Courttia Newland

''What a triumph ... One of Britain''s most gifted and inspiring writers'' – Sarah Hall''Every artist needs to read this book, there''s something for the soul on every single page'' Derek OwusuBoth as a novelist and as a screenwriter, Courttia Newland has found himself, through circumstance or choice, in a place of opposition to the commercial mainstream. Now, he reflects on what it means to be an artist operating in the margins and shares his experiences and observations for those facing similar hurdles and choices.Newland covers key aspects of creating beyond the mainstream, including centring your own voice; which voices are allowed full freedom of artistic expression and which are not; the importance of reading outside of the white Western canon; and how success shapes the work of historically excluded creatives. Alongside his own observations and experiences, he explores the work of – and in some instances interviews – other oppositional artists, including Percival Everett, Lou Mensah, Iain Banks, Jean Binta Breeze and others. The result is a startling provocation, and a galvanising vindication of refusing to conform.

A monumental speculative fiction story of love, loyalty, politics and conscience set in parallel Londons 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 later, Markriss Denny is one of the select few granted entry. He carries with him a closely guarded secret: the ability of his spirit to leave his body and transcend the known world. But once in, he learns of another who carries the same power, and their existence could spell catastrophe for humanity. Denny 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.

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.