this autumn, and the challenge facing authors to get their titles to stand out from the crowd.

The tall man from BBC's 'Pointless', Richard Osman has been working hard throughout the past few months in letting everyone know about his debut novel 'The Thursday Murder Club' and his efforts have achieved dividends.

Each Thursday he sent out an email with an upbeat message, a promotion for his book and a lighthearted but nevertheless challenging quiz dictated by a letter of the alphabet.

It proved a welcome addition to my inbox each week, but I would still have been curious to read his book, and, after reading it, I would still have recommended it widely.

It is a fabulously funny and feel-good read and I'm not surprised it's proved such a hit. It's the fastest selling debut crime novel since records began! There are two more to follow, and a film deal signed.

This week we also saw a very popular winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction in 'Hamnet' by Maggie O'Farrell which triumphed in a very strong list. Maggie visited us in Woodbridge when she released her memoir 'I Am, I Am, I Am' and you can read about the event here.

Of course my programme of author events for this year was halted by the lockdown but I hope that you might have looked up the novel 'The Ninth Child' by Sally Magnusson which is shortly out in paperback. Although Sally was unable to visit in person, I interviewed her on the phone for an article in 'Suffolk' magazine which is published this month. There's a hint of what's in store here but you'll need to buy a copy of the magazine to find out more!