Our Authors
Keith Gray
Keith was brought up in Grimsby and as a child tried to avoid books. Teachers urged and parents moaned, but all in vain. Books were a necessary chore and everyone was amazed when he raced through Robert Westall’s ‘The Machine Gunners’ from cover to cover - twice. This book was the starting point, making him want to write his own stories. His first book ‘Creepers’ was published when he was 24 and it was shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Award. He has since written ten books including Warehouse (also shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Award and winner of the Angus Book Award), ‘Malarkey’ (shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize and winner of the South Lanarkshire Book Award) and for younger readers ‘The Runner’ (winner of a Smarties Silver Medal). He lectured for two years in Creative Writing at the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside, where he enjoyed working with people who shared the same interests and ambitions as he has. He now lives in Edinburgh with his partner Jasmine and their parrot, Bellamy. He spends much of his time visiting schools to pass on his love of books and writing, as well as reviewing teenage fiction for the Guardian and the Scotsman.
You can’t help thinking if there were more authors like Keith Gray, more teenagers woudl read.
The Herald
Books by Keith Gray
Ostrich Boys
Kenny, Sim and Blake are about to embark on a remarkable journey. Stealing the urn that contains the ashes of their best friend Ross, they set out to travel 261 miles from Cleethorpes on the English east caost to the tiny hamlet of Ross in southern Scotland. After a depressing and dispiriting funeral they feel that taking Ross to Ross will be a fitting memorial for a fifteen year-old boy who changed all their lives through his friendship. Little do they realise just how much Ross can still affect life for them even though he’s dead.
An exceptionally involving and affecting novel.
Books for Keeps
Every so often a book comes along and reminds you why you became a reviewer in the first place. You find something special and the urge to tell everyone else all about it simply spills out of you. ‘Ostrich Boys’ is such a book...this book isn’t schmaltzy, or saccharine. It’s perfect. Right from the title ‘Ostrich Boys’ inhabits the teenage emotional landscape with unerring precision and great sensitivity...It’s beautifully plotted...I’m in awe at the intelligence behind the structure, with little pieces of the puzzle slotting into palce at just the right moment. I can’t think of a word that was wasted.
The Bookbag
Keith Gray is an exceptional writer for teens. In ‘Ostrich Boys’ he applies his light touch to big themes, as a bunch of 15 year-olds take revenge on the people who made the life of their friend Ross a misery and then showed up at his funeral. Funny, page-turning and profound.
The Sunday Times
World Rights: Random House Children’s Books
The Fearful
In 1699 William Milullem took five children to Lake Mou, but only William returned. He claimed that a terrifying creature rose from the lake and devoured the boys. But did it? And if it all happened so long ago, does it really matter to anyone nowadays anyway? Every day Tim Milullem watches the dark waters, looking for a sign. Because if the stories are true, if the dragon in the lake is real, then according to legend he’s the only one who can stop if from killing again. ‘The Fearful’ is a story about Faith, about why some people believe in things they’ve never seen and about a society’s intolerance towards others’ beliefs. But at its heart it’s a tale of a father and son trying to understand each other’s ways.
An engrossing and unsettling fantasy...Gray weaves a complex and haunting story at the heart of which is a searching exploration of personal courage.
The Herald
World Rights: Random House Children’s Books
Malarkey
John Malarkey is the wrong person in the wrong place and the wrong time. Up to his neck in it, he’s still trying to figure out why. All he knows is that Brook High is no place for a conscience, the teachers don’t run the school, and he’s only got twenty-four hours to prove his innocence.
This without doubt is Gray’s best novel to date. Opening with a breathless chase, it doesn’t let up for a second.
The Scotman
World Rights: Random House Children’s Books
Warehouse
Located in the dockland of a small northern town, the warehouse is a refuge for young people who have slipped through society’s safety net. A cast of memorable characters have, for various reasons, found themselves there. They face a struggle for survival, but for dignity too, in this gutsy, gripping and dangerous novel.
Edgy, terrific on both the grimness and the warmth of life on the margins, ‘Warehouse’ is a violent, emotionally honest and passionate story. Keith Gray controls both the dramatic story and his wholly credible characters with delicacy and conviction.
Guardian Fiction Award
World Rights: Random House Children’s Books
Happy
‘Hundreds of people want to be in a band. They all get guitars and they all play gigs and they all write songs, and they still never make it.’ There’s a big difference between being a rock star and a pop idol. Will and Danny know which they’d prefer to be. Unfortunately, mad punks, car chases and a girl called Beth threaten to shatter not just their dreams of rock stardom, but their all too precarious friendship as well.
A real roller-coaster read with lots of twists, from an excellent writer.
The Northern Echo
World Rights: Random House Children’s Books
Other Books
Before Night Falls
Creepers
Dead Trouble
From Blood: Two Brothers
Ghosting
Hunting the Cat
The Chain
£10,000
