Tower and Town, October 2018

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Hiscox Debut Authors

The Literature Festival has had an event for debut authors for many years. This year’s authors have a recognised past in writing but not novels. Adelle Stripe has published 4 books of poetry and Mike Kitson was a journalist turned teacher who became frustrated by the books which appeared on the curriculum and so set out to write something he would want to teach.

Their books are very different but are equally compelling as you are immediately drawn into the lives of the main characters

Adelle Stripe’s Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile is based on the true story of Andrea Dunbar, who lived on a rough housing estate in Bradford in the 1980s and despite the odds became a playwright for the Royal Court Theatre in London - a status she could never quite come to terms with. It has a rawness to it but is also very real and refreshing.

Sal, by Mick Kitson, is about a 13 year old who, having committed a dreadful crime in the Glasgow flat she lives in with her mother and her partner, leaves with her 10 year old sister in a planned get away into the Scottish Wilderness in search of safety and redemption. She has an extraordinary knowledge of survival techniques which she has learned through You Tube, which you glean at the same time as she exposes her life story.

The event will be chaired by a skilled interviewer.

Samuel Robinson