Thomas Mogford

Albania. The name alone conjures a sense of distance and mystery. Secretive Communist past. Curious obsession with Norman Wisdom. Patronising football commentators cooking a snook as England eke out a 1-0 qualification win in Tirana. Even Shakespeare was troubled by the place — when he needed an isolated setting for Twelfth Night he shipwrecked his characters in […]

It was a curious experience to be in Gibraltar for their inaugural literary festival. On the one hand, it was fantastic to see the Rock put on show — buffed up like a gem —  for people to appreciate that there was a great deal more to the place than border queues, apes and military […]

Given all the recent hoo-hah about Gibraltar-Spain relations going down the pan, it’s easy to forget that the Rock’s first ever literary festival is about to take place, in which a number of prominent Spanish writers will be speaking. Is this a sign that the literary world rises above such petty political squabbles? Or that most authors are so amazed that […]

For some reason the bizarre X-Factor phrase, ‘Congratulations — you’re through to the ‘lives”, has been buzzing round my head today with the news that ‘Shadow of the Rock’ has made it to the last four for the Crime Writers’ Association’s 2013 John Creasey Dagger Award. The prospect of sitting at a round table at the Grosvenor while waiting […]