The Accidental Detectorist
CASSELL/OCTOPUS
A warm-hearted and lyrical delve into an all-consuming hobby that takes the reader around the country, back through history and deep into the psyches (the author’s included) of those hooked on ‘happy bleeps’.
Breakfast in Brighton
Gollancz/Phoenix
Best-selling travelogue/gonzo tribute to the state of mind induced by being in Brighton – a story of bountiful summer months interwoven with mad, hopeful fictions.
Dog Days in Soho
Gollancz/Phoenix
Partly fictionalised, periodically surreal biography. The narrative ducks down the back alleys of Soho in the 1950s in pursuit of a friend’s stepfather, Josh Avery, a character with the temperament of an artist but not the accomplishments.
The Wrong Hands
OUP in UK; Knopf in US; Random House Listening Library
YA fiction. The narrator is a boy with a unique gift who regards it as a unique affliction. His story turns on a plane crash, pianos and a disreputable tabloid rag called the Moon. Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week.
The Rope Ladder
OUP
YA fiction. Mungo McFall is a 15-year-old boy with a refined line in sarcasm. When his father dies he suffers grief, despair and anger before discovering the truth and power of chance. He also gets the girl completely wrong.
Britain’s Best Drives: Journeys Back to the Golden Age of Motoring
Hodder Headline
Travel/history/TV tie-in. In this collaboration with the actor Richard Wilson they take a nostalgic road trip back to the 1950s.