Krystelle Bamford

'Ambitious, wildly original'THE TIMES'An absolute one-off'CLAIRE FULLER'Magical'RACHEL YODER'A masterclass in misdirection'FINANCIAL TIMESOn a bright summer day in 1989 New England, Abi, three years old, vanishes from her aunt’s secluded home. Upstairs, her young cousins are looking out of the window. Something is unfolding in the distance at the edge of the forest – something sinister that is watching them back.The adults don’t seem to notice that the youngest of the group has disappeared. Too busy bickering over politics and reminiscing about the family’s domineering late matriarch, Beezy, they leave the children with no choice but to get Abi back themselves. As the cousins embark on a quest through their grandmother’s sprawling estate, buried family secrets come to light and long-awaited plans are set in motion. Will they lose themselves while trying to find her?Idle Grounds is a chilling, evocative and darkly comic debut about childhood, legacy, and the burdens and privileges we carry with us.'Superb'THE TELEGRAPH'Unsettingly, sharply funny' GUARDIAN'Extremely accomplished'SCOTSMAN

"A chilling exploration of privilege, memory, and the unsettling weight of inherited history." --Oprah Daily In this thrilling New England gothic set in the late 1980s, a group of young cousins wander deep into the woods on their family's property, drawn in by uncanny visions and the disappearance of one of their own--finding that the farther they go, the stranger their surroundings become. As always with these things it started with a birthday party. Lingering at the edge of a family party, a troop of cousins loses track of the youngest child among them. With their parents preoccupied with bickering about decades-old crises, the children decide they must set out to investigate themselves--to the rickety chicken coop, the barn and its two troublesome horses, and into the woods that once comprised their late grandmother's property. The more the children search, and the deeper they walk, the more threatening the woods become and the more lost they are, caught between their aunt's home in the present day, their parents' childhood home just through the trees, and the memory of the house their grandmother grew up in. Soon, what began as a quest for answers gives way to a journey that undermines everything they've been told about who they are, where they came from, and what they deserve. "Unsettling and sharply funny" (The Guardian), Idle Grounds is a rich exploration of the interior lives of children and a gripping meditation on birthright, decline, and the weight of family history. A fable of the distortions of privilege and the impossibility of keeping secrets hidden, this is a novel about straying from home--only to come back unraveled, unsettled, and irrevocably changed.

'Unsettling, puckish, and brilliantly written, this novel is an absolute one-off. I loved it' CLAIRE FULLER'Magical, perplexing and funny in a wholly original way' RACHEL YODER'Ambitious, wildly original . . . marches to its own beat' THE TIMES'Bamford conjures, in vivid, amplified language, how children fluidly and unpredictably make sense of the world … [Idle Grounds] is unsettling, sharply funny at times, with carefully built-up layers of dis-ease delivered in a comic deadpan' GUARDIAN'A masterclass in misdirection' FINANCIAL TIMES'Superb' THE TELEGRAPHAs always with these things it started with a birthday party.On a bright summer day in 1989 New England, Abi, three years old, vanishes from her aunt’s secluded home. Upstairs, her young cousins are looking out of the window. Something is unfolding in the distance at the edge of the forest – something sinister that is watching them back.The adults don’t seem to notice that the youngest of the group has disappeared. Too busy bickering over politics and reminiscing about the family’s domineering late matriarch, Beezy, they leave the children with no choice but to get Abi back themselves. As the cousins embark on a quest through their grandmother’s sprawling estate, buried family secrets come to light and long-awaited plans are set in motion. Will they lose themselves while trying to find her?Idle Grounds is a chilling, evocative and darkly comic debut about childhood, legacy, and the burdens and privileges we carry with us.'Haunting yet humorous, this is a debut to look out for' DAZED'Every sentence positively bristles with unease. One of the most atmospheric novels I have read in a long time. Beautifully written' JENNIE GODFREY'An acid trip of a novel. Weird, sinister and darkly funny' AMY TWIGG

"A chilling exploration of privilege, memory, and the unsettling weight of inherited history." --Oprah Daily In this thrilling New England gothic set in the late 1980s, a group of young cousins wander deep into the woods on their family's property, drawn in by uncanny visions and the disappearance of one of their own--finding that the farther they go, the stranger their surroundings become. As always with these things it started with a birthday party. Lingering at the edge of a family party, a troop of cousins loses track of the youngest child among them. With their parents preoccupied with bickering about decades-old crises, the children decide they must set out to investigate themselves--to the rickety chicken coop, the barn and its two troublesome horses, and into the woods that once comprised their late grandmother's property. The more the children search, and the deeper they walk, the more threatening the woods become and the more lost they are, caught between their aunt's home in the present day, their parents' childhood home just through the trees, and the memory of the house their grandmother grew up in. Soon, what began as a quest for answers gives way to a journey that undermines everything they've been told about who they are, where they came from, and what they deserve. "Unsettling and sharply funny" (The Guardian), Idle Grounds is a rich exploration of the interior lives of children and a gripping meditation on birthright, decline, and the weight of family history. A fable of the distortions of privilege and the impossibility of keeping secrets hidden, this is a novel about straying from home--only to come back unraveled, unsettled, and irrevocably changed.

In 2019, Nine Arches Press launched their nationwide Primers scheme for a fifth time, in search of exciting new voices in poetry, with Jacqueline Saphra and Jane Commane as selecting editors. After reading through hundreds of anonymous entries, and narrowing down the choices from longlist to shortlist, three poets emerged as clear choices: Krystelle Bamford, Claire Cox and Hannah Jane Walker.Primers Volume Five brings together a showcase from each of the three poets. At the core of these poems are the milestones and critical moments of our lives and, vitally, the ties that bind us to those we love. From the tides of grief to surfing the wave of birth, these often courageous and candid poems are distinctive in their engagement with fear, loss and self-discovery, and how they emerge afresh, bold and illuminating. An insightful collection of new work from some of poetry’s most talented emerging voices.“Each of these poets moved us from a very first read with courage, openness and authenticity and each walks an exhilarating edge, daring to take risks with both language and content.” – Jacqueline Saphra