My love of stories came before my love of reading. I rarely slept as a baby, so my poor mum often soothed me at nights by reading to me. As a small child I listened to Storyteller tapes all night – au

T here is a low-level hum that forms the soundtrack to many women’s lives. It’s a conditioning. The silent expectation to be the architect of everyone’s day, managing the moods of daily life. Being th

The past 12 months have seen some fabulous releases. Prima ’s books editor Nina Pottell looks back at her favourites and the ones you may have missed…

Ivy Ngeow, 55, lives with her husband and their two children, aged 18 and 14. Gazing at all the books on the shelves, I fantasised about one day being talented enough to write one. It was 1978 and, ag

What revealed the magic of books for me was The Wind in the Willows. When I was five, I contracted measles, which meant I had to spend my days in bed in a darkened room. My mother sat outside my bedro

She’s the UK’s bestselling contemporary poet who’s now sold more than a million books. Here Donna Ashworth, 50, talks about overcoming anorexia, finding huge success in later life and why Christmas is her lifeline