Books published by Fairlight Books

A beautifully illustrated slow-travel guide to the unique and varied bookshops of Britain.

A few decades into the 21st century, Cathy and her wife Ephie plant a paddy field in their permanently flooded garden in Cornwall. Across the globe, people like them are getting used to a changing climate - but they are not the only ones adapting. As sea creatures abandon the oceans to live on land, can people accept yet another new normal?

"Starling can trap a rabbit, cook a meal from a hedge and hear a bailiff coming from a mile off. All she has ever known is a nomadic existence, travelling in a converted van with Mar, her strong-willed mother. But Mar has cut them off from their community, and this winter they're stuck in deep mud in a wood, with no fuel, no money and no friends. One morning, without explanation, Mar leaves and doesn't come back. Utterly alone, Starling must learn to survive without her mother and build a life on her own terms. An offer to stay with an old friend draws her into a more conventional way of living - but can rootless Starling ever find a place where she truly belongs?"--Publisher's website.

An uplifting story about the strength that can be drawn from friendship and community. Struggling with OCD and anxiety, Hazel sticks to rigid routines in order to cope with everyday life. But when she forms an unlikely friendship with Virginia, a church minister, Hazel begins to venture outside her comfort zone.

A gothic retelling of the myth of Faust, set in Hungary in the 1970s and 1990s. Eighteen-year-old Sandor Esterhazy, rich and entitled, is descended from a long line of talented pianists, but he has no intention of following in their footsteps. One afternoon, in a fit of pique, he calls up the devil, using an old book of magic spells, and offers to exchange his soul for a life free to choose his own destiny. Afterwards Sandor laughs it off as a joke, but that night he sees the shape of a man approaching the house. He is dragging someone - or something - behind him through the snow. Sandor goes down to the piano room. The devil has delivered a bare-foot young man who Sandor instantly recognizes. But what is this creature? And what exactly is to be done with him

Rural Cyprus, 1925. The twelve days of Christmas are beginning - the time when, according to local folklore, creatures known as kalikantzari come up from Hell to wreak havoc. Despo is heavily pregnant and deeply afraid. Meanwhile, her husband Loukas finds himself irresistibly drawn to an Englishman, a newcomer to the island.

London, 1824. Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a washed-up opium addict whose grip on reality is slipping. In a Cambridge college library, a bullied undergraduate finds a strange annotation in a book of Coleridge's poems. Across the sea, a young Sicilian discovers that his mother once had a liaison with Coleridge. It isn't long before their paths cross.

In snapshots through time, 'Only About Love' takes a sweeping loop around Frank's life as he navigates courtship, marriage, fatherhood and illness. Told through the perspective of Frank and his family, this story is one of intense honesty about the things we do to those closest to us.

Set against the backdrop of the strikes in the 1980s, 'Missing Words' is a heart-warming journey about self-discovery, the power of family ties, and the strength needed to face whatever life throws your way.

Sandor Esterhazy is descended from a long line of talented pianists, but has no desire to play. So, one snowy afternoon, he promises his soul to the devil in exchange for a life of his own choosing. Afterwards, he laughs it off as a joke, but that night the devil arrives dragging someone - or something - with him.

Unfolding against the changing cultural landscape of the seventies, eighties and nineties, 'Erringby' is a captivating coming-of-age novel with echoes of 'Great Expectations'.

A literary debut set In New York. Two people, from very different worlds, meet and fall in love. But when family members move to extremes, their love is tested.

From flash fiction to mini-novelette, Fairlight presents twenty-four of its best short stories. Chosen from work sent to Fairlight over several years by writers around the globe, this anthology celebrates the art of the short story form.

Written by award-winning author Alice Jolly, and based on an idea by the book lovers of Swindon town, this funny and, ultimately, dystopian tale, reminds us of the importance of literature in an increasingly dark world.

A dark comedy, set in the world of modern art with a sociopathic anti-hero desperate to succeed. Takes aim at who and what determines the value of conceptual art.

When Robert decides to impress at a job interview by making up a son, he discovers that maintaining the lie is far harder than he thought - so he invents a story that `Brodie' has been kidnapped. But a few weeks later, Robert receives a call to collect his `son' from the police station, a boy who looks exactly like the picture he photoshopped...

Milton Pitt leads an uneventful life, with a dull job and a secret longing for adventure. One morning, after he is hit by a speeding car, he suffers an out-of-body experience and awakens back in his bedroom. Everything is just the same - that is, except for the bloody footprints leading to the chimney...

It's 1970s Canada. The small island community of Bear Lake is awash with rumours of layoffs and wildcat strikes at the mill. But for young Tom, nothing is more important than hanging out with his best friend, Cormic, except perhaps catching a glimpse of Sasha Dovonovitch, the foreman's daughter.