Michael Symmons Roberts’s fourth book of poetry, Corpus, was the winner of the 2004 Whitbread Poetry Award, and was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize, the Forward Prize, and the Griffin International Prize. His sixth collection, Drysalter, was the winner of both the Forward Prize and the Costa Poetry Prize in 2013. He collaborated with Paul Farley on Edgelands (Cape/Vintage) and will do so again in The Deaths of the Poets (Cape, 2017). He has also worked many times with the composer James MacMillan. He has published two novels, and is Professor of Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Michael Symmons Roberts

PublicationStatus

Brand

Format

AgeRange

Series

Imprint

CategoryLabel

Mark Barratt

Having escaped the clutches of Mother in Poundsfield, Joe Rat is back, now working as a sweeper in the more upmarket Lomesbury Square. Having foiled a burglary at one of the 'posh' houses on the square, the owner, Mr Harvey - a rich philanthropist - determines to help Joe. Harvey manages to track down Joe's father, a British army deserter now living wild in Canada. Joe has never met his father, but Harvey brings the wild man back to England and helps set them both up in better jobs. However, Alec Harvey has other ideas - he's jealous of the kindness his father shows Joe and the relationship Joe seems to have with this exciting man from Canada. He determines to show his father once and for all that he's just as good, but in so doing risks the lives of those around him.

The Wild Man

John Rowe Townsend

One day, out on the Cumbrian sands, 16-year-old Arnold Hathwaite encounters a menacing stranger who claims to be a long-lost relative with the same name. He moves in and takes over Arnold's home, and his intentions become more and more sinister.

The Intruder

Chris Ryan

Ricky is a street kid – sharp, quick and usually up to no good. When he tries to steal from the wrong people, he is saved by a mysterious man called Felix who makes Ricky a compelling offer: a flat and a hundred pounds a week. All he has to do is take lessons from Felix. 
 
Soon Ricky finds himself learning about surveillance techniques, how to make himself invisible in a crowd and hand to hand combat. But what is this all for? Ricky has no idea until he’s given his first mission and finds his whole world turned upside down.

Under Cover

William Corlett

Jo can't bear the attitude of peole around her: the teacher who wants to help but can't face the truth that Jo's half black (not just half-white); Straker, the bully who torments and follows her; and most of all, her mum, who refuses to talk about the past and allow Jo to find out about her real dad. That's why she needs Mit - he takes her to a secret world beyond reality, a place where Jo can decide who she really is.

The Secret Line

Gary Paulsen

America, 1955. For a 16-year-old boy out in the world alone for the first time, every day's an education in the hard work and boredom of migrant labor; every day teaches him something more about friendship, or hunger, or profanity, or lust--always lust. He learns how a poker game, or hitching a ride, can turn deadly. He discovers the secret sadness and generosity to be found on a lonely farm in the middle of nowhere. Then he joins up with a carnival and becomes a grunt, running a ride and shilling for the geek show. He's living the hard carny life and beginning to see the world through carny eyes. He's tough. Cynical. By the end of the summer he's pretty sure he knows it all. Until he meets Ruby.

The Beet Fields

Aidan Chambers

Everyone seems to know best when it comes to Jan's future - but he's still working out for himself who he really is. Jan feels so hemmed in by the pressures of family and friends, he decides to leave home and live alone in the house on the toll bridge. While there, he meets Tess and Adam and their close bond of friendship develops into something which has devastating effects on them all.

The Toll Bridge

Chloe Rayban

Justine only goes to the Virtual Reality Exhibition in the hope she might get lucky with fit hunk Alex. Instead she gets unlucky with an Alternative Reality machine and leaves the exhibition as Jake! 
 
Once she's got over the shock, Justine starts to see the potential of her new situation. As Jake she has the opportunity to hang out with the lads and find out what really makes them tick. But when her real self develops a major crush on her virtual self, things start to get just a bit too complicated . . .

Virtual Sexual Reality

Ben Tracey is on holiday in the Cayman Islands when a hurricane warning means he and his new friend, the son of an oil billionaire, must fly out of range. But as the plane heads for Miami, an unfamiliar voice comes over the tannoy: the aircraft has been hijacked. If anyone tries to make their way into the cockpit, they will be instantly shot . . . So begins this dramatic adventure, the fifth in the exciting Code Red series.

Twister

Code Red

Keith Gray

Brook High is a great grey concrete ants' nest of a school. John Malarkey is the new kid, thrown in at the deep end of Year 11. He's the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time. 
 
Through what at first appears to be a random meeting, he helps a girl called Mary Chase out of a tricky situation, but is subsequently accused of stealing report cards to sell to students so they can write their own bogus reports. He quickly realises it was all a set-up, and that he's been used to take the fall. The teacher who accuses him of the crime gives him one day to prove his innocence. Malarkey tries to track down Mary Chase, but it's difficult in such a huge place. He does, however, discover strange goings-on beneath the surface of the normal school day. The more questions he asks the deeper he becomes involved in the corrupt under-belly of the school. He's also noticed the peculiar fact that so many kids at Brook wear Adidas trainers - black with the three white stripes. He realises that these are the badge of membership worn by those involved in the school's 'mafia'. He discovers that the name of the organisation's leader is Freddie Cloth, and Mary Chase turns out to be Cloth's girlfriend. Malarkey is soon noticed for asking so many questions, and receives warnings and then threats to back down. But, with time quickly running out for him, he still has to prove his innocence. And the only way to do this is to get to Freddie Cloth.

Malarkey

Adèle Geras

Megan, Bella and Alice inhabit the isolated world of a girl's boarding school, Egerton Hall, buried deep in the English countryside. The Tower Room which they share is remote and high, and from it the three survey the everyday drama of school life. With only months to go until their final exams they are already sensing the dangerous delights awaiting them in the grown-up world. Megan feels a special poignancy about leaving school; orphaned soon after she came to Egerton Hall, she has virtually been brought up there as the ward of the science mistress.But it is Megan who looks down from the Tower Room that unforgettable morning, to meet Simon's inquisitive gaze. As Megan rushes to embrace her fate, her safe, cocooned world is transformed forever . . . 
 
Loosely based on the Rapunzel fairytale, this highly original novel is the story of a sudden, unexpected, passionate relationship and the unforseen yet inevitable results of defying convention.

The Tower Room : Egerton Hall Trilogy 1

Set in the underbelly of Victorian London's East End, JOE RAT follows the fortunes of a tosher, Joe, who lives by scavenging in the sewers around the area of Whitechapel. It's a fast-paced and vivid tale of survival in a society which fosters neither friendship nor trust. But Joe comes to know both after a chance encounter with a runaway girl, Bess, and the 'madman' who inhabits Pound's Field. With gangs lurking round every corner and a life spent in the rat-infested tunnels below the streets, Joe needs more than a prime piece of tosh to change his fortunes . . .

Joe Rat

Thirteen-year-old Ben Tracey is looking forward to spending the summer in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where his father has been hired to examine the valuable mineral Coltan that's being mined there. They soon realise that the people living in the village near the mine are frightened and it doesn't take long for Ben and his father to discover why: behind the door of every hut there is at least one person dying or seriously ill, and no one seems to be doing anything to help. 
 
As Ben's father falls ill, it's up to Ben and his new friend from the village, Halima, to try and tell the government what's going on so the village can be isolated before the sickness spreads further. Will they be able to prevent disaster?

Outbreak

Antonio Pagliarulo

The Hamilton triplets - Madison, Park, and Lexington - are accustomed to living in the public eye. Heiresses to a billion-dollar media empire, they have been raised in New York's most elite social circles and, at 16, know firsthand the demands of being celebutantes. There are people to impress, appearances to make, and paparazzi to outrun. Not to mention high school to finish. 
 
The school year's almost over, and Madison, Park, and Lexington Hamilton are about to head to Capri. Before vacation comes work, however, and with the opening of Hamilton Holdings' latest venture, Cleopatra, the newest and most expensive club in Manhattan, the girls must throw one incredible opening night party. 
 
Before the night ends, the body of classmate Damien Kittle is found in the club with a bloody wound on the side of his head and the high-heeled murder weapon lying nearby. The shoe belongs to another student: Concetta Conoli-an unfortunately unfashionable diet food heiress. 
 
The paparazzi are having a field day, and they're determined to drag Cleopatra through the mud with Concetta. Madison, Park, and Lexington can't allow their club, and a fellow heiress, to be slandered in this fashion. The girls know the real murderer is still out there, and they're willing to bet their sizable inheritance that the police won't be able to unravel the mystery without their help.

Celebutantes: In the Club

There's only one thing that could induce techno-phobe Justine to dabble on the Information Super-Highway - and it's male. Yes the chance to share love-bytes with a cool boy-babe is all it takes to get Justine surfing in Cyberspace. But when the black-clad lad, Los reveals his website wanderlust for time-travel, Justine finds herself in a datspace dilemma... Just how far should she go?

Love In Cyberia

'Don’t come after us … remember the first thing I ever taught you - that your first duty is to stay alive' 
 
For some time now, Zack Darke has been operating solo, in total secrecy, for a shadowy government organisation. 
 
When his handlers are abducted by somebody with a serious personal vendetta against him, Zak has no choice but to go after them. And heading across the world to find them - into danger like he's never known - is something that, this time, he cannot do alone . . .

Endgame

The Hamilton triplets - Madison, Park, and Lexington - are accustomed to living in the public eye. Heiresses to a billion-dollar media empire, they have been raised in New York's most elite social circles and, at 16, know firsthand the demands of being celebutantes. There are people to impress, appearances to make, and paparazzi to outrun. Not to mention high school to finish. 
 
But when fashion editor Zahara Bell is found dead in a one-of-a-kind frock from Lex's unreleased clothing line, and then the priceless Avenue Diamond goes missing, getting to class is as far from the triplets' minds as their first pair of Manolos. One of the girls is a suspect, and the sisters find themselves in the middle of a scandal that could sink their reputations and their father's companies for good. And the press is ready, willing, and able to lend a hand. 
 
The Hamilton sisters need to stick closer than ever before. The killer is still out there, and if they don't solve the case their threesome could become a twosome quicker than you can say Cartier.

Celebutantes: On the Avenue

Andrew Matthews

Suzanne is pretty ordinary, apart from Love Street. She has the equivalent of a TV inside her brain, the only thing is that the same programme is playing day in and day out and she's lost the remote control. Whenever she is stressed out, furious or just plain bored, the TV flashes to life and shows a sequence from the soap called Love Street - the problem is, things get weird when the soap itself begins to imitate the life of her friends, and herself.

Love Street

Alex Duval

Jason lives in hyper-cool Malibu and hangs out with the cool kids. He thinks he's pretty lucky to be considered a friend of the gorgeous Sienna. But only Jason and his friend know the secret behind Sienna's IT crowd - that they are partial to the taste of blood . . . 
 
Jason is blissfully happy with Sienna, the beautiful, intoxicating vampire he has loved ever since moving to Malibu and entering her wealthy, cliquey, party life. But their happiness is under threat as Sienna's parents don't believe a human-vampire relationship can work and forbid Sienna from seeing Jason. 
 
As they try to get around the ban with secret meetings, Jason's vampire aunt Bianca throws a new problem into the mix. Jason has to make a decision that could change his life for ever. There are exciting new possibilities right at his fingertips, but what hidden dangers lurk beneath the glamorous surface?

Vampire Beach: Legacy

Jason and his sister have moved to Malibu and now live in a town full of very beautiful, very rich, very cool people - who just happen to be vampires. Jason is pretty obsessed with the sexiest girl in town, Sienna Devereux - and has little time to spend worrying about the rest of the vampires. But as Thanksgiving approaches and Jason's Aunt Megan comes to stay, he realises that there's something weird going on in De Vere Heights. Could Megan be involved somehow? And when his old friend Tyler turns up too, and starts to mess with the wrong people, Jason starts to understand that they're all playing with something much more dangerous than it first seemed . . .

Vampire Beach: Initiation

Jason Freeman is torn, wondering which natural wonder is more deserving of his attention - the awesome-looking Malibu surf, or Sienna Devereux, who lounges on the beach. He lives in Malibu, has a gorgeous girlfriend and some very cool friends - most of whom just happen to be vampires. 
 
The vampire clique are settling in for a good summer. Jason is hoping that things will be calmer than they have been over the last few months. But their peace is shattered when evidence emerges that there's a vampire hunter in town. Friends are going missing and then reappearing with no real memory of what's happened to them. What's really going on?

Vampire Beach: Hunted

Jason and his sister have just moved to Malibu - to a town full of rich kids whose lives revolve around money, fashion, cars and parties. Jason gets swept along by the excitement and is flattered to be included - and also very flattered by the apparent interest of the stunning Sienna. But these rich kids hide a dark secret and soon Jason finds that their parties involve a little more than the usual alcohol and music! When their secret is revealed, Jason has to decide if he can accept the status quo. Everyone else seems to be able to... and it might just mean he could get closer to Sienna... 
 
A fabulously glam and sexy take on the classic vampire story - these vamps can live pretty normal lives, no garlic or coffins for them!

Vampire Beach: Bloodlust

When Ben Tracey sets out with his cousin to spot hen harriers - a protected bird of prey - he doesn't expect to stumble upon a secret operation. But renegade researchers are using a military base near the birds' nest site to develop Project Vortex: a project concerned with a top secret, utterly illegal and highly lethal weapon! 
 
As the clock ticks down, Ben and Annie are in a race against time to prevent disaster. But their enemies are determined to stop them and they will go to any lengths...

Vortex

Jason lives in hyper-cool Malibu and hangs out with the cool kids. He thinks he's pretty lucky to be considered a friend of the gorgeous but unattainable Sienna. But only Jason and his friend know the secret behind Sienna's IT crowd - that they are partial to the taste of blood . . . 
 
Jason takes his sister to a New Age fair - and they visit a psychic. Jason is given a warning of great danger - and sure enough, he is soon after attacked by a mysterious assailant. When he wakes up in hospital he discovers that he's been shot with a crossbow. Who would use such a weapon - possibly some kind of vampire hunter? Could Sienna be the one who's really in danger?

Vampire Beach: Ritual

Catherine Fisher

Cal has struggled to cope with his mother's drinking and her psychotic episodes since he was six; cooped up in their dirty council flat he dreams of a new life. So when he leaves to live with his uncle Trevor in Chepstow he is ruthless about breaking with the past, despite his mother's despair. But getting off the train at the wrong station he finds himself at the castle of the Fisher King, and from then on moves in a nightmare spiral of predetermined descent into a wasteland of desolation and adventure, always seeking the way back to the Grail he has betrayed. Catherine Fisher has created a gripping and highly moving novel that moves between myth and a contemporary journey of self-knowledge until one becomes indistinguishable from the other. Drawing in Arthurian themes, historical re-enactments and the Four Hallows, Cal's quest for a return to peace of mind is an elaborate and ambitious Grail novel for our time. An important new work from the author of the Book of the Crow

Corbenic

Amy Meredith

Fifteen-year-old Eve Evergold is cute, sassy and enjoying a busy social life. What she doesn't know yet is that someone close to her is an evil demon that only she has the supernatural power to defeat. 
 
She needs to work out who it is - and fast! Because although there's something very attractive about the dark side . . . dating a demon? Pure hell!

Dark Touch: Shadows

Louise Lawrence

A powerful post-nuclear holocaust novel described by the author as, 'my cry against the monstrous weapons men have made'. 
 
Everyone thought, when the alarm bell rang, that it was just another fire practice. But the first bombs had fallen on Hamburg and Leningrad, the headmaster said, and a full-scale nuclear attack was imminent . . . 
It's a real-life nightmare. Sarah and her family have to stay cooped up in the tightly-sealed kitchen for days on end, dreading the inevitable radioactive fall-out and the subsequent slow, torturous death, which seems almost preferable to surviving in a grey, dead world, choked by dust. 
But then, from out of the dust and the ruins and the desolation, comes new life, a new future, and a whole brave new world...

Children Of The Dust

Jason thinks he must have just about taken all the challenges that can be thrown at him and Sienna. For once, things seem perfect: great girlfriend, great friends and great place to live. Then Sienna's older sister, Paige turns up unexpectedly from college in Paris. 
 
Paige brings the usual Devereux charm with her. She is gorgeous, glam and sophisticated. When she suggests spending Spring Break in Las Vegas the Malibu crowd jump at the chance and Jason is overwhelmed by the money, clubs and champagne that flows 24 hours a day. 
 
But when Paige's old boyfriend - Mark Lessard - turns up, things suddenly get dangerous. Sienna's missing - being used as bait between Paige and Mark so a deal is made between them. Suddenly the stakes are very high . . .

Vampire Beach: High Stakes

Christine Purkis

Life is sweet for seventeen-year-old Alison. A long, hot summer nannying in the South of France is bound to brush-up her French, top-up her tan and - who knows? - maybe even pep-up her love life too! But when Alison arrives in the sleepy village of St Secrets her dreams come crashing down around her. . . it's just so dull! And then she discovers the secret diary, and Alison finds herself swept away with its emotional, passionate and intriguing revelations. . .

The Shuttered Room

Ben gets the chance for a trip of a lifetime when his mum is invited to attend a big conference in Australia. In the midst of a drought, it's hot. And it's dry. Drier than it's been for years. And it only takes a spark to set off a fire... As world leaders gather and a student demo gathers pace, a small flame takes hold - and suddenly an unquenchable fire bursts into life and an inferno of flames up to l00 metres high tear through the streets, threatening homes and lives. And in the smoke and confusion, an important general is kidnapped! Ben - just learning to fly - finds himself at the controls of a microlite and on the trail of the kidnappers...

Wildfire

Joseph Delaney

Following the first year of his apprenticeship as an Arena 13 combatant, Leif seeks information from his late father's people. There he learns more about the man, who was the greatest arena fighter ever seen. The man who came so close to destroying the demon Hob, but paid a terrible price for every victory. 
 
Leif returns to the fighting floor with a renewed hunger for revenge. But can he remain focused on his training as his passion for his master's daughter, Kwin, grows? And will his place in his master's greater plan help or hinder him in his personal mission to defeat Hob in a fight to the death? 
 
The second instalment in the legend of ARENA 13. 
 
Books in the series 
1: ARENA 13 
2: ARENA 13: THE PREY

Showing results for: ‘Michael Symmons Roberts’

Filters

Category

Age

Publication Date

Format

Series

Imprint

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter