Discover great new books
Inspiring, free and weekly, without it ever feeling like homework
What others said
An invaluable service and a really terrific read. Just what writers and book lovers need.
Henry Porter
Former editor of British Vanity Fair, activist and author of the Paul Samson series of spy thrillers
When I’m looking for the right book to scratch my reading itch, Strong Words is the path through the forest of rough-barked trees.
Matt Wesolowski
Author of supernaturally tinged fictional crime investigations such as Beast and Changeling
Thought-provoking, insightful, witty and wise, Strong Words scythes through the endless fields of newly published books. If you’ve ever broken out in a cold sweat in a bookshop because of the sheer volume of choice, Strong Words is the magazine for you.
Rachel Rhys
Bestselling author of historical mysteries such as Murder Under The Tuscan Sun and Dangerous Crossing
I like the look of Strong Words, and not just because they put Moneyland in their top ten books of 2018.
Oliver Bullough
Author of investigations into Britain’s enthusiasm for financial chicanery, Moneyland and Butler to the World
Strong Words is a magazine for people like me, who can’t imagine a life without books. It’s full of brilliant ideas for must-read books and writers I’d not come across before.
Jan Carson
Author of Northern Irish bachelor farmer and true believer bestsellers such as The Raptures
A magazine Nancy Mitford would absolutely have declared PLU (people like us). There is that pleasure of knowing Sunday morning is sorted when the next issue lands, if you manage to wait that long. I haven’t yet.
Meg Mason
Author of international mega-hit, Sorrow and Bliss
Strong Words is a literary Robin Hood! Every issue, without fail, its joyful championing and love of the written word brings a fresh jackpot of surprise, pleasure and reward.
Jay Glennie
Author of the deep and revelatory The Making Of film histories, such as One Shot, The Making of The Deer Hunter, and Raging Bull, The Making of
Strong Words is everything you want in a book review magazine – it’s smart, fun, curious, thorough. This magazine is treasure to readers and writers alike.
Michael Farris Smith
Mississipian author of Southern Gothic wonders such as The Fighter, Salvage This World and Blackwood
Funny, clever and beautifully turned out, I discovered books I’d never have come across otherwise. And classic companion books to those books. And then, when I had bought and coveted until my pockets were empty – I subscribed! Strong Words is a masterwork.
Polly Clark
Author of literary sensation Tiger
Somebody please give Ed Needham a lifetime achievement award! Filled to the brim with wit and knowledge, and a deep, deep love of books, Strong Words makes it cooler than ever to geek out over literature. Do yourself a favour and subscribe immediately.
Virginia Feito
Author of the magnificent, unstable New York socialite debut, Mrs March
I love Strong Words. More please!
Dylan Jones
Editor of the Evening Standard, and author of books including Loaded: the Life (and Afterlife) of the Velvet Underground, and David Bowie: A Life
Strong Words has a contagious, all-embracing love of books. An entertainment in itself.
Mark Ellen
Former editor of Q, Smash Hits and The Word, and author of Rock Stars Stole My Life!
Strong Words is a slam-dunk in terms of consistent quality as the entire magazine – dozens of articulate and incisive reviews of new fiction and other book features – is written by one editor. I’m in awe. Every writer or dedicated reader should make this a part of their regular diet.
Kate Weinberg
Author of the unsettling campus obsession thriller, The Truants
Strong Words is absolutely brilliant. It's a fascinating thing. It's about books, all types of books, but written in such a fun and lively and jolly style. It is conceived, created, written and edited by one person. It is an extraordinary undertaking. It is so good. I really, really like it.
Marina Hyde
Guardian columnist, presenter of the podcast sensation The Rest is History, and author of "What Just Happened?"
A magazine conceived and written and edited by one human being. And not merely a magazine, but an infinitely wise and entertaining one. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more impressive achievement. Strong Words is a breath of fresh, strong air. An absolute triumph!
Lisa Taddeo
Author of bestselling international sensations Three Women and Animal
Strong Words is a magazine for people who want to be informed, entertained, provoked. And it comes with an elusive and magical quality that all great magazines have – it gives readers something they didn’t know they wanted.
Anthony Quinn
Whose bestselling historical novels include Our Friends in Berlin, Molly and The Captain, and Curtain Call
If you have made a resolution – New Year’s or otherwise – to read more, Strong Words will remind you of how rewarding it is to lose yourself in a book. The content is beautifully presented and its enthusiasm will carry you excitedly to your next book, and the next.
Richard Balls
Author of the definitive Shane MacGowan biography, A Furious Devotion
Not just strong words, but wise ones too! This is a magazine jam-packed with juicy morsels. As someone who never knows what to read next, Strong Words is indispensable.
Freya Berry
Author of bestselling literary thrillers The Dictator’s Wife and The Birdcage Library
They’ve got great taste, and reading Strong Words with their short, simple reports makes me feel like I have read a load of books.
James Brown
Author of Animal House, a memoir of life in magazines
Why has this not been done before? Books in a brilliant, funny, unpretentious way. It’s genius.
Elizabeth Day
Author of self-help hit How To Fail
Strong Words provides a valuable service in highlighting books you’ll enjoy reading – as opposed to the ones you enjoy telling people you’ve read.
David Hepworth
Journalist, broadcaster and author of idiosyncratic musical histories, such as 1971, and A Fabulous Creation: How the LP Saved Our Lives
A magazine about books that enthuses like a fanzine and wears its considerable knowledge as discreetly as a pin badge. I’m so happy to have discovered Strong Words.
Pete Paphides
National music journalist and author of the bestselling coming-of-age through pop music in a Cypriot Birmingham chip shop, Broken Greek
Strong words… Large Pics… Hard Thoughts… Cool Type… Must Read.
Sebastian Faulks
Multi-award winning author of Birdsong and Charlotte Gray
What a wonderful magazine – its whole European news mag flavour applied to books is especially compelling. I wanted to dive into everything.
Tina Brown
Former editor of Vanity Fair and the New Yorker, and author of bestselling House of Windsor exposé, The Palace Papers
There is a particular pleasure in reading a specialist literary magazine presented with all the energy and panache of a mainstream title.
Nicholas Coleridge
Chairman of the V&A, former president of Condé Nast International and author of The Glossy Years
The magazine
The current issue
The Mean Mr Murdoch – the twilight years of the angry patriarch
Issue 61 of Strong Words, the first of a new digital era, is now available.
Covering just as many new and interesting books with the same fanatical attention as in the old ink on paper days, the magazine continues to guide subscribers directly to the good stuff.
Including
- A superb dissection of the bitter conflicts that have divided the Murdoch family
- Emergency roadside assistance for anyone struggling to get their novel started
- Farewell to the epically outrageous Molly Parkin
- Some great new cases to solve in an expanded crime and thriller section
Subscribe to the magazine
Never get your face stuck in the wrong book again
Issue 61 is on sale now.
To subscribe just click the tab at the top of the page.
This is the first issue to be published exclusively in the new digital format.
So, same magazine, same outstanding design and content, but now available on your desktop, laptop, tablet and phone.
Plus, subscribers will now receive EIGHT issues annually instead of SIX, at no extra cost.
And subscribers will also have access to the entire back catalogue of Strong Words issues, stretching back over the last seven years.
Contact
If you’d like to get in touch about anything at all: new books, advertising opportunities or if you’ve got a story to share, info@strong-words.co.uk is the address.