The Wordsmith

The Times Book of the Week in September 2025 Celebrate 10 years of The Wordsmith with this anniversary edition of Laureate na nag Patricia Forde's classic novel - featuring a freshly imagined cover and an introduction from the Laureate herself. How many words do you need to survive? Letta loves her job as the Wordsmith's apprentice, giving out words to people that need them. It doesn't strike her as odd that the people of Ark are only allowed to use a few hundred words, and words like "love", "hope" and "freedom" are banned. When her master disappears, Letta begins to understand that all is not well, and that the leaders of Ark want to destroy language forever. It is up to her to stop them silencing what is left of the human race. But she is only a young girl, and they are the leaders of the known world…