Ajay Chowdhury, the inaugural winner of the Harvill Secker-Bloody Scotland prize, is a tech entrepreneur and theatre director. His children’s book – Ayesha and the Firefish, was published in 2016 and adapted into a musical which premiered in San Francisco. 
 
 
The Waiter (Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month), was published in 2021, and is the first in his critically-acclaimed crime series about Detective Kamil Rahman, an ex-policeman from Kolkata who has moved to Brick Lane in London. It is being adapted for television by Moonage Pictures.The Cook (Guardian Top Crime Books of the Year) was published in May 2022 to excellent reviews and deals with the issue of homelessness. The third book in the series – The Detective (Sunday Times Top Crime Books of the Year) – is about government surveillance and AI. The Spy (Longlisted Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing), the fourth book, sees Kamil infiltrate a terrorist cell. The Shadow (A Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month) is the latest book in the series.

Ajay Chowdhury

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Jacqueline Wilson

Nick Sharratt

India lives in a large, luxurious house with a mum she can't stand and a dad she adores, though he hasn't had much time for her recently. She seeks solace in her journal, which she keeps in sincere imitation of her heroine, Anne Frank. Treasure lives on the local council estate with her loving and capable grandmother. She is devoted to her nan but lives in fear of having to go back to live with her mother and violent stepfather. 
 
A chance meeting sparks a great friendship between the girls. And when Treasure has to run away to avoid her stepfather, India comes up with a hiding place inspired by her favourite writer. India hasn't got a real secret annexe like Anne Frank - but she has got a hidden attic . . .

Secrets

Narinder Dhami

When Geena, Amber and Jazz's school is desperate for funds, the girls' formidable young auntie steps in with a fantastic idea for a fundraising Bollywood party. Swept up in the plans, the girls plot to deliver a real Bollywood actress for a live appearance. Sure their aunt will be thrilled with their plan, they've only got to overcome the fact that their would-be guest of honour is a penniless, faded recluse with a foul temper who decamps to their house and insists on being treated like a star. A superbly entertaining sequel to Bindi Babes by an up-and-coming star of our own list.

Bollywood Babes

Dani's mother has just got married - and Dani has acquired an awful new stepsister who doesn't want to have anything to do with her. To make things worse Dani has to move house and school - to the same school as Lalita, her stepsister. She confides in her beloved gran, who gives her a special gift to help distract her from all the turmoil. It's a copy of her diary that she kept as a child, detailing everything happened to her when her family moved from India to England in the 1960s. It's in Punjabi, so Dani knows she's going to have to work hard to read it but as soon as she starts she knows it'll be worth it. Reading about her gran's friendship with the mischevious Milly is hugely fun and soon it becomes clear there's even more to the story. Dani will have to delve deep to figure out what really happened all those years ago - and specifically what happened to Milly. Can the past help with her future too?

Dani's Diary

Amber, Jazz and Geena are three sisters on a mission. They really want to have something to act as a memorial to their mum, but what could go for? They eventually settle on a great idea - they'll get the new library at school named after her. They take the idea to their teachers but there's a fly in the ointment - for the teachers to agree, the girls must first raise some money to help the library and stock it with books! 
 
Now the Babes have a real task ahead of them - and they love a challenge! They come up with a genius plan - they're going to stage an amazing reality experiment in their school and turn it into Big Brother for one week only! With Bollywood stars and love-struck boys in the mix, they know it's not going to be easy but surely the Babes can handle it - can't they?

Superstar Babes

Rob Childs

Two action-packed tales from the popular Soccer Mad series:- 
 
SOCCER MAD - Luke faces a tough challenge when the first-round draw for the Sunday League Cup is announced - and the Swifts are up against the league stars... 
 
ALL GOALIES ARE CRAZY - but some goalies are more crazy than others! After a series of match-losing blunders, can Sanjay prove himself the number one goalie?

The Soccer Mad Collection

Theresa Breslin

Every dream has a Dream Master to control it. But Cy has such a vivid imagination that he has met his Dream Master and can travel with him through Time and Space to actually live his dreams. But what would happen if a character from Cy's dream decided to come and live in his Time and Space? Well Cy's about to find out. He's accidentally conjured up the Princess Shahr-Azad from Ancient Arabia - creator of the 1001 tales of Arabian Nights. Cy and the Dream Master are keen to return the Princess back to her home, before she is discovered. Trouble is, the princess isn't keen to go back. She'd much rather stay and enter the upcoming TV talent contest and she's prepared to go to great lengths to get her own way. So begins a battle of wills (and imaginations) between the greatest storyteller of all time, and the timid but determined Cy. With flying carpets, Arabian dungeons and a trouble-making genie Cy's fourth adventure with his Dream Master is as fast and funny as before.

Dream Master: Arabian Nights

Amber, Jazz and Geena have finally secured their auntie's engagement to the gorgeous Mr Arora, but now it's time for a little romance of their own. There's a gorgeous new boy at school called Rocky. He looks divine, loves music and is seriously well-off - his parents have built him his own recording studio. But which of the sisters does he like best? As they vie for his attention, the sisters come up with ever more intricate tricks to outdo each other and catch his attention. Amber thinks she's bound to capture his heart when she invites him to DJ and perform at Auntie's wedding. But when the girls are invited round to hear Rocky sing, Amber realises she's made a big mistake. It's going to be a huge headache to sort this one out - but if she doesn't, every guest at the wedding will have a worse one! Even working together, Amber, Jazz and Geena can't work out how to stop it happening, but a great idea comes from an unexpected source and the girls, of course, bounce back again.

Bhangra Babes

ALL GOALIES ARE CRAZY 
 
...but some goalies are more crazy than others! 
After a series of match-losing blunders, can Sanjay prove himself the number one goalie?

All Goalies Are Crazy

Sunita starts at her new school determined to hide her horrible secret. But class 'goddess' Celina soon becomes Sunita's arch-enemy and their classmates soon find out that Sunita's dad is an infamous fraudster on the run. Sunita has her work cut out to prove that she's no criminal herself. She tries to be ultra-careful about making friends but somehow she can't hide her natural instinct for helping people. As she's trying to keep her head down, she starts doing little favours for people secretly. And, oddly, a rash of helpful book-mending, locker-tidying and present-leaving quickly takes over the class and, then, the whole school. Even Celina seems to have been affected - but when she tries to take the credit for the scheme, Sunita can see her motives are far from innocent. Should Sunita put up or shut up?

Sunita's Secret

Robert Swindells

This is a contemporary tale about two friends - one of whom, Asra, is an asylum seeker from an unnamed Eastern European country. The other, Ruby Tanya, is the daughter of a local man who is campaigning against the presence of asylum seekers in his community. During a dramatic explosion at the girls' school, a young teacher is killed. The asylum seekers at the local camp are blamed, and local people begin to argue that they should be deported. A branch of the National Front gets involved and demos are planned. Asra and her parents are due to be deported, but Asra runs away at the last minute so her parents have to return without her. She hides in a nearby derelict building and is helped by Ruby Tanya.

Ruby Tanya

Sue Heap

Ruby and Garnet are ten-year-old twins. They're identical, and they do EVERYTHING together, especially since their mother died three years earlier - but they couldn't be more different. Bossy, bouncy, funny Ruby loves to take charge, and is desperate to be a famous actress, while quiet, sensitive, academic Garnet loves nothing more than to curl up with one of her favourite books. And when everything around the twins is changing so much, can being a double act work for ever?

Double Act

Pete Johnson

Tom, Mia and Oliver are the victims of a gang of bullies - who waylay them on the way home from school.  It's not at school, so the teachers wouldn't be able to help, and they don't want to tell their parents, so there's only one option - to pay up.  At first.  But as the pressure builds more and more, a terrible suspicion begins to surface: could one of the three friends be helping the bullies?  And if so, just who is... the traitor?

Traitor

Paul Stewart

Joe and Kerry, sent to stay in the country with their great-aunt, find themselves whirled into the past when they investigate the mystery of an Elizabethan village that escaped destruction by simply vanishing overnight - more than four hundred years ago. But the spell that saved it then has now become a curse...

The Weather Witch

Jordan Stratford

When Mary Godwin and Lady Ada Byron first meet, they don’t exactly hit it off. But with crime on the rise, the unlikely pair form a detective agency to hunt down clever criminals on the streets of London. 
 
Their first case involves a stolen necklace, a false confession, and lots of suspicious suspects – but these are no match for Ada and Mary. 
 
Filled with daring balloon chases, vile villains and two unforgettable heroines, The 
Case of the Missing Moonstone is the first in a thrilling new series; perfect for all aspiring sleuths.

The Case of the Missing Moonstone

The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency

Gareth has never been the most popular boy at school, but he's always done all right. Things seem to look up when he befriends Jake, the new boy who's full of exciting tales about film premieres and life in London - but when Gareth is caught doing an impression of Jake's faux-cockney accent, things turn very bad. Jake is furious and determined to have his revenge on Gareth, He wants Gareth out of the school and turns all the other kids against him. Gareth has to draw on the memory of his beloved Grandad - and on Grandad's wrestler alter-ego Avenger in order to fight back against Jake. But is Jake really the opponent he seems to be?

Avenger

Moving to a new area and a new school, Louis is horrified to discover his parents changing into ultra-competitive parents, wanting him and his younger brother to get straight As at school and join all sorts of after-school clubs and activities like the other kids in the area. Suddenly Louis's life is no longer his own - until he meets Maddy, who claims to have trained her parents to ignore her- But does Louis really want to be ignored? A truly contemporary tale with characters kids will recognize instantly!

How To Train Your Parents

Tobey is determined he will be famous. He's not big-headed, he just knows he's got something special and he's determined that everyone will know it! He even hangs around with the stars, getting autographs at film premieres. 
 
Tobey and his friend Georgia audition for a role in the local play - and to his huge disappointment, Georgia gets a part, but he doesn't. Can he turn this tragedy around and find a way to be famous after all?

How to Get Famous

It’s 1953, the year Elizabeth is to be crowned Queen of England. Elsie Kettle can't wait to go to London to see the celebrations on Coronation Day. Elsie lives with her Nan – her mum works as a showgirl, so she's not around very often. Spirited and imaginative, but often lonely, Elsie longs for a best friend. Luckily, she and Nan are very close; Elsie just wishes she was allowed a cat to keep her company sometimes. 
 
Then tragedy strikes. Nan and Elsie both fall ill with tuberculosis, and Elsie finds herself whisked away to the children's ward of the hospital. Confined to bed for months on end, Elsie finds it very hard to adapt to the hospital's strict regime. But she invents astonishing ways of entertaining the other children on the ward, and for the first time finds herself surrounded by true friends – including Queenie, the hospital's majestic white cat. 
 
Finally, Elsie is well enough to leave hospital. But before she does, she has one very special, very unexpected visitor...

Queenie

Jamie Rix

Alistair is fed up at being treated like a slave while the rest of the family is ill. Not even lacing his brother and sister's medicine with washing-up liquid gets him off nursing duties! 
 
He's still busy trying to hatch the perfect plot for revenge when they're all dragged off to Ireland for a family funeral. Soon, Alistair's plans are full of spooks, spirits and bones. But his brother and sister have similar ideas . . . ! 
 
In lively and accessible diary form, this is a story of family life at its funniest, packed with schoolboy humour.

The Revenge Files of Alistair Fury: Dead Dad Dog

Kristina Ohlsson

Billie is forced to leave the only home she’s ever known when her mother decides they should move to a new house in a small town. Musty furniture and odd belongings fill the old, dilapidated building, the ghostly remains of its previous tenants - including two small glass figures, one boy and one girl. 
 
The neighbours and local community are hiding something, Billie can tell – a secret about the house, a secret of its past. Then Billie notices that the glass figures have moved when the house was empty. Soon after, a tiny handprint appears on a dusty table - the handprint of a small child. Billie is certain that they are being haunted. 
 
But her mother thinks Billie is making it up With the help of her new friend Aladdin, Billie desperately tries to uncover the house’s dark, tragic history . . . leading her closer to the chilling truth.

The Glass Children

September, 1939. As the Second World War begins, ten-year-old Shirley is sent away on a train with her schoolmates. She doesn’t know where she’s going, or what’s going to happen to her when she gets there. All she has been told is that she’s going on ‘a little holiday’. 
 
Shirley is billeted in the country, with two boys from East End London, Kevin and Archie – and their experiences living in the strange, half-empty Red House, with the mysterious and reclusive Mrs Waverley, will change their lives for ever. 
 
Award-winning, bestselling and beloved author Jacqueline Wilson turns to this period of history for the first time, in this beautiful, moving story of friendship and bravery against the backdrop of the worst conflict the world has ever known.

Wave Me Goodbye

Paul May

'They're not going to like me whatever I do . . .' 
 
Rain has always lived on the road with her artist mum, Max, in their colourful old bus. She's never been that bothered about fitting in, or about finding the dad she's never known. All that changes when their bus breaks down, they put down roots for the first time - and Rain gets to go to school at last! But Rain hadn't reckoned on having to deal with the way kids at school treat anyone who is different. Will her friendship with fellow outsider Daniel be enough to help her stick at it?

Rain

Richard Kidd

Do you have to be dead to be famous? 
 
Stanley Buckle is a quiet sort of boy. Since his dad died, his closest friend has been Neville, an artist who lives in an old mill with a one-eared cat called Vincent. Then Neville mysteriously vanishes in a terrible flood. As the story of Neville's disappearance spreads, the price of his paintings rockets. Stanley is shocked to discover that Neville's work is worth more when he's dead than when he's alive. Then Stanley discovers something even more astounding - something that is to lead him into the most dangerous adventure of his life. 
 
Set partly in rural England and partly in the Scottish isles in the 1960s, this is a very special adventure tale with an original emotional edge.

Deadly Famous

Troubled Kate is hostile to the idea of moving to the country, suspecting that the family are only moving because of her problems at school.  But everything goes wrong from the moment they move into the old farmhouse out in the middle of nowhere - Mum and Dad arguing so much that Mum moves back to London, school just as much of a problem as ever and she still can't read properly...  Then Kate discovers a reason to try again: the abandoned garden behind their new home...

Green Fingers

When Claude goes to the Isle of Skye for a quiet holiday with his dad and aunt, all recuperating from the recent death of his mother, he expects his only adventures to be in his active imagination. However, having been befriended by Roddy, an old fisherman, Claude is amazed to see what look like hundreds of body parts being washed up on the beach. On closer examination, these turn out to be shop-window dummies and a curious attraction leads Roddy to keep one of the heads as a souvenir. But Roddy's harmless pilfering surely shouldn't attract the attentions of two very dangerous-looking men from Italy, who mysteriously appear on Skye? A fantastic mystery story, which moves from Scotland to Italy, and will grip the reader all the way.

The Last Leg

Double Act 
 
Ruby and Garnet are ten-year-old twins. They're identical, and they do EVERYTHING together, especially since their mother died three years earlier - but they couldn't be more different. Bossy, bouncy, funny Ruby loves to take charge, and is desperate to be a famous actress, while quiet, sensitive, academic Garnet loves nothing more than to curl up with one of her favourite books. And when everything around the twins is changing so much, can being a double act work for ever? 
 
Bad Girls 
 
Shy, mild Mandy has been bullied at school for as long as she can remember. That's why she is delighted when cheeky, daring, full-of-fun Tanya picks her as a friend. 
 
Mum isn't happy - she thinks Tanya's a BAD GIRL and a bad influence on her daughter. But Mandy loves spending time with her brilliant new friend, and is sure Tanya can only get her out of trouble, not into it . . . or could she?

Jacqueline Wilson Double Decker

Alex Gutteridge

Katrina has always relied on her grandparents to provide stability in comparison with her rather volatile parents. Her grandad has coached her to be an excellent table tennis player and they have a close relationship. Following a serious stroke, Grandad seems to have changed a lot and family tension runs high. When Kat hears rumours about a split in the family, she assumes her argumentative parents are splitting up, but when it turns out to be her grandparents who are getting divorced, her world is turned on its head. Worse still, her beloved Grandad is moving to Spain. Despite her desperate and sometimes comical efforts Kat fails to keep Gramps in the country, and the divorce goes ahead. In the meantime, though, she discovers several other worthwhile and important relationships in her life. Though this book tackles a serious subject it is funny and upbeat with a twist that will catch readers by surprise.

Oven Chips For Tea

The next in the successful soccer SOCCER MAD series sees Luke facing a tough challenge - can he prove that the Swifts' first-round victory in the cup wasn't simply a fluke?

Football Flukes

Alistair Fury is out for revenge. No more running errands. No more being called 'Alice'! It's payback time for his embarrassing mum, his bone-idle dad, and his constantly teasing older brother and sister. 
 
Only Alistair's two best friends - and this, his private diary - share his secrets. Culminating in a scene involving a snake, a toupee and a live TV broadcast, Alistair tries to wreak spectacular revenge but it doesn't exactly go according to plan . . . 
 
In lively and accessible diary form, this is a story of family life at its funniest, packed with schoolboy humour .

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