Henry Marsh's 'Do No Harm' wins Ackerley prize

Dr. Henry Marsh's Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery has won the 2015 PEN Ackerley prize. It's a bit of news well-received here at W&M HQ. We're big fans of the book and its frank, insightful and beautifully written stories are excellently told - especially by a man who's hands are better used to intricate surgeries, not stanzas.

Intricacy certainly isn't missing from Do No Harm, and the award is proof enough of that! Making the award announcement, judge chair Peter Parker noted:

Several widely praise and heavily garlanded autobiographies were published in 2014, but the PEN Ackerley judges felt that few of these delivered on their promise. Henry Marsh's Do No Harm was, outstandingly, one that did…beautifully written, recklessly honest and morally complex.

Marsh writes superbly about the intricacies of the human body, about the sometimes conflicting impulses of professional ambition and human need, and about the difficulty of talking honestly to patients and their families in times of medical crisis. These ‘Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery’ present a compelling argument about the moral dimension of surgical intervention and build to a touching and rueful self-portrait.

On receiving the award, Dr Marsh told it was "very pleasing indeed to get this particular prize". Congratulations Doctor, very well-deserved indeed!

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The Ackerley prize celebrates autobiography and memoir, and is named for JR Ackerley, the former literary editor of The Listener magazine. It is awarded by the (awesome) English PEN.

Busting boundaries: English Pen's World Bookshelf

Being that W&M is relatively new in the world of books, we thought we'd get out from behind our desk and be active. So, because we like shifting our horizons (and because we were thankfully allowed to attend), we were at the launch at English PEN's 'World Bookshelf'. held at Foyle's on Charing Cross Road.

For the uninitiated, English Pen is the founding member of the Free Word Centre, and the founding centre of the international association of writers. If that means little, it is a charity set up to support the rights of readers and writers both in the UK and internationally. To give a small hint of its beliefs, it's actively fighting for a reversal of the UK's prison book ban.

Needless to say then that English PEN's belief in literary freedom is plastered all over its bookshelf.

Happy to be in like-minded (if far superior) company, we arrived in Foyle's 'gallery' area and took a seat surrounded by book lovers and industry professionals. We then moved seat; not wanting our mind to be the only thing able to stretch. Frankly, we weren't disappointed, as what was to follow was enlightening, enjoyable and highly interesting.

Harriet Gilbert of BBC Radio 4's 'A Good Read' and the World Service's 'The World Book Club' led things. Joined by novelists Nikita Lalwani, Elif Shafak and the translator Frank Wynne, the evening was relaxed, welcoming and genuinely revealing.

Each of the guests talked openly about their experience of writing in (and having text ported to) different languages. With the guests reading excerpts from personally chosen titles, we were treated to books in translation which inspired, intrigued or challenged them. All the while Gilbert listened avid as the rest of us, yet guiding the evening with insight and purpose as needed.

For those, like us, who read very little translated material, it was dazzling to be made aware of the artistry that goes in to making a book region-suitable. Titles, phrases, indeed whole passages of text have to be considered for suitability.

Elif Shafak recounted that one of her books Iskender, was translated to English (Honour) and Italian (House of Four winds) with changed titles. In English, Iskender (Alexander) may be taken as a history of Alexander the Great. In Italian, Honour (Honore) might be taken as a mafia-themed title.

Such considerations were alien to us. And we likely weren't alone: With English-writing authors works dominating British bookshelves, much of the magic of translation - and of the rhythm, themes and stories skilfully carried from other languages - are missed by many of us.

And so 'The World Bookshelf'.

Not content with letting readers miss out on international literature, English PEN has opened and committed to an "online gateway" showcasing the works of international writers - all made accessible through translation.

A portal full of author, book and translator info, complete with a blog and the possibility of future events. Meanwhile, a PEN Atlas section allows exploration and discovery of literature and by the continent.

We'd be stunned if we weren't so impressed by the portal. More importantly though, we're now struck by a daring feeling: the feeling that we may hold truly dear a book not native in English, but powerfully adopted.

What that book might be we're not yet sure. But we know who might help.

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A podcast of the evening should shortly be available; we'll be sure to link to it here when it is!

Pussy Riot member joins campaign to reverse prison book ban

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the Russian punk rock band  Pussy Riot has given heartfelt support to the campaign looking to overturn a policy banning books for UK prisoners.

Tolokonnikova is among several new international artists supporting the English PEN and Howard League for Penal Reform backed campaign, and has written strongly of her own experiences of incarceration.

Three members of the band were imprisoned in 2012 over charges of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred". And Tolokonnikova tells how her 21 month period behind bars was enlivened by her access to books:

Books make up your entire world when you are a prisoner. Because you have books you know that every day you spend behind bars is not a day spent in vain.

In a letter posted on the English PEN website, Tolokonnikova also writes, "Prison is probably one of the most text-centric places in this, our contemporary reality."

The campaign has fostered international support from Europe, Africa and South-east Asia, and among those joining the campaign is Belarusian journalist Iryna Khalip.

Khalip was detained and charged for organising protests against the  Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, following his 2010 re-election. She has likened a lack of books to a lack of air.

WhenI was arrested and brought to a prison cell I noticed almost automatically that there were books on one of the shelves...‘It’s possible to live here,’  I thought,  ‘there is something to read.’

Khalip adds in her letter that in prison books "become the air. Your body needs air to breathe. No books — you cannot breathe. And if you cannot breathe there is no life."

To find out more about the campiagn to overturn a ban on books in British prisons, visit English PEN's website, here.