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Reading Remedy: what to read if you’re losing track of time

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Reading lists

Kit De Waal’s top 5 book club picks

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Getting published

Kit de Waal on why we need more diverse writers

Our CEO Tom Weldon joins Kit de Waal to ask 'Where are all the working class writers?' on BBC Radio 4 

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News

Our CEO Tom Weldon joins Kit de Waal to ask ‘Where are all the working class writers?’ on BBC Radio 4

7 books about the dark side of growing up

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7 coming-of-age books about the dark side of growing up

Supporting Cast

***From the acclaimed author of My Name is Leon*** 
 
'Stories of everyday lives that will resonate and move you utterly' Stylist 
_______________________________________________ 
 
As she walks out of her marriage, a woman remembers the day her husband rescued a boy from drowning. 
 
A blind man on his wedding day celebrates the pursuit of love. 
 
And a young man leaves prison with only one desire - to see his son again. 
 
Kit de Waal's characters light up the page in vivid stories of thwarted desire, love and loss. With power and precision, humanity and insight, Supporting Cast captures the extraordinary moments in our ordinary lives, and the darkness and the joy of the everyday. 
________________________________________________ 
 
'It's so good. Full of Kit's trademark humanity. I can feel my heart grow with every word' Cathy Rentzenbrink 
 
'Stunning. Kit is in utter command of language and story here, and wields them like no other writer' Donal Ryan 
 
'A magnificent study of humanity in all its various sorrows. Her writing is exquisite' Liz Nugent

Kit de Waal has written? a book that is absolutely right for the summer of 2020 . . . This is a book you could read on a journey, on a beach, in a single sitting between dinner and bedtime. And afterwards feel more connected to the world... It's a treat for her many existing fans - but new readers can very much start here

It's so good. Full of Kit's trademark humanity. I can feel my heart grow with every word

Stunning. What an experience, the brightest and most beautiful break in the clouds. Kit is in utter command of language and story here, and wields them like no other writer

Kit has the most marvellous gift of getting to the marrow of her characters and this collection of vignettes from the lives of her characters, peripheral, and not so peripheral, is a magnificent study of humanity in all its various sorrows. Her writing is exquisite, not a word is wasted and the stories are beautiful in their simplicity and truth

Stories of everyday lives that will resonate and move you utterly

Superb. [The characters] blaze into richly imagined lives full of loss, love, abandonment and heartfelt hope

An emotionally sure-handed novel exploring harrowing terrain with deft sensitivity

The unforgettable story of a boy struggling to belong. Heartbreaking and uplifting - just read it

Devastatingly emotional. De Waal's storytelling gives us the poetry and sorrow of life itself

As she walks out of her marriage, a woman remembers the day her husband rescued a boy from drowning. 
 
A blind man on his wedding day celebrates the pursuit of love. 
 
And a young man leaves prison with only one desire - to see his son again. 
 
Kit de Waal's characters light up the page in vivid stories of thwarted desire, love and loss. With power and precision, humanity and insight, Supporting Cast captures the extraordinary moments in our ordinary lives, and the darkness and the joy of the everyday.

Kit de Waal, born to an Irish mother and Caribbean father, was brought up among the Irish community of Birmingham in the 60's and 70's. Her debut novel My Name Is Leon was an international bestseller, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award for 2017. Her second novel, The Trick to Time, was longlisted for the Women's Prize and her young adult novel Becoming Dinah is shortlisted for the Carnegie CLIP Award 2020. She also crowdfunded and edited an anthology of working class memoir, Common People, which was published in 2018. Kit was named the FutureBook Person of the Year in 2019.

As she walks out of her marriage, a woman remembers the day her husband rescued a boy from drowning. 
A blind man on his wedding day celebrates the pursuit of love. 
And a young man leaves prison with only one desire - to see his son again. 
 
Kit de Waal's characters light up the page in vivid stories of thwarted desire, love and loss. With power and precision, humanity and insight, Supporting Cast captures the extraordinary moments in our ordinary lives, and the darkness and the joy of the everyday.

The Trick to Time

'There's a trick to time. You can make it expand or you can make it contract. Make it shorter or make it longer . . .' 
 
Some moments you want to last forever. Some moments shape a life. 
 
For Mona, it's the joy of playing on a Wexford beach as a young girl, next to her family's cottage overlooking the Irish sea. The thrill of moving to Birmingham with a new job and a room of her own in a busy boarding-house. Meeting the love of her life; a whirlwind marriage; a sudden, tragic loss. 
 
But now, decades later, Mona is determined to find happiness before it's too late. She knows that every moment is precious. But can we ever let go of the past that shaped us? 
 
'Devastatingly emotional. De Waal's storytelling gives us the poetry and sorrow of life itself' Financial Times 
 
'Weaving tragedy and joy, big themes and the minutiae of life, this is a love story to take on the classics' Emerald Street 
 
'An emotionally sure-handed novel exploring harrowing terrain with deft sensitivity' Sunday Times

Tender with a fierce undercurrent of tension and heartbreak

Jane Shemilt, bestselling author of 'Daughter'

The "trick to time" is that it can expand or contract at will, and in creating a mature heroine with decades of history, De Waal has herself performed a feat of skilful comprehension

[An] emotionally sure-handed novel exploring harrowing terrain with deft sensitivity

A beautifully written, exquisitely crafted story of love, grief and the quiet courage it takes to survive great loss

Excellent. The novel's ending will leave you reeling

An unforgettable tale of grief and life-long love

The Trick to Time starts gently and ratchets up the emotional intensity until you're ugly crying into your pillow

Weaving tragedy and joy, big themes and the minutiae of life, this is a love story to take on the classics

It's slight but engaging. The style is simple yet artful

A story that's full of care; even in its saddest moments it is tender and kind. It feels like a book about all the best parts of being human, about family and friendship, and the way that loss only hurts the way it does because it's grounded in love.

These distillations of everyday life have all the beauty of a finely crafted life drawing

A warm and endearing book about learning to live again

The Trick to Time proves that Kit de Waal is a writer destined for even greater things

Some moments you want to last forever. Some moments shape a life. 
 
For Mona, it's the joy of playing on a Wexford beach as a young girl, next to her family's cottage overlooking the Irish sea. The thrill of moving to Birmingham with a new job and a room of her own in a busy boarding-house. Meeting the love of her life; a whirlwind marriage; a sudden, tragic loss. 
 
 But now, decades later, Mona is determined to find happiness before it's too late. She knows that every moment is precious. But can we ever let go of the past that shaped us?

Six Foot Six

It's an exciting day for Timothy Flowers. It's the third of November, and it's Friday, and it's his twenty-first birthday. When Timothy walks to his usual street corner to see his favourite special bus, he meets Charlie. Charlie is a builder who is desperate for Timothy's help because Timothy is very tall, six feet six inches. Timothy has never had a job before - or no work that he's kept for more than a day. But when Timothy and Charlie have to collect money from a local thug, things don't exactly go according to plan... 
 
Over the course of one day, Timothy's life will change for ever.

Authentic and beautiful, urgent and honest, this novel does what only the best do: it quietly makes room in your heart

Startlingly funny. Balances the gritty with the feel good

A beautiful story told with compassion, urgency and wit

A touching, thought-provoking debut

Vivid and endearing - a very powerful book

Kit de Waal was born in Birmingham to an Irish mother, who was a foster carer, and a Caribbean father. She worked for fifteen years in criminal and family law, was a magistrate for several years and sits on adoption panels. Her first novel, My Name is Leon, is an international bestseller. It was on the shortlists for the Costa First Novel Award and the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award. It was on the longlist for the Desmond Elliott Prize. Kit de Waal has two children.

It's an exciting day for Timothy Flowers. It's the third of November, and it's Friday, and it's his twenty-first birthday. When Timothy walks to his usual street corner to see his favourite special bus, he meets Charlie. Charlie is a builder who is desperate for Timothy's help because Timothy is very tall, six feet six inches. Timothy has never had a job before - or no work that he's kept for more than a day. But when Timothy and Charlie have to collect money from a local thug, things don't exactly go according to plan... 
 
Over the course of one day, Timothy's life will change for ever.

GCSE Study Guide: My Name is Leon

Suitable for GCSE Grades 1-9. 
AQA exam board. 
 
Learn from the best with Penguin's Study Guide for My Name is Leon.<ul><li>Get to grips with every chapter – clear summaries help you understand the text inside out.</li><li>Master what matters – explore context, themes, language, plot and characters with expert insight.</li><li>Revise smarter, not harder – boost your confidence with step-by-step essay support.</li><li>Test yourself – practise with exam-style questions to sharpen your skills.</li><li>See what top answers look like – sample answers show exactly what it takes to hit grades 4–9.</li><li>Quote it right – packed with key quotes to use in your essays.</li><li>Discover more – watch exclusive author videos that bring the text’s ideas and background to life.</li></ul>

Kit de Waal

GCSE Education Edition

A STUDENT EDITION 
 
It’s 1981, a year of riots and royal weddings. Amid tumult and change, nine-year-old Leon tries to find his place. He and his little brother Jake have gone to live with Maureen. They’ve lost one home, but have they found another? 
 
Maureen feeds and looks after them. She has wild red hair and mutters swearwords under her breath when she thinks they can’t hear. She claims everything will be okay. But will they ever see their mother again? Who are the couple who secretly visit Jake? Between the street violence and the street parties, Leon must find a way to reunite his family . . . 
 
This education edition includes teacher-designed guided reading questions. For more information, including interviews with author Kit de Waal and activities related to studying My Name is Leon, visit https://www.penguin.co.uk/lit-in-colour/teaching-resources 
 
WINNER OF THE IRISH NOVEL PRIZE 
 
‘Startlingly funny. Balances the gritty with the feel good’ Observer

Kit de Waal

Books by Kit de Waal

Articles featuring Kit de Waal

Reading Remedy: what to read if you’re losing track of time

Kit De Waal’s top 5 book club picks

Kit de Waal on why we need more diverse writers

Our CEO Tom Weldon joins Kit de Waal to ask ‘Where are all the working class writers?’ on BBC Radio 4

7 coming-of-age books about the dark side of growing up

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