Books published by Salt Publishing

The story of a man taking his keys out of his pocket, In the Absence of Absalon is the comically meticulous new novel from Simon Okotie. An unnamed detective is investigating the disappearance of his colleague, Marguerite, last seen on the trail of Harold Absalon, the Mayor's transport advisor.

The Pre-War House and Other Stories is the debut collection from Alison Moore, whose first novel, The Lighthouse, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2012.

The new novel from the author of the Man Booker-shortlisted The Lighthouse is a tense and moreish confection of semiotics, suggestibility and creative writing with real psychological depth and, in Bonnie Falls and Sylvia Slythe, two unforgettable characters.

In 2013 the poet Roddy Lumsden suffered a serious concussion. The head injury left him devoid of creativity, impersonating himself in an effort to rediscover his own identity. Four months later, a late night conversation led to a radical experiment that would see him return to writing with a daring project. This book is that extraordinary work.

Sky hooks are like glass hammers and bubbles from spirit levels, things you get asked to find on your first day in a warehouse. In this case it is also a metaphor for dreams. Set in contemporary Manchester this story is about a lad who was on the books at City but got injured and never made it. It is a compelling coming of age tale.

Lydia's London life lacks purpose. Her discovery of mystical Islam, with its Arabic language and Shia rituals, offers her a new beginning. Lydia becomes Kauthar. When she falls in love with Rafiq, an Iraqi-born doctor, her life appears complete. Then Rafiq decides to return to war-torn Baghdad. For Kauthar love of God replaces love of her husband.

Cynical, solitary Stanly Bird is a fairly typical teenager - unless you count the fact that his best friend is a talking beagle named Daryl, and that he gained the powers of flight and telekinesis when he turned sixteen.

The Art of the Novel is the first textbook written by writers who are also teachers for today's Creative Writing students as well as more experienced practitioners of the novel. The guide brings together specially-commissioned essays from well-published novelists many of whom are also prize winners.

Lewis Sullivan, is approaching retirement when he wonders for the first time whether he ought to have chosen a more dramatic career. He lives in a village in the Midlands, less than a mile from the house in which he grew up. But when an unusual childhood friend appears on the scene, Lewis finds his life and comfortable routine shaken up.

Michele is a successful business woman with a troubled private life. When she moves her elderly mother, Clara, into the basement, her husband slams the door and disappears into the night. Eventually, Clara - the controlling matriarch - finds a way to release her daughter. But can Michele release herself?

Septembers, Chris Prendergast's first novel, is a simmering tale of burning monuments, bad decisions and growing anger.

The Best British Poetry 2014 presents the finest and most engaging poems found in literary magazines and webzines over the past year. The material gathered represents the rich variety of current UK poetry. Each poem is accompanied by a note by the poet explaining the inspiration for the poem.

A prize-winning debut from an exciting new voice in contemporary British poetry. The poems are female-centred and focus on motherhood making this collection an ideal gift for Mothers Day or any other event where a no holds barred exploration of the courage it takes to be a mother is celebrated.

After ministering to fallen women in Victorian London, Evelyn has suffered a nervous breakdown and finds herself treated by the Water Doctors in the imposing Wakewater House, a hydropathy sanatorium.

`Love Me Do' offers a fresh and distinctive look at how we live our lives. Lydia Macpherson's poems are closely observed, tender, witty and often intensely personal, with subjects ranging from knitting to the far reaches of space, via a Voodoo Barbie and a skeleton under the bed.

The discovery of a disinterred corpse at one of Andalusia's Spaghetti Western theme parks begins Danny Sanchez on an investigation that will put all that he holds dearest on the line, as he brings to light an act of unimaginable selfishness that will have ramifications for thousands. ...Danny begins the story on the trail on a brutal killer who burns his first victim alive, but as the plot unfolds, he begins to realise the true motives behind the killer's actions and to question whether the man he is tracking is the true villain. The story draws on Pritchard's own journalistic experience to present a vivid and realistic portrayal of the way in which Danny draws together the documents and interviews he needs to prove his story. Meanwhile, Danny's obsessive quest to uncover the truth causes him to place not only his own life at risk, but also those of Marsha, his girlfriend, and his photographer friend, Paco Pino. This leads to a breakdown in all the relationships which Danny most values.Broken Arrow is Pritchard's third novel and combines his fast-paced prose style and subtle characterisation with a meticulously researched plot. The book is based around a real life accident in 1966, in which the American air force dropped three H-bombs onto southern Spain and contaminated hundreds of acres of arable land with plutonium dust. The narrative moves with a Chandleresque efficiency and there are many twists to the plot, but all are credible. Matthew Pritchard keeps his readers guessing until the end.