“Writing is a job with no mandatory starting date”
Inaugural Paul Torday Prize shortlist
Mark Lawson, Kate Mosse and Anita Sethi to judge inaugural Paul Torday Memorial Prize
Mark Lawson, Kate Mosse and Anita Sethi have been confirmed as the judging panel for the first year of the Paul Torday Memorial Prize for debut novelists over 60, announced by the Society of Authors today.
Stephen Fry announces Paul Torday Memorial Prize
Stephen Fry announces the new Paul Torday Memorial Prize, at the The Society of Authors Authors Awards Party, for the best debut novelist over 60.
The Death of an Owl paperback is out
The long awaited paperback of the critically acclaimed Death of an Owl, Paul Torday’s final novel, completed by his son Piers, is out today!
“A pleasure to read” Daily Express reviews Death of an Owl
“Would Paul have approved of Piers’s ending? It would be nice to think so as The Death Of An Owl makes the journey from well-crafted and urbane political novel to spooky melodrama with elegance. A pleasure to read.”
“The labour of love to finish my Dad’s last book”
Piers Torday sheds some light on the real life political scandals which inspired and informed his final book, The Death of an Owl, in the Daily Express.
‘A life’s work’ – Nudge Books reviews The Death of an Owl
I was sad to hear the news of Paul Torday’s death, and the poignant story that his son had completed his last novel before publication. I’ve loved the other Torday books I’ve read and wanted to see his final piece. At no point in reading did I think “There, that’s where he stopped”, I got to the end and realised I’d finished without spotting a join, or noticing a change in style, tone or direction. It is very well done, and a very engaging story. Quite a way to finish.
Piers Torday: finishing his father’s last novel
When Paul Torday died before completing work on The Death of an Owl, his son, children’s author Piers Torday, faced a dilemma: dare he do it for him?
Paul Torday’s final novel published
Today W&N published Paul Torday’s final book, The Death of an Owl, completed after Paul’s death by his son Piers Torday, an award winning children’s writer in his own right. Tipped by Vogue as a “must read” of 2016, the novel tells the story of an ambitious politician, Andrew Landford, who runs over a protected owl by mistake, and the consequences that unfold when he tries to cover it up.
‘A delightful Gothic fantasy’
Chris Bryant has reviewed The Death of an Owl for the Guardian, calling it a ‘delightful Gothic fantasy’.
