Ajay Chowdhury, the inaugural winner of the Harvill Secker-Bloody Scotland prize, is a tech entrepreneur and theatre director. His children’s book – Ayesha and the Firefish, was published in 2016 and adapted into a musical which premiered in San Francisco. 
 
 
The Waiter (Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month), was published in 2021, and is the first in his critically-acclaimed crime series about Detective Kamil Rahman, an ex-policeman from Kolkata who has moved to Brick Lane in London. It is being adapted for television by Moonage Pictures.The Cook (Guardian Top Crime Books of the Year) was published in May 2022 to excellent reviews and deals with the issue of homelessness. The third book in the series – The Detective (Sunday Times Top Crime Books of the Year) – is about government surveillance and AI. The Spy (Longlisted Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing), the fourth book, sees Kamil infiltrate a terrorist cell. The Shadow (A Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month) is the latest book in the series.

Ajay Chowdhury

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Simon Frith

Chris Arnot

The Archers Archives celebrates 60 years of the nation's favourite radio drama - looking back at the most dramatic events to happen over 16,000 episodes, complete with cast and crew interviews. Relive the defining moments in Archers history, from the devastating 1955 stables fire and the 1957 Tom Forrest manslaughter charge to the shocking imprisonment of Susan Carter in the early 1990s, the revelation of Brian Aldridge's affair with Siobhan Hathaway, and the Grundys' eviction from Grange Farm and exile to Meadow Rise. 
 
Script-writer Simon Frith and journalist Chris Arnot take you inside the creative life of the show, sharing how the series' storylines are planned and produced, and how the historical and cultural background of each period is interwoven into the everyday lives of the residents of Ambridge. Complete with original photos, some never-before-seen, The Archers Archives is an indispensable addition to every Archers fan's collection.

The Archers Archives

Justin Richards

23 November 1963: The first ever episode of Doctor Who – An Unearthly Child – is broadcast. 
21 July 1969 - Silence Will Fall 
23 August 2014: Deep Breath is Peter Capaldi’s first full episode as the Twelfth Doctor. 
3 March 2472 - The Master tracks down the Doomsday Weapon 
 
For over half a century, Doctor Who has entertained and enthralled fans with the time-travelling adventures of the Doctor. From the first glimpse of a police telephone box in a Totter’s Lane junkyard to the fall of the Time Lords' home planet, Gallifrey, Doctor Who has provided a near-inexhaustible list of indelible memories. 
 
Doctor Who: 365 is a unique and captivating chronicle of those moments – flashes of drama or humour, terror or joy, for each and every day of the year. Revisiting classic battles, thrilling escapes, iconic characters, game-changing plot twists and more, Justin Richards creates a fascinating portrait of the world’s longest running science fiction series, and an essential addition to any Doctor Who fan’s collection.

Doctor Who: 365 Days of Memorable Moments and Impossible Things

Reggie Yates

From Grange Hill to Top of the Pops, Reggie Yates has been on camera nearly all of his life, but it’s as a documentary filmmaker – and a pretty fearless one at that – where he has truly been making his mark, investigating everything from gun crime in Chicago, to life as a refugee in Iraq. 
 
In his first book, Unseen, Reggie takes us behind the scenes on his journey from TV host to documentary storyteller. Using some of the key moments and extreme circumstances he has found himself in, Reggie examines what he has learned about the world, and himself as a person. 
 
Beginning as a brief exploration of Reggie’s relationship with the camera and life growing up on screen, Unseen explores the journey Reggie has taken in the documentary world. Initially resistant to documentary making, Reggie was convinced his point of view as a young black working class man with a history in music, children’s TV and entertainment would not make his films remotely credible. Through conflict and challenges on screen, the understanding gained from the very thing once seen as a weakness would become his strength on camera, as the eye of the everyman and voice of the audience. Unseen unpicks the stories behind the fascinating characters and situations Reggie encounters across a series of films, as well as chronicling the personal growth through each testing shoot for Yates himself.

Unseen

My Journey

Steve Tribe

A visually stunning and comprehensive guide to the hit BBC series, Sherlock: Chronicles tells the full story of the show as you’ve never seen it before. 
 
Packed with exclusive unseen material, including all-new interviews with the cast and crew, this is Sherlock from the ground up: from story and script development to casting, sets, costumes, props, music and more. Each episode of the spectacular three series is remembered by those who made it, from the show’s dazzling debut in A Study in Pink to this year’s breathtaking finale, His Last Vow. 
 
Featuring over 500 images of concept artwork, photographs, costume and set designs, and more, Chronicles is the ultimate celebration for Sherlock fans everywhere.

Sherlock: Chronicles

Martin Kelner

When Will I Be Famous? is about a world of entertainment; a twilight world far from the bright lights of the West End.   Among the pages of Showcall, an annual index of artistes and attractions, there is an army of hopefuls waiting for their big break.  Some may be on the verge of a big break; for others, the big break came and went years ago.  What they all have in common is that they are out there, entertaining people night after night, folding paper into interesting shapes, telling jokes to businessmen at corporate functions, stripping for hen-parties. Together, they represent an unalloyed triumph of hope over experience.  Using acts from Showcall as a starting point, Martin Kelner travels from town to town, demonstrating that how we are entertained, what we do for fun, says at least as much about The Way We Live Now as any other indicator. When Will I Be Famous? is a fascinating and funny account of Britain as seen by the people who try to keep it happy.

When Will I Be Famous?

Graham Harvey

Now fully updated, Who's Who in The Archers has become the indispensable companion to life in Britain's best-known village. Whether you need a quick run-down on a new character or a reminder about an on-going relationship, this handy guide is your first reference point. It'll tell you all you need to know about: 
 
 Harry, the new milkman, who has wasted no time in getting himself noticed. 
 The team running the new community shop. 
 The unofficial "social club" founded by Eddie Grundy. 
 Who lives at Grange Spinney. 
 
Each week five million listeners tune into the world's longest running drama series. Who's Who in The Archers will help keep you fully up-to-date on life in this ever-changing rural community. Whether you're a long-standing listener or a new-comer to Ambridge, this pocket guide is certain to add to your enjoyment.

Who's Who in The Archers 2011

An A-Z of Britain's Most Popular Radio Drama

Ken Garner

This is a story of teenage dreams, which, as any Peel fan knows, are hard to beat. Between 1967 and 2004 John Peel picked over 2000 bands to come and record over 4000 sessions to be played on his radio show. Many were young and had never been in a recording studio before, for some it was the start of an illustrious career, for others it was the only recognition their musical talent ever got. 
 
For over 35 years the cream of British musical talent made the journey to the BBC's studio in Maida Vale, from Pink Floyd to Pulp, the Small Faces to the Smiths. And because John Peel was so respected his sessions took on a legendary status - they were a rite of passage that every new band wanted to go through. 
 
Unfettered by commerical pressure the Peel Sessions were a unique British institution - an archive of music that reflects one man's passion for finding and encouraging new music. 
 
Includes a full sessionography listing songs, band members and broadcast dates. 
 
Jarvis Cocker writing about his first Peel Session aged 18 (Wayne the drummer was 15): 
 
'We travelled down to Maida Vale in a van driven by a very strange man we'd contacted via a card pinned to the Virgin record shop noticeboard. We'd had to borrow lots of equipment from a band called The Naughtiest Girl Was a Monitor 'cause we didn't have enough stuff of our own. The session was to be produced by Dale Griffin, who used to be the drummer in Mott the Hoople; I seem to remember that he was wearing cowboy boots. 
 
I think the crisis point came when Wayne was attempting to get a home-made synth-drum to work that a friend of his at school had made out of a rubber burglar-alarm mat and an old electronic calculator - Dale Griffin looked at this 15-year-old kid crouching on the floor bashing what looked like a doormat with some wires coming out of it and just put his head in his hands. But to his credit, the session did get finished and after it, everything else started for me...'

The Peel Sessions

A story of teenage dreams and one man's love of new music

Ignorance is not bliss. It is the alien invader&rsquo;s greatest advantage. 
 
Tales of unearthly beings have long circulated among us, from legends of intelligent life on Earth before Homo Sapiens to conspiracy theories about what really happened at the Battle of Canary Wharf. But the truth is that alien life exists &ndash; and here, at last, is proof. 
 
Based on exclusive access to classified government files, The Secret Lives of Monsters collects evidence that has been suppressed for centuries &ndash; notes from clandestine meetings, reports of eyewitness accounts, never-before-seen images and documents, secrets provided by a mysterious agent known only as &lsquo;the Doctor&rsquo;, and more. It reveals all we know about aliens who are already here, and provides essential information to survive future invasions. 
 
So don&rsquo;t panic. You are not weaponless. The Secret Lives of Monsters will give you the greatest weapon of all: knowledge.

Doctor Who: The Secret Lives of Monsters

Russell T Davies

Benjamin Cook

For this new edition of The Writer's Tale, Russell T Davies and Benjamin Cook expand their in-depth discussion of the creative life of Doctor Who to cover Russell's final year as Head Writer and Executive Producer of the show, as well as his work behind the increasingly successful Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures spin-offs. Candid and witty insights abound throughout two years' worth of correspondence, covering David Tennant's last episodes as the Doctor and the legacy that Russell and David leave behind as a new era of Doctor Who begins. 
 
With over 300 pages of new material, and taking in events from the entire five years since the show's return in 2005, The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter is the most comprehensive - and personal - account of Doctor Who ever published.

Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter

Alex Renton

Vital stories for hungry minds. 
 
In the first official book from BBC Radio 4's hit series The Food Programme, award-winning writer Alex Renton tells the stories of 13 key staples such as spice, oil, cocoa, bread and tomatoes, exploring their history, evolution and how our ever-growing hunger for them continues to alter our world. Look at food in a new light - as a weapon, an art form, a tool of revolution, but also a bringer of pure happiness. 
 
Discover a kaleidoscope of fascinating facts and curiosities, including the forgotten joys of lard, the secret to perfect chips and how our love of pepper led to piracy.

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