Pushkin Press are inviting 20 reading groups based in the South West of England to read Whispers Through a Megaphone by local debut author Rachel Elliott.
Participating groups are also invited to enter a competition to win a visit from Rachel Elliott for their reading group with afternoon tea provided by the publisher. The best 100 word review as judged by The Reading Agency and Pushkin Press will win.
Each group will receive 10 early copies of the book and a questionnaire to completed by each reading group member and returned by beginning of October.
About the book
35-year-old Miriam hasn’t left her house in three years, and cannot raise her voice above a whisper. But today she has had enough, and is finally ready to rejoin the outside world. Maybe it’s time to stop living in the shadow of her abusive dead mother? Meanwhile, timid psychotherapist Ralph has made the mistake of opening a closet door, only to discover that his wife Sadie doesn’t love him. Yet everyone else seems to have known all about their unhappy marriage – from her tweets. He decides to
run away. But where can he go?
Each of them is hungry to make sense of the chaos in their lives. Miriam and Ralph’s chance meeting in a local wood marks the beginning of a quirky and
mutually supportive friendship. With Ralph’s gentle help, Miriam begins to piece together her own truth. Because sometimes, the world can seem too much for just one person…
Wise, elegant and full of tender humour, Whispers Through a Megaphone explores how we live in our often deafening world – when all we need to connect with ourselves and others is a bit of silence.
About the author
Rachel Elliot is a writer and psychotherapist. She has worked in arts and technology journalism and her writing has featured in a variety of publications, from digital arts magazines to the French Literary Review. She has also been shortlisted for a number of short story competitions in the UK and the US. Rachel was born in Suffolk, and now lives in Bath.
Whispers Through a Megaphone is her first novel.
Whispers Through a Megaphone is the fifth title from new imprint ONE (Pushkin Press) whose last book The Fishermen has just been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015.
To take part please log in and complete the survey by 24 August.
