By Claire Buss, Deputy Editor, Write On! 

At Write On! and Pen to Print, we want to help connect authors and readers, playwrights and audiences, so we’ve created a Spotlight page on the last Saturday of the month, showcasing some of the exciting new reads and plays available. The curated list is based on books and plays that you send us, so if you’re an author or a playwright and you’d like your book or play in the spotlight, reach out to us at pentoprint@lbbd.gov.uk. Whether you’re an indie author, with a small press or mainstream publisher, established or brand new playwright, we’d love to hear from you and shine a light on your new work.

Write On! offers other opportunities for writers as well. If you’d like us to feature an extract from your book or a short story, please send the extract, book cover and blurb to pentoprint@lbbd.gov.uk with the subject: Write On! Showcase (ensuring you have your publisher’s permission, of course).

Pen to Print are also looking for short videos from people reading a passage from their favourite book, or authors reading extracts from their own books. These videos will be featured on the Pen to Print YouTube channel and across our social media. Please send in your videos or links to pentoprint@lbbd.gov.uk with the subject: Video Stories.

*****

Cliffs Pavillion, Southend, 24-25 June

2024 Strictly Come Dancing winner Dianne Buswell and 2023 winner Vito Coppola have come together to light up the stages across the country this summer with their sizzling new show Dianne & Vito: Red Hot And Ready!

The dynamic duo bring their talent and passion to Red Hot And Ready!  – a dance show-with-a-difference created by BAFTA award recipient and world-renowned choreographer, Jason Gilkison.

Together with a cast of multi-disciplined Burn The Floor dancers from around the world, fan favourites Dianne and Vito bring you the ultimate high-voltage dance extravaganza. Red Hot And Ready! explodes with beautiful choreography and storytelling, as well as heart-pounding music and breathtaking moves; all  to celebrate the pure joy of dance.

Book Tickets Here

*****

London Comedy Writers

We’re a grassroots community of sketch and sitcom writers who meet fortnightly to table read and constructively critique each other’s scripts. Some writers are experienced, others are beginners, but all are united by a desire to improve their work and meet like-minded people.

Next meeting (in person): 3 June 2025, 19.00.

Find out more: londoncomedywriters.com

*****

Belly Full by Heidi Edmundson

Dr Heidi Edmundson is an Emergency Medicine consultant at a London hospital. Belly Full is a forthright and unflinching account of the ill-health of the NHS in general and Emergency Medicine services in particular ― and a bold record of her own health crisis.

It offers a candid view of what it is really like to work on the front line of the nation’s health emergency, and the devastating implications for the well-being of our doctors and nurses.

The book is also alive to the rewards of living, and to the commitment to a specialism that prizes the incandescent work of decision-making, risk and recovery ― values that are at the heart of emergency medicine and, maybe, also at the heart of life.

Available to buy here

Bitter Honey by Lola Akinmade

Two women. Four decades. A lifetime of secrets.

1978: A scholarship draws Nancy from Gambia’s warmth into Sweden’s winter. When her friendship with charismatic scholar Lars blossoms into something more, she thinks she may have finally found her place. But there’s more to Lars than his charming persona, and Nancy is about to discover the danger of being drawn into his world.

2006: Tina has had her taste of fame as the nation’s Eurovision pop princess. But beneath her glittery façade, she’s desperate to discover who she really is. Her mother, Nancy, seems desperate to keep the past under wraps, but will an unexpected figure help open the door?

Spanning four decades and three continents, Bitter Honey is a story of mothers, daughters, and the importance of carving your own path.

Available to buy here
Connect with Lola Akinmade

My Name Is Emilia Del Valle by Isabel Allende

Emilia del Valle was always destined for great things.

Abandoned at birth by her Chilean aristocrat father, Emilia comes of age in 19th century San Francisco as an independent and fiercely ambitious young woman, decades ahead of her time. She will do whatever it takes to pursue her life’s passion for writing, even if it means publishing under a man’s name.

When Emilia lands a position as a journalist for the Daily Examiner, her unwavering sense of adventure and new-found determination to survive in her own name, leads her to seize the chance to cover a brewing civil war in Chile alongside another talented reporter.

But the assignment offers Emilia more than just an opportunity to prove herself as a writer. Before long, she embarks on a treacherous, life-changing journey in a homeland she never knew, to uncover the truth about her father and herself.

Awaken: The Kat Krichley Chronicles by Claire Buss

The Windsor Love Pact by Lizzie Chantree

The Show Woman by Emma Cowing

Whatever life brings, the show must go on…

1910. With the disappearance of her mother and the sudden death of her father, Lena instantly loses any security she has within the circus she has known all her life. She’s advised to sell the carousel her father cared for like a child and look for a husband, or a job in a factory.

Until flame-haired Violet, known to all in the fairgrounds as ‘the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived’, suggests they go it alone with their own, all-female act. With her outspoken ways and her refusal to marry, Violet is as much an outcast as Lena. What do they have to lose? Recruiting new performers, including bareback horse-rider Rosie on the run from her abusive father, and Carmen whose rainbow ribbons hide the darkness in her past, the four women form an unbreakable bond.

Thrust into a harsh and dangerous world that treats them with suspicion, disdain and even violence, they must forge their own path in search of freedom, security and love.

Available to buy here
Connect with Emma Cowing

Eruption by Michael Crichton and James Patterson

A once-in-a-century volcanic eruption is about to destroy the Big Island of Hawaii.

But a decades-old military secret could turn the volcano into something even more terrifying.

Now it’s up to a handful of brave individuals to save the island – and the entire world.

Available to buy here
Connect with Michael Crichton

New Horizons For The Woolworths Girls by Elaine Everest

There are fresh challenges and new beginnings on the horizon for the girls at Woolworths.

When the Bexleyheath branch of F. W. Woolworths is bombed, Annie must help save her fellow staff members. Thankfully uninjured, she’s moved to the Erith store, where she soon finds her feet. But a tragedy close to home is another stark reminder that life can turn on a sixpence.

When Annie meets Dean, an American soldier who promises to care for her and her family, she has more than just the end of the war to celebrate. With wedding bells and a new life in America beckoning, great change lies ahead.

Suitcase in tow, Annie must remember one thing: if she follows her heart, it will always lead her in the right direction.

Available to buy here
Connect with Elaine Everest

Tina: The Dog Who Changed The World by Niall Harbison

Hope taught me the meaning of life. Tina taught me the meaning of love.

It’s not every day you meet a golden retriever in Thailand.

When Niall came across a dog shackled to a short chain and in a poor state of health, something reminded him of his personal battle with addiction. He knew he had to rescue her immediately – golden retrievers are rare in Thailand – but there was just something about this dog in particular that told him she was destined for more.

He named her Tina, and what she did next is an incredible tale of survival, hope and love. Despite her terrible treatment at the hands of humans, she refused to distrust them or feel sorry for herself, and only opened her heart wider – always with a grin (yes ,dogs can smile) and a reassuring wag of her shaggy yellow tail.

From the minute Tina was free of her chains, she got on with what needed to be done: inspiring a dog hospital to be built and named after her and helping dogs from all over the world, whether they’re street dogs from Thailand or rescue pups in Montana. The movement Tina’s rescue started has not stopped. This is her story.

Available to buy here
Connect with Niall Harbison

The Names by Florence Knapp

It is 1987, and in the aftermath of a great storm, Cora sets out with her nine-year-old daughter to register the birth of her son.

Her husband intends for her to follow a long-standing family tradition and call the baby after him. But when faced with the decision, Cora hesitates. Going against his wishes is a risk that will have consequences, but is it right for her child to inherit his name from generations of domineering men? The choice she makes in this moment will shape the course of their lives.

Seven years later, her son is Bear, a name chosen by his sister, and one that will prove as cataclysmic as the storm from which it emerged. Or he is Julian, the name his mother set her heart on, believing it will enable him to become his own person. Or he is Gordon, named after his father and raised in his cruel image; but is there still a chance to break the mould?

Powerfully moving and full of hope, this is the story of three names, three versions of a life and the infinite possibilities that a single decision can spark. It is the story of one family, and love’s endless capacity to endure, no matter what fate has in store.

Available to buy here
Connect with Florence Knapp

A Beautiful Way To Die by Eleni Kyriacou

Play their game.
Hollywood, 1953. Young actress Ginny Watkins is turning heads. Even the legendary, and married, actor Max Whitman can’t resist the allure of the hottest new starlet. He promises Ginny the world, in return for the right favour.

Do what they say.
London, 1954. Stella Hope, once the most famous actress in Hollywood, has been ousted to Ealing Studios after her divorce from the powerful Max. Just as she accepts her fate, she receives a letter, blackmailing her for a mistake she made many years ago.

Or they’ll bury you.
Two women on either side of stardom find themselves in the orbit of the same beguiling man. And one night, in the shadows of a glamorous Oscars afterparty, their lives are changed forever.

Available to buy here
Connect with Eleni Kyriacou

Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle

A food story to binge. A ghost story to devour. A love story to savour.

When dead-end dishwasher Kostya discovers the ability to summon spirits through the food he cooks, he embarks on a journey to open a New York City restaurant that serves closure; something he’s craved for as long as he can remember.

There are just three problems:

1. Kostya has some ghosts of his own.

2. His advancing menu of spirit cuisine is threatening the stability of the Afterlife itself.

3. He’s falling in love with Maura, a party psychic with her own secret connection to the Afterlife, who also happens to be the one person who knows he must be stopped.
Available to buy here
Connect with Daria Lavelle

The Cornish Castle Murder by Fiona Leith

The time has finally come for former Met police officer Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker to wed her fiancé DCI Nathan Withers, but their long-anticipated wedding doesn’t quite go to plan…

As their guests descend on a luxurious Cornish castle for a weekend of pre-wedding activities, the happy couple look forward to spending time with friends and family. But celebrations grind to a halt when an arrow flies off-course during the archery session and they find the body of a young woman floating face down in an ornamental pond.

With the champagne chilling and canapes assembled, and an old London adversary brought in to investigate, it’s up to Jodie and Nathan to uncover the killer before they strike again.

Could the murderer be on the guest list?

Available to buy here

So Very Small by Thomas Levenson

In 1665, an infectious disease swept through the British capital and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.

It would take another two hundred years for the cause of the Great Plague of London to be confirmed: a powerful bacterium called Yersinia Pestis. In those centuries, our understanding of diseases was transformed.

In So Very Small, Thomas Levenson reveals how human hubris led us to overestimate our own ability and underestimate the threat that microorganisms truly pose. He journeys through some of the most significant epidemics and pandemics in history, including the recurrent outbreaks of cholera in Europe and Asia, and the 1721 Boston smallpox epidemic.

The turning point came in the 19th century with the development of germ theory: the concept that microbes can cause disease. Levenson shows how, in the years that followed, scientists made major breakthroughs in our ongoing struggle against infectious disease. Perhaps the greatest of these achievements is the discovery of antibiotic treatment, which has been the salvation of much of humanity in recent centuries.

In a story that spans centuries and continents, So Very Small explores the scientific quest to understand how tiny organisms have impacted the wider world – and looks ahead to the battle to fight their rapid evolution.

Available to buy here

Power Through by James Longley

After a heavy night’s drinking in 2002, James Longley, an RAF aircraftsman from the East Midlands, got into an altercation with a taxi driver which turned nasty.

He ended up in prison, beginning his eight-month sentence at HMP Leicester in a cockroach-ridden cell locked up with a fellow prisoner who screamed out of the window and drew pictures of people having sex with the devil.

James felt as though he’d wrecked his own life. In fact, the experience would be the making of him. Upon his release from the open prison to which he was later moved, determined to make a fresh start, he borrowed some money to set up a small business. A chance meeting then led to a new venture, pioneering the practice of switching energy suppliers to get cheaper bills. Within ten years, he employed 70 people and in 2018 he sold the business for £15 million.

James has now embarked on a mission to help prisoners past and present learn entrepreneurship skills and break the cycle of re-offending. Telling his own story is part of that quest, showing by example that, if you hit rock bottom, you can still achieve success and pay it forward!

Available to buy here

Mermaid’s Diary by Chris Riddell

Meet shy mermaid Atalanta Scrimshaw.

She lives in the quiet backwater of Sleepy Cove, collects messages in bottles, rides seahorses and enjoys the hobby of ‘walking’ on the beach and visiting friends.

Life is perfect until Atalanta learns of plans by developers Bristle & Splinter to transform Sleepy Cove into a luxury seaside golf resort. Realising this plan will destroy her home, she enlists the help of her friends, old and new, to try to stop it.

Available to buy here
Connect with Chris Riddell

Before The World Moves On by Nathaniel Terrell

With verses that express the agony of heartbreak and loss to ones that inspire spirituality and hope through God’s divine grace, Before The World Moves On brings us on a man’s creative and lyrical journey to transcend pain and heartache, finding personal hope and salvation through forgiveness and acceptance.

Contemporary social issues and modern American culture seek to define who we are and forge our identity for us. Things are never that black and white. The real human condition is a personal journey through pain and ignorance as we seek hope, inspiration and enlightenment. Through prayer, literary expression in poems and evocative writing, we may all derive lessons from love and loss, inadequacy and regret, and the unassailable truth that the ability for true change lies within each one of us.

Available to buy here

Releasing 10 by Chloe Walsh

A love that couldn’t be broken, except by the truth.

Lizzie Young has always felt she was ‘too much everything.’ Diagnosed with bipolar disorder at a young age, she’s never fitted in with her family, her friends or her community. Lizzie wants to be accepted and understood, but with few people in her corner, she’s carried her burdens and her trauma on her own.

But when she meets a kind boy on the school bus, things start to look bright for the first time in her life.

Hugh Biggs has an old soul and the wisdom of someone far beyond his years. A young man with a sharp mind and a firm code of ethics, he sees something in Lizzie Young he can’t resist. He wants to be her everything and shoulder her burden. Lizzie wants that too.

Lizzie and Hugh’s bond seems unbreakable; their chemistry is electric, their love is potent and their connection is soul deep. But even the truest love can be shaken by forces beyond anyone’s control.

Available to buy here
Connect with Chloe Walsh

The Sleepless by Jen Williams

Welcome to a world where gods and monsters roam the earth…

Elver is the guardian of the wild and dangerous monster forest. Saved from the brink of death by a god, her skin will poison anyone she touches.

Artair is on a mission; one that takes him face-to-face with Elver at her most ruthless. But her defenses are useless when she discovers he’s the only human impervious to her deadly gift. For Artair isn’t human: he’s one of the Sleepless, cursed to share his body with an evil spirit. Lucian inhabits their body while Artair sleeps, and he’s hell-bent on manipulating Elver for his own dark purposes. But Elver is harbouring secrets too and she has her own reasons for feigning an alliance with these two souls.

Caught in the crossfire of gods, monsters, and a dangerous magic they can barely understand, it’s only a matter of time before the paths the three of them choose to take will shake the very foundations of their world.

Available to buy here
Connect with Jen Williams

Heatwave: The Summer Of 1976 by John Williams

With temperatures soaring to 35ºC, severe water shortages and a sunburned population queuing at the standpipes, the summer of 1976 was always remembered as Britain’s hottest.

But the wave that hit the UK that year was also cultural and political, with upheaval on the streets, in parliament, on the cricket pitch and on the radios and TV sets of a nation at a crossroads.

Before this blistering summer, Britain seemed stuck in the post-war era, a country where people were all in it together; as long as you were white, male and straight. In July, Tom Robinson writes a song called Glad To Be Gay, and by August bank holiday, Black youth are making the police run for their lives in the almighty riot at the Notting Hill Carnival. But with the Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson suddenly quitting, the pound sinking and the economy tanking, a restless immigrant population and increasing dissatisfaction in the old world order, the weather seems to boil up the country to the point where the lid blows off.

Weaving a rich tapestry of the news stories of the year, with social commentary and dozens of first-person interviews with those that were there at the time, Williams’s reappraisal of the summer of ’76 is an evocative, sometimes nostalgic but always unflinching read. Heatwave takes us back to relive the events of that summer and asks: have we really moved on as much as we would have liked?

Available to buy here

Sun Trap by Rachel Wolf

Be careful
Ellie has wanted to be an actor since she was a child, so when a role in a blockbuster film presents itself, she grabs it.

what you
On the plane to Abu Dhabi to begin filming, Ellie overhears something she shouldn’t:  two people discussing plans for murder.

wish for
Unsure if it’s a misunderstanding, and not wanting to ruin her big break, Ellie remains quiet. Then ten members of the cast become nine.

But Ellie needs to be careful, as it’s more than just her career on the line.

Because she isn’t who she says she is.

And liars are always the prime suspect.

Available to buy here
Connect with Rachel Wolf

Remember, if you’re an author and you’d like to see your book in our Saturday Spotlight, email: pentoprint@lbbd.gov.uk and send us the details of your new novel.

For details of Penguin RandomHouse new releases, visit their website here.
For details of Hachette new releases, visit their website here.
For details of HarperCollins new releases, visit their website here.
For details of PanMacmillan new releases, visit their website here.
For details of Simon & Schuster new releases, visit their website here.

Disclaimer: Amazon links are given for ease but please remember there are a number of other online retailers operating, including hive (which helps to support independent book shops), Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play and Nook as well as online stores for bookstores such as Waterstones, Barnes & Noble and WHSmiths. 

Issue 24 of Write On! is out now and you can read it online here. Find it in libraries and other outlets. You can find previous editions of our magazines here.

You can hear great new ideas, creative work and writing tips on Write On! Audio. Find us on all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Google Podcasts and Spotify. Type Pen to Print into your browser and look for our logo, or find us on Podcasters.Spotify.com.