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Sisters Under the Rising Sun by Heather Morris I have enjoyed the previous books by Heather Morris so I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this new one as it’s not published until 28 September. Set in Singapore in 1942 and based on a real life events, it follows the story of British, Australian and Dutch women who were imprisoned in the war camps by the Japanese in WW2. When English musician Norah meets Australian nurse Nesta, they build up a friendship and find hope and strength during the everyday horrors they endure. This is a heartbreaking, emotional...

The summer is already drawing to a close and we’re all readying ourselves for crisp autumn days here at Willoughby. The holidays always felt so long and stretched out as a child but now, in the mere blink of an eye, the kids are back at school, with uniforms ironed and pencils sharpened. Reading as a child and reading as an adult are wildly different experiences. The very memory of phonics, diaries filled with diligent notetaking by teachers and parents, as well as reading aloud in turns, may send a big jolt of fear down your spine. These were also...

With the summer holidays having drawn to a close and the new term already begun, it’s time for thoughts of new resolutions, new stationery and new regimes to emerge. Perhaps your children’s routines and habits have gone gloriously out of the window for a summer of running free and you are worrying about the routine of the school term? Or perhaps it is your own inner child, remembering the feeling of the discipline that a new term brings that turns thoughts toward re-establishing habits and routines? One habit that it always make sense to establish, especially for children, is reading....

It’s August, which means it’s officially Women in Translation Month. This is one of Willoughby’s favourite dates on the literary calendar. The team is passionate about reading books from all over the world and promoting work written by women. Summer is here for a few more weeks and the mornings and afternoons are still long, making it the perfect period to read plenty and to spotlight writers overlooked by the wider publishing world, as well as some perennial favourites that have stood the test of time. Translated fiction has been receiving a well-deserved boost in recent years by the popularity...