Holland Park Press

31/08/2023

End of month money woes & exciting new books: the bumpy road of being a niche publisher or what I do for the love of . Read the to keep up to date.
https://hollandparkpress.co.uk/our-publishing-adventure-turns-a-corner-2/

15/02/2023

‘Taking us from the class-bound stockbroker belt suburbs of Surrey in the 1960s, all minor public schools and gin sozzled adultery, to the squats of North London in the 1970s, reeking of dope and the aroma of slowly decaying hippy idealism, this is a book rich in period detail and atmosphere, and its account of a young man’s painful progress from innocence to experience as compellingly universal as it is highly specific of a time and place.’ – Travis Elborough about The Way to Hornsey Rise an by Jeremy Worman

‘Jeremy Worman's memoir is a compulsive read. He's a beautiful writer with an eye for detail and a good ear for dialogue. The memoir really grips you from the start with Worman's description of his horrifying relationship with his abusive alcoholic mother and her woebegone husband and boyfriends. ...

17/01/2023

With the past as a pinning undercurrent, Mason takes to playing with form and cadence through the use of rhyme and alliteration. Perhaps reminiscent of the songs of soldiers used to maintain morale, or even of the great Grecian and Roman poets who often pondered their ancestry and how the fate of their lives was out of their hands. Mason’s bravery is evident in this vulnerable and empathetic collection, asking readers to sit with uncomfortable, unanswered questions. Yes, perhaps the past has corrupted the present, but maybe it also gives way to necessary evolutions and reflections.- Abigail Hebert reviews in the October Hill Magazine, Winter 2022, volume 6, issue 4, page 39 https://hollandparkpress.co.uk/books/the-past-is-a-dangerous-driver/

17/11/2022

The sample copy of A Diamond in the Dust, a novel about Charles I, by Michael Dean arrived today. It looks good and I approved it. The pre-orders and review copies will go out next week.
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/books/a-diamond-in-the-dust/

23/10/2022

‘It’s a delight to alight on a poet who understands that we can’t shake off the past as easily a dog does water. Neal Mason’s appreciation of this simple truth is one of the many riches of his collection. His poems, with their often striking images and subtle rhymes, feelingly explore the contradictory nature of the past, how it is both remote and ever present.’
Gary Day reviews

We live in a world which tolerates the past only as costume drama. Politicians, business people and management theorists are always urging...

20/10/2022

Street Writing Woman – A Tribute to Laura Del-Rivo, Sunday 27 Nov 2pm-4.30pm, The Electric Cinema, screening of W11, talks & books available ?
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/street-writing-woman-a-tribute-to-laura-del-rivo/

05/10/2022

The very first copies of The Past Is a Dangerous Driver a new collection by Neal Mason have arrived! ‘Poetry as history book, almanac and calendar, suffused with humanity and glowing with empathy.’ – Ian McMillan
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/books/the-past-is-a-dangerous-driver/

22/09/2022

“The Past is a Dangerous Driver” looks at how the past seeps into the present and the consequences of that. In some poems nature reclaims human structures, reminding readers of man’s relatively short time on the planet. In others the boundaries between past and present are more permeable. Mason’s structured poems guide readers through a journey where people might be ready to move on but the past isn’t ready to let them go yet.
reviews on her blog

Neal Mason The Past is a Dangerous Driver book cover Through “The Past is a Dangerous Driver”, Neal Mason explores the permeability of history and present time. Sometimes it’s abo…

15/09/2022

When Your Hero Turns Out To Be a Hero: Charles I re-imagined – post about the subject of his latest A Diamond in the Dust, first book in a trilogy about The Stuarts

Through deep research and informed imagination, Michael Dean creates a fresh look at Charles I and finds him to be a hero.

12/09/2022

The Way to Hornsey Rise has a cover! Pre-order your copy now of Jeremy Worman’s memoir about how a public schoolboy end up in the squats, drugs and hippy scene of 1970s Hornsey Rise.

‘Jeremy Worman's memoir is a compulsive read. He's a beautiful writer with an eye for detail and a good ear for dialogue. The memoir really grips you from the start with Worman's description of his horrifying relationship with his abusive alcoholic mother and her woebegone husband and boyfriends. ...

02/09/2022

‘Told in such a readable and interesting way I was invested in Charles’ story and the way he’s portrayed really brings him to life.’
‘I learned so much’ & ‘It’s a fabulous read and I am looking forward to the next instalment I’m the series.’
Elena reviews by Michael Dean on Jera’s Jamboree
https://www.jerasjamboree.co.uk/review-a-diamond-in-the-dust-michael-dean/

I learned so much from reading A Diamond in the Dust and felt entertained all the way through.

26/08/2022

‘ will offer descriptions that will awe you. It offers glimpses of little or big tragedies in every-day life with an aim to shed light in the human soul and . And it totally achieves this.’ – Ilias Tsagas on goodreads about by
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4496406689

4/5: As I said to my friends - if you speak English, make a gift to yourselves and read this book! Rarely I see an author who has such a complete command of the English language. Jennings’ vocabulary and the richness of her words are really stunning. The book will offer descriptions that will awe ...

25/08/2022

A Diamond in a Dust has a cover! ‘An original and compelling portrait of Charles 1 as patron of the Arts, in the first of Michael Dean’s trilogy about the Stuarts.’ – Hana Cole
Pre-order your copy now.
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/books/a-diamond-in-the-dust/

18/08/2022

The Past Is a Dangerous Driver has a cover! This new collection by Neal Mason is getting very good reviews. Find out more, read a poem or pre-order your copy now. .
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/books/the-past-is-a-dangerous-driver/

‘Here is poetry as history book, almanac and calendar, suffused with humanity and glowing with empathy.’ – Ian McMillan ‘His title for the collection is apt as the poems included testify to the reckless unpredictability of the past and the various ways it comes crashing into the present. Mas...

21/07/2022

‘With historically rich prose Dean's A Diamond in the Dust, book one of a trilogy, brings to life the intimate and artistic world of The Stuarts of 17th century England. An intriguing and fascinating read.’ about by
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/books/a-diamond-in-the-dust/

‘Sumptuous detail and a rare ability to inhabit character are skilfully combined by Dean to bring an original and compelling portrait of Charles 1 as patron of the Arts, in the first of his trilogy about the Stuarts.’ – Hannah Cole ‘With historically rich prose Dean's A Diamond in the Dust, ...

18/07/2022

Jeremy Worman talks to David Freeman about his new The Way to Hornsey Rise – from public schoolboy to squatter, enjoy!
https://davidjohnfreeman.podbean.com/e/jeremy-worman-the-way-to-hornsey-rise-a-memoir/

In his excellently written evocative memoir, Jeremy Worman recounts how a privately educated schoolboy came to live in the biggest squat in Europe.   This is a personal story, but it is also full of observations about the way the world was back then. Jerem...

24/06/2022

We're delighted to have signed up The Way to Hornsey Rise a by Jemery Worman –
moving and very personal story, laced with intriguing observations about society –
available to preorder.
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/books/the-way-to-hornsey-rise/

This memoir explores how Jeremy, a privately educated schoolboy, comes to reject his comfortable rural Surrey background to end up in the squats, drugs and hippy scene of 1970s Hornsey Rise. The central theme of the book is Jeremy’s need...

17/06/2022

‘Sumptuous detail and a rare ability to inhabit character are skilfully combined by Dean to bring an original and compelling portrait of Charles 1 as patron of the Arts, in the first of his trilogy about the Stuarts.’ Hannah Cole
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/books/a-diamond-in-the-dust/

‘Sumptuous detail and a rare ability to inhabit character are skilfully combined by Dean to bring an original and compelling portrait of Charles 1 as patron of the Arts, in the first of his trilogy about the Stuarts.’ – Hannah Cole

07/06/2022

We’re delighted to make one of the best Dutch-language poetry collections available to English speaking readers. Totally White Room is about loss, memories and saying goodbye. Gerrit Kouwenaar wrote it after his wife died and it’s his most accessible and personal collection. His free verse with its characteristic use of metaphors and an almost hypnotic rhythm, is wonderfully captured in the English translation by Lloyd Haft. Due Jan 2023.

Let’s make the room white one more time
one more time the totally white room, you, me

this won’t save time, but one more time
make the room white, now, never again later

https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/books/totally-white-room/

Kouwenaar often wrote about death, but in this work it is much more personal. He wrote: ‘poet, nothing rhymes with death’. Yet in this collection, from a figuratively point of view, everything is in tune with death, with a marvellous...

24/05/2022

‘His title for the collection is apt as the poems included testify to the reckless unpredictability of the past and the various ways it comes crashing into the present.

Mason writes beautifully and evocatively about places, but never with sentiment. There is no cloying nostalgia when he writes about the past, and where he does compare unfavourably the present to what has been he doesn’t lose sight of the follies of both. All the poems are complex and all merit or demand deeper reading.’ – Ian Tattum in Pilgrim House https://pilgrim-house.org/the-past-is-a-dangerous-driver-by-neal-mason/

Neal Mason is a mature poet who has been publishing collections of his work since the early 1990s and has appeared in many poetry magazines.

24/05/2022

‘Arnold Jansen op de Haar heeft een warme beeldende stijl. Het is uitgebreid met veel details.

Ik vind het mooi hoe sommige tegenstrijdigheden (bijvoorbeeld Nederlandse en Engelse cultuur) uitvergroot worden.

Hij schroomt ook niet om zichzelf op de hak te nemen. Ik houd van de zelfspot.’ – Veronique’s boekenhoekje

https://www.veroniquesboekenhoekje.nl/recensie-schurft-arnold-jansen-op-de-haar/

Toen ik de persmail over Schurft van Arnold Jansen op de Haar kreeg, bezorgde de titel me kriebels. Maar ik was ergens ook heel nieuwsgierig naar het verhaal. Vandaag vertel ik je meer over dit boek. Lees je mee?

18/05/2022

Yesterday evening Arnold and I had a very good zoom event for Neerlandia and several orders have already come in on our website. Thanks to Marianne and Clarence for organising the event. Tell all your friends to buy one of our books so that we can be https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/category/all/

12/05/2022

We have regrouped to promote excellent even more efficiently. The new office is in place and to keep up-to-date follow the new : A New Start to Our Publishing Adventure. At least Harry has given it his seal of approval.
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/a-new-start-to-our.../

11 May 2022 I urgently need a lift to and from Malmesbury and Stroud if I’m to run the bookstall this Friday and Saturday. Let me know if you can help. I’ve been working on several new options to promote...

10/04/2022

Sad news: I’ve just heard from her son that Laura Del-Rivo has died. We will miss her unique view of the world and are proud to have published her short story collection ?
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/in-memoriam-laura-del-rivo/

13 February 1934 – 30 March 2022 Author & One-of-a-Kind Person

29/03/2022

He glanced at her, then blew his cheeks out with relief. She was shorter than him. Then he noticed her lustrous eyes, sparkling like stars, gaze fixed on his face.
Read this excerpt from A Diamond in the Dust a about Charles I. Available to pre-order now.
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/books/a-diamond-in-the-dust/

A Diamond in the Dust is a fictionalised account of the life of Charles I from his birth to the age of twenty-eight. It shows England’s most maligned monarch, Charles I, as he really was. Dominated by his debauched father,...

27/03/2022

What were pellets flicked in fun
are flies. Lazy chalk dust
used to drift like pollen,
motes in young eyes,
where now the beams of a blinding sun
glare in rank surprise.
Read Derelict Classroom The Past Is a Dangerous Driver, available to pre-order now.

https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/books/the-past-is-a-dangerous-driver/

The Past Is a Dangerous Driver is inspired by Neal Mason’s fascination with the past, not only in the way it exists as general history but also as it is formed by one’s own personal recollection. Through his poems, Neil...

15/03/2022

We’re excited to have signed up a new author and his poetry collection, The Past Is a Dangerous Driver by Neal Mason. It’s inspired by Neal’s fascination with the past, he uses historical events together with personal recollections to create a manifestation of the human spirit. Due autumn 2022, funds permitting.
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/books/the-past-is-a-dangerous-driver/

The Past Is a Dangerous Driver is inspired by Neal Mason’s fascination with the past, not only in the way it exists as general history but also as it is formed by one’s own personal recollection. Through his poems, Neil...

15/03/2022

We’re delighted that we have signed up a new historical novel by Michael Dean. A Diamond in the Dust is a fictionalised account of the life of Charles I from his birth to the age of twenty-eight. It’s a standalone novel and the first book in a trilogy about Charles I and Charles II: The Stuarts: Love, Art, War. Due autumn 2022, funds permitting.
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/books/a-diamond-in-the-dust/

A Diamond in the Dust is a fictionalised account of the life of Charles I from his birth to the age of twenty-eight. It shows England’s most maligned monarch, Charles I, as he really was. Dominated by his debauched father,...

14/03/2022

We’ve added two new titles to our website today: A Diamond in the Dust & The past is a Dangerous Driver. Now we just need the funds to publish them.
Read the to keep up to date with the latest developments & support
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/follow-our-publishing-adventure/

Buy a book & help us to be

08/03/2022

Sister, 64, publisher, brother, 59, ex-army officer now author & black lab Harry, nearly 5, are looking for basic accommodation. Happy to perform caretaking duties in lieu of rent. All suggestions welcome. Contact: [email protected], 07792611929
https://www.hollandparkpress.co.uk/we-have-to-move-again/

Sister, publisher, brother, author & black lab Harry, are looking for basic accommodation because they have to move out before Easter.