MSt alumna Hazel Barkworth’s debut novel Heatstroke is to be published by Headline Review in 2020. From the Bookseller:

“Headline’s sister imprint Headline Review has snapped up the “heady and compulsive” debut novel from Hazel Barkworth in a pre-empt deal.

Commissioning editor Frankie Edwards acquired world rights from Lucy Morris at Curtis Brown. Heatstroke will be published as a lead hardback in early summer 2020.

The novel is about the impact on three women of a teacher-pupil relationship. The synopsis says:  “It would be fair to assume this book is about 15-year-old Lily, who disappears at the beginning of a long, hot summer. But this isn’t the story you think you’re reading…”

Read more about it on The Bookseller

MSt alumna Rose Edward’s novel “The Harm Tree” will be published by UCLan in July 2019.

From the announcement:

“You’re too young to remember why we needed heroes. You should be glad…

Nine years ago, two princes waged a bloody civil war for the right to rule Arngard. The younger prince took the throne and outlawed the ancient beliefs, but some wounds don’t heal. New religion replaced the barbaric traditions and finally, there’s peace.

Torny and Ebba are friends. Sent away by their families, they work together and watch out for each other. Too young to remember the war that tore apart the kingdom, Torny dreams of the glorious warriors of old, while Ebba misses her family, despite the darkness she left behind.

But when a man is murdered on the street and Torny finds herself in possession of a dangerous message, the two friends must tread separate paths. These will lead them through fear, through grief, to the source of their own power and to the gates of death itself.

As Torny and Ebba are used as tools for the opposing factions of the war, a deep power is ignited in them both. Can they uncover their own strength to finally heal the wounds of a nation?”

Read more about the book on the UCLan website
Read a Q&A with Rose, and about the cover

There was a lot of crying’: youngest Booker prize nominee on writing her first novel.

MSt alumna Daisy Johnson interviewed for Guardian Culture

From the announcement

“The author made headlines this year after becoming the youngest person to be shortlisted for the Man Booker prize with her debut novel Everything Under. Iman Amrani speaks to her about her book, which has been described as a feminist retelling of a well-known myth, which plays with the boundaries of reality and the supernatural  This interview is part of a series called Fresh Voices, presented by Amrani”