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Anna Sayburn Lane

Thriller author

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Love [reading] in a time of coronavirus

March 16, 2020 by Anna Sayburn Lane

Strange times.

I had a cracking weekend of activities planned. On Saturday, I was going to lead a walk around Deptford and along the Thames, in the footsteps of Christopher Marlowe, Samuel Pepys, John Evelyn, Joseph Conrad and more. It was to be part of Deptford Literature Festival, a day of mostly free events, many aimed at families, to get people excited about reading and writing.

On Sunday, I had tickets for the Killer Women crime writing festival in London. I was looking forward to hearing about new releases, to talking to experts and meeting other writers.

Both festivals were cancelled with a few days’ notice. As a friend commented, literary festivals are not that crucial in the current context. But spare a thought for all the people who worked so hard to bring the events together. Literary festivals are also a great way for authors to promote their books, and many people with new books out, which they have laboured over for years, will see their time in the spotlight come and go.

With a suddenly empty diary, and the potential need for self-isolation in future, I did what I always do in times of crisis. I headed for my local bookshop and stocked up. My ‘stockpile’ consists of the new Hilary Mantel novel, The Mirror and the Light (which I have been longing for since I finished Bring up the Bodies, seven long years ago), plus Daisy Jones and the Six, which I’ve heard great things about, plus a copy of the wonderful reader’s quarterly, Slightly Foxed.

If you want me, I’ll be reading. And if you think that sounds like a good idea, contact your local indie bookshop. Most take orders and will arrange delivery, if you’re self-isolating. And don’t forget you can find your local through Hive. They face a tough time, as do we all. Let’s support each other.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Books I loved in 2019

December 31, 2019 by Anna Sayburn Lane

Well, 2019 was a bit bumpy, wasn’t it? As always, I took refuge from the vicissitudes of the UK’s fortunes with a lot of good books. Looking over my list this year, it’s quite heavy on dystopia, with some unflinching real life reportage and a top-note of hope.

In no particular order, I enjoyed:

1. John Lanchester, The Wall. An all-too-believable future Britain, grimly keeping out the Others. Beautifully written, with the best exploration of cold and boredom I have ever read. Sure, it was bleak, but the humour and humanity kept me gripped to the bitter end.

2. Margaret Atwood, The Testaments (and The Handmaid’s Tale). I began by re-reading The Handmaid’s Tale, which I first read more than 25 years ago, before diving into The Testaments. In both books I was most interested in the way she showed how oppressive regimes maintain their position by exploiting our fear and self-interest. Everyone thinks they would resist – but would we really?

3. Various authors, Refugee Tales III. The latest edition of stories from around the world, washing up on our shores. You can’t think of someone as other when you’ve listened – really listened – to their story.

4. Alan Moore, V for Vendetta and From Hell. Graphic novels are well outside my usual comfort zone. I read them for research for my next novel, and found them unsettling, gripping and immersive. From Hell in particular was a tough one, with far more horror (graphically depicted) than I usually read. But a forcible introduction to the genre.

5. Anna Burns, Milkman. God, I loved this book. The unmistakeable voice of the narrator, the absurdity of the humour, the all-enveloping claustrophobia within which horrors that would be tolerated nowhere else seem normal.

6. Toni Morrison, Jazz. I’d not read this novel until Morrison’s death was announced this year. The obituaries sent me back to her output, and I had my eyes opened to the formal inventiveness of her work, especially in this spiky, riffing, cut-up novel of life on the edges of New York’s Harlem.

7. Ali Smith, Spring. Third in the quartet of seasonal novels from Smith, and the one that takes her closest to the Refugee Tales project, of which she is patron. Her experience of visiting the detention centre at Gatwick comes through clearly in this novel of hope, redemption and the power of stories.

8. Kerry Hudson, Lowborn. I was lucky enough to catch Kerry Hudson talking about her visceral memoir at the Bookseller Crow independent bookshop in Crystal Palace this year. It will break your heart and re-make it, with a bit more space inside.

9. Diana Evans, Ordinary People. More Crystal Palace memories, just as I leave the place where I’ve lived for the past 17 years. An ordinary love story set among ordinary people in an ordinary London suburb. In extraordinarily clear prose, it explains why love is not always enough.

10. Pat Barker, The Silence of the Girls. This was the book that started my year – an astonishing conjuring-up of the stink and guts of war, and the misery that it inflicts on the non-combatants – the women, the children, the girls.

My general reading aim for next year is to read books that will help me understand the world – and in particular the country – I live in. The last few years, I’ve found myself struggling to understand the choices we in the UK have made. Time to listen harder, read more carefully, and learn better.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Event: Lewisham Library Saturday 16 November

October 29, 2019 by Anna Sayburn Lane

I’ll be back in south London in November to meet the fabulous book groups at Lewisham Libraries, who have been reading Unlawful Things.

I’ll be reading from the novel and answering questions, so if you’re in south London and have a burning question about Unlawful Things, do come along. Entrance is free.

Tickets available via

Facebook

Eventbrite

 

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Unlawful Things at the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival

August 25, 2019 by Anna Sayburn Lane

I’m excited to announce that I will be appearing at the prestigious Bloody Scotland crime writing festival next month, reading from Unlawful Things on Sunday 22 September.

The festival attracts lots of big names. This year the programme includes Ian Rankin, David Baldacci and Lisa Jewell, and many more.

The festival has a “Crime in the Spotlight” programme, which highlights new and upcoming crime writers. I was thrilled to be selected as one of this year’s 12 Spotlighters. I’ll be appearing alongside Icelandic crime queen Yrsa Sigurdardottir, who will be interviewed after my reading. Her detective Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, a lawyer, is also an amateur sleuth with a record of digging up secrets from the past.

It’s great for a new writer to get such good exposure, and I’m hoping to introduce some crime fans to Helen Oddfellow. I wonder how the two fictional detectives would get along in real life!

Find out more about the festival here.

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Unlawful Things Tagged With: bloody scotland, crime writing, festival, Unlawful Things

Event: Storytelling, 22 February, Crystal Palace

January 25, 2019 by Anna Sayburn Lane

It’s been a while, but I’ve enjoyed telling my short stories at venues in London over the past few years. I’ve told stories about best friends (the sort you love to hate) at the George Inn in Southwark, tall tales about killer rats at the Lido Cafe in Herne Hill, and now I’m warming up for Open Mic Night at the Paxton Centre in Crystal Palace.

I have a soft spot for the Paxton Centre, a quirky independent arts venue run by artist and ceramicist Beth Mander. It hosted my launch party for Unlawful Things back in December, and Beth made sure the night went smoothly. The Paxton’s monthly Open Mic Night is a mixture of music and spoken word performances, and usually gets a lively audience. It’s hosted by acclaimed poet Joe Duggan, whose own poetry performances are by turns funny, moving and powerful. I was thrilled when Joe asked me to do a slot.

I’m going to tell an old favourite, one of my first published short stories, Stag. It’s about the terrifying consequences of upsetting the local goddesses, the morning after a stag do, in my old hunting ground of Greenwich Park. Let’s just say the wedding may need to be postponed…

You can book tickets (a very reasonable £3) here: https://www.thepaxtoncentre.co.uk/whats-on/2019/2/22/open-mic-night.

Stag was first published in the ‘penny dreadful for the 21st century’ magazine One Eye Grey.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Welcome to Anna Sayburn Lane’s website

July 27, 2018 by Anna Sayburn Lane

Welcome to my new author site. I’ll be using it to share news about my upcoming novel, Unlawful Things, a thriller set in contemporary London that uncovers secrets from the city’s history.
This is my first novel and I’m enjoying learning about the publication process. Right now, I’m working with a cover designer to come up with an exciting, intriguing cover for the book. I’ll share it with you as soon as it’s ready.
I’ll also share news about the launch for the book and (of course) how you can get hold of a copy. It’s on track to be published in Autumn 2018.
Over the next few weeks I’ll share some more information about the path to publication. The original idea for Unlawful Things came to me while walking the pilgrim’s route from London to Canterbury. London, its history and literature, are always a source of inspiration.
If you too are interested in the way the past and the present interweave in London, you might want to sign up for my newsletter. As well as news about books and events, every subscriber will get a hand-drawn map of Southwark in south London, with information about some of the historical sites – from Chaucer’s pilgrim inn to Shakespeare and Marlowe’s theatres – you can still visit today. The photos below give you a flavour of some of the places included.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Canterbury Tales, Christopher Marlowe, Globe Theatre, Southwark Cathedral, Unlawful Things, Winchester Palace

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