David SmithJan 28, 20202 min readInhumanities in EducationThe wonderful Michael Morpurgo, appearing at the recent Nielsen Bestseller Awards Ceremony, said of bestseller status: "I'm not sure a...
David SmithJan 28, 20202 min readPerverted by LanguageSome grammatical and linguistic errors that drive us mad ‘The exception that proves the rule' Wouldn't it be handy if this expression...
David SmithJan 28, 20203 min readOn the Art of Writing “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” Toni Morrison “If you don't have time...
David SmithJan 28, 202010 min readThe Dark Arts of Book EditingOne of New Zealand’s best and most illustrious book editors, Stephen Stratford (“I am a polite person, mostly”), vents about having to...
David SmithApr 13, 20182 min readThe Novels of Will Self Are Doomed.It’s inexplicable to me that Will Self still hasn’t been fully rumbled. If the dreary, ponderous, unamusing indiscipline of his...
David SmithMar 5, 20182 min readViolence Against Women: The CrimeFest ControversyCrimeFest, the festival of crime writing which is held in Bristol each year and the newly launched Staunch Prize for crime fiction find...