A bar in Liverpool, January 2nd 2000: Kelly and Victor, both coming down from the recent global party, meet, and some time later that night they are in her bed. The story of Kelly and Victor progresses, through two mirror-image narratives--a story of the growth and spiralling intensity of a sexual obsession, traced to its inevitable, devastating conclusion. Set against a backdrop of urban despair, spiritual absence and a world swamped with pornography, this is a novel about yearning for union, for purity, and for magic and mystery in a world that denies them all.

Stump makes you feel that you are reading on the edge of a life in a fierce gale, vulnerable, excited, alive. --The Guardian (London)

Wet an spectacular wreckage leads to powerful forgetting which leads to periodics which lead to the dry drunks which go to immersion an enabler an therapeutic alliance an any alternative, any fuckin alternative atropine aversion therapy or Antabuse or ECT or acufuckinpuncture or snakepits or swimming with dolphins an all of that all of it comes completely back to this one pure irreducible phenomenon: a booming heart that burns to drink.

It has taken the loss of a limb and a death threat from the Mob to make one Liverpudlian dry out and move to a small seaside town in Wales. But his past life is a recurring nightmare--filth, desperation, and blackouts. And more trouble is only a hundred miles away. Darren and Alastair leave Liverpool, heading south in a rickety old car. They have been sent by their gang boss to wreak violent revenge, but they have only a rough idea of their quarry: a one-armed man.

Interspersed between the scabrous banter and a pitch-perfect street dialect, Niall Griffiths offers stunning descriptions of the Welsh landscape and a dark, knowing humor. Despite the ever present drugs, violence, and anger, he reveals a fragile humanity. Graywolf is proud to introduce this striking, distinctive voice to American readers.

A vivid, witty, and darkly humorous account of of the city of Liverpool, this work explores the various facets of the city--its maritime and merchant histories, class divisions, sectarian divides, Celtic influences, and the siege mentality underpinning the celebrated Scouse humor. Nor does this reference flinch from Liverpool's dark side: the drugs, the urban blight, the fallout from Thatcherism, and the internecine violence. In addition, the narrative is underpinned by a strong autobiographical element--detailing the author's birth and formative years in the city, his movement away from it, and the abiding pull it exerts--and features interviews with many people connected closely to Liverpool, from personal friends and family members to artists and workers. From the Wirral to Warrington, Anfield to Everton, Bootle to Diddyland, this memoir criss-crosses the city by the ferry and through the tunnels, from John Lennon airport to the racecourse and down the docks, building a picture of a city which, whatever its faults, is never dull.

This guidebook provides a remarkable overview of the Welsh town Aberystwyth--a community of two languages that contains a university, a farming community, a port-turned-marina, the National Library of Wales, provides a home for writers and spies alike, and was also made recently famous--or infamous--by Malcolm Pryce's novels. The travel guide details an enthralling account of a city that is any number of conflicting and complimentary things--from its medieval beginnings through its Victorian heyday to the fluid mix of longstanding natives, large student population, and colony of those who came and never left. Mixing autobiography with topography, aligning the oblique approach with historical report, and contrasting the prosaic with the downright odd, this study paints a vivid picture of a world-famous town.

Ranging across the globe from sheep-strewn Welsh hills to an edgy Belgrade, and encompassing themes as diverse as doppelgangers and jellyfish, this anthology is an exploration of human essentials, containing all the humour, poignancy, and awe that being human evokes. Bringing together the twelve winning short stories and the twenty-one winning poems from this year's Penfro Festival competition as selected by Niall Griffiths and Rhiannon Hooson, Heartland is a celebration of writing and writers.

An historical novel set in Wales before the Industrial Revolution, as human love tries to flower amidst squalor and serfdom.

Wales, a mining village, pre-industrial revolution. A world of serfdom and squalor, its inhabitants oppressed by both Chapel conformist impulses and the predations of a new kind of capitalism being born.

Sion, a metalworker, strikes up an illicit relationship with Katherine, the wife of the mineowner's personal dogsbody. And so begins the struggle of non-transactional and non-exploitative human love to be recognised in a place bent on the destruction and negation of that very thing.

A mix of political anger, historical excavation, Celtic mysticism, praise of the human impulse to love and rage at avarice and exploitation, Of Talons and Teeth seeks to explore that moment when human beings and the natural beauties around them were turned into mere chattels; when Mammon became the only god worth worshipping.

[Wreckage] is a really remarkable piece of work. In the foreground is a caper story; in the background, a poetically expressed, apocalyptic history of Liverpool. --The Daily Telegraph

That woman with the grey hair and the specs and the kind face and the accent all like his grandmother, his nain in hospital and when she can talk that is what she sounds like. Don'thitmepleasedon'thitme. These women falling, sliding off this earth and not just from violence but the one commonality that turns life to a wreck--age.

After their botched and brutal mission to punish a one-armed man in a small Welsh village, Darren and Alastair head back to Liverpool to report to their mob boss. On the way home, Darren robs a rural postal office in Wales that serves as a bank and needlessly cracks the skull of a little old postal lady. Darren's eyes are full of fire. We're rich, Alastair! But Alastair sees his own nain in this elderly woman and falls victim to his conscience. Darren has finally gone too far.

As Alastair and Darren weave their way through the lowlife milieu of Liverpool, we hear many voices: the alky, the crack addict, the busman, the whores, the gangsters, and Darren's many victims. But we also hear the voices of their ancestors going back generations of unthinkable grief and poverty.

A fascinating sequel to Niall Griffiths' Stump, which Irvine Welsh calls a magnificent novel of loss and obsession . . . [by] a major talent.

Jerry is excited about taking his young son Stevie to watch the big match. But when trouble breaks out between the fans, Jerry and Stevie can't escape the shouting, fighting and flying glass. And then Stevie gets lost in the crowd. What will Jerry do next? And what will happen to Stevie? SERIES INFORMATION This inspiring story from award-winning author Niall Griffiths is part of the Diffusion books range, written especially for teenagers and adults who want to improve their reading skills. Easy-to-read, with short chapters, the books in the series enable learners to practice their reading skills and build up their reading confidence. They are also a brilliant choice for anyone learning English as an additional language. The books also include discussion and reflection questions that help readers to understand the story and to reflect on their own lives and relationships. Buying this book will support our project to help people in prison improve both their reading skills and their life chances. To find out more visit https: //spckpublishing.co.uk/diffusion-books

In 1976, 10-year-old Niall Griffiths and his family immigrated to Australia from Liverpool as part of the Ten Pound Pom, an assisted-passage plan designed to increase the population of Australia and supply workers for its booming industries. Following three years of residence, the family moved coast-to-coast, from Brisbane to Perth, traveling more than 2,000 miles in a souped-up station wagon. Thirty years later, Griffiths returned to retrace his steps, chronicling the journey in this part memoir, part travelogue.