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This is Voting Day by Clare O’Dea, an Irish author who lives in Switzerland.

It is set in February 1959, when men were asked to vote in a referendum to decide whether Swiss women should have the right to vote. The outcome of that vote was ‘no’ and following on from that, women did not get the right to vote in Switzerland until 1971.

I published it for a number of reasons.

When I learned of the referendum on first reading Clare’s submission manuscript, the fact of it surprised me which straight away engaged me. It seemed inconceivable that in a modern European county in such recent history, women were not entitled to vote. But what really impressed me was how Clare picked her way through the unfolding of this referendum. Her focus on the fight for suffrage was not told through cliched storylines of women throwing themselves under horses or chaining themselves to fences, but of the more subtle subtle battles fought in the home and workplace for a right to be recognised - against husband, brother, father, boss. And against their own uncertainty as to whether change really would be a good thing.

I also loved how Clare brought 1950s Switzerland to life, not just the little details but the contrasts. A modern city versus the old country ways, the young moving forward, the older generation clinging to tradition.

It’s a short book, fitting into our Fairlight Modern series of novellas and short novels but because it weaves its story through the lives of four different women it feels meaty. Jonathan Coe said of it ‘A vivid, fascinating snapshot of an almost unbelievably recent moment in Swiss history. I devoured it in one sitting.’

I hope you enjoy it too.

#nextread #fairlightmoderns #literaryfiction #novella #womensupportingwomen

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"Our tech already speaks to us," says presenter, producer and writer Violet Berlin but 'Strange Talk' by Lynda Clark "asks what might happen if those voices were truly their own...." "A wonderfully weird and darkly funny novel from an award- winning author", it's Fairlight Books' entry to The Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize 2027, the long-list of which is due the start of next year. Keep following us on here to be the first to find out whether 'Strange Talk' and other spot-lit entries have made it.

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One thing about booksta that I absolutely love (apart from you obvs 😉) is the discovery of new indie publishers!

Please have a swipe and look at all these lovely books that have arrived with me recently, I’ve taken pictures of the blurbs too! Some have been gifted, shout out to the lovely people @scratch_books_uk @new.cross.press (via @kellydpike) and @fairlightbooks. The rest have either come through subs (Verso and Fitzcarraldo) or other purchases (Peirene and Dead Ink).

My @fitzcarraldoeditions stack in particular is getting pretty big now, so do let me know if you want to see a Fitzcarraldo flatlay in future!

Have you heard of these indie publishers before? And if you’ve got any other indie publishers you’d recommend, please do drop them in the comments!

🧡

#indiepublishing #indiepublisher #bookish #bookmail #tbr

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THE MARCHESA by Sarah Dunant

A multi-layered novel, biography, and art hybrid that follows the ghost of Renaissance icon Isabella d'Este as she guides a modern scholar through her vast letter archive to resurrect her life as a formidable political operator and premier art patron. Reviewers have praised Dunant's ingenious ‘modern-to-historical’ narrative trope, highlighting how the book showcases Isabella's strategic handling of a loveless marriage, turbulent regional warfare, and complex creative partnerships with Renaissance artists like Giulio Romano. Other reviews celebrate the beautifully illustrated work for dynamically breathing life into Isabella's complex, ‘glorious’ personality, detailing her sharp negotiation tactics, flair for fashion, and rivalry with Lucrezia Borgia; while serving as a thought-provoking meditation on how we construct and interpret the past.

*****

No 9 of our October TBR recommendations: links below

https://tinyurl.com/Oct2026TBR
https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/october-2026-recommended-new-releases-from-independent-presses

*****
More Reimagined Historical Lives:
* The Household by Stacey Halls @staceyhallsauthor, Manilla Press @manilla_press
* After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz, Galley Beggar Press @galley_beggar_press
* Fyneshade by Kate Griffin @kateagriffin, Viper Books @viper.books
* Woman in Blue by Douglas Bruton @brutondouglas, Fairlight Books @fairlightbooks
* Lightborne by Hesse Phillips hesse.phillips, Atlantic Books @atlanticbooks
* The Samurai of the Red Carnation by Denis Thériault, translated by Louise Rogers Lalaurie, Pushkin Press @pushkin_press
* The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje, Scribe UK @scribe_uk

#TheMarchesa #SarahDunant #HistoricalFiction #BiographicalFiction #HistoricalNovel #NewRelease #WeatherglassBooks #Bookstagram #BookstagramUK #Bookstagram #BookstagramUK #ReadersOfInstagram

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It’s four years this week since my debut novel, Starling, was published by Fairlight Books. If you believed the glitzy stories on TV, a literary launch would be all champagne and stilettos but I can’t think of anything worse so we had a laid back party with flapjacks and country dancing for the people who were by my side as I wrote Starling. I wanted to celebrate those lovely friends and family here, and the indie bookshops who supported me over the following weeks. Thank you all! #writerslife #booklaunching #bookparty

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New books that have landed on my shelf in the last couple of weeks.

Non-fiction
📖 Widows: the last feminist taboo by Mineke Schipper from @saqibooks
📖 Universe: a Graphic Guide by Dr Jillian Scudder & Lily Fossett* thanks to @iconbooks
📖 The Nuance Drought by Natasha Devon*
📖 Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion by Eleanor Medhurst From @hurstpublishers
📖 One Day Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This by Omar El Akkad from @canongatebooks
📖 Glittering a Turd by Kris Hallenga* thanks to @hqstories

Fiction
📖 Dead Beat by Leigh Bardugo From @gollancz
📖 Grim Tidings by B K Borison
📖 The Finalist by Faith Gladwin* thanks to @dialoguepublishing
📖 Be Still by Unbeating Heart by Josh Winning from @afterlightbooks
📖 The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg from @vintagebooks
📖 Strange Talk by Lynda Clark* thanks to @fairlightbooks

[Id: bookstack on cis white woman's hand, shots then of two books in hand with shelves behind and other books laid on bobble rug]

#saturdaystack #bookstack #tbr #newbooks #bookish

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Book 71 of 2026.

Blurred Faces by @allan_radcliffe @fairlightbooks

There's a review video on my YouTube channel link in my bio.

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🔥 Calling all Invernesians! I'm excited to be appearing @nessbookfest on Sat 3 Oct at the renowned Leakey's Bookshop, Church Street, Inverness, as part of the Author Signing Trail. Please drop in, browse the shelves and join me for a chat about all things writing, reading and publishing. FREE tickets here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/nessbookfest/2384514
And if you fancy making a day of it, follow the trail across the city: waterstonesinverness @ablekids_press @inverness01 Great fun for lit lovers! 📚

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📚📚📚 September Spotlight 📚📚📚

Day 7 of September Spotlights and today is the amazing Lou Gilmond.

I absolutely love the Kanha and Colbey series. They're political thrillers about the dangers of AI and are absolutely amazing. I have read the series out of order- I read Palisade and then Divinity Games, but still need to go back and read Dirty Geese very soon. However, the ones I've read are incredibly gripping and I just couldn't put them down. Again, this is another one of my favourite series.

If you've not discovered this series yet, you should definitely check it out. Also check out @lou.ginandbooklover page if you don't already follow her.

#bookblogger #bookreviewer #bookstagram #authorspotlight #lougilmond

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New books and tote bag from my visit to @camdentownbookshop

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Trial by Franz Kafka @chilternpublishing
The Open Era by @edwardschmit
Paladin's Hope by T. Kingfisher
Blurred Faces by @allan_radcliffe @fairlightbooks

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❤️🩷❤️🩷

how stunning are these books?!

they are all on my tbr, so let me know if there’s one here that i need to pick up asap!!

🏷️ #bookaesthetic #bookstagram #bookblogger #booklover #bookflatlay

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Thank you to Professor Rebecca Entel,
Of English and Creative Writing, Cornell College (Iowa),
for the Follow.
@rebeccaentel,
Buy her novel,
Fingerprints of Previous Owners
(The Unnamed Press)
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fingerprints-of-previous-owners-rebecca-entel/1124787161?ean=9781944700232

Thank you to the Creative Writing Northeastern University London
by Professor Claire Griffiths
@Writingnulondon, for the Follow.

Thank you to the Department of Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures,
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, for the Follow.
@Ttucmll

Thank you to the English Department, of North Carolina A&T State University,
for the Follow.
@Ncatenglishdept

Thank you to University of San Francisco MFA program for Writing for Young Readers
@Usfmfay, for the Follow.

#read
#books
#literature
#aceronhouse
#liamaceron

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