Events

Severn Hospice, Shrewsbury

The YouCaxton Charity Ball (in February) raised £500 for the Severn Hospice and we’ve just had a very pleasant letter of thanks from them. We’re planning another ball for next year and hopefully we can raise even more.

Events

Leominster Library

Bob Fowke will be giving a talk at Leominster Public Library, 6.30 pm Thursday 7 May, on self-publishing and on some of the problems facing authors wishing to self-publish today. The talk will embrace both digital and print publishing and will look at problems of marketing as well as at the more technical problems facing authors who take the self-publishing route. The talk starts with an historical overview of self-publishing from earliest times and looks at the constraints on authors imposed both by the publishing industry and by states throughout the centuries.

 

Front Page, Non-Fiction, Reference

Detailed survey of the Shropshire Botanical Society.
Alex Lockton & Sarah Whild

frontcover The Shropshire Botanical Society is a not-for profit organization that is open to all botanists in the county and elsewhere, whatever their level of botanical skill. We hold field meetings, produce a bi-annual newsletter and hold indoor meetings with speakers. Our main remit is to provide a forum for recording the distribution of vascular plants, bryophytes and stoneworts within the vice-county, to provide botanical recording data for the conservation of plants and their habitats, and to provide training opportunities for botanists who wish to improve their identification or recording skills. All of our members and committee officers are volunteers and we always welcome new botanists. Many of our members also belong to the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, the national organization for all amateur and professional botanists.
Published:1st March 2015
Hardback:454 pages
Price:£35.00
ISBN:9-780953-093724

 Available from Summerfield Books
Pay with PayPal
£35.00 (+ £5 postage)
To find out more, visit www.bsbi.org.uk – all of our field meetings and newsletters are on the Shropshire page of this site.
 
books

The Guardian on Flora and Vegetation of Shropshire

The Guardian of 1st April has an excellent  review by Dr. Paul Davies of The Flora and Vegetation of Shropshire, compiled and written by Sarah Whild and and Alex Lockton and published by YouCaxton Publications: ‘The Flora was produced from 350,000 records collected by more than 1,000 volunteer naturalists … a wonderful collection of botanical records, distribution maps, illustrations and photographs … the diligent and heart-felt work of amateur naturalists and conservationists is easily lost in the noise of human progress. However, I see each bite of data, each act of witness as bright and vital as a lesser celandine flower, humble in its title but brilliant in its presence – a collective joy.’

books

Birmingham during World War I

The Great War Birmingham, published by the History Press, September 2014, describes life in Birmingham  during the ’war to end all wars‘. This beautifully illustrated book describes local reaction to the outbreak of war and follows the experiences of individuals who enlisted. It looks at the changing face of industry; the work of the many hospitals in the area; the effect of the conflict on local children; and the women who defied convention to play a vital role on the home front. The picture is of Birmingham ‘aliens’ in an internment camp of the period.

Childrens

Lottie’s Run
David Waugh

Lotties Run Cover_9781909644557 Lottie’s Run is a novel for readers aged nine and upwards. It tells the story of a girl who is kidnapped by a gang of two men and a woman who demand that Lottie’s father, who is captain of England’s football team, enables opponents, Andorra, to score two goals against his team in a forthcoming match. The story begins with Lottie hiding from her captors in dark woodland at night, and tells the story of her escape and the kidnappers’ pursuit of her through a strange and unfamiliar land. Lottie is of mixed race, and although this is not generally significant to the story, there is some discussion about racism. She is a strong, determined character who battles against periods of despair as she overcomes various challenges by using initiative and by considering different options. Lottie is also good at sport and is academically able.
There is a dramatic conclusion to Lottie’s adventure, which involves heroic acts and an ingenious, if painful, solution.
Published:15th Feb 2015
Paperback:148 pages
Price:£7.50
ISBN:9-781909-644557

 Available from Amazon
and Kindle e-books

Pay with PayPal
£7.50 (+ £2 postage)
The book should appeal to both boys and girls and includes a range of topics which may interest readers, including wildlife, football, the effects of being a celebrity, and attempts to communicate in French.

Dr David Waugh is Senior Teaching Fellow at Durham University and an expert in Primary English. He has written 27 books on the subject and was an adviser for the National Strategies form 2008-2010. Until 2008, he was Head of Education at University of Hull. He has taught in four schools and was a deputy headteacher before working in higher education.
Teach Primary Magazine...
... well worth a place in any primary school library ...pacey and accomplished ...
full of dramatic twists and turns, and told with compelling confidence...,
a story that will appeal to boys and girls alike, across a broad range of reading abilities;
it would also work well as a model text to inspire pupils to produce descriptive and dynamic examples of their own creative writing.

Amazon Reader Review...
The book is about the kidnapping of 11 year old Lottie Parry.
To say more would be to spoil the plot.
It kept us in suspense from start to finish.
Short chapters and great illustrations make this one that the kids will want to read for themselves.
I hope we will be hearing more from David Waugh.
livesinprint

The Best Years
Tony Best

9781911175056 This is the story of Tony Best, musician and entertainer, told in his own words. Tony’s extraordinary and often joyful career spanned over six decades and took many turns in all manner of unexpected directions. He describes how he went with the flow and followed whichever road life took him; how he spent his school days and teenage years and how he completed fourteen years service in the RAF – and how he left the service and lived in North Wales for eight years, eventually becoming a full-time musician and entertainer, finally settling in Shrewsbury and taking the stage name Tony Best.
Published:1st March 2016
Hardback:210 pages
Price:£12.99
ISBN:9-781911-175056

Buy from YouCaxton
(UK only)

£12.99 (+ £2 postage)
From there on, ever the entertainer, Tony relates his travels all over the UK and Europe and his adventures in the music business on the road with gusto, all wrapped up with a host of highly amusing and interesting anecdotes and unusual experiences demonstrating, among other things, his amazing memory for detail and his skill in telling the story of what has been a wonderful career.
Reader Reviews...

Events

History of General Practice

lecture pic

On 28 January, Dr Richard Mooore gave the second YouCaxton Literary Lecture to be held at Shrewsbury Library. His subject was ‘The Coalbrookdale Doctors’, based on his book of the same title. He gave a detailed and fascinating account of the evolution of GP practice from apothecary to medical professional using the example of three generations of doctors/apothecaries working in Coalbrookdale. He was careful to include colourful background details about technology and social conditions of  the period, where these had a particular impact on the doctors concerned and on their patients.  His large audience included more than a few medical people interested in the background to their own profession.

Publishing Support for Writers and Artists