Winning author to receive £20,000 cash prize and be recognised at central London award ceremony later this year

Amazon UK announces The Kindle Storyteller Award 2018, a literary prize recognising outstanding work by authors, independent of genre around the country. The prize is open to all authors who publish their book through Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon.co.uk from 1st May 2018 to 31st August 2018.

Readers will play a significant role in the competition with the award shortlist compiled based on a number of factors that measure customer interest in the titles, followed by an esteemed panel of judges made up of book and publishing industry experts who will select the Kindle Storyteller 2018 winner.

The prize will be announced at a central London ceremony in the Autumn, with the winning author awarded a cash prize of £20,000 and a marketing campaign to support the book on Amazon.co.uk as well as the opportunity to have their book translated for international sales.

David Leadbeater, the winner of the 2017 UK Kindle Storyteller Award said, ‘Winning the 2017 Storyteller Award has been a dream, and its enabled me to go further in my career than I ever thought possible, taking my readers along with me. When I started publishing independently in 2011, Kindle Direct Publishing changed my life. I can’t wait to see what tales and stories authors come up with for this year’s competition’.

The Kindle Storyteller prize is open to submissions of new English language books from eligible authors and genres, and entries must be submitted using Kindle Direct Publishing. Titles must be previously unpublished, with a minimum of 24 pages in paperback. Readers can access all titles entered into the prize in print or in the Kindle store on any device with the free Kindle app for iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, PC and Mac, and on Kindle e-readers and Fire Tablets.

For the Kindle Storyteller Award, at least five books from all submissions will be selected for the shortlist. The shortlist is ultimately chosen by the readers themselves, as positive reviews are a focal point of the shortlisting process. The judging panel will then select a winner.

The Kindle Storyteller Award 2018 opens for entries on 1st May 2018, and titles must be entered into the KDP Select programme and remain there for the duration of the competition. For further information authors can visit www.amazon.co.uk/storyteller.

Modern living and using computers 24/7 is causing an increasing problem with repetitive strain injury (RSI) in the arms and wrists. It is due to repetitive activities (the clue is in the name) and can cause pain and tenderness, with or without tingling, numbness and weakness.

It is important, and indeed a legal requirement, to have your work-station checked, so that your posture at the computer is as good as possible. However the type of computer mouse we use can also make a difference.

BakkerElkhuizen take RSI seriously and have developed different mouse designs, which aim to keep the arm and wrist in a more natural position.

They asked me to road-test a Handshake Mouse, which has a ‘vertical grip’. This means that your hand and wrist is positioned as if you were shaking somebody’s hand (see the diagram).

Consequently the wrist doesn’t bend sideways as much and the lower arm needs less inward rotation. This reduces the amount of muscle activity required to use it, when compared to using a standard mouse. Thus you can have all of the speed of a mouse (compared to trackballs or touchpads) but without the pain.

The Handshake Mouse has two buttons and a scroll wheel. It also has a powerful laser sensor and the option to choose between 400/1600/3200 DPI (gosh). It’s available as wireless or corded.  It works with Windows Vista, 7,8, 10, and OS X operating systems. It is intended for small/medium-sized hands (their Evoluent model is better for large hands)

The benefits of these vertical mice was demonstrated in 16 volunteers (See Further Information) and other studies, and, with correct training, can reduce the risk factors for RSI.

I have to say, the sample I tested was extremely light and comfortable. and I think I heard my wrist whispering ‘Thank you’.  The buttons were positioned so I didn’t need to move my finger to use them and they required very little pressure. Overall a very comfortable experience.

I don’t see us using computers less over time, so it is well worth doing what we can to reduce risk of RSI, and at around £62, probably money well-spent.

 By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co,uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice

Further Information:

1. Biomechanics and performance when using a standard and a vertical computer mouse P Quemelo & E Ramos Viera Ergonomics, Vol 56, 2013, Issue 8

2. Upper limb disorders in the workplace

Thurs 19 April, from 7.30pm at White Rose BookCafe

Local author, Gemma Hogg will be in conversation with James Hogg talking about her new book ‘Stable Lass’. Riding out and mucking in, tales from a Yorkshire racing yard.

‘Vividly funny, shockingly frank, deeply passionate, movingly sensitive – and that’s just about the horses! A bawdy, caring, and wickedly insightful stable yard rite of passage that no racing fan should miss.’ Brough Scott

Tickets £5 each, redeemable against a signed hardback copy of the new book, includes welcome drink. Pre order your signed copy and tickets from White Rose BookCafe tel 01845 524353, or e-mail sales@whiterosebooks.co.uk

Thursday 21st June, 7pm for 7.30pm start

In conjunction with the Booksellers Association, in support of the 10th Anniversary of Independent Bookshop Week (IBW), and as part of Pan Macmillan’s ‘Macmillan 175′ celebrations, as well as 21 years of Picador Poetry.

The brainchild of Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, with 4 Poet Laureates plus music and guest local poet, Kate Fox.

 Author Events

Thurs 12 April – Michelin Star Chef, Tommy Banks will be here signing copie sof his news book ‘Roots’ (time to be confirmed). A Free Event.

Sat 21 April – Book Signing with Mary Jayne Baker, ‘A Bicycle Made for Two’ from 11am to 12 noon. A Free Event.

 What’s NEW?  SPOTLIGHT ON …    Each Month we’ll feature a genre, author or selection of titles that take our interest, this month it is The Natural World –

The Wood, by John Lewis-Stempel, ‘Indisputably, one of the best nature-writers of his generation’ (Country Life) BBC Radio 4 ‘Book of the Week’

Epitaph for the Ash by Lisa Samson,‘Fascinating … Her pilgrimage to discover the present state of the ash in the UK, and the work that is being done to accommodate or counter ash dieback, is both a labour of love and an extraordinary achievement, especially given the heart-rending physical limitations Samson eventually endures as a result of life-saving surgery’ OBSERVER

Chasing the Ghost by Peter Marren,
Join renowned naturalist Peter Marren on an exciting quest to see every species of wild plant native to Britain.

Children’s Storytime    – Pre-School Storytime 10am to 10.30.am – FREE – Every Friday 

  Easter Weekend  ~ come & treat your family and friends in our Café, & browse our lovely selection of Easter cards and gift ideas.

  Café News …… Enjoy some Easter treats in our Café & Garden, weather permitting!
Easter Cupcakes and Easter Biscuits
Hot Cross Buns with Traditional Tea or white Rose Filter Coffee
Easter Drinks ~ Orange and Elderflower Spritzer
Easter Hot Chocolate topped with whipped cream and mini eggs

 EASTER & SPRING opening hours :-
Good Friday 30 March 10am to 5pm, Café closes 4pm
Saturday 31 March 9am to 5pm, Café closes 4pm
Sunday 1 April 10am to 5pm, Café closes 4pm
Monday 2 April 10am to 5pm, Café closes 4pm
NB: From Tuesday 3 April normal hours resume

Epitaph for the Ash by Lisa Samson,‘Fascinating … Her pilgrimage to discover the present state of the ash in the UK, and the work that is being done to accommodate or counter ash dieback, is both a labour of love and an extraordinary achievement, especially given the heart-rending physical limitations Samson eventually endures as a result of life-saving surgery’ OBSERVER

Chasing the Ghost by Peter Marren,
Join renowned naturalist Peter Marren on an exciting quest to see every species of wild plant native to Britain.

Children’s Storytime    – Pre-School Storytime 10am to 10.30.am – FREE – Every Friday 

  Easter Weekend  ~ come & treat your family and friends in our Café, & browse our lovely selection of Easter cards and gift ideas.

  Café News …… Enjoy some Easter treats in our Café & Garden, weather permitting!
Easter Cupcakes and Easter Biscuits
Hot Cross Buns with Traditional Tea or white Rose Filter Coffee
Easter Drinks ~ Orange and Elderflower Spritzer
Easter Hot Chocolate topped with whipped cream and mini eggs

It’s world Malbec day on 17th April, did you know?The least we can all do is to try some of these first class wines, remembering to toast the day.

Frost of course, is first off the starting blocks to try the wines we’re featured below. Such good value, such elegant wines, both of them.

Tributo Malbec 2015

Tributo means homage, and therefore, with Tributo, Viña Caliterra honors the quality of its land, its people, and all of the details that come together in perfect harmony to create an exceptional wine.  A lively red colour, this elegant wine has intense notes of berries and violets on the nose, with soft spicy hints too.

RRP: £13.30

The Fisherman’s Retreat, Halifax Wine Company, Field & Fawcett, The Whalley Wine Company, Ellies Cellar, North & South Wines, Cheers Wine Merchant.

Left Field Malbec 2014

And so the story begins:

Down a dark alleyway the brooding and intense characters of blackberry and liquorice meet the heroically proportioned mass of dark chocolate draped in smooth, fine velvet. Imbibe on its own or devour with a rare cut of beef.

 RRP: £17.45

Stockists: www.nzhouseofwine.co.uk, Fenwick Newcastle, Noble Grape Wines, Auriol Wines

Illustration by Alexandru Savescu from The Folio Society edition of Hide My Eyes by Margery Allingham © Alexandru Savescu 2018PIC

Is it only me who finds some books more than just books. Some are a thing of beauty,  something to treasure, even to salivate over. But no dribbling please. Seriously the Folio Society produce  just such treasures and have added a few more classic crime thrillers to their portfolio: Hide My Eyes, Goldfinger and Strangers On A Train each with brilliant illustrations for those who love to add high class and beautiful  publications to their library.

Margery Allingham’s Hide My Eyes. Illustrated by Alexandru Avescu

Illustration by Alexandru Savescu from The Folio Society edition of Hide My Eyes by Margery Allingham © Alexandru Savescu 2018PIC

Allingham is one of Frost Magazine’s all time favourites and she found a new audience on the TV with Albert Campion, played by Peter Davison, (formerly the chaotic Tristan Farnun in All Creatures Great and Small)  going about the business of solving crime.

In this particular novel, more a psychological crime, in which a grisly spectre of murder and greed hangs unseen over the tiny corner of London known as Garden Green. Brought in to investigate a number of apparently unconnected disappearances, Albert Campion finds himself faced with a series of ever more disparate clues: a country bus with a pair of unusual passengers parked outside a London theatre; a lizard-skin lettercase; a left-handed glove. Over the course of a single day, he must race to stop a singularly ruthless killer whose own complex web of deceit threatens to destroy those closest to him.

As with her all her crime novels, the plot is tight, complex and the tension is like walking along a high wire in the wind. Her characters are sharply observed, there is a unique psychological depth, and all is played out against a background of London in all its murky glory.

Hide My Eyes features illustrations by Romanian artist Alexandru Savescu. Longlisted twice in The Folio Society’s annual Book Illustration Competition, Savescu has provided a series of moody images that expertly capture the novel’s sense of creeping dread.

Hide my Eyes by Margery Allingham. Illustrated by Alexandru Savescu

Available exclusively from The Folio Society – www.foliosociety.com

Bound in Elephanthide paper printed and blocked with a design by the artist. Set in Utopia with Victoria display. 224 pages. 6 full-page colour illustrations. 9˝ x 5 ¾˝.

UK £29.95 | US $44.95 | Can $59.95 | Aus $59.95

Strangers on a Train  By Patricia Highsmith Illustrated by Geoff Grandfield

Illustration by Geoff Grandfield from The Folio Society edition of Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith © Geoff Grandfield 2018

Patricia Highsmith, author of the highly popular Ripley novels, is among the twentieth century’s greatest thriller writers. Her first venture into noir, Strangers on a Train, was published in 1950 and adapted into a major film by Alfred Hitchcock the following year. Taut, sinister and shocking, it still represents the benchmark for its genre.

The Folio Society edition features seven atmospheric full-page colour illustrations by Geoff Grandfield, and is a wonderful addition to any personal crime fiction library, as well as being a perfect gift for all mystery lovers.

Strangers on a Train is both a classic crime novel and a supreme psychological thriller. Ordinary people and the extraordinary depths to which they are capable of sinking define this dark world. Highsmith’s blending of the events and concerns of everyday life with the nightmarish thoughts and actions of her deranged protagonist is what make this book so remarkable.

Guy Haines and Charles Anthony Bruno are passengers on the same train. High-flying architect Guy is divorcing his unfaithful wife, and is manipulated by the psychopathic Bruno into swapping murders. ‘Some people are better off dead,’ Bruno remarks, ‘like your wife and my father, for instance.’ The chilling sequence of events which ensues demonstrates how, if the conditions are right, anybody is capable of murder

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith. Illustrated by Geoff Grandfield

Available exclusively from The Folio Society – www.foliosociety.com

UK £34.95 | US $51.95 | Can $69.95 | Aus $69.95

Bound in blocked cloth. Set in Sabon with Adrianna Extended display. 280 pages.  7 full-page colour illustrations. 9˝x 6¼˝.

Goldfinger By Ian Fleming   Illustrated by Fay Dalton

Illustration by Fay Dalton from The Folio Society edition of Goldfinger by Ian Fleming © Fay Dalton 2018

Filled with characters, incidents and images which have made the Bond series iconic, Goldfinger reveals Fleming at the height of his powers. Opening with 007 enjoying what he believes is a simple game of cat and mouse, Fleming gradually heightens the tension until the reader, along with Bond, realises that the agent has fatally underestimated Auric Goldfinger – the strange, gold-obsessed millionaire. Terrorized by the implacable, cat-eating Oddjob, the agent scrambles to foil the plans of the horrifying Goldfinger, aided in part by Pussy Galore, the tough and canny leader of a team of female burglars.

Fay Dalton continues her acclaimed work for the fifth title in The Folio Society’s Ian Fleming series, producing seven exquisite colour illustrations that ooze with the glamour and dynamism of Bond. For the special illustrated slipcase, Dalton has recreated the infamous death of Jill Masterton, enshrined in shimmering gold.

In this book Fleming reveals a more contemplative side to his secret agent – Bond is a man who thrives on danger, yet in his quieter moments is troubled by the bystanders who bear the brunt of violence. While his adventures are often gloriously fantastical and populated with grotesque villains, Fleming maintains a steely reality through the relentless efficiency of his protagonist. For fans familiar only with the films, Goldfinger’s Bond will be a welcome revelation: deadly and unflappable, he is also a character of many layers.

Goldfinger By Ian Fleming   Illustrated by Fay Dalton

Available exclusively from The Folio Society – www.foliosociety.com

UK £34.95  US $62.95 | Can $69.95 | Aus $69.95

Bound in blocked cloth. Set in Miller Text. 288 pages. 7 full-page colour illustrations. Blocked pictorial slipcase. 9˝ x 6¼˝.

‘In my life I’ve always sought … to design objects that were fixed and stable and in some way obliged people to be aware of their presence…’

Skira really does produce the most beautiful art catalogues and books, and this is no exception. Some have called this catalogue dazzling and I heartily agree, as it celebrates Ettore Sottsass’s glass and crystal productions – on the 100^th anniversary of his birth.

I have had a passion for glass for years, ever since I really looked at stain glass windows as a child, and the images in this catalogue truly capture the texture, and brilliance of Scottsass’s work.

Born in Innsbruck in 1917, Ettore Sottsass, Jr. went on to become one of the most awarded and highest achieving architects and designers in 20th century Italy. Now, this new volume from Skira Editore presents the first scientific catalogue to focus entirely on Sottsass’s work in glass, beginning in 1947 and lasting until the end of his career.

Ettore Sottsass: The Glass documents the artist’s glass and crystal oeuvre in exquisite detail, from his 1970s series for Vistosi to the Memphis collections of the 1980s, the stunning constructions for Qatar’s Millennium House, and his famous Kachinas. Featuring nearly 600 colour illustrations — including those of previously unpublished pieces — and with comprehensive analysis by editor Luca Massimo Barbero, this gorgeous monograph offers a reference for scholars and art lovers wishing to further their understanding of Sottsass’s use of glass in architecture and design.

About the Editor Luca Massimo Barbero is the director of the Institute of Art History at Fondazione Giorgio Cini.

Published this month – March 2018.

With over 500 illustrations, this hardback catalogue is priced at £58.00

ISBN: 978-88-572- 3535-6

We’ve had a grand time tasting some of these wines – just for you. Well, someone has to do it.

Left Field Albarino 2017

This white wine is just right for spring, ,and yes, it is on the way: the days are getting longer, the sun is warmer… So buy in the daffodils and sip this wine, with its hint of citrus, melon and peach. It’s classy and will bring on the sunshine.

RRP: £14.55

Stockists: Wine Rack, Cambridge Wine Merchants, Vino Wines, Taurus Wines, Sissinghurst Wines, Campbell Moore, www.nzhouseofwine.co.uk

Also try:

Jean-Luc Colombo Collines de Laure Blanc 2016

This white wine is a lovely fusion of regions where the Provençal grape Rolle (aka Vermentino) joins three Rhône varieties in a textured,  with a good body and always elegant white.

It’s as fresh as spring, and we tasted just a hint of fennel, white peach and pear.

Try it with grilled white meats on Mother’s Day, which is a meal you could cook for mum.

RRP: £14.20

Stockists: Dalling & Co Wines, R Campbell and Sons, The Solent Cellar, Apero Wine Services, B J R Hanby

Hancock & Hancock Fiano 2017

We love a Fiano in the Frost office, because it oozes tropical climes somehow with its aroma of nectarine and lemon, but it has a dry and fresh palate. Really good as an aperitif on a lengthening spring evening, or would go well with Asian cuisine, spicy dishes or seafood.

RRP: £14.80

Stockists: Luvians Bottleshop, The Wine Reserve, Vino Wines, Wine Utopia

Try these too:

Cune Barrel Fermented Blanco 2016

A friend loves a good white Rioja so this is one for her. 100% Viura with fresh citrus flavours and toasty richness. Transport yourself to the Spanish sun pairing this with delicious fish or shellfish.

RRP: £10.15

Stockists: Co-op, Sissinghurst Wines, Ellies Cellar, Winestore Distribution, Aitken Wines, B J R Hanby

 Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc 2017

A rich Chenin with a gently tropical nose of honeysuckle, guava and pineapple with fresh green apple and quince. The palate is dry yet rich with tropical fruits and subtle oak and the acidity keeps it all fresh and balanced.

Pair this elegant wine with goat’s cheese or smoked fish for a great spring match.

RRP: £10.60

Stockists: Roberts & Speight, Mitchells Vintners, Fenwick, Vino Wines

Villa Maria Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2017

A Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc bursting with aromas of passionfruit, melon, nettles and fresh herbs. The palate is powerful, displaying vibrant grapefruit notes.

Rustle up some salmon and salads to go with the wine for a delicious spring supper.

RRP: £13.85

Stockists: Majestic Wine, Margiotta, Village Wines, Holborns, North and South Wines, Hoults Wine Merchants, Hailsham Cellars, www.nzhouseofwine.co.uk