Courttia Newland

Twenty years after her son's abduction, Beverley Cottrell begins piecing her life together teaching literature to London's disadvantaged youth, until a young man claiming to be her son appears.

The Gospel According to Cane

The Ark was built to save the lives of the many, but rapidly became a refuge for the elite, the entrance closed without warning. Years after the Ark was cut off from the world, a chance of survival within its confines is granted to a select few who can prove their worth. Among their number is Markriss Denny, whose path to future excellence is marred only by a closely guarded secret: without warning, his spirit leaves his body, allowing him to see and experience a world far beyond his physical limitations. Once inside the Ark, Denny learns of another with the same power, whose existence could spell catastrophe for humanity. He is forced into a desperate race to understand his abilities, and in doing so uncovers the truth about the Ark, himself and the people he thought he once knew. Set in an alternate world where slavery and colonialism never happened, Newland’s staggering novel is both a timely exploration of social inequality and a story about love, loyalty and the search for the truth.

A River Called Time

Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Kate Clanchy

Jacob Ross

Kit de Waal

David Constantine

Alexei Sayle

Juliet Jacques

Holly Pester

Maggie Gee

Stuart Evers

Martyn Bedford

Joanna Quinn

Laura Hird

Matthew Holness

Michelle Green

Sandra Alland

Andy Hedgecock

Francesca Rhydderch

Whatever happened to British protest? For a nation that brought the world Chartism, the Suffragettes, the Tolpuddle Martyrs, and so many other grassroots social movements, Britain rarely celebrates its long, great tradition of people power. In this timely and evocative collection, twenty authors have assembled to re-imagine key moments of British protest, from the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 to the anti-Iraq War demo of 2003. Written in close consultation with historians, sociologists and eyewitnesses - who also contribute afterwords - these stories follow fictional characters caught up in real-life struggles, offering a streetlevel perspective on the noble art of resistance. In the age of fake news and post-truth politics this book fights fiction with (well researched, historically accurate) fiction.

Stories of Resistance

Protest

Monique Roffey

Global Village

A dark and incisive collection of speculative short stories set in an alternate future of interstellar space travel, robots, mythical creatures, and the uncanny. "Newland easily engages readers with complex world-building, well-shaded characters, and stories as entertaining as they are meaningful. It's no small feat to so immediately and repeatedly appeal to readers' hearts and minds, and Newland's mastery of short-format storytelling is sure to impress. Speculative fiction fans won't be able to put this down." —Publishers Weekly, starred review "Newland's writing is in league with a host of SF subgenres, from pulpy space opera to N.K. Jemisin–style Afrofuturism to Jeff VanderMeer–esque eco-fiction. But his chief skill is weaving those tropes into stories that are both wildly speculative and on the news . . . Wide-ranging and deeply imaginative; Newland is equally at home in council flats and deep space." —Kirkus Reviews In his exquisite first collection of speculative fiction, Courttia Newland envisages an alternate future as lived by the African diaspora. Kill parties roam the streets of a post-apocalyptic world; a matriarchal race of mer creatures depends on interbreeding with mortals to survive; mysterious seeds appear in cities across the world, growing into the likeness of people in their vicinity. Through transfigured bodies and impossible encounters, Newland brings a sharp, fresh eye to age-old themes of the human capacity for greed, ambition, and self-destruction, but ultimately of our strength and resilience.

Cosmogramma

Tania Hershman

Writing Short Stories: A Writers' and Artists' Companion is an essential guide to writing short fiction successfully. PART 1 explores the nature and history of the form, personal reflections by the editors, and help getting started with ideas, planning and research. PART 2 includes tips by leading short story writers, including: Alison Moore, Jane Rogers, Edith Pearlman, David Vann, Anthony Doerr, Vanessa Gebbie, Alexander MacLeod, Adam Thorpe and Elspeth Sandys. PART 3 contains practical advice - from shaping plots and exploring your characters to beating writers' block, rewriting and publishing your stories.

A Writers' and Artists' Companion

Writing Short Stories

Gaia Holmes

 M.Y. Alam

 Divya Ghelani

 Luan Goldie

 Pete Kalu

 lisa luxx

 Irfan Master

 Avaes Mohammad

 Bidisha SK Mamata

 Karline Smith

 Lillian Weezer

The superhero of comic books and blockbuster movies may be a quintessentially American invention, forever saving the world in skin-tight spandex. But the cultural DNA of the superhero can arguably be traced to a much older, more progressive, British tradition: the larger-than-life folk heroes of historical protests – General Ludd, Captain Swing, Lady Skimmington, and others; semi-fictional identities that ordinary protestors adopted, often dressing up in the process. In this unique experiment, twelve authors have been tasked with resurrecting that tradition: to spawn a new generation of present-day British superheroes, willing to bring the fight back to British shores and to more progressive causes. From the dimension-jumping statue-toppler, to the shape-shifting single mum raiding supermarkets to stock local foodbanks... these figures offer unlikely new insights into shared, centuries-old political causes, and usher in a new league of proud, British (social justice) warriors...

New Origin Stories

The Cuckoo Cage

Ambitious and contemporary, this groundbreaking collection offers new short fiction by exciting, fresh talents and established authors from around the world. Covering a myriad of topics—love, sex, death, war, crime, and the environment—each tale boasts a unique perspective and voice, with settings that move from India to New York to Cyberspace. With vibrant characters—including drug smugglers, call-center workers, and tourists—each of the 26 stories tackles personal and social issues in funny, poignant, and often dark ways.

Tell-tales 4

SOCIETY WITHIN takes us back to the Greenside Estate, West London, scene of Courttia Newland's ground-breaking and hugely successful first novel, THE SCHOLAR. Newly arrived on the estate is Elisha: sweet, bright, sassy and just eighteen. As Elisha negotiates some new territory with more than fair share of dark corners, we take in the vividly interlocking lives of the other Greensiders: cool, ambitious Valerie, with some bad secrets to deal with; Little Stacey, looking for his first girl; Orin, dealing, stealing and trying to stay away from anything too lethal. Courttia Newland tells gripping stories from real lives - stories of dreamers and fighters, love and revenge, friendship and betrayal - in a language burning with energy, originality and conviction.

Society Within

Newland turns his hand to science fiction with this lively collection of short stories, which take place in a transfigured Britain and occasionally in space. Themes include the resilience of the human spirit, greed, family, relations, drug use, and the rise of machines.

Kadija Sesay

Kadija George

This collection of new writing commissioned from British writers of African descent is divided into three main sections, reflecting first, second & third generations. It focuses on four types of writing - poetry, short fiction, essays & memoirs.

The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain

In his sharply crafted, unnerving first collection of speculative fiction shorts, Courttia Newland envisages an alternate future as lived by the African diaspora. Robots used as human proxies in a war become driven by all-too-human desires; Kill Parties roam the streets of a post-apocalyptic world; a matriarchal race of mer creatures depends on inter-breeding with mortals to survive; mysterious seeds appear in cities across the world, growing into the likeness of people in their vicinity. Through transfigured bodies and impossible encounters, Newland brings a sharp, fresh eye to age-old themes of the human capacity for greed, ambition and self-destruction, but ultimately of our strength and resilience.

A dark and incisive collection of speculative short stories set in an alternate future of interstellar space travel, robots, mythical creatures, and the uncanny. In his exquisite first collection of speculative fiction, Courttia Newland envisages an alternate future as lived by the African diaspora. Kill parties roam the streets of a post-apocalyptic world; a matriarchal race of mer creatures depends on interbreeding with mortals to survive; mysterious seeds appear in cities across the world, growing into the likeness of people in their vicinity. Through transfigured bodies and impossible encounters, Newland brings a sharp, fresh eye to age-old themes of the human capacity for greed, ambition, and self-destruction, but ultimately of our strength and resilience.

Sara Maitland

Whatever happened to British protest? For a nation that brought the world Chartism, the Suffragettes, the Tolpuddle Martyrs, and so many other grassroots social movements, Britain rarely celebrates its long, great tradition of people power. In this timely and evocative collection, twenty authors have assembled to re-imagine key moments of British protest, from the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 to the anti-Iraq War demo of 2003. Written in close consultation with historians, sociologists and eyewitnesses – who also contribute afterwords – these stories follow fictional characters caught up in real-life struggles, offering a streetlevel perspective on the noble art of resistance. In the age of fake news and post-truth politics this book fights fiction with (well researched, historically accurate) fiction. Protests include the Peasants Revolt, Poll Tax Riots, Anti-Iraq War Demo and many more...

A music journalist suffering a crisis of identity in Miami. The year young London went crazy for hiphop. Old friends trying to connect their disparate lives once more. In stories threaded together with music, A Book of Blues explores both physical and internal landscapes and the neverending diversity of human relationships.

A Book of Blues

When his dad dies under police arrest after a pub brawl, Cory goes to live with his cousin, Sean. By their late teens the cousins, though close, have chosen different paths. Sean is trying to improve his life through education, whereas Cory has already become involved in petty crime - burglary and dealing E. However, everything changes when Cory stabs a man called Roger after a rave, putting him in hospital. This has grave repercussions for Cory - Roger was supposed to be taking part in an armed robbery with Levi, a notorious crack dealer. Levi now expects Cory to take his place. But Cory breaks his leg during a football match and Sean, unable to find a replacement for his cousin, and desperate to help him, agrees to join in on the robbery himself. However, having entered a world of (apparently) easy money and hard drugs, Sean finds it increasingly hard to return to his previous life as The Scholar......

Courttia Newland

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