A.L. Kennedy

From a Costa Book of the Year winner, Booker nominee and double Granta-selected Best Young British novelist comes a searing portrayal of trauma, police abuse and the power of hope. Teaching nine-year-olds on Zoom. A relationship interrupted by enforced distance. A teenaged son who cannot leave the house. Anna McCormick is already struggling to cope with the unwanted twists 2020 has served up. But when an unstamped envelope arrives overnight, her past begins to cast its own long shadow on the present. With an uncaring government compounding her woes and a hostile threat drawing closer, Anna must dig deep to keep hope alive for herself and those around her. This is a twisty, heart-racing page-turner and viscerally rendered portrayal of abuse of power by the state, by the police and by the villains much closer to home.

A beloved classic adult novel skilfully abridged to inspire and engage a new generation of middle-grade readers, from a multi-award-winning author.Young orphan Pip, downtrodden and mistreated by his guardian sister, has a terrifying meeting with an escaped convict. Soon afterwards he is invited to play at the gloomy, cobwebbed house of unhappy Miss Havisham, where he is humiliated by her beautiful ward, Estella. Pip falls in love with the girl, despite her disdain for his ignorance and rough appearance, and begins his apprenticeship to his blacksmith brother-in-law feeling ashamed of his lowly home.Then Pip is told he is to be brought up as a wealthy gentleman, and he delightedly assumes his secret benefactor to be Miss Havisham, planning him as a match him for Estella. When he discovers this is not the case, his heart is broken and his loyalties torn.What is the connection between Miss Havisham and the mysterious convict? And will Pip ever win Estella’s heart?

A stunning collection of seventeen stories by a vibrant mix of established and emerging writers. The best short story collection to come out of lockdown! Contributors include A L Kennedy, Helen Simpson, Alison Moore, Stephen S.Thompson and Amanda Craig.

'Kennedy is a superb writer and the canniness of her observation keeps you reading' Sunday TimesHumour, fantasy, rage and despair both help and hinder the protagonists of these stories as they navigate changing circumstances, accumulating losses, moments of comprehension and tenderness.

Winston Churchill hated The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, and tried to have it banned when it was released in 1943. But Martin Scorsese, a champion of directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, considers it a masterpiece. It’s a film about desires repressed in favour of worthless and unsatisfying ideals. And it’s a film about how England dreamt of itself as a nation and how this dream disguised inadequacy and brutality in the clothes of honour. A. L. Kennedy, writing as a Scot, is fascinated by the nationalism which The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp explores. She finds human worth in the film and the pathos of stifled emotions and unfulfilled lives. ‘If he is unaware of his passions, ‘ she writes of Clive Candy, the film’s central figure, ‘this is because his pains have become habitual, a part of personality, and because he was never taught a language that could speak of emotions like pain.’.This edition includes a foreword by the author exploring the film's continuing relevance in an age of Brexit, when English and British national identity are deeply contested concepts.

The third book in a hilarious, heart-warming series for children from Costa Award-winning author A.L. Kennedy, illustrated by celebrated cartoonist Gemma Correll.Uncle Shawn and his best friend Badger Bill are back for another brilliantly bonkers adventure. They've seen off the nasty Dr P'Klawz with the help of their trusty llama pals, and now everything on their farm up on the sunny side of Scotland is just about perfect. Apart from the moon needing rescuing and a suspicious lady badger setting her sights on Bill... What could possibly go wrong?

'Charming lessons in life, death and kindness . . . Hugely moving' ObserverThis is the story of Mary, a young girl born in a beautiful city full of rose gardens and fluttering kites. When she is still very small, Mary meets Lanmo, a shining golden snake, who becomes her very best friend.The snake visits Mary many times, he sees her grow and her city change, as bombs drop and war creeps in. Lanmo wonders, can having a friend possibly be worth the pain of knowing you will lose them?

The first book in a hilarious, heart-warming series for children from Costa Award-winning author A. L. Kennedy, illustrated by Gemma Correll.Badger Bill needs rescuing. He's been kidnapped by two nasty sisters who are about to make him fight a boxing match against three even nastier dogs.The four most depressed llamas in the history of llamas need rescuing too. They are about to be turned into llama pies.But never fear – Uncle Shawn is here! He loves rescuing things. He has a rescuing plan, which involves dancing, and a mole, and an electric fence. What could possibly go wrong?

It could be to do with golfers being dragged down into the bunkers at the Fetch Brothersââ?¬â?¢ Golf Spa Hotel, never to be seen again. It might be related to the strange twin grandchildren of the equally strange Mrs Fetch ââ?¬â?? owner of the hotel and fascinated with octopuses.

Almost forty and with nothing to show for it, Hannah Luckraft is starting to realise that her lifestyle is not sustainable. From Scotland to Dublin, from London to Montreal, to Budapest and onwards, Hannah travels in search of the ultimate altered state â?? her paradise.

An original novel by A.L. Kennedy featuring the Fourth Doctor, as played by Tom Baker in the BBC TV series.Something distinctly odd is going on in Arbroath. It could be to do with golfers being dragged down into the bunkers at the Fetch Brothers’ Golf Spa Hotel, never to be seen again.It might be related to the strange twin grandchildren of the equally strange Mrs Fetch – owner of the hotel and fascinated with octopuses. It could be the fact that people in the surrounding area suddenly know what others arethinking, without anyone saying a word. Whatever it is, the Doctor is most at home when faced with the distinctly odd. With the help of Fetch Brothers’ Junior Receptionist Bryony, he’ll get to the bottom of things. Just so long as he does so in time to save Bryony from quite literally losing her mind, and the entire world from destruction.Because something huge, ancient and alien lies hidden beneath the ground – and it’s starting to wake up...

Packed with tips from bestselling and prize-winning authors, Novel Writing: A Writers' and Artists' Companion will give you all the practical advice you need to write and publish your novel. PART 1 provides an introduction to the forms and history of the novel and helps you plan and research your masterpiece, develop characters and compelling narratives and your own authorial voice. PART 2 contains guest contributions from Philip Pullman, Louise Doughty, Glenn Patterson, Jeanette Winterson, Jonathan Franzen, Stevie Davies, Doris Lessing, Tash Aw, Elif Shafak, Anne Enright, Tim Pears, Anita Desai, Tim Lott, Amit Chaudhuri, Andrea Levy, Alan Hollinghurst, Bernardo Atxaga, Hanan Al-Shaykh, Michèle Roberts, Joan Brady, Lynn Freed, Evelyn Toynton as well as a number of the 2013 list of the Best of Young British Novelists including Kamila Shamsie, Tamima Anam, Naomi Alderman, Ned Beauman, Jenni Fagan and Joanna Kavenna. PART 3 offers practical advice on collaborative writing, overcoming writer's block, editing and rewriting and finding an agent and a publisher for your work. Written by two multi-award winning authors, this is a comprehensive manual for established and aspiring novelists alike.

Useful for readers and aspiring writers, this book contains what they need to know about the complexities of researching, writing and publishing fiction. It features essays on character, voice, writers' workshops and writers' health.

Offers a collection of short stories that show us exactly what becomes of the broken-hearted. This title reveals the sadness, violence, hurt and terror, and also the redemption and the love.