In The St Hilda's Spotlight - Anna Bailey

 

Name:- Anna Bailey

Job:- Author

Twitter:- @annafbailey

Introduction:-

Tall Bones is Anna Bailey's debut novel which was inspired by her experience of small town America. It has been shortlisted for the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award. Tall Bones was published in the US under the title Where he Truth Lies. Anna Bailey was a Theakston's New Blood author in 2021. It was also longlisted for the Theakston Crime novel of the Year Award in 2021. it was also a Sunday Time's Bestseller.

Current book? (This can either be the current book that you are reading or writing)

I’m currently reading Dalva by American author Jim Harrison, which follows a woman returning home to rural Nebraska in search of the son she once gave up for adoption. I only recently discovered his work, but he’s already become a favourite – there’s so much passion and fondness in the way he writes about the wild landscapes of the US.

Favourite book?

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry has been one of my firm favourites ever since I reread it as an adult several years ago. I don’t have anything very clever to say about it, except that I think it’s the loveliest book I’ve ever read. But in terms of books I can just jump back into and reread bits and pieces of over and over again, Annie Proulx’s collection of short stories, Close Range, is one I’m always returning to. Her writing is just astounding, her sense of humour brutal and brilliant, and much like Jim Harrison, I love the way she writes about landscapes.

Which two characters would you invite to dinner and why? 

Lady Catherine de Bourgh from Pride and Prejudice and Dorian Gray. I’d like to see them eviscerate each other.

How do you relax?

I watch the most awful, low budget 2000s-era horror films and drink cheap prosecco.

Which book do you wish you had written and why? 

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. It’s like a perfect crisp autumn day condensed into a novella, and I love it when female characters get to be genuinely, delightfully unhinged.

What would you say to your younger self if you were just starting out as a writer.

“Stock up on toilet paper, there’s going to be a global pandemic next year.” I don’t know actually, I feel very disconnected from myself in the past – I think I’d just tell them to keep going, and that the feeling of holding their completed novel in their hands is absolutely worth all the blood, sweat and tears they poured into it.

How would you describe your latest published book?

When a teenage girl disappears from a small town deep in the Rocky Mountains, the ensuing investigation unearths terrible secrets about her very religious, very isolated community.

With Town and Country: Green Lanes to Mean Streets being the theme at St Hilda's this year, Where is your favourite town and where is your favourite country? Why have you chosen these?

There’s a little town called Mont Dore in the mountains of central France which I want to say is my favourite. My partner is French and for the past three years we’ve taken our vacation there every summer – we hike and read and write and eat well, it’s so relaxing, and the surrounding country is my favourite kind: great forests of pine trees and waterfalls and rugged mountains, on one of which my partner proposed to me, so it has a very special place in my heart.

What are you looking forward to at St Hilda's?

It’s a genuine honour to have been invited to St Hilda’s and I’m really looking forward to meeting the other brilliant speakers, as well as getting to spend time in Oxford, which I haven’t visited post-lockdown, so it’ll be lovely to be back.

Tall Bones by Anna Bailey (Transworld) Out Now

When Emma leaves her friend Abi at a party in the woods, she believes that their lives are just beginning. Many things will happen that night, beneath the stark beauty of the stars, but Emma will never see her friend again. But what happens next in Whistling Ridge is so much more than the story of a missing girl. It's a spellbinding story that will keep you guessing, a story of surprises and secrets, regrets and rage, love and lies. Abi's disappearance cracks open the façade of this small town, peeling away the layers of its past. Even within Abi's own family there are questions to be asked - of the older brother whom Abi betrayed, of the shining younger sibling who hides his wounds, of her mother and her father - both in thrall to the fiery preacher who has an unsettling grasp on the whole town. And then there is Rat, the outsider, whose exciting presence is a catalyst for change. Anything could happen in a tinder-box like Whistling Ridge. All it will take is just one spark...the truth of what happened that night at the Tall Bones.

Information about 2022 St Hilda's College Crime Fiction Weekend and how to book tickets can be found here.

Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award Longlist 2022

 

Goldsboro Books have announced the twelve titles longlisted for the 2022 Glass Bell Award. Now in its sixth year, the Glass Bell Award celebrates the best storytelling across contemporary fiction, regardless of genre. The 2022 longlist heralds another strong year for debuts – making up just under half of the longlist- including debut thrillers The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris, Anna Bailey’s creepy and atmospheric novel Tall Bones, and Mrs March by darkly funny, Spanish author Virginia Feito.

Debut authors Hafsa Zayyan, winner of the Merky Books New Writers Prize with We Are All Birds of Uganda, and Robert Jones Jr., who’s stunning novel The Prophets explores the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, join fellow historical novelists, Lucy Holland with her new book Sistersong, British Book Awards 2022 shortlisted author Elodie Harper with The Wolf Den, and the bestselling novel Ariadne by Jennifer Saint.

Spanning historical, literary, crime, thriller and fantasy, the Glass Bell longlist also includes acclaimed authors, including Booker-shortlisted author The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki, which was also recently shortlisted for the Women’s Prize, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and her novel Daughters of Night, and Will Dean with The Last Thing to Burn, both of which have been longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.

The sole fantasy novel on the 2022 Glass Bell longlist is the enthralling bestselling novel Threadneedle by Cari Thomas, which draws readers into the magical city nestled within the boroughs of London.

David Headley, Goldsboro Books co-founder and MD, and founder of the Glass Bell, says:

“Every year, we are chomping at the bit to get together and discuss our favourite books published in the previous year; and 2022 was no exception. Once again, the longlist is incredibly exciting and without one weak link. Every year, the judging process gets more difficult as the standard of publishing continues to grow - this year might be our trickiest yet.”

The Glass Bell Award is judged by David and his team at Goldsboro Books. It is the only prize that rewards storytelling in all genres from – romance, thrillers and ghost stories, to historical, speculative and literary fiction and – is awarded annually to ‘a compelling novel with brilliant characterisation and a distinct voice that is confidently written and assuredly realised’. The shortlist of six will be announced on 28th July, with the winner, who will receive both £2,000, and a beautiful, handmade glass bell, to be announced on 8th September.

Last year, debut author Clare Whitfield was announced as the fifth winner of the prize for her historical thriller, People of Abandoned Character. A thrilling and atmospheric take on the Jack the Ripper story, published by Head of Zeus, was selected for its ‘fresh and unique’ approach to the story by the 2021 jury, who called it ‘a thoughtful and compelling exploration of the endless violence faced by women of all walks of life.’

St Hilda's Crime and Mystery Weekend - Town and Country: Green Lanes to Mean Streets

St Hilda's Crime and Mystery Weekend is taking place from 12 – 14 August 2022.  

We have an homage to Mo Hayder by Nadine Matheson, an expose of rural noir by S.A. Cosby, an evening with Mick Herron (on Slow Horses) and Elly Griffiths (on Cold Comfort Farm).

Peter May is talking about his early influences. 

Ann Cleeves is looking at the Human Geography of Crime.

Philip Gooden has penned our Murder Mystery with roles performed by crime writers, and special prizes to be won.

Plus intriguing and entertaining talks by Imran Mahmood, Abir Mukherjee, Beth Lewis, Greg Buchanan, Leye Adenle, Anna Bailey, Anthony J Quinn, Trevor Wood and William Shaw. 

It is going to be spectacular!

You can book to attend in person, either the whole weekend or just Friday night with Mick and Elly (and a three-course dinner). 

Accommodation is available, and meals can be booked at the college (where the food is delicious and vegan options are available).

The full programme is here.

More details and links to ticket sales can be found here.

New Blood 2021: Val McDermid Picks Crime Fiction's Ones To Watch.

 

The New Blood with Val McDermid 2021 panel will return at Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, 22-25 July 2021

Harrogate, Tuesday 22 June: The undisputed ‘Queen of Crime’ Val McDermid today reveals her top four ones to watch of crime fiction - all of whom will join her coveted ‘New Blood’ panel at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival on Saturday 24 July. The hotly tipped emerged 'New Blood' authors are: 

Sixteen Horses Greg Buchanan (Mantle)

One Night, New York by Lara Thompson (Virago)

The Colours of Death by Patricia Marques (Hodder)

Tall Bones by Anna Bailey (Doubleday) 

Since 2004, best-selling Scottish author of the Tony Hill & Carol Jordan series Val McDermid has curated an annual celebration of the most formidable debuts taking the crime and thriller genre by storm at the world’s largest and most prestigious crime fiction festival.

The unveiling of McDermid’s selection has become one of the most anticipated moments of the publishing calendar, with readers on the lookout to uncover their new favourite author and add the ‘next big thing’ to their bookshelves.

This year, Greg Buchanan has been selected for his dark and haunting debut novel Sixteen Horses; Lara Thompson is on the list for her atmospheric portrait of crime in the Big Apple during the Great Depression titled One Night, New York; Patricia Marques is recognised for her genre-bending fantasy-crime crossover The Colours of Death; and concluding this year’s New Blood contingent is Anna Bailey with her nuanced thriller exploring the depths of male violence against women, Tall Bones.

Val McDermid said:“Murder and mayhem – on page and on screen, have become our staple diet during the past year-and-a-half of lockdowns. The world’s love of crime fiction has continued to go from strength to strength so I take this opportunity to share my tips for who to read next very seriously! It’s with genuine pleasure that I invite these four extraordinarily talented authors to join me to discuss not just their unique stories and styles but also what makes a good crime novel great and why do we turn to this genre in times of trouble?”

Former ‘New Blood’ alumni include Clare Mackintosh, SJ Watson, Stuart MacBride, Liam McIlvanney and Belinda Bauer, as well as two of the authors vying for the title of Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2021: Abir Mukherjee and Trevor Wood.

As part Harrogate International Festivals’ year-round programme of events, each year the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival welcomes the world’s famous authors each year to Harrogate’s Old Swan Hotel – the scene of Agatha Christie's mysterious disappearance in 1926 – for a celebration of the crime genre like no other. 

This year’s instalment will take place from 22- 25 July with a stellar programme from Rebus author Ian Rankin OBE. Special Guests for 2021 include producer and presenter Richard Osman with the second instalment in his record-breaking cosy crime caper The Thursday Murder Club series; espionage expert Mick Herron, author of the highly acclaimed Slough House series; mystery maestro Elly Griffiths and her latest Ruth Galloway whodunnit; fan favourite Vera and Shetland author Ann Cleeves; the masterful Mark Billingham with his Tom Thorne prequel Cry Baby. The festivities will continue with four days of unmissable talks and panels from crime writing royalty – such as the queens of domestic noir Clare Mackintosh and CL Taylor in conversation.

For further information about how Harrogate International Festivals will deliver a safe Festival in line with the government regulations at the time, please visit www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com.

Anna Bailey on writing Tall Bones

 When I was 23, I found myself living in a small town in rural Colorado. I worked at a Starbucks just off the highway, where you could see the mountains from every window and where truckers would come through early in the morning and tell me stories about Timberwolves and car wrecks. One morning, while I was walking to work in the dark, I met a coyote in the road, chewing on some shapeless piece of roadkill. We stared at one another. His muzzle was red and glistening and I could feel my own blood rushing in my ears. Am I going to die on the way to Starbucks? I thought. Jesus Christ, that sounded tragic. But then his big ears pricked up and he trotted away into the undergrowth, and that was how it was out there. Frightening and beautiful all at once.

My debut novel Tall Bones also takes place in the Colorado Rockies, and I wanted to imbue it with as much of that fear and wild beauty as possible. In the book, the Tall Bones are a stone circle on the edge of this remote mountain town, and it’s where the local kids go to drink beer and blow off steam and escape their oppressive home lives. One night, seventeen-year-old Emma, sees her best friend Abigail disappear into the woods that surround this stone circle, and the rest of the book follows Emma’s increasingly desperate search for her. But in trying to figure what happened, Emma unearths this small town’s secrets – the violence, prejudice, and religious control – and in the end, nobody is left unscathed.

This was a book that I wrote during quite a difficult time in my life. I was struggling to come to terms with my sexuality and I moved to America hoping to find space for myself. The landscapes there are some of the most evocative and overwhelming that I have ever experienced, and I certainly had space, living in the brutal beauty of the Rockies, but that vastness cuts you off from the world too, which is very much how the characters in this novel feel. Emma and Abigail are also trying to discover themselves as they come of age, but they’re restricted by their deeply conservative town with its extreme religious undertones.

My own experience of Christianity had a major influence on Tall Bones as well. Frankly, I’d never given God much thought, but in rural America, religion went hand in hand with the landscape. I often felt like the Rockies’ rough, snow-buried peaks were trying to push civilisation out. And so these places created hard people who looked after their own first and filled the huge spaces with whatever they had in common that could tie them together. This usually meant God. If I wanted to be accepted here, I would have to observe the rituals of church and self-loathing, the latter of which came easily enough being gay in a community that openly labelled homosexuals as an abomination. It became hard to ignore God. His supposed hatred of me was so strong, I thought I could feel Him behind every rock and tree, watching me and knowing that I didn’t belong there, and when I eventually extricated myself, I was so angry that anybody had made me feel like that, I knew I wanted to write something about this.

Hidden away from consequence, deep in the mountains, the town in Tall Bones is also heavily governed by Christianity. The local pastor knows how to use people’s shame to keep them in line, and this creates an atmosphere of secrecy and dread, so that when Abigail goes missing, nobody wants the police poking around in case any of their own secrets are dragged into the light in the process. But Emma, with her mixed-race heritage and turbulent past, has already been deemed an outsider by the community. She believes somebody knows what happened to Abigail, and with nothing left to lose, she is determined to expose them.

Writing this book, I was channelling all my awe of great wild landscapes as well as the fear of what they can hide; amongst all this, I was trying to find myself, and Tall Bones is what emerged. It’s a dark story, yes, but it’s a love story too. I think that’s something those small-town preachers often overlooked – that you can hate as fiercely as you want, but things are made to endure in the world’s hard places, and so are people. That’s what I hope readers will take away from this book.

Tall Bones by Anna Bailey (Published by Transworld Publishers Ltd) Out Now

When seventeen-year-old Emma leaves her best friend Abi at a party in the woods, she believes, like most girls her age, that their lives are just beginning. Many things will happen that night, but Emma will never see her friend again. Abi's disappearance cracks open the facade of the small town of Whistling Ridge, its intimate history of long-held grudges and resentment. Even within Abi's family, there are questions to be asked - of Noah, the older brother whom Abi betrayed, of Jude, the shining younger sibling who hides his battle scars, of Dolly, her mother and Samuel, her father - both in thrall to the fire and brimstone preacher who holds the entire town in his grasp. Then there is Rat, the outsider, whose presence in the town both unsettles and excites those around him. Anything could happen in Whistling Ridge, this tinder box of small-town rage, and all it will take is just one spark - the truth of what really happened that night out at the Tall Bones....

Books to Look Forward to From Transworld Publishers

January 2021

At first glance, Leonard Graves' death was unremarkable. Sleeping pills, a bottle of vodka, a note saying goodbye. But when Detective Henry Hobbes discovers a grave in the basement, he realizes there is something far more sinister at work. Further investigation unearths more disturbing evidence. Scattered around the old house are women's dresses. All made of the same material. All made in the same colours. And all featuring a rip across the stomach, smeared in blood. As the investigation continues and the body count rises, Hobbes must also deal with the disappearance of his son, the break-up of his family and a growing sense that something horrific happened in the Graves' household. And he's running out of time to find out what. House With No Door is by Jeff Noon.

Exit is by Belinda Bauer It was never supposed to be murder. Pensioner Felix Pink is about to find out that it's never too late . . . for life to go horribly wrong. When Felix lets himself in to Number 3 Black Lane, he's there to perform an act of charity: to keep a dying man company as he takes his final breath . . . But just fifteen minutes later Felix is on the run from the police - after making the biggest mistake of his life. Now his world is turned upside down as he must find out if he's really to blame, or if something much more sinister is at play. All while staying one shaky step ahead of the law.

How far would you go to correct your worst mistake? When Chloe goes to university and meets wild, carefree Zadie, she is utterly seduced by her and her lifestyle. It doesn't take long for Chloe to ditch her studies in favour of all-night parties at Zadie's huge house off campus.nnBut when something goes badly wrong one night and Zadie disappears in the aftermath, Chloe knows she should have done more to help her friend. It's something she'll always regret. Fifteen years later, Chloe finally gets the chance to make it right. But in order to do so, she'll have to put everything at stake . . . Two Wrongs is by Rebecca Reid.

 February 2021

The Sanatorium is the debut novel by Sarah Pearse. Everyone's in danger. Anyone could be next.An imposing, isolated hotel, high up in the Swiss Alps, is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But she's taken time off from her job as a detective, so when she receives an invitation out of the blue to celebrate her estranged brother's recent engagement, she has no choice but to accept. Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge. Though it's beautiful, something about the hotel, recently converted from an abandoned sanatorium, makes her nervous - as does her brother, Isaac. And when they wake the following morning to discover his fiancee Laure has vanished without a trace, Elin's unease grows. With the storm cutting off access to and from the hotel, the longer Laure stays missing, the more the remaining guests start to panic. But no-one has realized yet that another woman has gone missing. And she's the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they're all in . . .

March 2021

The Dare is by Lesley Kara. As a child, it was just a game. As an adult, it was a living nightmare.'This time it's different. She's gone too far now. She really has.' When teenage friends Lizzie and Alice decide to head off for a walk in the countryside, they are blissfully unaware that this will be their final day together - and that only Lizzie will come back alive. Lizzie has no memory of what happened in the moments before Alice died, she only knows that it must have been a tragic accident. But as she tries to cope with her grief, she is shocked to find herself alienated from Alice's friends and relatives. They are convinced she somehow had a part to play in her friend's death. Twelve years later, unpacking boxes in the new home she shares with her fiance, Lizzie is horrified to find long-buried memories suddenly surfacing. Is the trauma of the accident finally catching up with her, or could someone be trying to threaten her new-found happiness?

Tokyo, Japan. Umiko Wada has had enough excitement in life. With an overbearing mother and her husband recently murdered, she just wants to keep her head down. As a secretary to a private detective, her life is pleasantly filled with coffee runs and paperwork. That is, until her boss takes on a new case. A case that is surrounded by shadows. A case that means Wada will have to leave Tokyo and travel to London. London, England. Nick Miller never knew his father, and was always told he wasn't missing much. But when an old friend of his late mother says there are things that Nick needs to know about his parents, he can't ignore it. When a chance encounter brings Wada and Nick together, they couldn't know the series of violent events set off by their investigations. And when they discover Nick's father might have been the only witness to a dark secret forever buried, they realise there are some powerful people who will do whatever it takes to keep it that way... The Fne Art of Invisblle Detection is by Robbert Goddard.

April 2021

Tall Bones is by Anna Bailey. When seventeen-year-old Emma leaves her best friend Abi at a party in the woods, she believes, like most girls her age, that their lives are just beginning. Many things will happen that night, but Emma will never see her friend again. Abi's disappearance cracks open the facade of the small town of Whistling Ridge, its intimate history of long-held grudges and resentment. Even within Abi's family, there are questions to be asked - of Noah, the older brother whom Abi betrayed, of Jude, the shining younger sibling who hides his battle scars, of Dolly, her mother and Samuel, her father - both in thrall to the fire and brimstone preacher who holds the entire town in his grasp. Then there is Rat, the outsider, whose presence in the town both unsettles and excites those around him. Anything could happen in Whistling Ridge, this tinder box of small-town rage, and all it will take is just one spark - the truth of what really happened that night out at the Tall Bones...

May 2021

Sometimes the only way to catch a killer is to become their prey. In Bristol, a young woman jumps into an icy reservoir. In Leeds, a girl cuts ties with her family and disappears. The only thing that links them is a shared obsession with a mysterious woman called Paula. For Dr Bloom, the stories told by their families are disturbingly familiar. She has seen this all before. She is sure that this charismatic, charming woman is the leader of a cult. She begins investigating the Artemis community but is met with walls of secrecy. Which leaves only one option. The Hunt is by Leona Deakin

Outbreak is by Frank Gardner. Deep within the Arctic Circle, three environmental scientists from the UK's Arctic Research Station trudge through a blizzard landscape in search of shelter. There's a cabin ahead. It appears abandoned. No lights or tell-tale smoke. No snowmobile parked outside.The first thing the team's medic, Dr Sheila Mackenzie, notices when she enters is the smell. It's rank, rotting, foetid. Then suddenly there's movement. A figure, barely recognisable as human, lies slumped on a sofa, his face staring back at her in the torchlight. It's hideously disfigured by livid pustules, rivulets of blood run from his nostrils, his chest covered in black bile. Momentarily Dr Mackenzie can't comprehend what she's seeing. Then the alarm bells begin to ring. These are the signs of chronic, deadly infection . . .But the man is trying to say something. She edges closer to him, and it's then that the convulsions begin. His body erupts into a violent fit of coughing, spewing out a toxic cocktail of blood, bile and mucus . . .Dr Mackenzie already knows it's too late. She is contaminated . . . Setting in train a terrifying chain of events that threatens millions with a deadly, man-made contagion.

Luke Truman is a junior officer on board the USS Leviathan, the most advanced and powerful warship ever built. It is an eight-hundred-foot-long submarine which, among its vast array of weaponry and secret systems, boasts a top secret “cloaking technology.” Bending light around objects to render them invisible, it is the hottest military research innovation not just in the US, but throughout the world. Now the time has come for the first large-scale trial of its effectiveness. But neither Luke nor the United States government realize the astonishing forces this experiment will unleash. What Luke discovers on board the Leviathan is that the future of our world is at a deadly tipping point and that only he will be able to stop the cascade of events which are leading them all inexorably towards doom. The Year of the Locust is by Terry Hayes.

Triple Cross is by Tom Bradby. Attempting to rebuild her shattered life in the South of France, former MI6 operative Kate Henderson receives an unexpected and most unwelcome visit from an old adversary: the UK Prime Minister. He has an extraordinary story to tell - and he needs her help. A Russian agent has come forward with news that the PM has been the victim of the greatest misinformation play in the history of MI6. It's run out of a special KGB unit that exists for one purpose alone: to process the intelligence from 'Agent Dante', a mole right at the heart of MI6 in London. Against her better judgement, Kate is forced back into the fray in a top-secret, deeply flawed and dangerous investigation. But now she's damaged goods. Her one-time allies no longer trust her. And neither do her enemies. With the stakes this high, can the truth ever come out? Or is the cost of uncovering it a price that no one, least of all Kate, can afford to pay?

June 2021

What happens to those girls who go missing? What happens to the Zoe Nolans of the world?' In the early hours of Saturday, December 17th, 2011, Zoe Nolan, a 19-year-old Manchester University student, walked out of a party taking place in the shared accommodation where she had been living for three months. She was never seen again. True Crime Story is by Joseph Knox.