Amanda Craig – författare

In the worst day of the year, and on the twelfth day of Christmas, a group of people come under siege in Cross St, North London. A gang is hunting for a child who has been drawn into crime with tragic results; there is a riot outside the church where asylum seekers have been sleeping, and many cities have descended into fierce protests. Inside the Literary Cafe, a group of writers, bakers and shopkeepers are sheltering. Their petty feuds and past quarrels must be forgotten if they are to survive a gang armed with knives and a gun. Over a few hours, the divisions between high and low, old and new, haves and have-nots are thrown into violent contrast. Are they going to try to save themselves, or each other?

'This is a life-affirming read - take it on holiday, but leave the rest of the party at home' The Times'An intelligent and satisfying romantic comedy' Women and HomeAt the Casa Luna, friends and relations of the Noble family gather for fortnight's holiday in the enchanted Italian hills.Daniel, an American academic, is under pressure to marry Ellen, a witty and successful shoe designer.Hermani, doctor and single mother, is intrigued by Ivo - trickster, charmer, critic - the man Ellen most loathes in the world. Polly, meanwhile, hopes her domineering mother-in-law will help transform her feral children and give her some much-needed time alone with her workaholic husband. But the Casa Luna is a place where strange things happen, and anyone who lives there risks unexpected joys and sorrows...

'A novel written with passion and moral outrage' Sunday Times'Sympathetic, thought-provoking and often deeply moving' Daily Telegraph'You can't put this down' Independent Rich or poor, five people, seemingly very different, find their lives in the capital connected in undreamed-of ways. Job, the illegal mini-cab driver whose wife in Zimbabwe no longer answers his letters; Ian, the idealistic supply teacher in exile from South Africa; Katie from New York, jilted and miserable as a dogsbody at a political magazine, and fifteen-year-old Anna, trafficked into sexual slavery. Polly Noble, an overworked human rights lawyer, knows better than most how easy it is to fall through the cracks into the abyss. Yet when her au pair, Iryna, disappears, Polly's own needs and beliefs drag her family into a world of danger, deceit and terror.Riveting, humane, engaging, Hearts and Minds is a novel that is both entertaining and prepared to ask the most serious questions about the way we live.

'An excellent and entertaining read' Daily Mail'A love story and political comment, a defence of the art of fiction, a masterpiece' Evening Standard'Rich and splendid...viciously funny and a rip-roaring read' ElleA Vicious Circle exposes the corruption of London's journalistic circuit, the horrors of our hospitals and slums, and the transformations caused by motherhood. Gripping, tender and fiercely funny, it has been instantly recognised as a modern classic about the way we live now.

Knotshead is a school catering for the children of the rich, famous, liberal - and deluded. With its progressive curriculum, complacent staff and beautiful grounds, it looks like Paradise. But the clever, the odd and the bookish are relentlessly persecuted as pupils make their own rules in a bubble of privilege and prejudice. When Alice, the Headmaster's intellectual step-daughter, and the much-expelled American millionaire Winthrop T Sheen join forces against the school bully, Grub Viner, a gifted pianist and school "joker", has to choose between love and loyalty, and black comedy escalates to murder.

'A very good read indeed' MATT HAIG'Terrific, page-turning, slyly funny' INDIA KNIGHT'As satisfying a novel as I have read in years' SARAH PERRY'One of the most brilliant and entertaining novelists' ALISON LURIEQuentin and Lottie Bredin, like many modern couples, can't afford to divorce. Having lost their jobs in the recession, they can't afford to go on living in London; instead, they must downsize and move their three children to a house in a remote part of Devon. Arrogant and adulterous, Quentin can't understand why Lottie is so angry; devastated and humiliated, Lottie feels herself to have been intolerably wounded.Mud, mice and quarrels are one thing - but why is their rent so low? What is the mystery surrounding their unappealing new home? The beauty of the landscape is ravishing, yet it conceals a dark side involving poverty, revenge, abuse and violence which will rise up to threaten them.Sally Verity, happily married but unhappily childless knows a different side to country life, as both a Health Visitor and a sheep farmer's wife; and when Lottie's innocent teenage son Xan gets a zero-hours contract at a local pie factory, he sees yet another. At the end of their year, the lives of all will be changed for ever. A suspenseful black comedy, this is a rich, compassionate and enthralling novel in its depiction of the English countryside, and the potentially lethal interplay between money and marriage.A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, TELEGRAPH, NEW STATESMAN, EVENING STANDARD, SUNDAY TIMES AND IRISH TIMES

'A highly enjoyable story about female resilience... with a twist that is all the more compelling for its unexpectedness' Sunday Times'She's such a skilful storyteller, who vividly dramatizes our lives with wit, wisdom and compassion' Bernardine Evaristo'Amanda Craig anatomises the state of the nation with wit and empathy' Jonathan Coe'An irresistible summer read' Guardian'A typically sharp and hugely satisfying page-turner' Daily MailWhen Hannah is invited into the first-class carriage of the London to Penzance train, she walks into a spider's web. Now a poor young single mother, she once escaped Cornwall to go to university, but after marriage to Jake her dreams turned to bitter disillusion. Her husband has left her for a rich woman, and Hannah has survived by working as a cleaner. Jinni is equally angry, and in the course of their journey the two women agree to murder each other's husbands. After all, they are strangers on a train - who could possibly connect them?But when Hannah goes to Jinni's house she meets its shambolic caretaker, who claims Jinni is very different to the person Hannah had been led to believe. Who is telling the truth - and what will become of the women's pact to commit a terrible crime?

'A brilliant piece of storytelling that revels in the world of expat old ladies in Tuscany, and should be the book that everybody's reading this summer' Andrew O'Hagan'In the Tuscan hilltop village of Santorno, the setting for Amanda Craig's entertaining and bracing new novel, the Three Graces of her title are preparing for a spring wedding. Adorning this idyll Craig's Graces - Ruth, Marta and Diana - are a trio of elderly expatriates with a total of "four breasts, five eyes and three hip replacements" between them... witty, sharp-eyed and ridiculously enjoyable' Christobel Kent, GuardianWhen Enzo, a local villager, shoots an illegal immigrant from his bedroom window one night it triggers a series of events that embroil old and young, rich and poor, native and foreign. 'Enjoyable and provocative... romantic and realistic' Emily Rhodes, Spectator'I absolutely LOVED The Three Graces. It's about Tuscany and Umbria and Italy and immigration and ageing and generational divides and art and beauty and music and suffering and love and joy and life. It's bursting with compassion and wisdom' Christina Patterson

At eighteen, Emma Kenward runs away from her dull Sloane home to try her luck as a painter in Tuscany. Waspish, idealistic and far too clever for her own good, she is at the awkward age when women choose their futures - and their identities.Once in Italy, Emma blossoms and is taken up by a a mixture of characters including the local Contessa; Sylvia, her volatile American mentor; Dr Evenlode, an Oxford don she'd hoped never to see again; and Lucio, a seductive and anarchic young Italian, as interested in Emma's body as in her mind. Santorno, however, is not merely a picturesque town set in the golden landscape of the Tuscan countryside. Hidden among the malicious tongues of the provincial gossips and the walls of the mysterious Palazzo Felici lie secrets, long buried, but not forgotten. Emma, ever curious, delves deep and discovers the truth about her new world, her old self - and a gruesome murder.

Thirty-nine, divorced, jobless: Benedick Hunter is going nowhere, heading in the exact opposite direction he expected. So when he comes across a children's book that his mother, Laura, wrote, he decides that her life and work - haunting stories replete with sinister woods, wicked witches and brave girls who battle giants - hold the key to finding out why his own life is such a mess.Setting out to discover why Laura killed herself when he was six, Benedick travels to the US. As he grows more obsessed with what happened to his mother, Benedick enters into a dark wood - one that is both hilariously real and terrifyingly psychological. Dark humorous and inventive, In a Dark Wood casts light on the nature of depression, genius and of the healing power of storytelling.

'Terrific, page-turning, slyly funny' India Knight'As satisfying a novel as I have read in years' Sarah Perry'Absolutely magnificent' Marian KeyesQuentin and Lottie Bredin, like many modern couples, can't afford to divorce. Having lost their jobs in the recession, they can't afford to go on living in London; instead, they must downsize and move their three children to a house in a remote part of Devon. Arrogant and adulterous, Quentin can't understand why Lottie is so angry; devastated and humiliated, Lottie feels herself to have been intolerably wounded.Mud, mice and quarrels are one thing - but why is their rent so low? What is the mystery surrounding their unappealing new home? The beauty of the landscape is ravishing, yet it conceals a dark side involving poverty, revenge, abuse and violence which will rise up to threaten them.Sally Verity, happily married but unhappily childless knows a different side to country life, as both a Health Visitor and a sheep farmer's wife; and when Lottie's innocent teenage son Xan gets a zero-hours contract at a local pie factory, he sees yet another. At the end of their year, the lives of all will be changed for ever. A suspenseful black comedy, this is a rich, compassionate and enthralling novel in its depiction of the English countryside, and the potentially lethal interplay between money and marriage.

'Hugely entertaining' Telegraph'She's such a skilful storyteller who vividly dramatises our lives with wit, wisdom and compassion'BERNARDINE EVARISTO'I revelled in The Three Graces - such an intriguing cast, so convincingly presented, and a narrative that continually surprises' PENELOPE LIVELY'A brilliant piece of storytelling... it should be the book everybody's reading this summer'ANDREW O'HAGAN'Gorgeous and generous... rich with characters and suffused with sunlight' LISSA EVANSWhen Enzo shoots an illegal migrant from his bedroom one night, it triggers a series of events that embroil old and young, rich and poor, native and foreign. His elderly neighbours Ruth, Diana and Marta are three friends who have retired to Tuscany. Ruth's favourite grandson Olly is about to get married from her idyllic hillside farmhouse; however, the bride, Tania, seems curiously unengaged by anything but vlogging as a social media influencer. Marta, preparing to give the annual music recital sponsored by a Russian oligarch in hiding from Putin, is increasingly unwell, and her grandson, Xan, is full of resentment at the inequalities he encounters. Diana is nursing her husband, Lord Evenlode, who is living with dementia, and looking back over a long and troubled marriage.Over two weeks in May, all these characters will face challenging choices as they grapple with their own past and with present dangers. For although the Tuscan spring looks as ravishing as a Renaissance painting, the realities of modern life make it harder and harder to believe that there is more that unites us than what keeps us apart.Brilliant, enthralling, funny and generous, this is an exploration of the indomitable human heart.

'She's such a skilful storyteller who vividly dramatises our lives with wit, wisdom and compassion' Bernardine Evaristo'Do you know why lifeboats have an axe in them?''To chop down trees on a desert island?''No. To cut off the hands of swimmers who can't be saved, because otherwise the boat and everyone in it will sink.'When Enzo shoots an illegal migrant from his bedroom one night, it triggers a series of events that embroil old and young, rich and poor, native and foreign. His elderly neighbours Ruth, Diana and Marta are three friends who have retired to Tuscany. Ruth's favourite grandson Olly is about to get married from her idyllic hillside farmhouse; however, the bride, Tania, seems curiously unengaged by anything but vlogging as a social media influencer. Marta, preparing to give the annual music recital sponsored by a Russian oligarch in hiding from Putin, is increasingly unwell, and her grandson, Xan, is full of resentment at the inequalities he encounters. Diana is nursing her demented husband, Lord Evenlode, and desperate for her own freedom to begin.Over two weeks in May, all these characters will face challenging choices as they grapple with their own past and with present dangers. For although the Tuscan spring looks as ravishing as a Renaissance painting, the realities of modern life make it harder and harder to believe that there is more that unites us than what keeps us apart.Brilliant, enthralling, funny and generous, this is an exploration of the indomitable human heart.

'Craig anatomises the state of the nation with wit and empathy' JONATHAN COE'The most mischievous take imaginable on the way we live now' FRANCIS SPUFFORD'Terrific' PHILIP PULLMAN'Sharp and funny, clear-eyed and unsentimental' CLARE CHAMBERS'She's such a skilful storyteller who vividly dramatises our lives with wit, wisdom and compassion' BERNARDINE EVARISTOIn the worst day of the year, and on the twelfth day of Christmas, a group of people come under siege in Cross St, North London.A gang is hunting for a child who has been drawn into crime with tragic results; there is a riot outside the church where asylum seekers have been sleeping, and many cities have descended into fierce protests.Inside the Literary Cafe, a group of writers, bakers and shopkeepers are sheltering. Their petty feuds and past quarrels must be forgotten if they are to survive a gang armed with knives and a gun.Over a few hours, the divisions between high and low, old and new, haves and have-nots are thrown into violent contrast. Are they going to try to save themselves, or each other?

How do we keep our kids close while cultivating the confidence they'll need to grow up? How do we navigate the inevitable dips, divides, and potholes? Where do we find the strength, self-awareness, and wisdom that amount to a path forward?Despite the parenting opportunities in the tween years, we often spend time focused on academics and the social concerns of elementary school then quickly pivot to worries about safety, drugs, sex and the rebellious behavioral issues of the teen years. We think we're connecting but we're not. We miss the neurological explosion that is taking place before us as tweens experience four significant changes that shake them (and us) to their core.- Their brains are changing.- They feel and experience emotions they do not recognize.- They're hyperaware of themselves.- They do not know how to express themselves.Most importantly, parents still have a "seat at the table" to make positive impressions on their tweens as they prepare them for the teenage years.

So you have a Tween! What now? Dr. Amanda Craig knows what it's like to watch your child go from sweet elementary student to moody tween in the span of just a few years and she's here to help navigate you through it!How do we keep our kids close while cultivating the confidence they'll need to grow up? How do we navigate the inevitable dips, divides, and potholes? Where do we find the strength, self-awareness, and wisdom that amount to a path forward?Despite the parenting opportunities in the tween years, we often spend time focused on academics and the social concerns of elementary school then quickly pivot to worries about safety, drugs, sex and the rebellious behavioral issues of the teen years. We think we're connecting but we're not. We miss the neurological explosion that is taking place before us as tweens experience four significant changes that shake them (and us) to their core.- Their brains are changing.- They feel and experience emotions they do not recognize.- They're hyperaware of themselves.- They do not know how to express themselves.Most importantly, parents still have a "seat at the table" to make positive impressions on their tweens as they prepare them for the teenage years.

'A daring collection written in response to lockdown' Alison MacLeod 'A collection that reminds us what it is to be human. A book for right now' , Angela Readman '18 well-chosen stories, loosely based on the idea of solitude, explore loss, loneliness and love,'DAILY MAIL Brilliantly funny, terrifying, tender and sharp: the best short stories to come out of lockdown.