¿It¿s not particularly difficult to run a successful bookshop, thought Valerie: a grasp of the rudiments of business, a sensible plan, a little skill in negotiation, a couple of contacts and a large portion of magic.¿

When businesswoman Valerie takes over the bookshop owned by her aunt ¿ who has vanished without trace ¿ her intention is to bring some order to the chaos, and then sell the business. But she has underestimated the power of the little shop. One day she stumbles upon a mysterious book with an unfinished ending. Valerie thinks it must be a defective copy, but when a customer turns up searching for that very book, her view of the shop ¿ and world ¿ shifts, as she is forced to question what is and isn¿t possible.

A Very Special Year is a declaration of love for literature, for beautiful books, the power and magic of stories as well as proof that the world of the imagination is still alive within us.

Thomas Montasser is a poet and novelist. He founded Montasser Media Agency with his wife twenty-five years ago, and it is now one of the leading literary agencies in Germany. Thomas is a self-confessed bibliophile, and lives in Munich with his wife and three children.

Jamie Bulloch has taught German language and Central European History at UCL, King's College and Warwick University. His recent literary translations include Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes, which has been long-listed for the 2016 IMPAC award, Raw Material by Jörg Fauser, and Schlump by Hans Herbert Grimm (Vintage). He lives in London with his wife and three daughters.