All Books

1. A Booker Prize Trio by

   Published

   October 2009

   As part of Tindal Street Press’s 10th anniversary celebrations, we’re delighted to present original editions of three debut novels short- and long-listed for the Man Booker Prize – in a beautiful, presentation box set.

   

2. A Lone Walk by

   Published

   October 2000

   Wil’s break for freedom from a brutal psychiatric regime confronts him with unexpected choices. Who can he trust? An alluring voice from his childhood dreams? Or a big-hearted nurse who reassures…

   

3. All The Dogs by

   Published

   March 2008

   The allure of Herointown beckons as Monkey returns to his Shropshire birthplace. The red brick castle, the market stalls, the curves of the river: all resonate with memories of a drug-filled…

   

4. Among Thieves by

   Published

   March 2009

   It’s 1983 and two ex-campus drug dealers are locked in a feud of mysterious origin. Pads has the upper hand and the money, while Andy has the charisma and the girls. When Andy sets up a disastrous…

   

5. Are You She? by

   Published

   November 2004

   Award-winning novelist Lesley Glaister introduces a showcase of four accomplished writers – with two exceptional stories each from Mandy Sutter, Sidura Ludwig, Polly Wright and Myra Connell.

   One of my favourite occupations is to dawdle along a street at dusk, just as the lights come on but before the curtains are drawn – for the tantalizing glimpses of other lives –...

   

6. Astonishing Splashes of Colour by

   Published

   February 2003

   When an innocent trip to Peter Pan gives Kitty’s four brothers an excuse to deny her access to her much-loved nieces, she finds herself in a skewed, vividly coloured world where children become emblems…

   

7. At Home with Miss Vanesa by

   Published

   October 2006

   The returnees are making a new life on a Caribbean island they call home. After all their time in London, Boston and Paris, their birthplace now presents something of a challenge. But when Miss Vanesa’s…

   

8. Beauty by

   Published

   January 2010

   2009 COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD WINNER

   “Captures the raw humanity of inner city life with extraordinary authenticity”
   — Judges of the Costa First Novel Award

   “Selbourne brilliantly plays out a comedy of conflicting cultures and classes, repeatedly confounding readers’ expectations. He captures perfectly an England of pound shops and Jobcentres, and gives the tale of the innocent abroad an original twist” — Financial Times

   

9. Beauty (Original Cover) by

   Published

   September 2009

   2009 COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD WINNER

   “Captures the raw humanity of inner city life with extraordinary authenticity”
   — Judges of the Costa First Novel Award

   “Selbourne brilliantly plays out a comedy of conflicting cultures and classes, repeatedly confounding readers’ expectations. He captures perfectly an England of pound shops and Jobcentres, and gives the tale of the innocent abroad an original twist” — Financial Times

   

10. Before the Earthquake by

    Published

    February 2010

    A BBC Radio 4 ‘Book at Bedtime’ from 12 July – 23 July

    “Spellbinding” – Guardian

    “Fabulous historical page-turner sees 15-year-old Concetta piecing together her past after an earthquake devastates her rural Italian village and leaves her with no memory” – Good Housekeeping

    

11. Birmingham Noir by

    Published

    October 2002

    From hazardous towpaths to love on an orange summer’s night… from cut-throat gangsters in the Little Moscow bar… to childhood ghosts igniting the terrors of today…

    

12. Birmingham Nouveau by

    Published

    November 2002

    This sparkling selection of short stories with a decidedly Brummie perspective embodies Birmingham’s fresh-found vitality. Nouveau will delight short-story readers, city dwellers…

    

13. Blood Tender by

    Published

    July 2008

    The sky is a bloody gold and there are riots in the streets the night that Marlena arrives in Sicily. A damaged English girl – with her head full of secrets – she’s here to dance. Or rather, to strip: at Mickey’s…

    

14. Box of Tricks by

    Published

    July 2009

    It’s summer, early 1960s. While young Eddie’s parents are away, he has to help out at Auntie Vi’s boarding house. Here he shares a room with cousin Ray, a teddy boy who breaks his mother’s heart with…

    

15. By the Tide of Humber by

    Published

    September 2007

    New Year’s Eve. Lyn, a lifeguard at Beverley Road Baths, is fending off the monotony of another ‘Early Birds’ shift. But soon a chance encounter with prison officer Eddie will spark an intense affair…

    

16. Careless Talk by

    Published

    October 2007

    Young Morley Charles worries that he’s just not clever enough for the city’s art school. But the lies he tells to advance himself in the eyes of friends, family and the local priest bring all manner of…

    

17. Cargo Fever by

    Published

    April 2007

    On faraway Kenukecil, Ibu Nilasera is alarmed to see a red-haired ‘short man’ praying in the front pew of the church. In Jakarta, Sam Rivers is all set to marry his Indonesian love, Fon. But life takes an…

    

18. Chosen by

    Published

    May 2010

    “A fascinating and original take on religious cults with brilliant characters and a great psychological thriller plot. I thought it was stunning – a masterpiece, actually” – Sophie Hannah

    “Frightening yet eerily beautiful, her novels are fresh, inventive and deeply felt” – Hilary Mantel

    

19. Do I Love You? by

    Published

    April 2008

    When Trebbo’s dad Minty (aka ‘The Div’) bursts into song in response to Frank Wilson’s classic ‘Do I Love You?’ on a fried chicken advert on TV, he triggers a disastrous chain of events. In showing…

    

20. Dreams Never End by

    Published

    November 2004

    Distinguished novelist and critic Nicholas Royle presents a showcase of stories by three gifted writers with quite distinct takes on contemporary noir.

    

21. Girl in a Blue Dress by

    Published

    September 2008

    Alfred Gibson’s funeral has taken place at Westminster Abbey, and his wife of twenty years, Dorothea, has not been invited. Dorothea is comforted by her daughter Kitty, until an invitation…

    

22. Going the Distance by

    Published

    October 2003

    Going the Distance features twenty vigorous, original stories by widely published authors and up-and-coming new talent – to transport the reader…

    

23. Goodbye, Hessle Road by

    Published

    March 2005

    Donna, with her flamboyant hair and intricate tattoos, likes to hide behind an upfront attitude. When she strikes up with Shane, the joy she feels is clouded by his lawless past and her own anguish…

    

24. Hard Shoulder by

    Published

    October 1999

    In these smart-mouthed stories we hear strong voices surviving the complexity of city experience – and recording it with verve. This is a generation of young writers unfazed by the material world…

    

25. Heartland by

    Published

    May 2010

    ‘The World Cup novel for the Summer’ – Esquire

    A BBC Radio 4 ‘Book at Bedtime’

    In this richly-imagined novel of grass-roots politics, football and the far right in a multi-ethnic town, Anthony Cartwright audaciously enters the heartland of post-9/11 Britain.

    

26. Heartland (Demy Paperback) by

    Published

    May 2009

    Read the feature on Anthony Cartwright, politics and Dudley in Guardian Society – and join in the debate

    Listen again to Anthony Cartwright’s interview on BBC Radio 4 Front Row of Friday 23 October

    Read Anthony Cartwright’s blog on Guardian Books about how he approached the subject of the BNP in his novel

    

27. Her Majesty by

    Published

    May 2002

    Melody, more tart than sophisticate, escapes to sunshine with her teacher’s baby… A wild swim triggers hard decisions on a soft day in Connemara… An unlikely wedding breakfast…

    

28. Holding My Breath by

    Published

    March 2008

    Beth Levy is a young girl in a household of strong women. There’s her mother, Goldie, responsible for the family and the old values; Aunt Carrie, a skilled seamstress with a secret past; and…

    

29. Indeterminate Creatures by

    Published

    March 2010

    An insightful and inventive turning-thirty novel, with a wonderful ensemble cast of eccentric characters – and a remarkable surprise from history.

    

30. Jakarta Shadows by

    Published

    May 2002

    Jakarta, Indonesia. The city is edgy after the fall of Soeharto, the country engulfed in religious strife and urban violence. Most westerners have fled. Not rootless, disenchanted Graham Young…

    

31. Kiss Me Softly, Amy Turtle by

    Published

    April 2004

    The will-sapping tedium of life as a Walsall Reflector hack has given Dave “Ichabod” McVane a serious thirst for the devil’s juice. Now, after years of debauchery, the booze has bitten back…

    

32. Little Moscow by

    Published

    August 2007

    The Little Moscow, a shady basement bar at the side of the Grand Union canal in Birmingham, stamping ground for thieves, gangsters and conmen – plus some of the city’s more glamorous…

    

33. Loffing Matters by

    Published

    July 2006

    “Why are there so few collections of humorous short stories around? I mean modern ones, without P. G. Wodehouse in? Collections of every other kind of modern short story abound. Horror, crime…

    

34. Mango Shake by

    Published

    July 2006

    “Like a good poem, a short story quickly draws in the reader and has an impact that lingers in the mind. Like a good poem too, it repays more than one reading. The stories in Mango Shake will tempt the…

    

35. Mark II by

    Published

    May 2006

    Phil still calls for his best friend every day on his way to school, despite Mark’s recent death. Then one morning Mark is back: a clone created by Laz-R-Us™. Without Phil to teach Mark II the basics of life – the…

    

36. Meet Me in Mozambique by

    Published

    October 2005

    Globe-trotting Pewter Stapleton is most at home in airports. He sends last-minute postcards worldwide and misses his flights. From childhood on the volcanic island of St Caesare to teenage days…

    

37. More by

    Published

    April 2010

    The latest novel from the distinguished Commonwealth Writers’ Prize winning author

    The pressure in the city rises when her only son vanishes…

    “A novelist of exceptional gifts” – New York Times

    Read an interview with Austin Clarke in To Live With Culture online magazine here

    

38. Never Never by

    Published

    September 2008

    “‘Eric is a debt counsellor (as Gaffney himself once was) whose days at the Cleator Moor Money Advice Shop in west Cumbria are spent helping anxious debtors avoid making payments. Mired…

    

39. Painter Man by

    Published

    May 2005

    When newlyweds Malcolm and Alice set up together in their terraced home, Malcolm’s passion for his young wife inspires his artwork. But domestic pressures – and a long-ago accident in a…

    

40. Piggy Monk Square by

    Published

    May 2005

    1970s Toxteth, and 9-year-old Sparra is running out of places to play. It’s no fun at home, what with her Mam and Dad snapping at each other and Auntie Mo dishing the dirt. Along her street prowl mortal enemies…

    

41. Roads Ahead by

    Published

    October 2009

    “Birmingham’s Tindal Street Press launched in 1999 with an exciting and much-lauded anthology of short stories called Hard Shoulder, and a decade later, the new anthology Roads Ahead reaffirms their flame-carrying commitment to the form. All your hot young talents like Chris Killen and Richard Milward are in these 300 awesome pages, alongside some thrilling discoveries . . .”

    — Dazed & Confused

    

42. Scapegrace by

    Published

    April 2000

    Five teenage girls who share everything: clothes, hopes, fears and secrets. But the world is changing as fast as the girls and the group fragments, stirring frightening but exhilarating forces. Gina is accused…

    

43. Shawnie by

    Published

    April 2006

    Shawnie is the story of the Brewer family – Ma Lisa, brother Jason and daughter Shawnie, plus Lisa’s so-called lover Steve. Over the course of an intense summer, they each tell their own off-kilter…

    

44. Surviving Sting by

    Published

    October 2001

    ‘Ace Face’ wannabe Dave ‘Mac’ McVane think he’s got it made. At the Friday night disco luscious Joolz, the most shaggable girl in Walsall, invites him to her home on the notorious Jerome K. Jerome estate…

    

45. Tell it to the Bees by

    Published

    April 2010

    A secret love affair which has the whole town talking, and a small boy very worried…

    “A tender and unikley page-turner” – Financial Times

    “Elegant, subtle and haunting” – Times

    “Delicate, but feistily written” – Elle Magazine

    

46. Tell it to the Bees (Trade Paperback) by

    Published

    May 2009

    Lydia Weekes is distraught at the break-up of her marriage. When her young son, Charlie, makes friends with the local doctor, Jean Markham, her life is turned upside down. Charlie tells his…

    

47. The Afterglow by

    Published

    February 2004

    Anthony Cartwright’s award-winning debut novel. Meet the family: there’s Luke at work at Paradise Meatpacking, out on the town with Jamie, playing snooker with his unnerving mate Risley, and…

    

48. The City Trap by

    Published

    May 2002

    A murdered prostitute: Des McGinlay’s first big case should be easy to resolve. But he’s struggling to fend off the ‘big wallow’ – desperate to pull his life together as he picks through the wreckage of others’…

    

49. The Concrete Sea by

    Published

    April 2001

    Kate Connor’s body lies undiscovered in industrial wasteland for fifteen months – strange fragments of bone lodged in her throat and a sea bean at her side. Assigned to investigate her murder, Don Avoca…

    

50. The Executioner's Art by

    Published

    October 2002

    Who is the man sandblasted to death? The police investigate, and DS Singleterry’s department destroys evidence and lies to the press. This offhand attitude towards justice…

    

51. The Old Spring by

    Published

    July 2010

    Listen again to Richard Francis interviewed by Mariella Frostrup on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Open Book’, discussing The Old Spring and pubs in literature

    ‘A wonderfully boozy evocation and celebration of pub life, full of all the sorts of characters you dread meeting in a public bar, but are glad you did’ – Gerard Woodward

    The Old Spring abounds with sadness, banter and exuberant storytelling, showing all the communal spirit and camaraderie of the pub at its best.

    

52. The Pig Bin by

    Published

    April 2000

    The Pig Bin is a laugh-out-loud novel about the embarrassing escapades of a wartime adolescent. Morley Charles is a shy Catholic boy with a stammer. His mother disapproves of most of his friends…

    

53. The Polished Hoe by

    Published

    March 2004

    Bimshire, 1952. The Sergeant of the island’s police force is called to hear a murderous confession. A lifetime of tragic compromise told in a single night…

    

54. The Stories of E. A. Markham by

    Published

    October 2009

    Inimitable, unclassifiable and wise – Markham’s vibrant trilogy of short story collections are brought together for the first time in an exquisite limited-edition box set.

    

55. The Three Suitors of Fred Belair by

    Published

    January 2009

    Winifred Belair is one of the returnees who gossip over drinks on the verandahs of the Caribbean island of St Caesare. Fred is good-looking still and eligible, but her friends warn her about the visit from…

    

56. What Goes Round by

    Published

    July 2003

    When Frank returns to Jamaica for Poppa Ben’s funeral, he’s pursued by Rose, an old flame who’s still convinced their destiny is shared. Meanwhile, Jewelle…

    

57. What Was Lost by

    Published

    September 2008

    What Was Lost starts off as a straightforward and extremely likeable account of a little girl who sets up a detective agency to honour her dead father. And then the book abruptly cuts from 1984 to 2003. Green Oaks, pallid as it was 20 years previously, is still there. Kate is not. The transition is remarkable. O’Flynn never abandons her wry sense of humour, but as she begins to tease out the connections between the two halves of her brilliantly conceived plot, the sense that something’s missing grows stronger and stronger…

    

58. What Was Lost (original edition) by

    Published

    January 2007

    The 1980s. Kate Meaney – with her ‘Top Secret’ notebook and Mickey her toy monkey – is busy being a junior detective. She observes goings-on and follows ‘suspects’ at the newly opened Green Oaks shopping centre and in her street, where she is friends with the newsagent’s son, Adrian. But when this curious, independent-spirited young girl disappears, Adrian falls under suspicion and is hounded out of his home by the press…

    

59. Whispers in the Walls by

    Published

    October 2001

    Letters across the ocean tell a family’s story spanning 29 years…A young Asian wife battles the silence that threatens her…In St Kitts, a son tries to pick the lock of his father’s reserve…

    

60. Wist by

    Published

    July 2003

    Wist tells the story of Romany and Kate: soul sisters linked by a love of escape and adventure. Street girl Romany is caught up in an Indian romance with the once-bookish Ty – but what unspoken…