At a time when political, environmental and social gloom can seem overpowering, this remarkable work offers a lucid, affirmative and well-argued case for hope. This exquisite work traces a history of activism and social change over the past five decades - from the fall of the Berlin Wall, to the worldwide marches against the war in Iraq. Hope in the Dark is a paean to optimism in the uncertainty of the twenty-first century. Tracing the footsteps of the last century's thinkers - including Woolf, Gandhi, Borges, Benjamin and Havel - Solnit conjures a timeless vision of cause and effect that will light our way through the dark, and lead us to profound and effective political engagement. Read more

With a Preface by Reni Eddo-Lodge and an Introduction by Sara Ahmed Audre Lorde (1934-92) described herself as 'Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet'. Her extraordinary belief in the power of language of speaking to articulate selfhood, confront injustice and bring about change in the world remains as transformative today as it was then, and no less urgent. Your Silence Will Not Protect You brings Lorde's poetry and prose together for the first time. Read more

'Ravishingly beautiful' Observer'Excruciatingly honest and yet vibrantly creative' Irish Times'Provocative and rich' Economist'Daring, chilling, and unlike anything else you've ever read' Esquire'An absolute must-read' StylistWINNER OF THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2021 'A masterpiece. Proceed with caution' Phoebe BridgersIn the Dream House is Carmen Maria Machado's engrossing and wildly innovative account of a relationship gone bad. Tracing the full arc of a harrowing experience with a charismatic but volatile woman, this is a bold dissection of the mechanisms and cultural representations of psychological abuse.Each chapter views the relationship through a different lens, as Machado holds events up to the light and examines them from distinct angles. She casts a critical eye over legal proceedings, fairy tales, Star Trek and Disney villains, as well as iconic works of film and fiction, infusing all with her characteristic wit, playfulness and openness to enquiry. The result is a powerful book that explodes our ideas about what a memoir can do and be. Read more

From the critically acclaimed poet and classicist Anne Carson: a brilliant new translation of the work of Sappho, together with the original Greek. During her life on the island of Lesbos, Sappho is said to have composed nine books of lyrics. Only one poem has survived complete. In IF NOT, WINTER, Carson presents all the extant fragments of Sappho's verse, employing brackets and white space to denote missing text - allowing the reader to imagine the poems as they were written. Carson says of her method of translation: 'I like to think that, the more I stand out of the way, the more Sappho shows through.' And certainly her translation illuminates Sappho's reflections on love and desire, her companions and rivals, the goddess Aphrodite, her own daughter, Kleis. IF NOT, WINTER gives us an extraordinary ancient poet brought alive by a brilliantly empathetic contemporary poet. Complete with Carson's introduction and notes, it will become the standard translation of Sappho for our time. Read more

Vintage Feminism: classic feminist texts in short formWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY NATALIE HAYNESWhen this book was first published in 1949 it was to outrage and scandal. Never before had the case for female liberty been so forcefully and successfully argued. De Beauvoir’s belief that ‘One is not born, but rather becomes, woman’ switched on light bulbs in the heads of a generation of women and began a fight for greater equality and economic independence. These pages contain the key passages of the book that changed perceptions of women forever.TRANSLATED BY CONSTANCE BORDE AND SHEILA MALOVANY-CHEVALLIERANNOTATED AND INTRODUCED BY MARTINE REID Read more

Immerse yourself in may i come home, the sophomore release from writer Christopher Tapp, which offers a raw exploration of mental health, addiction, and identity within the queer community.Through road trip-inspired prose, readers delve into themes of trauma, healing, and self-discovery across four distinct sections: the lake outback, first car, photo albums, and home remedies.Join this journey of introspection and redefinition in a quest for inner stillness. Read more

‘there is a certain skill in delusion.in burying your head into the sand,or into the shoulder of whoever will let you.it might not be art,but it is damn near close-to take a few, spared words as gospel promisesand an unbothered body as a lover.if that is not talent, i do not know what is.’an unfortunate story of love, oranges, delusion and hatred. Read more

'Not only a dazzling analysis of the workings of sexism, but a balm for the soul. It will teach you how to survive and how to transform the world' Hannah DawsonWe have to keep saying it because they keep doing it.Do colleagues roll their eyes in a meeting when you use words like sexism or racism? Do you refuse to laugh at jokes that aren't funny? Have you been called divisive for pointing out a division? Then you are a feminist killjoy, and this handbook is for you.The term killjoy has been used to dismiss feminism by claiming that it causes misery. But by naming ourselves feminist killjoys, we recover a feminist history, turning it into a source of strength as well as an inspiration.Drawing on her own stories and those of others, especially Black and brown feminists and queer thinkers, Sara Ahmed combines depth of thought with honesty and intimacy. The Feminist Killjoy Handbook unpicks the lies our culture tells us and provides a form of solidarity and companionship that can be returned to over a lifetime. Read more

For nearly ninety years, Hollywood's brightest stars have favoured the Chateau Marmont as a home away from home. Filled with deep secrets but hidden in plain sight, its evolution parallels the growth of Hollywood itself. Perched above the Sunset Strip like a fairy-tale castle, the Chateau seems to come from another world entirely. An apartment-house-turned-hotel, it has been the backdrop for generations of gossip and folklore: 1930s bombshell Jean Harlow took lovers during her third honeymoon there; director Nicholas Ray slept with his sixteen-year-old Rebel Without a Cause star Natalie Wood; Anthony Perkins and Tab Hunter met poolside and began a secret affair; Jim Morrison swung from the balconies, once nearly falling to his death; John Belushi suffered a fatal overdose in a private bungalow; Lindsay Lohan got the boot after racking up nearly $50,000 in charges in less than two months. Much of what's happened inside the Chateau's walls has eluded the public eye - until now. With wit and prowess, Shawn Levy recounts the wild parties and scandalous liaisons, creative breakthroughs and marital breakdowns, births and untimely deaths that the Chateau Marmont has given rise to. Vivid, salacious and richly informed, the book is a glittering tribute to Hollywood as seen from the suites and bungalows of its most hallowed hotel. Read more

A SUNDAY TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH'Vivid, visceral and utterly immersive. Extraordinary' LIZ HYDER author of *TheGifts*'You can smell the spit and sawdust rising from the pages of thisatmospheric gothic novel.' - *RED Magazine*'A Violent, disturbing gothic tale compellingly told.' - *The Guardian*‘If you love Sarah Waters and dark historical fiction, you will no doubt behooked.’ - *Diva magazine*In the slums of 19th-century New York.A tattooed mystic fights for her life.Her survival hangs on the turn of a tarot card.Powerful, intoxicating and full of suspense. *The Knowing* is a darklyspellbinding novel about a girl fighting for her survival in the decayingcriminal underworlds.Whilst working as a living canvas for an abusive tattoo artist, Flora meetsMinnie, an enigmatic circus performer who offers her love and refuge in anopulent townhouse, home to the menacing Mr Chester Merton. Flora earns herkeep reading tarot cards for his guests whilst struggling to harness hergift, the Knowing - an ability to summon the dead. Caught in a dark lovetriangle between Minnie and Chester, Flora begins to unravel the secretsinside their house. Then at her first public séance, Flora hears the spiritof a murdered boy prostitute and exposes his killer, setting off a train ofevents which put her life at risk.The Knowing is a stunning debut inspired by real historical charactersincluding Maud Wagner, one of the first known female tattoo artists, NewYork gang the Dead Rabbits, and characters from PT Barnum's circus.Something Powerful Is Coming. Read more

I have been womanfor a long timebeware my smileI am treacherous with old magicFilled with rage and tenderness, Audre Lorde's most acclaimed poetry collection speaks of mothers and children, female strength and vulnerability, renewal and revenge, goddesses and warriors, ancient magic and contemporary America. These are fearless assertions of identity, told with incantatory power. 'Audre Lorde writes as a black woman, a mother, a daughter, a lesbian, a feminist, a visionary; poems of elemental wildness and healing, nightmare and lucidity ... which blaze and pulse on the page' Adrienne Rich Read more

'Dark, funny and wild.'- Chloe Ashby, author of WET PAINT'As ballsy as you'd hope' - Grazia'The words just sizzle off the page' - Glamour'Another triumph for feminism' - Red'Set to be one of the best books of 2022' - Red'A thrilling, bisexual romcom that doubles as a smart skewering of social media' - Evening Standard'... enjoyable first novel...' '...easy-to-read story...' - Independent'... the voice of her generation' '... the face of the future' - The Times Magazine'It's Carrie Bradshaw's columns in Sex and the City on steroids.' - The Times'Everything is IMMEDIATE. Emphasised.' - The Times'It's a kind of rags-to-unexpected-riches-to-devastating-realisation-back-to-older-wiser-rags type tale, almost 18th century in progression, except set in a thoroughly modern, even slightly futuristic world where life online is even more all consuming than we know it now.' - Sunday Independent'A hot debut novel with a dash of relatable existential dread' - Cosmopolitan'Seriously hot' - Cosmopolitan'Girlcrush is a funny, filthy and furious exploration of sexuality, identity and the expectations on us all. It's a rare combination - a page turner with a message.' - Daisy Buchanan'It feels like a ball of energy coming right for you. I loved this debut.' - Emma GannonGIRLCRUSH is a dark feminist retelling of Jekyll & Hyde by bestselling author Florence Given.In Given's debut novel, we follow Eartha on a wild, weird and seductive modern-day exploration as she commences life as an openly bisexual woman whilst also becoming a viral sensation on Wonderland, a social media app where people project their dream selves online.The distance between her online and offline self grows further and further apart until something dark happens that leads her into total self-destruction, forcing Eartha to make a choice; which version of herself should she kill off?Warning this book does include storylines that some readers may find triggering.*Also by Florence Given*Women Don't Owe You Pretty Read more

The fascinating story of an unconventional, bisexual and powerfully loving relationship and a unique portrait of gender and feminism - with a new introduction from Juliet Nicolson.'A brilliantly structured account of the dramas, infidelities and deep emotional attachments' GUARDIAN'An intimate and controversial account of his bisexual parents' open relationship' NEW YORK TIMES'One of the most absorbing stories, built around two very remarkable people, ever to stray from Gothic fiction into real life' TLSThe marriage was that between the two writers, Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson and the portrait is drawn partly by Vita herself in an autobiography which she left behind at her death in 1962 and partly by her son, Nigel. It was one of the happiest and strangest marriages there has ever been. Both Vita and Harold were always in love with other people and each gave the other full liberty 'without enquiry or reproach', knowing that their love for each other would be unaffected and even strengthened by the crises which it survived. This account of their love story is now a modern classic. Read more

'Ravishingly beautiful' Observer'Excruciatingly honest and yet vibrantly creative' Irish Times'Provocative and rich' Economist'Daring, chilling, and unlike anything else you've ever read' Esquire'An absolute must-read' StylistWINNER OF THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2021 'A masterpiece. Proceed with caution' Phoebe BridgersIn the Dream House is Carmen Maria Machado's engrossing and wildly innovative account of a relationship gone bad. Tracing the full arc of a harrowing experience with a charismatic but volatile woman, this is a bold dissection of the mechanisms and cultural representations of psychological abuse.Each chapter views the relationship through a different lens, as Machado holds events up to the light and examines them from distinct angles. She casts a critical eye over legal proceedings, fairy tales, Star Trek and Disney villains, as well as iconic works of film and fiction, infusing all with her characteristic wit, playfulness and openness to enquiry. The result is a powerful book that explodes our ideas about what a memoir can do and be. Read more

A Waterstones Best Memoir of 2024An Independent and Stylist Best Non-Fiction Book for 2024The captivating true story of an underdog business – a feminist bookshop founded in Thatcher’s Britain – from a woman at the heart of the women’s liberation movement.What was it like to start a feminist bookshop, in an industry dominated by men? How could a lesbian thrive in Thatcher’s time, with the government legislating to restrict her rights? How do you run a business when your real aim is to change the world?Silver Moon was the dream of three women – a bookshop with the mission to promote the work of female writers and create a much-needed safe space for any woman. Founded in 1980s London against a backdrop of homophobia and misogyny, it was a testament to the power of community, growing into Europe’s biggest women’s bookshop and hosting a constellation of literary stars from Margaret Atwood and Maya Angelou to Angela Carter. While contending with day-to-day struggles common to other booksellers, plus the additional burdens of misogyny and the occasional hate crime, Jane Cholmeley and her booksellers created a thriving business. But they also played a crucial and relatively unsung part in one the biggest social movements of our time.A Bookshop of One’s Own is a fascinating slice of social history from the heart of the women’s liberation movement, from a true feminist and lesbian icon. Written with heart and humour, it reveals the struggle and joy that comes with starting an underdog business, while being a celebration of the power women have to change the narrative when they are the ones holding the pen. Read more

'A brave writer whose books open up fundamental questions about life and art' – TelegraphIn this inspiring collection of essays, acclaimed writer and critic Olivia Laing makes a vivid and politically-engaged case for the importance of art – especially in the turbulent weather of the twenty-first century.We are often told art can’t change anything. In Funny Weather, Laing argues that it can. It changes how we see the world, it exposes inequality, and it offers fertile new ways of living.Across a diverse selection of essays, Laing profiles Jean-Michel Basquiat and Georgia O’Keeffe, interviews Hilary Mantel and Ali Smith, writes love letters to David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, and explores loneliness and technology, women and alcohol, sex and the body.Written with originality and compassion, Funny Weather is a celebration of art as a force of resistance and repair – and as an antidote to a frightening political moment. Read more

*PRE-ORDER HARUKI MURAKAMI’S NEW NOVEL, THE CITY AND ITS UNCERTAIN WALLS, NOW*A mystery story about love, the cosmos and other fictional universes.Sumire is in love with a woman seventeen years her senior. Miu is glamorous and successful. Sumire is an aspiring writer who dresses in an oversized second-hand coat and heavy boots like a character in a Kerouac novel.Sumire spends hours on the phone talking to her best friend K about the big questions in life: what is sexual desire, and should she ever tell Miu how she feels for her? Meanwhile K wonders whether he should confess his own unrequited love for Sumire.Then, a desperate Miu calls from a small Greek island: Sumire has mysteriously vanished...'Confirms Murakami as a master of his craft... Out of this world' Time Out Read more