A blog from Tonto Books, featuring musings from the publishing world and some occasional special guest appearances.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

New creative writing course

We'll be holding another of our creative writing courses this coming half-term week, 23 to 27 October, in Newcastle. Get in quick to reserve your spot - places are limited. See full details here.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Darlington Fiction Week

Event

As part of Fiction Week, organised by New Writing North at Darlington Arts Centre, Inependent Northern Publishers were kind enough to invite Stephen Shieber to read 'The Good Little Wife' from the Tonto Short Stories anthology.
On a double-bill with Michael Edwards, Stephen will be at the cafe at Darlington Arts Centre on Saturday 23rd September from 12.30pm - 1.30pm.
Ros Wyllie (also featured in the book) will be reading from her novel in development. Good luck to them both!

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Stu suggests

Well, here's my first selection. This is what I'm reading, listening to, and watching at the moment... not all at the same time.

Book
Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried published in 1991 by Flamingio.
Synopsis: A sequence of stories about the Vietnam War, this book also has the unity of a novel, with recurring characters and interwoven strands of plot and theme. It aims to summarize America's involvement in Vietnam, and her coming to terms with that experience in the years that followed.
Another one we discussed on the Tonto Creative Writing Course, this is an excellent example of story writing. 20% off on Amazon and loads of used ones at a good price too.


CD
Larry Page Orchestra's Lounge With Larry. He is described as an influential manager and producer during the British Invasion, Larry (born Lenny Davis) did a lot for the Kinks in their early career, although he was muscled out of the picture after their first couple of years of success. He had a lengthier relationship with the Troggs, whom he produced in the 1966-68 period that yielded their big hits. I don't go anywhere without Larry Page tunes these days. Best listened to in a smoking jacket and cravat, this is one for the modern English gentlemen out there - perfect for any occasion.

Film
The Descent (2 disc special edition) by Neil Marshall is amazing. Neil's second feature film has a 4-star rating on Amazon where 93 people took the time to review it. With Doomsday on the way, Neil is the hottest new director in the UK at the moment. The film stars Tonto Press' mate Craig Conway, reader of The Last Smoker at the launch of the Short Stories Anthology. This special edition is worth buying just for seeing Craig's dance in the extras. Amazon are doing a deal where you can buy this and Wolf Creek in one go.