For my picks, I have decided to focus on debut authors for the most part. There are a couple of near-misses – James Higgerson’s The Almost Lizard was an imaginative, intelligent first novel, and I was tempted to pick Luke Sutherland, but his brilliant Venus As A Boy was published almost a decade ago and there isn’t any sign of a follow-up. Steven Hall's The Raw Shark Texts also made a massive impact on its release, and the follow-up is eagerly anticipated. As a reader, I favour ideas and imagination over perfect prose – I want the jolt that you get from Will Self or Houellebecq when they’re in full creative flow - but I think the writers in the list manage to combine energy, ideas and style excellently, and it will be fascinating to see what they do next.
Sam Byers
Sam Byers's first novel is still awaiting release, but it's strong enough to secure him a place on my list. Idiopathy - which will be published by Fourth Estate in April 2013 - is a savagely funny satire on all the stupidies of modern society, from misery memoirs to hippie protests. One of the most amusing and painful plotlines centres on a young man called Nathan, who is released from rehab only to find that his mother has zillions of Twitter followers and has written a book all about the trials and tribulations of her son's addiction (there are no overt mentions of Julie Myerson but it's hard not to ignore the echo). He also writes about contemporary relationships - their highs, lows and complications - with wit, tenderness and insight. His prose is a joy to savour; he is definitely a writer to watch for the future
Sam Byers's first novel is still awaiting release, but it's strong enough to secure him a place on my list. Idiopathy - which will be published by Fourth Estate in April 2013 - is a savagely funny satire on all the stupidies of modern society, from misery memoirs to hippie protests. One of the most amusing and painful plotlines centres on a young man called Nathan, who is released from rehab only to find that his mother has zillions of Twitter followers and has written a book all about the trials and tribulations of her son's addiction (there are no overt mentions of Julie Myerson but it's hard not to ignore the echo). He also writes about contemporary relationships - their highs, lows and complications - with wit, tenderness and insight. His prose is a joy to savour; he is definitely a writer to watch for the future
Sam Mills
After publishing three morally complex and dark Young Adult books, Sam Mills’s first adult novel The Quiddity of Will Self was published in April last year. Quiddity takes in dystopian fantasy, schizophrenia, the attraction of literary cults and religion in a whirlwind of ideas, marking Mills out as one of the most imaginative authors currently writing. The whole work is underpinned by an orgiastic philosophy of author-worship, designed to fill the spiritual vacuum of late-capitalist society. His next, untitled, book is set to take an idiosyncratically surreal approach to the state-of-the-nation novel.
After publishing three morally complex and dark Young Adult books, Sam Mills’s first adult novel The Quiddity of Will Self was published in April last year. Quiddity takes in dystopian fantasy, schizophrenia, the attraction of literary cults and religion in a whirlwind of ideas, marking Mills out as one of the most imaginative authors currently writing. The whole work is underpinned by an orgiastic philosophy of author-worship, designed to fill the spiritual vacuum of late-capitalist society. His next, untitled, book is set to take an idiosyncratically surreal approach to the state-of-the-nation novel.
Read an interview with Sam Mills here
Emma-Jane Unsworth
In Emma-Jane Unsworth’s debut novel, Hungry, The Stars and Everything, a food-writer visits a mysterious new restaurant, where each dish in the tasting menu evokes an important memory from her youth. This imaginative set-up allows Ms Unsworth to describe the contradictions between her protagonist’s relatively settled adult life and the chaotic, impulsive behaviour of her past. Her writing is full of low-key humour, with hints of the magical – there are nods to The Master and Margarita, transposed to the suburbs of Manchester. Ms Unsworth read from her novel-in-progress at the For Books’ Sake second birthday bash in October last year, and it promises to be every bit as interesting.
JR Crook
JR Crook’s debut novel Sleeping Patterns was one of my highlights of 2012. A deceptively slight book, it manages to be both stripped down and bursting with ideas. Although the set-up (a love-triangle in a student house) is simple, it allows Mr Crook to explore concepts of authorship and identity, giving the novel depth, whilst the writing has a haunting, evocative quality. Sleeping Patterns won the Luke Bitmead Bursary in 2011, being hailed by the judges as ‘beautifully crafted, beguiling and cerebral’. A writer with experimental interests but elegant style, it will be really interesting to see what Crook achieves next.
Tony O’Neill
If a member of Tallulah Gosh can win the Turner Prize, then a former member of Kenickie can be in my best British writers under 40. Following the band’s demise, Tony O’Neill has published four novels, starting with Digging The Vein in 2006, a loosely fictionalised account of his descent into drug addiction in LA, retold in unflinchingly harsh prose. This was followed up with the similarly caustic Down and Out on the Murder Mile and the Manson family-influenced Sick City
Great choices. Interestingly, I realised shortly after I had sent my list to you that I'd unforgivably omitted Adelle Stripe, another of the founders of brutalism - good to see their influence is still present
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