Hello all,
Happy May Day! 🌸
Did you spend all of your evening awake last night and then ring in the sunrise with madrigals? Well, that’s what the city of Oxford was doing, just like it has done every year since at least 1509! We hope you’re enjoying the true arrival of Spring, and we’ve got loads to update you with from the world of BookGo.
First up, in exciting news pre-order is now available on our website for the paperback and ebook releases of the award-winning Vatican spy thriller The Glamour of Evil, the Kirkus starred review memoir Come Up Big, and the incredible story of faith and renewal Redeemed.
We’re also excited to announce The First Guidebook to International Universities by Dr. Richard Major, a guide to 101 of the best universities around the world. Releasing later this year and available to pre-order now. In celebration, in this issue Nancy writes about why going abroad to study or write might be the best decision you ever make – which also brings us to the Oxford Writers Workshop at Keble College. Spaces are filling up, and the deadline for the fully paid scholarship closes at the end of this month. So come and join us in Oxford - or share this opportunity with someone you know!
Here’s everything that’s in store:
Writer’s Toolkit: “US Universities are Losing Students – So Why Not Go Abroad?” by Nancy Merritt Bell
Coming Soon: The First Guidebook to International Universities — Pre-Order Now
Poem of the Week: “Song on a May Morning” by John Milton
Workshop Spotlight: The Oxford Writers Workshop — Scholarships Still Available! Deadline: May 31 🎓
New Releases: Pre-order Paperbacks and Ebooks for Come Up Big, The Glamour of Evil and Redeemed
This Weekend: New York Independent Lit Fair — Tomorrow, May 2!
By Nancy Merritt Bell
Yale University recently reported that it, the great ivy tower of learning, could be the very reason why America Universities face lower and lower enrolment. Alan Blinder of the New York Times wrote on April 15, 2026, “High costs, murky admissions practices, uneven academic standards and fears about free speech on campuses, the committee said, are among the reasons for widening discontent over higher education’s worthiness…” All of which Yale admits to as its own failings. Then, Blinder went on to write, “American colleges and universities bear significant responsibility for plunging public trust in higher education, a Yale University committee suggested in a report released on Wednesday.”
If Yale, a supposedly outstanding ivy, admits to failing our own students, why not go to an outstanding university in Canada, or Mexico, or the UK, anywhere in Europe, or Singapore, or anywhere else?
Why not indeed! And just how to do it and where to go is all in BookGo upcoming guidebook: The First Guidebook to International Universities: Study in English & Earn a Degree in Less Time for Less Money at the Best Universities in the World.
Yes – this guidebook is the first of its kind. It covers 101 recommended universities from around the world.
Author Richard Major is an expert on the subject with degrees in history, literature and theology. He has over a dozen many books in print. Born in the South Seas, Richard went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. At Oxford he earned a doctorate in English literature from Magdalen College, and since then has dedicated his life to international education, tutoring and lecturing at universities in America, as well as England, Italy, Australia, Slovenia, India and Hungary.
As a consular officer in U.S. embassies, Richard was also facilitating visas for students across the globe and aiding the practicalities of expatriate life.
We at BookGo are thrilled to be developing this excellent new addition to university guidebooks for publication this year with Richard. Many of the BookGo team went to university aboard, to the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia in Canada, and also Oxford, the Sorbonne and the École Normale Supérieure. We loved it.
If you are thinking of going to university, think about all the great universities around the world that are waiting for you—with classes in English, for less money and in less time that it takes to earn a degree at a US university. When it comes to universities, the world really is your oyster!
The First Guidebook to International Universities: Study in English & Earn a Degree in Less Time for Less Money at the Best Universities in the World by Dr Richard Major is available to pre-order from BookGo.
By John Milton
John Milton was still a teenager when he wrote this exuberant little lyric, and you can feel it — pure, unselfconscious delight in the arrival of spring.
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published
Now the bright morning Star, Dayes harbinger, Comes dancing from the East, and leads with her The Flowry May, who from her green lap throws The yellow Cowslip, and the pale Primrose. Hail bounteous May that dost inspire Mirth and youth, and warm desire, Woods and Groves, are of thy dressing, Hill and Dale, doth boast thy blessing. Thus we salute thee with our early Song, And welcom thee, and wish thee long.
Spaces are still available for BookGo’s residential writing workshop at Keble College, University of Oxford this August, and scholarship applications close May 31 — so now is the moment to act.
For seven days, a small group of writers will gather in one of the most storied universities on earth to deepen their craft, develop their manuscripts, and write in the same city that inspired Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Philip Pullman.
The programme includes morning seminars on the craft of writing, one-on-one mentorship sessions, cultural excursions through Oxford’s libraries and archives, and nightly readings and fellowship in the Keble College bar.
Scholarships available:
🏆 Emerging Author Full Scholarship — one fully-funded place covering the entire programme ($7,000 value), open to writers working on their first full-length book or first memoir
🎓 Partial Scholarships — a limited number of 10% bursaries for full scholarship applicants
📚 Educational Scholarship — $1,000 for a writer working in education
🎖️ Veterans Scholarship — $1,000 for a writer who has served in the military
🤝 Institutional Funding Match — BookGo will match up to $1,750 in external institutional funding
Scholarship deadline: May 31 | Final booking deadline: June 16
We are thrilled to announce that our first books are now available to pre-order in paperback!
And finally - just a quick heads-up for our New York readers: PEN America’s Independent Lit Fair takes place tomorrow, Saturday May 2. It’s a celebration of independent voices in literature and one of the highlights of New York’s literary calendar. Go down if you can and support all the amazing work happening by independent authors and publishers around the world!
Find out more and get tickets →
Until next time,
The BookGo Team 💛
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