Praise for Alan Garner

‘His work has a symphonic quality unique in fiction’ The Times

‘Garner is his own man … taut, powerful, credible’ Penelope Lively, Independent

‘A unique genius’ New Statesman

‘His is a consummate artist’s vision that matches landscape and people and story’ Ralph Elliott, Labrys 7

Praise for Powsels and Thrums

‘Who could resist such a title? The term derives from handloom weaving, Alan Garner’s great-grandfather’s trade, and refers to the scraps of cloth that weavers kept for themselves – an evocative metaphor for the writings collected herein … These snippets, produces on the same magical loom, together attain a mesmerizing wholeness, vibrating with life and curiosity’ Observer

‘A creative manifesto … We are all the richer for it’ Byline Times

‘Sublime, filled with meaning’ Bookmunch

‘Mind-bending, but all of a piece … Garnerworld might be a narrow plot, but he’s dug it deep, in every sense … Garner is a magus. Read him.’ Guardian

‘A sequence of work collected from various sources across the years which offers a remarkable window into Garner’s mind and heart. I use the word window advisedly, for Garner’s prose is as clear as glass, perfectly conveying the precision of his thought … You don’t have to know his work well to become immersed in this little book’ Spectator

‘He [Alan Garner] calls the pieces collected here the “powsels and thrums of research and experience and imagination and story”. Together they weave into something quite thrilling’ New Statesman

‘He’s a complete one-off, Garner … Entrancing’ Sam Leith, Telegraph

‘Alan Garner’s themes are huge, urgent, compassionate, his voice distinguished by clarity, compression, precision, depth of feeling and sharpness of thought’ Neil Philip, A Fine Anger: A Critical Introduction to the Work of Alan Garner

Alan Garner is an English novelist best known for his fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. He was born in Cheshire in 1934 and his childhood was spent in Alderley Edge, where his family has lived for more than four hundred years. His fourth book, The Owl Service, won The Guardian Award and the Carnegie Medal, and was made into a TV series. It has established itself as a contemporary classic and Garner as a writer of distinction. In 2022, his novel Treacle Walker was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He was awarded the OBE in 2001 for his services to literature.