A Book in Time: Winner of the 2020 Page Turner Awards

by Mark Stibbe

Overview

Winner of the prestigious 2020 Page Turner Awards, A Book in Time is a truly enchanting work of magical realism by "a hugely talented storyteller." This exceptional novel has been described by publishers, agents, and literary judges alike as "visionary", "ambitious", "magical", "unique," "refreshing". You will never have read anything like it before. And if you're a lover of books, or you work in a profession to do with books, you will be hooked from the first sentence. Early reviews have described this most unusual novel as a masterpiece.

A Book in Time is a captivating love story about a book's intense longing over two centuries for the mother who bore it. Adopted by many different owners - some loving, others unscrupulous - this book (the first edition of a volume of poems entitled 'The Burning Ones') longs to be reunited with an elderly author who cherished it as if it was her only child. As the book passes through many hands, it observes not only the way people treat it, but each other, and in all of this, its mother's love sets the high standard against which everything is lovingly judged.

In a strange demonstration of synchronicity, the author - Mark Stibbe - experienced the culmination of his own search for a mother after completing this novel. Having been orphaned in 1960, and having never met or known his birth mother, Mark met her for the first time at the end of 2021, shortly before she died. So, there is more than a hint of Mark's own search in the book's quest for its author.

In the case of A Book in Time, in perhaps a unique way, art has magically imitated life even as life has magically imitated art.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781399943352
Publisher:	Bella Books
Publication date:	06/11/2023
Pages:	434
Sales rank:	116,688
Product dimensions:	5.06(w) x 7.81(h) x 0.88(d)

About the Author

Dr Mark Stibbe is the winner of the first ever Page Turner Award for Fiction Writing (2020). He has been described recently by the New York Times as "an acclaimed writer."Mark has been writing books since he was 16 and has clocked up over 50 titles since then. Mark's PhD on storytelling was completed in 1982 and published by Cambridge University press.Mark was a Vicar for 25 years so most of his works have been religious nonfiction released through traditional publishing houses. He was awarded 'Christianity's' book of the year in 2010.Mark has ghost written over thirty books for clients of his company BookLab. Through this company, Mark and his team have helped hundreds of new authors to get published.Lately, Mark has mostly migrated from nonfiction to fiction and has been writing novels in the magical realism genre. His novel 'A Book in Time' was picked as the overall winner out of hundreds of entries in the prestigious and popular Page Turner Awards.Mark's twin sister Claire is also a full-time novelist. In 2021, she won the Page Turner Award one year after Mark won the same prize. This makes Mark and Claire a unique phenomenon in the publishing world - twins who have won the same literary award in consecutive years!As adopted children, they had a huge advantage; their adoptive father was a star pupil and friend of CS Lewis. He was also at Merton, Oxford where J.R.R. Tolkien was professor of English.Mark is now a full-time writer who lives in Kent with his wife Cherith and their Black Labrador Bella. In recent years, he has been a judge for literary awards and is a popular speaker.

Editorial Reviews

Oh my word, where do I start?! I find myself almost at a loss for words, but not because I don't know what to say, but because I have so much to say and I don't know where to begin! This is a book, that is about a book, so as a self-confessed book lover that was always going to pique my interest. The really interesting thing though is that it's about life, history, people, relationships, love, loss, sacrifice, and all viewed from the perspective of a book with its own consciousness. I was enthralled and thoroughly captivated. This was a unique concept to me. I have read books where the story of the characters made me laugh and cry, but I have never before laughed and cried about a book in a story, but now I have done both more than once throughout this book. If you are a lover of books and can believe that every person who reads that book leaves behind just a smidgen of themselves (this is why books get fatter the more times they are read ����) then you will believe in the magical realism in this story.

I very highly recommend this book.

Pauline Knox

From the first page I was captured. I was drawn into this other world where books are born and live and experience..... where the written word, sings and bring hope.

Sue Eldridge

Once I understood how the book had been written, I finished it with pleasure and then a week later, re-read it to really appreciate how it was constructed. Congratulations on something new.

Alasdair Johnston

A fabulous read. Entertaining and thought-provoking in equal measure. Full of historical and geographical references that make you wonder if this is fact or fiction. So many themes run through the story too, which made me pause and ponder. But not for long. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Definitely a book for bibliophiles.

Richard Gittins

Unbelievable writing and such a clever premise.

Bookpreneur

If you're a booklover like me, I really think you'll enjoy this one. Totally unique and an absolute joy.

PurpleSplat

This is such a unique novel. It will make you laugh and cry and gasp at many different times. I really love the idea of following a book and seeing where it goes and who owns it, it's a really original concept and overall, Mark Stibbe does a great job telling the story.

Gemma Best

This isn't just a book. It became a friend. I can only hope to view the world and its inhabitants as Miss Swanson's book viewed them; without prejudice, with love and with wode open eyes. Read it. You'll see what I mean.

Emily W

From the Publisher