Birmingham is a writer's city with a long tradition of distinctive literary subcultures. Long-established novelists such as David Lodge and Jim Crace have spent most of their writing lives there, and the city continues to support and inspire a new generation of voices. Bringing together fiction from some of the city's most talented writers, The Book of Birmingham showcases and celebrates original and unusual writing, in all its forms.
'Read this book' Alastair Campbell 'A really wonderful book' Nigella Lawson via Twitter In 1975 Richard Beard was sent away to boarding school. So were Boris Johnson and David Cameron. He didn't enjoy it. But the first and most important lesson was not to let that show. A public school education has long been accepted in Britain as a preparation for leadership, but being separated from your parents at a young age is traumatic. What sort of adult does it mould? Tackling debates about privilege head-on, Sad Little Men reveals what happens when you put a succession of men from boarding schools into positions of influence, including at 10 Downing Street, and asks the question- is this really who we want in charge? 'The most important book I've read this year' Adam Rutherford