Hi everyone,

What a semester it’s been! It feels like only yesterday we had the first content call, and in just three short months we’ve seen the amazing work of our writers. This semester we had everything from book reviews and lighthearted discussions to heavier articles looking at issues like the global literacy crisis and the inequalities in the publishing industry. It’s been a busy semester, and the end of the year is the perfect time for reflection, so let’s take a moment to look back on what we’ve achieved so far.

August was our online issue, and we started off strong with a great range of articles. The main focus of this issue was getting returning students back into the swing of university life. Sara Alnobani explored the issue of book burnout, and Lily Taylor gave some great summer reading recommendations. Commemorating this summer’s Olympics, Abbie Harding wrote about the challenges and opportunities that authors face in adapting Greek myth. Our monthly book review for August was written by Jamie Bryson on Swimming in the Dark by Thomas Jedrowski, a beautiful story of the power of love and the human will in the face of overwhelming oppression. As you can see, quite a tonal range for our first issue!

September marked our first in-print issue, and the focus of this issue was new students. I wrote an article that (hopefully!) served as a brief overview of Norwich as a literary city, including some lesser-known attractions. Abbie Harding delivered some great tips for freshers on how to deal with the often-huge reading lists students have, which can be incredibly daunting when you’re starting out, as I’m sure many of us know. University is a time for new beginnings, and Polly Dye really showed this in her article on sequels and how they can offer new opportunities for writers and extend the lifespan of stories. Our monthly book review for September was written by Hannah Jones on A Sign of Her Own by Sarah Marsh, a novel about the importance, and beautiful imperfections of, human communication.

October celebrated Black History Month, and the theme for this year’s was “Reclaiming Narratives”. This was also the title of the article I wrote for this issue, which explored the inequalities that Black authors face in the publishing industry. We also had Milla Cartwright’s article on the criticisms of ‘BookTok’, and how these criticisms negatively impact young readers (and especially young female readers). October is also Halloween month, and to commemorate this we had a great article by Jess Culley discussing how the genre of horror has changed because of the nature of how we tell stories. Our monthly book review for October was written by Izzy Jawahir on A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, an engaging mystery that follows young protagonist Pip as she tries to solve a murder case (with a BBC television adaptation released in July)!

November’s arrival brought our final in-print issue for this semester. Hannah Jones opened the section strong with a comprehensive account of the very exciting inaugural Norwich Book Festival, and Polly Dye wrote incredibly in-depth about the importance of literary translation and the Nobel Prize achievement of UEA-published author Han Kang. From Andi Gill came an incredibly important personal account about the global literacy crisis, as well as ideas on how we can combat it. November’s monthly book review was written by me on Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell by Deryck Whibley, a rockstar autobiography that to a long-time fan is as inspiring as it is fascinating.

And that’s the round-up for this semester! The Books section is made so wonderful because of the writers. It truly makes my day whenever I find an article pitch land in my inbox or on Teams, and seeing your words come to life on the page is such a gratifying experience. It is so encouraging to see so much enthusiasm to write about books.

I would like to give a very special thank you to everyone who wrote for Books this semester, as well as a big thank you to you, the reader! It really could not be done without all of you, so thank you. You should all be incredibly proud of yourselves.

We already have some incredibly exciting articles lined up for next semester, so much so that the first issue back is already full! If you would like to pitch an article of your own for a future issue, then please feel free to get in touch either through Teams or by dropping me an email at uxk22zyu@uea.ac.uk. I would recommend getting in touch a little bit in advance of the issue you’d like to write for it.

On behalf of the section, I wish you all relaxed and happy holidays, and a wonderful new year.

Until next time,

Daniel

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