
“I started HackLand to speak specifically to LGBT+ teens, and TLC’s Free Reads is a fantastic opportunity for me to have the space to develop my work and hopefully speak to a new generation of YA readers. I want to show young readers that there is a voice out there that supports them, that understands them, and, hopefully, will inspire them to feel proud and confident in who they are, whatever their differences.” From the Introduction
“I looked at the ticket on my phone again, at the spirals spinning around the castle on the island, then looked back at the real thing. It was all starting to look so similar – that’s why I’d felt the déjà vu. Sim was right, I could see it now we were closer; metal loops spilled out of the dark edges of the old fortress, and I realised it must be Pegasus – the fastest roller coaster in the world.” Extract from ‘HackLand’ – included in the showcase
“It’s time to wake up! Some people open their eyes and are full of…
READ MORE“Above us the kilns glowed deep against the darkness of the valley sides. Mud…
READ MORE“The train journey had been long, but they had managed to entertain themselves. The…
READ MORE“The woman beside her buttons her shirt, then wheels her cart back to the…
READ MORE“Babe, its freezing. Can you get my parka? Such a straightforward request means I…
READ MORE“She knows immediately after Nothing to Declare that he isn’t there. The air in…
READ MORE“…The next station is Acton Town…Please mind the gap between the train and the…
READ MORE“Simple time keep people simple. This, that, be happy, be sad. Take books away,…
READ MORE"The ice-cubes tinkled in her glass as she took another sip. ‘What are you…
READ MORE"Mama Coleman soothed Bessie’s sore feet, massaging them from the four-mile daily walk to…
READ MORE“From Now On Everything Will Be Different tells the story of my generation. We…
READ MORE“Felicity sits at her desk, uncaps her pen, writes “Chapter 22’’ and stops. What…
READ MORE“Joanna Bromley’ is a follow-up to my feature film script titled ‘The Interesting Narrative…
READ MORE“Catrìona walked along the path beside the kirk carrying a bunch of spring flowers,…
READ MORE“Poet John Faust is suicidal. His benefits have been stopped without warning, the bailiffs…
READ MORE“It happened in flashes like a sequence of snapshots in a stop motion film…
READ MORE“Every so often Mrs. Mehta dutifully waited to do her washing after Mrs. Chadha…
READ MORE“Plucking a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, Lily was desperate for a…
READ MORE“Some things you can see coming, like when sunlight fades, dusk falls, darkness rushes…
READ MORE“I will tell God everything The sharp metal pieces Taken out of my stomach…
READ MORE“I hate flying. I heaved my bag up into the luggage compartment and clambered…
READ MORE“The curve of orange sun nudged the horizon and inched its way above the…
READ MORE“I open my eyes to see a Mexican wave of women dashing to their…
READ MORE"As soon as we leave the building he lights a cigarette and puffs hungrily.…
READ MORE“The bird swooped down over them, landing a short distance away, near the dragon.…
READ MORE“A leap away from becoming ghost. She stood erect, her bathing floral suit, sugared…
READ MORE“Priest and wise-woman have left him alone with a man whose brothers are afeard…
READ MORE“As arranged, I met with Satyan in a solitary shack found where the margins…
READ MORE“Routine was the word. I liked routine, a route to somewhere in time. A…
READ MORE"The carpet on the stairs is thin and tattered. A thousand shuffling footfalls have…
READ MORESidra stepped forward and looked out again. She looked around apprehensively. She knew she…
READ MORE“Wadud’s story was entangled in the story of his nation, bookended by the two…
READ MORE“This is the most important secret my father told me: Whenever you are lost,…
READ MORE“Noor’s mother wore black and the air was scented with gardenias when they stepped…
READ MORE“Over the previous few days, Leonie had asked Venus questions in bursts. Where was…
READ MORE“He had always felt more Scottish than Jewish. For his Barmitvah he had learned…
READ MORE"Asha walked out towards the vast water, stretching so far that it looked more…
READ MORE“She watched with her hands holding onto her knees and her legs tightly closed.…
READ MORE“All their mother’s warnings about what a dangerous place it was and how they…
READ MORE"Lorraine unlocked the car doors and they climbed in. A nervous passenger at best,…
READ MORE“Taksheel looked resigned. It was the conclusion he had reached himself but to have…
READ MORE“He’d check for signs of life in a moment. For now though, he just…
READ MORE“Miss Sowerton stopped before a black door and produced a large key. A rumbling…
READ MORE“In the centre of the square, under the American flag, a loose halyard slapped…
READ MORE“Truman wills himself awake, peacock-plume eyed, empty champagne bottle in his lap. He squints…
READ MORE“11.00pm glides on oil into midnight and 12.30 am, until Tolly finally finds the…
READ MORE“The Prime Minister’s posture looks relaxed, but if you look closely he still has…
READ MORE““I’ll get straight to the point”, said Dr. Mangan who proceeded to do no…
READ MORE"Studies show that fathers experience the same physiological response to a baby’s crying as…
READ MORE“Ever since writing my first callow lyrics aged 14, I’d been striving to develop…
READ MORE“Eli wrote every week from the Western Front, until his letters stopped arriving two…
READ MORE“I marvelled at the vastness and flatness and emptiness of the parched red desert…
READ MORE"I turned about the room, toe to toe, making the smallest circle. What I…
READ MORE“What I find interesting, he says, is that your clothing is all white, like…
READ MORE“Now the crowd was in control. Everyone clamoured to hit somewhere, anywhere but the…
READ MORE“Celia, on the other side of town, is kissing the tiny, sweet brown moles…
READ MORE“The glade was peculiarly dense around Vogel’s ungated entranceway. Pine, maple, and scrub oak…
READ MORE“Tristan did not consider himself brave. But then he did not consider himself a…
READ MORE"A cold breeze blows over my face. Then something warm an’ wet, stinking of…
READ MORE"The annual Christmas present debate was abruptly suspended. Their adored maestro, Walter Albero, PhD,…
READ MORE“Looking at the calendar of Ravidas, and the photograph beside it of the grandchildren…
READ MORE"I should have been in London, not this Essex midden swirling with pigeon-chest men…
READ MORE“In the end they settled on Caroline Rebecca, although Frances didn’t particularly like either…
READ MOREMass graves were discovered in different parts of the country. The buried were exhumed…
READ MORE"Ibimina’s husband has come once again to call. He must want something - a…
READ MORE“Behind these fences are big houses; the houses of plump-skinned people who soften their…
READ MORE“In 1542, Spanish conquistadors travelled east from the Peruvian colony of Quito, over the…
READ MOREDudec nodded. He fluttered a hand. “This could be something new!” “Rafal, when you…
READ MORE"‘That’s when I made the mistake,’ Amina exclaimed. ‘I should have taken the money…
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