No images? Click here
Each season, we round up some of the most exciting new books coming out from writers in our region, alongside giveaways, interviews, and other bookish content.
If the spring sunshine has inspired you to sit outside with a book, take your pick from a host of recommendations – from the latest Northern releases, to our staff's current reads, to a list of books that will fill you with hope.
This season you can also enter our giveaway and learn about an innovative dementia-friendly publisher.
Plus, we're delighted to announce the first batch of Northern Bookshelf Live events for 2025. Meet an author at a library near you!
Happy reading,
New Writing North and Durham Book Festival
Kingfisher – the exquisite debut novel from Rozie Kelly, winner of the NorthBound Book Award
When a creative writing academic becomes infatuated with his colleague – the poet – it is not long before it begins to threaten his relationship with his beautiful and safe partner, Michael. But the poet is everything he isn’t; she has everything he wants.
While he writes about steel and sex, she dreams about the movements of swallows. As he slips between his old life and this new one, his fixation grows into something more powerful. The poet, his Kingfisher, is his sole focus. He is hypnotised.
But when simultaneous illnesses threaten to destroy the precarious reality he clings to, he’s forced to question what he can and cannot take from someone. This is a novel about grief, power and desire – and the tangles in between that make up a life.
Kingfisher will be published on 3 April 2025 with Saraband.
"There is a constant push and pull, between his selfishness and coldness and the love he actually wants to give the world around him."
We chatted to Rozie to find out more about some of the themes underpinning the story – familial cruelty, power and desire, beauty and aesthetics – as well as the process of writing her debut novel.
We're giving away three copies of Kingfisher! 📚
Tell us what you're reading on X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook or Bluesky using the hashtags #Kingfisher and #NorthernBookshelf. Winners will be drawn on 11 April 2025.
The Line They Drew Through Us by Hiba Noor KhanThree best friends are born on the same day under miraculous circumstances. But by their twelfth birthday, Jahan, Ravi and Lakshmi’s lives are about to change forever. The British draw lines of Partition that tear apart the country, and the friends. Could a miracle bring them back together? |
Idolfire by Grace CurtisOne curse. Two destinies. A thousand stolen gods. Fate leads two women to embark on an epic journey to the city of Nivela where old magic slumbers, waiting for a spark to light it anew... This sapphic fantasy with a slow-burn romance blends historical fiction and the fall of Rome with a fantastical Northern-inspired setting. |
raw content by Naomi BoothGrace’s work reading legal case files requires her to be careful, but outside work, Grace is not a careful person. When she becomes unexpectedly pregnant, the baby’s vulnerability terrifies her, and fault-lines in her relationship begin to show. This is the tender and life-affirming story of a woman grappling with a new form of love that feels like a disaster. |
Her Sister's Killer by Mari HannahNewly promoted Inspector Frankie Oliver is consumed by the idea of finding her sister's killer and bringing them to justice. But when new evidence about the unsolved murder comes to light, everything starts to unravel. The past and present collide with devastating consequences in this breathless new thriller. |
When Harry Killed Sally by Lucy RothWhen Sally discovers that the great love of her life, Harry Collins, is a liar and a conman – and that she is not the only victim – she decides to take revenge... This wicked, whip-smart revenge thriller is perfect for fans of Katy Brent, Bella Mackie, and anyone who wants to take their revenge on The Tinder Swindler. |
The Departed by Sarah MellorNew CID recruit Leigh Borrowdale is seconded to a disturbing murder inquiry: a mysterious death in a decaying building. Leigh delves into the murky Liverpool underworld, while facing her own family demons and battling the male-dominated world at work, in this twisting crime debut. |
The Possibility of Tenderness by Jason Allen-PaisantAmidst the dreams and class aspiration of a young scholar who leaves rural Jamaica to study at Oxford, the plants and people of his native district begin to offer different ways of living. This personal memoir uncovers the transformative power of plants, the legacy of dreams, and the lessons they offer for living with the earth. |
Between the Salt and the Ash by Jake Morris-CampbellAfter inheriting his great-grandfather's miner's safety lamp, Jake Morris-Campbell sets out on a pilgrimage across his North East homeland. He asks what new ways might be made through the old north, uncovers neglected seams of culture and history, and celebrates the place he calls hyem. |
Please Don't Read the Footnotes Please by Rob WaltonTraditionally, once a book is published, the author’s role is over – but Rob Walton has insisted on popping up throughout this book with further thoughts and facts. This middle-grade book breaks all the rules, inviting readers to zig-zag across the page between the funny stories and the footnotes. |
Damned by Genevieve CogmanDamned is the final book in the Scarlet Revolution series, a spellbinding adventure of magic, vampires and mayhem. Former English maid Eleanor, now a promising mage, uncovers a devastating, centuries-old secret. It is one so steeped in blood that it will change not only England, but the entire vampire world, forever... |
The Darkening Globe by Naomi Kelsey1597, London. Beatrice’s husband returns from the New World with a mysterious woman, and an enormous painted globe. As the globe begins to turn of its own accord, and terrifying drawings appear on its face that are connected to a series of untimely deaths, Beatrice must risk everything to uncover the truth. |
The Return of the Housewife by Emma CaseySocial media is flooded with images of the perfect housewife. ‘Cleanfluencers’ show women cleaning, tidying and putting things right. And yet housework remains one of the world’s most unequal institutions. Emma Casey asks why these inequalities matter, offering a powerful challenge to the prevailing myths. |
The Ladie Upstairs by Jessie EllandScullery drudge Ann loathes spending her days in the kitchen, so when she becomes Lady Charlotte’s personal maid, she thinks she has finally escaped her version of hell. But as Ann's new life above stairs takes a sinister twist, will it turn out that the terrors lurking up there are worse than the devils she knows below? |
Motives Unknown anthologyWelcome to the North. Sprawling cities. Lawless rural landscapes. From the Mersey to the Tyne, this anthology showcases twelve crime writers who have staked out the North of England for their criminal endeavours, from corrupt lawmen to desperate academics and police procedurals to cosy capers. |
Vianne by Joanne HarrisBest-selling author Joanne Harris returns to the world of Chocolat with the long-awaited story of Vianne. Six years before she opens her scandalous chocolaterie, she holds the future in her hands, discovers the joy of cooking, and realises that it possesses its own magic in this small French village full of secrets... |
All Bookshop links above are affiliate links.
What We're Reading: Spring Edition 🌸Not sure what to read next? Let us share with you our latest reads and recommendations from the NWN team, along with some of the upcoming releases we're most excited about. |
New and Recent Poetry from the North 📚It's a bumper season for Northern poetry! We've put together a list of some of the best new collections to look out for, from talented new writers as well as established poets you know and love. |
Reading with dementia: Open Ended Books ✨
Newcastle-based charity Equal Arts has established a new dementia-friendly publishing imprint, Open Ended Books. Read more on our blog about how they create books that are designed for adults, but accessible to those for whom regular reading has fallen out of reach.
Hopeful books for dark days 🌱When the world feels increasingly hopeless, sometimes it's best to put your phone down and read something that reminds you of goodness and hope. Get started with some of our favourites that have brought us light in dark days. |
Breaking boundaries in a broken system ✍️Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall transcends genres of romance and mystery to expose structural societal inequalities. Read an analysis and book review from Northumbria University Publishing MA student Nadia Gustab. |
Come to an event at a library near you to connect with other book lovers and meet Northern authors! 🤝
We're excited to announce the first batch of events for Northern Bookshelf Live 2025:
- Trevor Wood at Washington Library, 2 April
- Trevor Wood and Eirinie Lapidaki at The Word, 26 April
- Eirinie Lapidaki at Houghton Library, 5 June
- Len Pennie at Morpeth Library, 11 June
- Lizzy Tiffin at Horsforth Library, 17 June
- Lizzy Tiffin at Seaton Carew Library, 20 June
- Sarah Brooks at Norton Library, 21 June
More events to be announced!
Northern Bookshelf is published by New Writing North and Durham Book Festival. If you have news about books by Northern authors or you would like to recommend books as a bookseller, librarian, book group or reader, please contact carys@newwritingnorth.com. The next issue will be published in June 2025 and will cover June 2025 - August 2025. The deadline for receipt of information for the next newsletter is 23 May 2025.
While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this newsletter is correct at the time of going to press, things do change, frequently at the last minute and very often without our knowledge.
