Writing First

Penguin presents the audiobook edition if First You Write a Sentence by Joe Moran, read by Roy McMillan. The sentence is the common ground where every writer walks. A poet writes in sentences, but so does the unsung author who came up with Items trapped in doors cause delays. A good sentence can...

In his first book of original, never-before-seen writings, Pope Leo XIV offers readers around the world a window into the spiritual foundation that would lead him to the papacy-in his own words before his election. Before becoming Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost had never published a book...

Every aspect of screenwriting is covered with an authority and credibility never seen in any book to come before. Told with honesty, humor, and vulnerability from the real-world perspective of a working, professional screenwriter, Kill the Dog reveals the secrets of what it takes to have a successful career as a Hollywood screenwriter.

Master chords, scales, and harmony through an intuitive, ear-first approach designed for the self-taught musician. If you currently rely on tabs, play purely by feel, or tinker endlessly in a DAW without understanding why certain notes work, this empowering audio journey will instantly demystify...

'I loved every page of Emily's punchy, provocative, energised, joyful musings.' - MATT HAIG 'Emily's words are why we all need to get off the internet.' - AJA BARBER, in her Patreon newsletter 'What follows is not a tidy narrative. I am not a tidy person. These pages are made of fragments...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER **INCLUDES NEW MATERIAL** ‘If you want to write a novel or a script, read this book’ SUNDAY TIMES ‘The best book on the craft of storytelling I’ve ever read’ MATT HAIG ‘A masterpiece. I am in awe’ ADAM RUTHERFORD Why stories make us human and how to tell...

This guide reveals how writers can utilize cognitive storytelling strategies to craft stories that ignite readers’ brains and captivate them through each plot element. Imagine knowing what the brain craves from every tale it encounters, what fuels the success of any great story, and what keeps...

Pigafetta's book on Magellan’s travels is an engaging travel narrative honoring the legendary explorer. But it is much more: an accurate ethnographic and geographical account of the circumnavigation of the globe. Pifagetta describes the peoples, countries, goods, and even the languages that were spoken in every area.

From a spectrum of talented authors, a collection of essays on food, and its entwinement with our emotions and our lives. Of all the essentials for survival: oxygen, water, sleep, and food, only food is a vast treasure trove of memory and of sensory experience. Food is a portal to culture, to...

Immortalized as Dean Moriarty by Jack Kerouac in his epic novel, On the Road, Neal Cassady was infamous for his unstoppable energy and his overwhelming charm, his savvy hustle and his devil-may-care attitude. A treasured friend and traveling companion of Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, and Ken Kesey, to name just some of his cohorts on the beatnik path, Cassady lived life to the fullest, ready for inspiration at any turn. Here are his autobiographical writings, the rambling American saga of a free man.

“Do you want to write clearer, livelier prose? This witty primer will help.” —The New York Times Book Review An exploration of how the most ordinary words can be turned into verbal constellations of extraordinary grace through the art of building sentences The sentence is the common ground...

From one of the world’s most celebrated literary publishers, a beautiful and candid meditation on the art of being a partner to creative greatness For 40 years, Companhia das Letras, the Brazilian publishing house founded by Luiz Schwarcz, has stood for a steadfast and imaginative commitment...

Bloomsbury presents For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie, read by Charlie Norfolk and Stephanie Racine. An astounding debut, both epic and intimate, about grief, trauma, revelation, and the hidden lives of women – by a major new talent 'Miraculously conjured...

Brought to you by Penguin. Filled with empathy and wisdom, personal experiences and creative inspiration, this is a vital collection of essays on the power of literature and the craft of writing from an international array of writers of colour. What if we reconsidered our assumptions about how...

Transform creative blocks into original music with practical songwriting techniques designed for absolute beginners. Whether you are commuting, relaxing at home, or staring at an intimidating blank page, this empowering audio guide makes crafting melodies feel completely accessible. Overcome the...

Papyrus rolls and Twitter have much in common, as each was their generation's signature means of "instant" communication. Indeed, as Tom Standage reveals in his scintillating new audiobook, social media is anything but a new phenomenon. From the papyrus letters that Roman statesmen used to exchange news across the Empire to the advent of hand-printed tracts of the Reformation to the pamphlets that spread propaganda during the American and French revolutions, Standage chronicles the increasingly sophisticated ways people shared information with each other....

The Indignities of Coach Class, the Torments of Low Thread Count, the Never-Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems David Rakoff’s collection of autobiographical essays, Fraud, established him as one of our funniest, most insightful writers. In Don’t Get Too...

A successful lawyer and loving mother, Nina Bloom would do anything to protect the life she's built in New York - including lying to everyone, even her daughter, about her past. But when an innocent man is framed for murder, she knows that she can't let him pay for the real killer's crimes...

A reunion gone viral. A love story that's anything but fictional❤️‍🔥📖 Debut author Gemma Stanton knows romance readers love a bad boy - and she has the perfect prototype for her novel: Mason Moretti. High school hockey god-turned-pro player, Mason was Gemma's first crush, but she...

An instant New York Times bestseller, I'll Show Myself Out is the eagerly anticipated second essay collection from Jessi Klein, author of the acclaimed debut You’ll Grow Out of It. Longlisted for the PEN Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay “Sometimes I think about how much...