Award-winning, critically acclaimed comedy writer Paul Richards proudly presents his two short novels in one lovely volume... A BAND AT SEA "Before you say you're going to leave this band, before you say that playing covers is musical prostitution, before you say that every creative cell in your body has been destroyed by our 80s medley of Bros and A-Ha songs, before you say you hate our choice of tunes so much that you're tempted to not listen to another piece of music ever again, before you say you'd rather be dead than play another 50th birthday party gig...don't forget: this band is all you have." Alex. 41. He's lost his flat, his girlfriend, his parents and his dignity. Still, at least he's got his bandmates, yes? It's just a shame one of them doesn't talk and the other one has forced them to play a six-month residency in the middle of the sea. A fast-paced comedic tale about ambition, love and why being in a band is the greatest thing ever. Contains plenty of swear words. and... HAVE YOURSELF A RIDICULOUS LITTLE CHRISTMAS Robert, a struggling mid-management executive really, really gets excited by the magic of Christmas. His wife no longer loves him, his favourite (adopted) uncle has died and a man he was in charge of has been eaten by a fox at a conference in Banbury. Still, by Christmas Day, everything will be fine, yeah? A delightful, warm, short festive tale about the tingling sensations of all things Yuletide. It does contain a little swearing, but not too much. Basically, it's really lovely but not a fairytale or anything, so not for the kids, and Paul wrote it in 2014 so it does reference the Queen's speech and the iPhone 6.

Award-winning, critically acclaimed comedy writer Paul Richards proudly presents his two short novels in one lovely volume... A BAND AT SEA "Before you say you're going to leave this band, before you say that playing covers is musical prostitution, before you say that every creative cell in your body has been destroyed by our 80s medley of Bros and A-Ha songs, before you say you hate our choice of tunes so much that you're tempted to not listen to another piece of music ever again, before you say you'd rather be dead than play another 50th birthday party gig...don't forget: this band is all you have." Alex. 41. He's lost his flat, his girlfriend, his parents and his dignity. Still, at least he's got his bandmates, yes? It's just a shame one of them doesn't talk and the other one has forced them to play a six-month residency in the middle of the sea. A fast-paced comedic tale about ambition, love and why being in a band is the greatest thing ever. Contains plenty of swear words. and... HAVE YOURSELF A RIDICULOUS LITTLE CHRISTMAS Robert, a struggling mid-management executive really, really gets excited by the magic of Christmas. His wife no longer loves him, his favourite (adopted) uncle has died and a man he was in charge of has been eaten by a fox at a conference in Banbury. Still, by Christmas Day, everything will be fine, yeah? A delightful, warm, short festive tale about the tingling sensations of all things Yuletide. It does contain a little swearing, but not too much. Basically, it's really lovely but not a fairytale or anything, so not for the kids, and Paul wrote it in 2014 so it does reference the Queen's speech and the iPhone 6.

Shortlisted for the Fage and Oliver Prize 2018 From December 2013, the largest Ebola outbreak in history swept across West Africa, claiming thousands of lives in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. By the middle of 2014, the international community was gripped by hysteria. Experts grimly predicted that millions would be infected within months, and a huge international control effort was mounted to contain the virus. Yet paradoxically, by this point the disease was already going into decline in Africa itself. So why did outside observers get it so wrong? Paul Richards draws on his extensive first-hand experience in Sierra Leone to argue that the international community’s panicky response failed to take account of local expertise and common sense. Crucially, Richards shows that the humanitarian response to the disease was most effective in those areas where it supported these initiatives and that it hampered recovery when it ignored or disregarded local knowledge.

A collection of short twelve short stories from the typewriter of playwright Paul Richards. Awkward, charming, occasionally romantic.

**THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLER** 'Rattling. Heartbreaking. Beautiful,' Atul Gawande, bestselling author of Being Mortal What makes life worth living in the face of death? At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade's training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, the next he was a patient struggling to live. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi's transformation from a medical student asking what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity - the brain - and finally into a patient and a new father. Paul Kalanithi died while working on this profoundly moving book, yet his words live on as a guide to us all. When Breath Becomes Air is a life-affirming reflection on facing our mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both. 'A vital book about dying. Awe-inspiring and exquisite. Obligatory reading for the living' Nigella Lawson

25 snappy, occasionally dark, tales from the typewriter of comedy writer Paul Richards.

David Adams Richards finds universal truths in the very particular setting of New Brunswick’s Miramichi Valley. This, his first novel, provides a window upon a world that is as unsettling, as uncontrollable, and as inescapably authentic as a sudden brawl. The frustrations of the community are brought into focus in the plights of 20-year-old Kevin Dulse, his family, and especially his wild young friends. An intensely realistic story, it stands firm upon its engaging, unaffected characters and the raw talent of its then 22-year-old author.