The Christmas Story

A novel is an excellent idea for a Christmas present, quite apart from being easy to wrap! Polygon has a pleasing plethora of novels for your delectation, but we've chosen two particular favourites for you today.

Vikki – Sales & Marketing Liaison, a song for every occasion – is especially keen on The Book of Crows by Sam Meekings:

“Sam Meekings’ The Book of Crows is a bit of an epic. It’s the story of five different people, in five different time periods, all linked by their encounters with a mysterious Book of Crows which contains the entire history of the world and everyone in it past, present and future. As Sam is also a very fine poet, it’s no surprise to find he writes beautifully. That he also writes a book so pacy—with many a twist in the tale—and jam-packed with memorable characters, makes it’s an obvious choice for book of the year!”

You heard the lady! The Book of Crows is also available as an eBook.

Laura – Sales Director de Luxe – went for The English German Girl by Jake Wallis Simons:
"I thought I knew a lot about WW2, but I had never heard of the Kindertransport, and what a few brave people managed to achieve despite the worst that humanity could throw at them. Meticulously researched, powerfully written, emotionally compelling – Jake Wallis Simons is a real talent to watch."

Also available as an eBook. And for many, many more suggestions head over to http://www.birlinn.co.uk/.

Fiction Uncovered Uncovers The English German Girl and Jake Wallis Simons

‘Fascinating and moving’
– Monica Ali

Yesterday we announced the fantastic news that The English German Girl by Jake Wallis Simons has been chosen for the inaugural Fiction Uncovered promotion. We thought you might like to see ‘behind the scenes’ Wallis Simons and to hear Jake reading a short extract from the book.  



Jake Wallis Simons

Jake will also be appearing at the inaugural Ayton Literary Festival on Sunday 26th June, in conversation with a survivor of the Kindertransport to talk about this incredibly important and moving moment in history.

Fiction Uncovered Uncovers The English German Girl!



by Jake Wallis Simons

Polygon is delighted to announce that the novel The English German Girl by Jake Wallis Simons has been chosen for the inaugural Fiction Uncovered promotion! It is one of only eight books chosen for the promotion which aims to support the UK’s best fiction writers whose work deserves wider recognition through the media and stronger promotion in bookshops, libraries, readers’ groups and websites, and through the new electronic media tools – eBooks and apps. Polygon is the only Scottish publisher represented on the list.
The eight titles selected for Fiction Uncovered 2011 were announced today at 5th View, Waterstone’s Piccadilly:

• The English German Girl by Jake Wallis Simons (Birlinn, Polygon)
• The Water Theatre by Lindsay Clarke (Alma Books)

• The London Satyr by Robert Edric (Doubleday, Transworld)

• Proof of Love by Catherine Hall (Portobello)
• Night Waking by Sarah Moss (Granta)

• Nimrod’s Shadow by Chris Paling (Portobello)

• Disputed Land by Tim Pears (William Heinemann, Random House)
• Forgetting Zoë by Ray Robinson (William Heinemann, Random House)

The judging panel consisted of writer Giles Foden (Professor of Creative Writing at University of East Anglia), Damian Barr (writer and salonnière), Simon Burke (Campaign Buying Manager for Waterstone’s) and Sarah Crown (Literary Editor, Guardian Online). All of the books will be available through Waterstone’s, iBookstore, Amazon, Foyles, WH Smith, the Book Depository and the Book Partnership (reaching independent bookstores). There will also be a series of Fiction Uncovered events throughout summer 2011 starting with the Shoreditch House Literary Salon (19 May), The Book Stops Here (13 June) and, in association with Literary Death Match, at Latitude Festival (14 July). Fiction Uncovered is supported by Arts Council England and funded by the National Lottery.

Polygon Authors Open and Close Inaugral Festival

There hardly seems to be a town or city without a literary festival these days, but there is always room for one more! The latest is the Ayot Literary Festival, which will take place for the first time from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th June 2011 in the marquee on Ayot Green, near Welwyn Garden City. It’s a picturesque spot for a literary festival, complete with 18th century cottages clustered around a tranquil tree lined village green, and a charming acorn from which we hope a lovely huge oak will grow.   

Alexander McCall Smith

 

Jake Wallis Simons

 Two Polygon authors will be appearing at the festival, with Alexander McCall Smith being the first author to appear on the first day – a debut and a half! – to talk about the latest goings on at Corduroy Mansions in London’s slightly less picturesque Pimlico. And to neatly bookend what promises to be a wonderful weekend, Jake Wallis Simons will be the final author on the final day to read from and talk about his immensely moving novel, The English German Girl.

Tickets are now on sale, and more information on the festival can be found at http://www.greenfestivals.co.uk/.  

The English German Girl by Jake Wallis Simons

The world is all-too familiar with the horrors of Nazi Germany, but barely a year before the outbreak of the Second World War there began an operation to try and save some of the youngest and most vulnerable of its potential victims.

The English German Girl
by Jake Wallis Simons
out 14th April

 
The Kindertransport, also know as the Refugee Children Movement, took nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Free City of Danzig by train to place them in British foster homes, hostels, and farms. Most of the children rescued survived the war and some were reunited with their families, but most never saw them again.


Jake Wallis Simon’s new novel The English German Girl follows fifteen-year-old Rosa Klein as she leaves for England on a Kindertransport and tries to build a life which will bring her family safely out of Germany. As she struggles to even make herself understood in a foreign country, she begins to think that there are some promises that cannot be kept after all.


Already being hailed by survivors of the Kindertransport and novelists alike, more information on The English German Girl, the Kindertransport and Jake Wallis Simons can be found at http://www.theenglishgermangirl.com/.


The English German Girl by Jake Wallis Simons is published by Polygon on 14th April.