Jane Rusbridge's Blog, page 5
April 22, 2013
Books on the Beach
Date: 7th JULY 2013
ALL DAY
Place : West Wittering Beach 
I’ll be joined by my fellow Three Sussex Writers, Isabel Ashdown and Gabrielle Kimm, for a day on the beach signing and selling our books and chatting to readers. We are raising funds for a local charity – see you there!
More details nearer the time…
April 21, 2013
A Festival of Chichester exclusive: the paperback launch of ROOK by Jane Rusbridge
Local author Jane Rusbridge will celebrate the paperback launch of her latest novel Rook, a Guardian Readers’ Book of the Year, at the inaugural Festival of Chichester.
Rook (Bloomsbury, 2012) is set in Bosham, where King Cnut demonstrated that even he could not hold back the waves.
‘A mesmerising story of family, legacy and turning back the tides which brings to life the shifting Sussex sands and the rich seam of history lying just beneath them’
Guardian
Jane will be joined by poet Stephanie Norgate, Reader in Creative Writing at the University of Chichester, whose latest collection is The Blue Den (2012).
The two writers will talk about the influence of landscape and memory on their work and answer questions. Afterwards they will sign books and there’ll be a chance to chat over a complimentary glass of wine.
Date: 11th July 2013
Time: 6pm
Place: Chichester Waterstones, The Dolphin & Anchor, West St, Chichester PO19 9HD
Tickets: £3 (redeemable against the price of the books on the night)
Available now online, here
and by post, telephone or in person from Cloisters Shop, Cathedral Cloisters, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1PX. Tel 01243 813595
‘Rusbridge’s sympathetic and respectful handling of a sensitive issue conveys an emotional impact that resonates long after the closing pages’
Times Literary Supplement
April 10, 2013
Talk at W.I.Annual Literary Lunch at Boxgrove
photo from the westsussex.info website
In May I’ll be visiting the historic village of Boxgrove, famous for the discovery of Boxgrove Man A shin bone and two teeth thought to be half a million years old were found in a gravel quarry during a dig in the nineties.
In the centre of the village is Boxgrove Priory which, according to an entry in the Domesday book of 1086 tells us that a church existed here even before the Norman Conquest. Unfortunately nothing remains of that Anglo-Saxon church, but the present building dates from the early twelfth century.
I’m visiting Boxgrove for the Annual Literary Lunch organised by Boxgrove W.I Readers’ Group for other local W.I. book groups for the last six years and am honoured to have been invited to give this year’s talk.
‘Rusbridge’s fine perceptions of the natural world, the way her writing is steeped in the landscape, history and culture of West Sussex, help define her as a talented new regional voice’ Read Rachel Hore’s review in Book Oxygen
Read more 5* Amazon reviews for ROOK
You can buy ROOK Online from
or order it from your local bookshop.
April 9, 2013
Pimms & Prose with Jane Rusbridge, Isabel Ashdown and Gabrielle Kimm
Fancy spending a summer’s afternoon chatting with three award-winning writers over a glass of Pimms?
Then join Three Sussex Writers Jane Rusbridge, Isabel Ashdown and Gabrielle Kimm for an afternoon of readings, informal conversation and book signing in the delightful surroundings of Amelie & Friends in Chichester.
Date: Friday 28th June Time: 3-5pm
Place: Amelie & Friends Tickets: £5
Tickets available online, www.chichestertickets.co.uk, or by post, telephone and in person from Cloisters Shop, Cathedral Cloisters, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1PX. Tel 01243 813595
The Festival of Chichester programme is available in full on the festival website
Jane Rusbridge’s latest novel, ROOK, is a Guardian Readers’ Book of the Year 2012
Available online from
or order it from your local bookshop.
ISBN 978 1 4088 1795 7
‘A mesmerising story of family, legacy and turning back the tides which brings to life the shifting Sussex sands and the rich seam of history lying just beneath them.’ Guardian
April 8, 2013
Festival of Chichester: A Writing Workshop with award-winning authors Isabel Ashdown, Gabrielle Kimm and Jane Rusbridge
Ever wanted to try your hand at writing, without committing to a full-time course? At the inaugural Festival of Chichester you’ll have your chance: a workshop with not one but three, critically acclaimed writers all of whom gained Creative Writing M.As from Chichester University before going on to publishing success. There’ll be book talk, informal writing exercises and Q&A.
Tea and home-made cakes will be provided.
Join us!
Time: 6 July 2013 2-4pm
Place: The Friends’ Meeting House, Priory Road, Chichester PO19 1NX
Cost: £10
Tickets available online HERE
April 2, 2013
West Meon Literary Festival 2013
West Meon’s literary festival is a small and informal celebration of literature taking place in an ancient Hampshire village in the heart of the beautiful South Downs National Park. This year’s emphasis is on nature writing, with British natural historian, birder, author and Bafta award-winning television producer Stephen Moss taking part, along with novelists Jane Gardam, Kate Mosse, Michael Morpurgo, Elizabeth Buchan - and me. I’ll be chatting about the inspirations behind my second novel, ROOK.
The Festival takes place in association with One Tree Books of Petersfield, recently voted Independent Bookseller of the Year.
West Meon is midway between Winchester and Petersfield which both have good services to London Waterloo with journey times of around an hour. For more details of how to get there, see the West Meon Festival website
Date: July 14th
Time & Place: tbc
Tickets: available online from the festival website or by post from One Tree Books from mid April
Photo of West Meon by Herry Lawford
Author photo by Natalie Miller
West Meon Literary Festival 2014
West Meon’s literary festival is a small and informal celebration of literature taking place in an ancient Hampshire village in the heart of the beautiful South Downs National Park. This year’s emphasis is on nature writing, with British natural historian, birder, author and Bafta award-winning television producer Stephen Moss taking part, along with novelists Jane Gardam, Kate Mosse, Michael Morpurgo, Elizabeth Buchan - and me. I’ll be chatting about the inspirations behind my second novel, ROOK.
The Festival takes place in association with One Tree Books of Petersfield, recently voted Independent Bookseller of the Year.
West Meon is midway between Winchester and Petersfield which both have good services to London Waterloo with journey times of around an hour. For more details of how to get there, see the West Meon Festival website
Date: July 14th
Time & Place: tbc
Tickets: available online from the festival website or by post from One Tree Books from mid April
Photo of West Meon by Herry Lawford
Author photo by Natalie Miller
March 5, 2013
Where DO Your Favourite Writers Write? Why not take a peek…
In the third in her new series ‘Where Writers Write’, literary blogger ‘Cornflower books’ comes into my writing room, asks some questions and has a good look around.
We talk about why I can’t write in cafes, various notebooks, noise, and painting the walls cobalt blue. You can find the interview in detail – plus pictures – right here.
And a review of Rook by Cornflower books from which the extract below is taken, here
‘Spanning six months from early summer to winter, the narrative circles and spirals, shifts and settles like a flock of birds in a wheeling swoop before coming to rest. Its shape and texture lets the many layers of the characters’ histories rise gradually to the surface, and every scene uses clear-sighted observation to raise the grain of its fabric to almost tangibly detailed effect. It is an affecting work, closely woven, beautifully tempered, and it bears out the promise of Jane’s first novel, The Devil’s Music,
in fine style; it’s a superb piece of writing.’ Rook by Jane Rusbridge
February 18, 2013
Questions? Here are some answers …
I love talking about books, writing and the creative process so if you have any questions please feel free to send them my way. However, here are a few I’ve answered recently – you may find your answer is already here.
August 2012: ROOK’s publication month …
What the Dickens? Literary Magazine: p6: route to publication, reasons for writing and research.
My Undercover Soundtrack : music and writing Rook ‘wrestling with ferocity over the music’
Interviews:
Words Unlimited: writing into the dark, Heaney’s Preoccupations and gifts from the unconscious.
Worthing Book Network : family secrets and untold stories; growing up in Bexhill-on-sea; the ‘extraordinary magic that lies in the everyday’
Novel Kicks : planning v. not planning; 5 tips for new writers; do writers have favourite characters?
We Love This Book : interview with Janette Currie: on Simon Schama, landscape and memory, and writing difficult emotional scenes
Autumn 2012
Services to Literature : Rook’s journey; imprinting and my mother-in-law’s pet rook; why colour is important to me as a writer.
Vanessa Gebbie’s blog : on research, finding a uniting thread, and love of landscape
How I Write: for Untitled Books
Interview with Jackie Buxton for Chase Magazine
Winter 2012: some online Q&A
February 11, 2013
Is Harold II buried at Bosham Church?
National excitement at the discovery of Richard III’s skeleton under a car park in Leicester has led some to ask questions about other English kings whose burial sites are still a mystery, one of whom is Harold II. When researching for Rook, I read more than one theory as to where his remains lie – could it be Waltham Abbey, which he founded, or a cairn on a headland somewhere on the south coast, exact position unknown? Then there’s John Pollock’s theory.
John Pollock lived in Bosham, West Sussex for many years, and he has argued that the remains discovered in 1954 in a stone coffin under the chancel arch in the village church are Harold’s. The Bayeux Tapestry shows Harold praying at Bosham church. Pollock’s imaginative theory, explained in detail in the pamphlet ‘Is King Harold buried in Bosham Church?’, inspired part of the story in Rook.
Want to know more? 
Then why not enter this month’s Three Sussex Writers Book Competition to win a signed first edition of Rook, along with a copy of John Pollock’s pamphlet?
‘the Anglo-Saxon material is genuinely fascinating and the writing itself is really fine – often lush and ambitiously poetic but always controlled’ Daily Mail
Read Harry Ritchie’s review in the Daily Mail
