"I have been writing for 40 years now, but started writing in English only when i was 56 years old. Independent of Narayana Murthy and the company, the one thing that is my own is my writing." 

Handing over the award to Sudha Murty was world’s leading cardiac surgeon Dr. Ramakanta Panda, Mrs. S Raheja, and Dr. Amit Karkhanis.

Presiding over the function, Dr Ramakanta Panda said, " The pen holds the power of discovery and creation within itself. This evening is an ode

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to this power and Im glad to be here today."

Authors Josy Joseph, Radhakrishnan Pillai, Anita Nair,  Harshad Marathe, Ravi Subramanian, Ambi Parmeshwaran, Roopa Pai, Shobhaa De,  Bhawana Somaaya added gravitas to the evening. 

Bollywood was represented by Karan Johar and actor Pooja Chopra.

Following were the awardees in each category

WINNERS: POPULAR AWARD

Fiction: Our Impossible love by Durjoy Datta

Non-fiction: Inner Engineering- a Yogi’s guide to joy by Sadhguru.

Biography:An Unsuitable Boy by Karan Johar and Poonam Saxena

Business and management:The Target by Shantanu Guha Ray

Health and fitness: A Taste of Well-Being: Sadhguru's Insights for Your Gastronomics

Children: The Stormbringer by Archita Mishra

Actor Pooja Chopra and Maulik Desai, Head of Crossword Bookstores announced the popular award in the non-fiction category to Sadguru, for Inner Engineering- a Yogi’s guide to joy. Sadhguru, who couldn't be present, shared in a video message, " This award is for the millions of people, who are brave enough;  instead of looking up in hope, they are willing to look inwards and find their own solutions. For their courage, they need an award. This award is for those who are willing to turn inwards. Looking up has caused one kind of distress; and looking out has caused a different level of destruction. Looking inward is the only solution."

The book was also a New York Times and Washington Post bestseller, soon after the launch in September 2016.

Dr.Amit Karkhanis of Dr.Tvacha Clinic and veteran author Shobhaa De announced the best fiction award to Durjoy Dutta.

Karan Johar too was delighted to receive an award for his first book at the hands of head honcho Neel Raheja," I was initially quite sceptical, whether i want to share such a large part of my life, through this book. I call it a memoir, and not a biography. Im too young at 45 to have a biography written. The idea was not just to have a puff piece,but an honest account of my growing years and the experiences that I've had. Writing this with Poonam Saxena has been therapeutic for me, and Im grateful to her. It was a cathartic experience. It is ok to be unsuitable, and thats what the book is all about."

WINNERS: JURY

Fiction: Harilal and sons by Sujit Saraf.
Non-fiction: A feast of vultures by Josy Joseph
Children: Muezza and Baby Jaan by Anita Nair and Harshad Marathe

Translation: A preface to Man, authored by Subash Chandran and translated by Fathima. EV, Malayalam

Maulik Desai added,“Like all other aspects of our lives, the world of books is also changing. There is a community of young writers and readers today, who prefer fast reads, crime capers and thrillers; while pure literature continues to have a loyal steadfast audience. Our awardees, every year, represent a mix of both.”

Also present at the awards were prominent guests such as Shaina NC, Kinjal Shah, Rashmi Uday Singh, Anupama Chopra and Swati Popat Vats.

Commenting on the evening, Sabbas Joseph, Director, Wizcraft Entertainment International Pvt. Ltd said, “We are humbled to be a part of such a prestigious endowment that not only endeavors to bring together the entire literary community but also simultaneously provides a great platform to promote Indian authors and their books. Wizcraft’s partnership with Crossword for the grand 15th edition of Raymond Crossword Book Award this year was indeed a great association that brought forth a unique literary experience like no other.” 

Another facet to the event was an interesting panel discussion on “I want to be an Author” with budding teen authors, and publisher Anup Jerajani, moderated by renowned Ms.Anupama Chopra - National award winning film critic and editor of the digital platform Film Companion.

Source : http://www.the-network.co.in/ 

CHATUR CHANAKYA

                      & THE HIMALAYAN PROBLEM

                     By: Dr. Radhakrishnan Pillai | Illustrations by: Vishnu M Nair

Summer vacations are over. As a new academic year begins at Vani Vidyalaya, Arjun’s search for a close friend and bench partner goes on, Lakshmi hopes to display her leadership skills, and all the teachers and students seem to be getting fed up of Himalaya’s bullying and hurtful pranks.

In walks Chanakya, pale and thin, a choti shooting out of his big head, and soon it is clear that Vani Vidyalaya will never be the same again.

Chanakya is witty. Chanakya is smart. He always has a trick up his sleeve.

“So how did you get the name Chanakya and the choti on your head?”

With a smile Chanakya said, “My father teaches Kautilya’s Arthashastra. And his fav philosopher is Chanakya. So he named me Chanakya after the great teacher of Chandragupta Maurya, and, since Chanakya had a choti on his head, I too have one.”

Arjun said, “So you must have learnt Arthashastra too, I guess.”

“Yes, I did. That is why I apply Aanvikshiki all the time and everywhere I go.”

“Aanvikshiki? What is that?”

Before they could stop Chanakya, he started running towards his house and shouted back at them, “I will tell you more next time ……”