A dark, powerful and moving short story from the internationally acclaimed author of Skellig.
A beautifully imagined story for fans of Neil Gaiman, by the dream team of bestselling author, David Almond and award-winning artist, Dave McKean. Joe Quinn tells everyone about the poltergeist in his house, but no one believes him. No one that is, except for Davie. He’s felt the inexplicable presence in the rooms, he’s seen random objects fly through the air. And there’s something else … a memory of his beloved sister, and a feeling deep down that somehow it might be possible for ghosts to exist.

‘Blurring the boundaries between text and image, child and adult, life and afterlife, Almond and McKean create a sense of the meeting point between the human and sublime.’ The Guardian

‘In the arresting style of their earlier collaborations, McLean’s visuals give life to the dark, otherworldly soul of Almond’s short story.’ The Bookseller

‘Each page is a work of art…Combining the demotic and the lyrical, Almond continues to mine the language and circumstances of his own youth, and to reveal the weighty emotional and spiritual moments of young lives.’ Sunday Times, Children’s Book of the Week

“David Almond’s brilliant books explore powerful emotions of grief and hope, the balance between the ordinary and extraordinary, reality and the supernatural. In this stunning graphic story, created with longtime collaborator Dave McKean, he draws on the death of his own baby sister, Barbara, when Almond was just seven… Set against the backdrop of Almond’s beloved Tyneside terraced streets, with troubled priests, footballing youths and broken families, the thought-provoking tale is brought vividly to life by McKean’s powerful illustrations.” The Daily Mail

Every summer Liam and Max roam the wild countryside of Northumberland – but this year things are different. One hot summer’s day a jackdaw leads the two boys into an ancient farm house where they find a baby, wrapped in a blanket, with a scribbled note pinned to it: PLESE LOOK AFTER HER RITE. THIS IS A CHILDE OF GOD.

And so begins Jackdaw Summer. A summer when friendships are tested. A summer when lines between good and bad are blurred. A summer that Liam will never forget…

‘Thought-provoking and poetic.’ The Sunday Times’ 100 Best Children’s Books

‘A rich and satisfying tale of lives turned around…sharp and snappy as well as thoughtful.’ The Observer

‘This gripping novel, beautifully crafted, is David Almond writing at the top of his game.’ Bookfest

‘A vivid and unnerving portrayal of raw adolescent emotion. As ever, Almond’s writing is lucid and accessible, and the novel’s themes of acceptance and tolerance are complex and challenging.’ The Bookseller

‘This evocative, intelligent and moving novel amounts to an essay about the potential savagery in human nature. Simultaneously poetic and down-to-earth.’  The Sunday Times

‘Almond is a master storyteller. there is more than enough in this brooding story to keep readers engrossed right up to its near-cataclysmic ending.’  The Independent

‘Almond’s writing is like the perfect outfit – it may look casual, but everything fits just right.’ The Sunday Times

‘Nobody since William Golding captures so perfectly the savage intensity that underlies the joshing of young teenage males.’ The Herald

‘One of the finest writers of children’s novels today. Jackdaw Summer is a wonderful piece of writing for children – unsettling yet poetic. Nobody evokes childhood like Almond.’ The Guardian

“That’s reet, lad! Run! There’s a wolf at your tail! Run for your lovely life!”

A joyful, uplifting story of times gone by from the internationally acclaimed author of Skellig, illustrated in full colour by the award-winning illustrator of A Walk in London. Liam just wants to go out running with his mates – it’s not long till the Junior Great North Run, and there’s training to be done. But Mam needs him today, to help old Harry clear out his house. Harry knows a thing or two about running. When he was a lad, he says, he ran all the way from Newcastle to South Shields. “But Harry,” says Mam, “that’s thirteen miles!” Harry grins. “Different times,” he says. This is the story of that day: of sweltering heat, clattering boots, briny sea air and the heavenly taste of ice cream; the day when Harry and his pals ran and ran and ran through the blazing sunlight all the way to the sea.

‘This is a wonderful book! The illustrations perfectly match the story, which gives such a strong sense of period. It eaves a lasting impression of hope for the future and belief in humanity.’ Inis Reading Guide

‘David Almond’s fluid prose flavoured with the evocative cadence of the north-east dialect enables readers to vividly experience old Harry’s account of running with three friends from Newcastle to South Shields when he was just a child.’ The Bookseller

‘…a joyful, uplifting story of times gone by from the internationally acclaimed author of Skellig, illustrated in full colour by the award-winning illustrator of A Walk in London.’ Loma Books

‘David Almond’s fast-moving tale brings the past and present together in two stories about childhood and the excitement of running. […] Salvatore Rubbino’s illustrations for this new edition capture the period and the sense of pace brilliantly.’ Guardian

An anthology of dark, powerful and moving short stories from a master storyteller and Hans Christian Andersen Award winning author, inspired by his childhood in the north-east of England.

A diverse collection of stories from the author of the internationally award-winning Skellig, deftly interwoven with illuminating autobiographical pieces on the inspirations behind the fiction. David Almond says of this unique volume, “Stories on the page are so beautifully neat. All that lovely black print; those lovely straight lines and paragraphs and pages. But stories are living things, creatures that move and grow in the imaginations of writer and reader. They must be solid and touchable, like the land, and must have fluid half-known depths, like the sea. These stories take place in a real world – but in fiction, real worlds merge with dreamed worlds. Real people walk with ghosts and figments. Earthly truth goes hand-in-hand with watery lies.”

‘The tale-behind-the-tale preludes are intriguing―perhaps especially to big fans and those interested in the writing process―but the stories themselves shine brightest here. Taylor’s illustrations cast the Almondine experience in yet another new light. This is powerful, top-notch storytelling from Almond, who seems himself to be the titular “half a creature from the sea,” in that he, as ever, fluidly blends past and future, the living and the dead, the ordinary and the transcendent.’  Kirkus Reviews

‘The work of a writer of great power, and a living insight for teenage readers into the power of imagination and the way that stories grow from seed to fruit.’ The School Librarian

‘The autobiographical notes are stories in themselves, encouraging young writers in their reminder that we all have the material for fiction a short memory away. . . As well as the living roots of the stories, the prefaces reveal where, how or why Almond wrote them, and that some have seen many drafts and may never be finished: more encouragement.’  Observer

‘If anything will encourage teenagers to start writing, it is this superb masterclass in how setting, dialogue and character can convey powerful emotions in a few words.’ Daily Mail

In Counting Stars David Almond tackles the themes common to his work – joy, darkness, love, death and identity – with exquisite sensitivity and tenderness.

David’s childhood in the north of England was the inspiration for much of his work, and in these beautiful stories he creates a tangible picture of growing up in a large Catholic family. But the sense of mystery and wonderment we have come to expect from David is also present, and it is fascinating to see the kernels of his novels revealed. A must-read for Almond fans everywhere.

‘Sparely written…this could well be Almond’s best work yet.’ The Independent

‘Some of his experiences are shocking, some uplifting, obliquely amusing, even magical; this is not light or easy reading, but few who tackle it will come away unmoved.’ Kirkus Reviews

‘A moving, perceptive collection that drifts back and forth over the shadowy border between fiction and autobiography, conjuring with brilliant clarity the elusive joys, sorrows and shames of childhood.’ The Times

‘Challenging and stunning.’ The Bookseller

‘A haunting and lyrical collection . . . intimate and personal . . . Full of emotion and sensitivity that are hard to match.’ The Bookseller

With fascination, Davie and his friend Geordie watch the arrival of a new boy, Stephen Rose, in their town. He seems to have come from nowhere, and when he arrives to live with his distant aunt, the local Crazy Mary, no one envies his new home. But perhaps he’s the answer to Davie and Geordie’s prayers – a secret weapon in their war against monstrous Mouldy and his gang.

Intrigued, Davie and Geordie befriend Stephen. But they are heading innocently down a path that brings with it a monster of an entirely unexpected nature. Their encounter with the mysterious Stephen is as incredible as it is menacing, and as the true story of Stephen’s past slowly emerges, Davie’s life is changed for ever…

‘Funny, mysterious, moving, frightening and so deftly constructed as to be fiercely compelling. This is extraordinary story telling.’ The Sunday Times

‘Both exhilarating and horrifying.’ Time Out

‘The climax of this strange miraculous, beautiful book will make it a classroom classic.’ The Times

‘This is the best that children’s fiction has to offer. Brilliant.’ The Guardian

‘His most mysterious and spellbinding work yet.’ Daily Express

An astonishing journey. Almond’s books should be compulsory reading in all secondary schools.’ Imogen Stubbs, The Daily Telegraph

‘Lilting prose and a seamless blending of primitive magic with discerning realism. … elegiac lyricism of a lament for lost innocence but punctuated by moments of sharply observed humour, this adroit and perceptive novel has both immediate appeal and long-lasting resonance.’ The Guardian

‘Another gripping read from one of the master storytellers.’  Books Quarterly

David Almond was a virtually unknown author when Cullercoats publisher IRON Press issued his first two collections of stories, Sleepless Nights (1985) and A Kind of Heaven (1997).

In 2013, as part of IRON’s 40th birthday celebrations, a selection of these short stories for adults, alongside two previously unpublished tales. were collected in Nesting.

The stories draw deeply from the Tyneside estate of Almond’s childhood, exploring the themes that would inform his later work, and displaying all the rhythm, lyricism and drive for which he is acclaimed today.

David Almond’s second collection of short stories for adults, published by IRON Press

There he was, below the bridge, half-naked, eyes blazing. He had a pair of burning torches. He ran them back and forth across his skin. He sipped from a bottle, breathed across a torch, and fire and fumes leapt from his lips. The air was filled with the scent of paraffin. He breathed again, a great high spreading flag of fire. He glared. He roared like an animal.

That summer, life had seemed perfect for Bobby Burns. But now it’s autumn and the winds of change are blowing hard. Bobby’s dad is mysteriously ill. His new school is a cold and cruel place. And worse: nuclear war may be about to start. But Bobby has a wonder-working friend called Ailsa Spink. And he’s found the fire-eater, a devil called McNulty. What can they do together on Bobby’s beach? Is it possible to work miracles? Will they be able to transform the world?

A stunning novel from the author of the modern children’s classic Skellig – winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children’s Book Award. David Almond is also winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen award.

Kit has just moved to Stoneygate with his family, to live with his ageing grandfather who is gradually succumbing to Alzheimer’s Disease. Stoneygate is an insular place, scarred by its mining history – by the danger and death it has brought them. Where the coal mine used to be there is now a wilderness.
Here Kit meets Askew, a surly and threatening figure who masterminds the game called Death, a frightening ritual of hypnotism; and Kit makes friends with Allie, the clever school troublemaker. As Kit struggles to adjust to his new life and the gradual failing of his beloved grandfather, these two friendships pull him towards a terrifying resolution. Haunted by ghosts of the past, Kit must confront death and – ultimately – life.

A stunning novel from the author of the modern children’s classic Skellig – winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children’s Book Award. David Almond is also winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen award.