Author:Patricia Lockwood
'Priestdaddy caused a sensation when it hit bookshelves in 2017' Vogue
'Glorious' Sunday Times
'Laugh-out-loud funny' The Times
'Extraordinary' Observer
'Exceptional' Telegraph
'Electric' New York Times
'Snort-out-loud' Financial Times
'Dazzling' Guardian
'Do yourself a favour and read this memoir!' BookPage
WINNER OF THE THURBER PRIZE FOR AMERICAN HUMOUR
The childhood of Patricia Lockwood, the poet dubbed 'The Smutty-Metaphor Queen of Lawrence, Kansas' by The New York Times, was unusual in many respects. There was the location: an impoverished, nuclear waste-riddled area of the American Midwest. There was her mother, a woman who speaks almost entirely in strange riddles and arnings of impending danger. Above all, there was her gun-toting, guitar-riffing, frequently semi-naked father, who underwent a religious conversion on a submarine and found a loophole which saw him approved for the Catholic priesthood by the future Pope Benedict XVI, despite already having a wife and children.
When an unexpected crisis forces Lockwood and her husband to move back into her parents' rectory, she must learn to live again with the family's simmering madness, and to reckon with the dark side of her religious upbringing. Pivoting from the raunchy to the sublime, from the comic to the serious, Priestdaddy is an unforgettable story of how we balance tradition against hard-won identity - and of how, having journeyed in the underworld, we can emerge with our levity and our sense of justice intact.
'Destined to be a classic . . . this year's must-read memoir' Mary Karr, author of The Liars' Club
'Irrepressible . . . joyous, funny and filthy . . . Lockwood blows the roof off every paragraph' Joe Dunthorne, author of Submarine
'Beautiful, funny and poignant. I wish I'd written this book' Jenny Lawson, author of Furiously Happy
'A revelatory debut . . . Lockwood's prose is nothing short of ecstatic . . . her portrait of her epically eccentric family is funny, warm, and stuffed to bursting with emotional insight' Joss Whedon
'Praise God, this is why books were invented' Emily Berry, author of Dear Boy and Stranger, Baby
Glorious
—— Sunday TimesExtraordinary
—— ObserverElectric
—— New York TimesExceptional
—— TelegraphSnort-out-loud
—— Financial TimesDazzling
—— GuardianAirhead is, like its author, funny, wise, self-deprecating and insightful
—— You MagazineSmart, funny and brilliantly told stories about what goes on behind the scenes of television news. A joy
—— Elizabeth DayRevelatory, riveting and frequently hilarious. A joy from beginning to end
—— James O'BrienA remarkable journey through the jungle of newsmaking. It combines razor-sharp analysis with compelling narrative drive and wit. A must-read
—— Matthew d'Ancona, Guardian and Evening Standard columnistA wonderfully sane book for our unhinged times
—— Simon SchamaEmily has a style that would make you enjoy her report on the end of the world. Absolutely irresistible
—— Jeremy VineThe irony of this riveting, enlightening and sometimes painfully honest book is that you couldn't meet less of an airhead than Emily Maitlis - a bold, fearless journalist, a splendidly probing and well-prepared interlocutor, and a warm, sharp and witty woman at the top of her game on and off camera. I'm just very disappointed there's only one chapter about me
—— Piers MorganA light and easy read but a thought-provoking one
—— The TimesAn irreverent and amusing account of her media career
—— The Times, 100 Best Books for SummerSmart and Broadcast News-funny, Airhead is peppered with insider anecdotes you could only pick up working on the kind of big news stories that the journalist has covered for decades
—— Daily TelegraphNot an autobiography but a serious book about journalism, disguised in anecdotal chapters about her encounters with the great and the good and the rather awful . . . leads the reader towards a deeper understanding of an essential part of our culture: current affairs . . . this is a book that engages at every level
—— Daily MailVividly demonstrates her drive to report
—— Tatler MagazineMaitlis writes brilliantly
—— TatlerA deliciously funny behind-the-scenes take on broadcasting and her encounters with politicians and celebrities
—— iFascinating . . . [an] excellent book
—— Mail on SundayA behind-the-scenes look at how news gets made
—— ObserverA fascinating and brilliantly evocative ringside seat at some of the most notable interviews she's done
—— Radio TimesBehind-the-scenes accounts of her famous encounters, including those with Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and the Dalai Lama, among many others
—— Daily Mail Books of the YearShe lifts the veil on the inner workings of the BBC, as she reflects on her long career as a journalist
—— Radio TimesShe offers insights into everyone from Donald Trump to Simon Cowell, showing them not just as what they represent, but as individuals with flaws and charm
—— The Press and JournalOne of the best we've read this year . . . This insightful, hilarious and engrossing memoir from one of our most well-liked TV broadcasters takes you behind the scenes of the biggest news stories in recent years
—— SheerLuxe, 15 Best Beach Reads of 2019Recounts, one guest per chapter, a number of her interviews with the boldest of boldface figures . . . Entertaining
—— Strong WordsA quick, absorbing read . . . my overriding impression is of rather breathless thoughtfulness . . . her formidable intelligence and self-deprecating awareness shine brightly
—— Times Higher EducationWe love the Maitlis
—— StylistWe're obsessed with Emily Maitlis in this house
—— Nick GrimshawEmily Maitlis is a particular hero of mine . . . I know I'm in for a treat with Airhead
—— Gaby Huddart, Editor-in-chief, Good HousekeepingEmily Maitlis is one of my favourite interviewers and I want to read her tales of interviewing people such as Donald Trump, Theresa May and Simon Cowell
—— Catriona Shearer, Sunday MailA fascinating behind-the-scenes insight into modern television news
—— Time & Leisure MagazineIt's a brilliant, often funny, behind-the-scenes account of her working life, written by one of Britain's best television broadcasters. It proves she's far from an airhead!
—— John CravenShe gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most engaging interviews she's conducted in recent years - with all the wrangling, arguing, pleading and last-minute script writing they involved. Insightful, funny and engrossing, we love it.
—— SheerLuxe