Michael Symmons Roberts’s fourth book of poetry, Corpus, was the winner of the 2004 Whitbread Poetry Award, and was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize, the Forward Prize, and the Griffin International Prize. His sixth collection, Drysalter, was the winner of both the Forward Prize and the Costa Poetry Prize in 2013. He collaborated with Paul Farley on Edgelands (Cape/Vintage) and will do so again in The Deaths of the Poets (Cape, 2017). He has also worked many times with the composer James MacMillan. He has published two novels, and is Professor of Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Michael Symmons Roberts

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David Croft

As the writer and creator of some of the best loved series in British TV history, David Croft has captivated audiences with such timelessly lovable sitcoms as Dads Army, Hi de Hi, Allo Allo and Are You Being Served.      David's autobiography reflects on a life that has always revolved around showbusiness  his mother was the famous actress Annie Croft  and provides a privileged insight into the workings of British TV in what Croft suggests was the golden era of the 60s to 80s.  The book also illuminates Croft as a person as he tells of his experiences during the war years and the ups and downs of his family life.      Characteristically warm and funny, David Crofts Autobiography is a first-class account of a life surrounded by celebrities. Devotees of his programmes will enjoy a wealth of anecdotes about actors such as Clive Dunn and Wendy Richards and relish the behind-the-scenes insights into the personalities and working styles of some of Britains most famous television actors.

You Have Been Watching - The Autobiography Of David Croft

Paul Bajoria

‘The nerdiest and longest-running quiz around’ The Spectator 
 
Have you got what it takes to tackle Radio 4's most fiendish quiz? 
 
Question: A fictional criminal psychologist, a former Conservative minister, and the eponymous protagonist of a Peter Hedges novel, might all serve on the board alongside some big cheeses. Can you explain?* 
 
The Round Britain Quiz is the oldest broadcast quiz anywhere in the world. Created in 1947 it has built and maintained a cult following from across the generations. Each series sees six teams from around the UK competing against each other to solve a series of seriously cryptic clues, with a chairman giving a steer on how to get to the answer. 
 
Compiled by long-serving series producer, Paul Bajoria, and with an introduction from the Chairman, BBC journalist Tom Sutcliffe, The Round Britain Quiz Book features 250 of the toughest and most challenging questions from the last 70 years as well as many new and exclusive conundrums, drawing on unpredictable fields of knowledge, to truly test the nation. 
 
*Answer: They might all be found on a cheeseboard, as accompaniments to the cheese. The psychologist referred to is ‘Fitz’ in the TV series Cracker, the former MP is Eric Pickles, and Gilbert Grape is Peter Hedges’ creation.

The Round Britain Quiz Book

250 challenging questions from Radio 4’s cult quiz show

Gary Morecambe

In this fascinating autobiography Erics son, Gary Morecambe, describes what it’s like to grow up in the presence of one of the best-loved and most fondly remembered of all British comedy greats. 
 
Eric and Ernie brought sunshine and laughter to the people of Britain for an amazing 22 years. 
 
Includes photos from the Morecambe family archive and unseen extracts from his father’s personal diaries. 
 
Frank and outspoken, this book provides a compelling insight into the man behind the laughter, a man who was constantly worried that one day he would be found out, who never lost his love of Long John Silver impressions, and who continued to work until heart disease finally killed him at only 58 years of age.

Eric Morecambe: Life's Not Hollywood It's Cricklewood

Charles Dickens

QUIET AND DARK, BESIDE HIM STOOD THE PHANTOM, WITH ITS OUTSTRETCHED HAND 
 
A Christmas Carol, first published in 1843, is Charles Dickens’s timeless festive tale of transformation and redemption. On Christmas Eve Ebenezer Scrooge, the uncharitable miser, is visited by the ghost of his dead business partner, Jacob Marley, who comes with a warning. 
 
Later that evening, Scrooge falls into a deep sleep and is called upon in the night by three more spectres, the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. These apparitions bring strange visions and offer Scrooge the chance to absolve for his lifetime of avarice and greed. 
 
Accompanying a the three-part special from Steven Knight (Taboo, Peaky Blinders) starring Guy Pearce, Andy Serkis, Stephen Graham, Charlotte Riley, Joe Alwyn, Vinette Robinson, Jason Flemyng, Kayvan Novak and Lenny Rush. Written and executive produced by Steven Knight, executive produced by Tom Hardy, Ridley Scott, Dean Baker, David W. Zucker, Kate Crowe and Mona Qureshi for the BBC.

A Christmas Carol BBC TV Tie-In

Don Haworth

When Fred Dibnah debuted on television in 1979, British audiences immediately embraced a new cultural icon: a steeplejack from Bolton who fell in love with England's decaying industrial landscape and an exhaustive storyteller whose charm and wit was matched only by his down-to-earth manner. The Producer of that first film, Don Haworth, would go on to make nineteen films about this unlikely celebrity and true British eccentric. 
 
Did You Like That? collects the best stories from these films: colourful tales told by Fred himself, recounting key moments in his life, his experiences as a steeplejack, his fascination with machinery, his work as an engineer, craftsman, artist, inventor and steam enthusiast, and his forthright views on life in general. 
 
Told with true Northern grit, Did You Like That? is the story of a man who never shied away from a hair-raising challenge, and the closest thing to Fred's autobiography we're likely to get. In paperback for the first time, this is Fred's story, in his own words.

Did You Like That? Fred Dibnah, In His Own Words

Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett sealed his reputation as the master of observation with this series of 12 groundbreaking monologues, originally filmed for BBC Television. 
 
At once darkly comic, tragically poignant and wonderfully uplifting, Talking Heads is widely regarded as a modern classic. 
 
This edition, which contains the original complete collection of Talking Heads, as well as his earlier monologue, A Woman of No Importance, is a celebration of Alan Bennett's finest work.

Talking Heads

David Attenborough

David Attenborough is one of the most influential and admired figures in English television. When 26, he applied for a job in the BBC – which then meant radio – and was promptly turned down. But someone saw his rejected application and asked, would he like to try television? He would, and sixty years later, he is still at it. Elegantly told, often very funny, here is his story. 
 
At home there is his rise to controlling BBC2, introducing colour television to Britain, encounters with Montgomery, Anthony Eden, singers, athletes, explorers, the Queen, Benjamin Britten. Abroad there are people just as remarkable, journeys up tropical rivers, to the interior of New Guinea or the Australian outback, dragons, birds of paradise, flying snakes and walls of cockroaches. 
 
Now updated to cover his work since 2009, Life on Air is a remarkable account of David Attenborough’s passion for the natural world and his lifelong quest to understand it. .

Life on Air

Jonathan Agnew

Phil Tufnell

Who played the best pranks on his fellow team-mates? Which member of the TMS team terrorised his teachers in the annual staff-pupil game? And the truth behind 'the greatest sporting commentary of all time'... 
 
Between them, Jonathan Agnew and Phil Tufnell have probably watched more cricket than anyone alive, and they have many stories to tell, both as players and as commentators for Test Match Special. From their days as schoolboy cricketers, learning the ropes, to the shenanigans of the county circuit, and now their careers as commentators, they have seen it all. 
 
Joined by colleagues from TMS such as Isa Guha, Ebony Rainford Brent, Alison Mitchell, Carlos Brathwaite and Aatif Nawaz, Aggers and Tuffers share the highlights, mishaps and moments of brilliance and emotion that they have witnessed and experienced on pitches around the world.

Test Match Special

Tall Tales –  The Good The Bad and The Hilarious from the Commentary Box

Jonathan Morris

Simon Guerrier

Una McCormack

Welcome to the Whoniverse. First stop: everywhere. 
 
Six decades may only be a handful of heartbeats to a Time Lord, but for Doctor Who it's the adventure of several lifetimes. Evolving over 60 years, the world's longest-running sci-fi TV show has gifted us a universe of menacing monsters and unforgettable heroes. You might even call it a 'Whotopia'. 
 
Now you can roam free through the Doctor's dimension as never before in this special commemorative book for Doctor Who's diamond anniversary. Join all the Doctors as each tells their own story. Learn about their legions of legendary allies - and hear from the monsters' own mouths about what makes them tick. Find danger on alien worlds and threats here on Earth in all eras. And explore the gadgets, robots, spaceships, computers and mind-blowing creations that crowd the never-ending corridors of Whotopia. 
 
Crammed with exciting new images and in full colour throughout, Whotopia: The Ultimate Guide to the Whoniverse is the essential celebration of 60 years of Doctor Who.

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