Autumn: An Anthology for the Changing Seasons

Description

Autumn is a time of transformation. Crisp, clear days mark summer's close and usher in a new season with its rich scents and vivid palette, leaves flaming red and gold by day, bonfires and fireworks lighting up the lengthening nights. There is abundance, as humans and animals make stores for the winter; and there is decay, which gives rise to the next cycle of life. In prose and poetry from across the British Isles, Autumn captures both the exhilaration and the melancholy of this turning point in the year. Featuring original writing by Horatio Clare, John Lewis-Stempel and Amy Liptrot, classic extracts from the work of Ted Hughes, Helen Macdonald and Nan Shepherd, and a wealth of fresh new voices, Autumn is an evocative celebration of the year's decline - and new beginnings.

Melissa Harrison is a writer and nature lover whose first novel Clay (2013) won the Portsmouth First Fiction prize, was selected for Amazon's 'Rising Stars' programme and named by Ali Smith as a book of the year. Her second, At Hawthorn Time (2015), was shortlisted for the Costa Best Novel Award and chosen by the Telegraph as one of their Books of the Year; both books are as much about the natural world as they are about people. She writes the Nature Notebook in The Times and regularly speaks about conservation, literature, and the very fertile ground between the two.

"In years to come, I have a feeling that Melissa Harrison will be responsible for the introduction of a whole new cohort of gifted writers to the English language. In collections such as this we shall encounter them first" - Richard Littledale, blogger; "Waking early in the dark is autumn's gift, I tell myself. Get out there and smell it, taste it, watch and listen. 64 authors in this fine collection, skilfully assembled by Melissa Harrison, have the same message. The UK in autumn is a feast for the senses. If you feel it is passing you by, dip into these pages" --Sue Brooks, Caught by the River; "This gorgeous little book is a diverse collection of autumnal prose and poetry, perfect to give as a gift to a lover of nature or literature, or to keep on your own shelves as a little treat to dip into from time to time ...The line drawings were simply lovely" -- Being Anne.com; "Whatever your own experience of autumn - whether it's a much loved season or not; even if you call it "fall" instead - I can highly recommend this anthology's chorus of voices old and new. There's no better way for a book lover to usher in the season" - BookishBeck; "A pretty book with something for everyone inside" -- Call Me Madam; "A celebration of the year's rich transformation" -- Plantlife; "There's something rather special about these beautifully expressive little books ... Sharp and crisp with occasional touches of melancholy, this is a perfect read for the Autumn season" -- jaffareadstoo.blogspot.co.uk