Literature

Launched to coincide with National Limerick Day (Saturday May 12th), the three limericks have been created by Romlynn Ramos, Babak Ganjei and Max Wallis giffgaff commissions three limericks exploring the idea of small versus big – a concept explored in their latest brand campaign 'Not Like Them' - Romlynn Ramos We are the small: We are the solution  —The visionaries & not the pollution We’re not like them We are for all —The fighters of inclusion 'Home Made' - Babak Ganjei There's a problem With...

Britain has seldom been so divided. There are chasms that exist between the left and the right, gender and age divides and increasingly notable wealth disparities. And if you want a microcosm of that, few places evidence it as potently as London. London today is embattled as rarely before in peacetime. On one side the city has flourished, cementing its standing as a world leader in business and culture. On the other, poverty remains endemic, homelessness and the privations of...

The perfect age to write a novel is 50, according to a study of the bestselling authors of the past half-century. Unlike musicians, the BBC reported, writers tend to “mature with age”. But while it’s not as common for authors to land a publishing deal at a young age as it for pop singers, it is not unheard of. In an exclusive Q&A, The London Economic speaks to the acclaimed fiction author Katja Brown about the challenges that young people...

The story of modern business reads somewhat like the tale of David Vs Goliath, in that young, impudent startups have made significant inroads into the markets of the corporate giants. This is a trend that shows no sign of fading away. Quite the opposite, in fact, as new award-winning business guide The Corporate Startup makes clear. The established order is struggling to keep commercial pace with the innovation factory that is the start-up. It’s no mystery why this should be...

By Adrian C Grant The story of King Arthur and his brave Knights of the Round Table have captured imaginations for centuries. Numerous places across Britain – and further afield – have been associated with Arthurian legend, with scores of new (and largely improbable) sites popping up each year. Now, a British historian believes he has not only pinpointed the locations of Arthur’s legendary battles but also identified the man himself. Adrian C Grant speaks exclusively to The London Economic...

A pithy observation to start: Everything you have ever found funny involved pain. Everything, no exceptions, from the cradle to the wise-cracking hospice nurse, involved pain. An infant in its cradle giggles at the huge face looming over it because the baby’s eyes are still learning to focus and after a moment’s fear (“What monstrosity is this, that rises above my head?) comes the relief released in the form of laughter … and often a fountain of urine. Even the...

Let me tell you about something that no readers in Britain, Ireland or Western Europe can possibly relate to unless they are either from one of the vast countries of other continents, or perchance have driven hundreds or thousands of miles through Canada, the US or similar lands that bear night horizons lit only by stars with no halo of a distant city’s light. To live in a vast country means that a drive to the next large city can...

Irvine Welsh will unveil the final instalment of his Trainspotting era range of booke - in which one of his characters will be killed off - at a biscuit factory. The author will join the Edinburgh International Book Festival and arts collective Neu! Reekie! at the former Crawford's biscuit factory in the Leith area of Edinburgh for the event. Fans of the series will be read an excerpt from Dead Men's Trousers - which sees the beloved characters Renton, Begbie,...

In 2011, the Nobel prize-winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk spoke out about the “marginalisation” of non-English writers, about the ‘near-invisibility’ of writers in languages other than English, and about the persistent shortage of translations. He also criticised the response of British and American literary critics, who he said perceived him in narrow terms defined by his nationality. In short, he complained about the western world’s dominance over literary culture. But has anything changed since then? In an exclusive Q&A, The...