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Published: 12th November 2024
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Published: 11th June 2024
Hardback
Published: 10th December 2024
Paperback
Published: 9th September 2025
Only Here, Only Now
By (Author) Tom Newlands
Orion Publishing Co
Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
10th December 2024
13th June 2024
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Narrative theme: Coming of age
Poverty and precarity
Family life fiction
Hardback
400
Width 160mm, Height 236mm, Spine 40mm
618g
'This isn't just a great first novel; it's a great novel. And Cora, the mad, chaotic, wise, funny narrator, is one of the great characters'
RODDY DOYLE 'It's not every day you read a modern classic. But this feels destined to become one. A thunderous achievement' NATHAN FILER, author of The Shock of the Fall'Only Here, Only Now heralds the arrival of an urgent and unique new voice'DAVID PEACE'A funny, truthful, heartbreaking yet hopeful read'JENNIE GODFREY, author of The List of Suspicious ThingsFife, in the blazing hot summer of 1994. Cora Mowat's mates don't understand her, but then Cora Mowat doesn't understand herself. She's stuck on a seaside council estate full of dafties, old folk and seagulls, with a thousand dreams and a restless brain that won't behave. She's dying to escape but unsure of what the future holds - if it holds anything at all for a girl like her. When her Mam's new boyfriend moves in, tensions rise in their tiny house. Gunner means well, but he's dodgy - a shaven-headed shoplifter with more than a few secrets stashed under the bed. As their attempts to forge a makeshift family unravel, Cora rails against her small-town existence in search of love, acceptance and a path to something good. But sometimes you can't move forward until you find your way back . . .In this extraordinary debut, drawn from life but written with riotous imagination, Tom Newlands explores what it means to come of age in a forgotten corner of Scotland and dream of a life that feels out of reach. Vibrant, lyrical and fiercely funny, Only Here, Only Now is a story about poverty, identity and family that shines with hope and resilience.'Tom Newlands is the real thing. His story will change you' MICHAEL SHEEN'A tremendous act of empathy . . . heartbreaking and hilarious' CATHI UNSWORTH, author of Weirdo'Tom Newlands's Only Here, Only Now is a piercing howl of a novel, sharp, elegant and humane. I loved it'KARL GEARY, author of Juno Loves LegsThis isn't just a great first novel; it's a great novel. And Cora, the mad, chaotic, wise, funny narrator, is one of the great characters * Roddy Doyle *
It's not every day you read a modern classic. But this feels destined to become one. A thunderous achievement * Nathan Filer, author of The Shock of the Fall *
Only Here, Only Now heralds the arrival of an urgent and unique new voice, as engaging and as startling as Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, Morvern Callar or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, and will surely be hailed as one of the great British debut novels * David Peace *
Tom Newlands is the real thing. His story will change you * Michael Sheen *
A funny, truthful, heartbreaking yet hopeful read * Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things *
Tom Newland's Only Here, Only Now is a piercing howl of a novel, sharp, elegant and humane. I loved it * Karl Geary, author of Juno Loves Legs *
A breathtaking debut from an exciting new storytelling talent. Wise, funny, tragic and hopeful.Cora and her world are heart-rendingly authentic * Christopher Brookmyre, author of Quite Ugly One Morning *
An astonishing debut, full of grit, humour and truth. I defy you not to fall in love with Cora Mowat * Katherine May, author of Wintering *
I loved Only Here, Only Now. Tender, achingly funny and full of truth * Amy Twigg, author of Spoilt Creatures *
Only Here, Only Now is one of the best debuts I've read in years. Cora Mowat is an iconic heroine, growing up against the odds; she's a feisty, Impulse-drenched, Lilt-blooded smasher of a main character and Tom Newland's prose is fierce and tender, taking us straight to the thudding heart of Cora's chaotic life. A wonderful, gut-wrenching, heart-soaring novel * Victoria MacKenzie, author of For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain *
In a tremendous act of empathy, in his debut novel Tom Newlands describes both an abandoned, neglected landscape - the small Scottish seaside town of Muircross after the collapse of the mining industry - and what it is like to be inside the mind of a young girl, Cora Mowat, who has undiagnosed ADHD. By turns heartbreaking and hilarious, this is a story of survival against grim odds, superbly spun by a narrator grappling to get to grips with both herself and the incomprehensible world around her. Cora Mowat is my kind of weirdo * Cathi Unsworth, author of Weirdo, Bad Penny Blues *
A coming-of-age novel that takes the reader inside the brilliant, fizzing mind of a teenage girl with ADHD growing up in post-industrial Scotland. Funny and fierce * BBC Culture *
Heartbreaking and hilarious . . . the story of a Scottish girl with undiagnosed ADHD, trying to make sense of the world * Daily Express *
Think Shuggie Bain. Think Trainspotting. Think The Cutting Room. You can add Tom Newlands to that list. Only Here, Only Now is the Scottish writer's debut novel and it's a brammer . . . A vivid, synesthetic piece of writing . . . What's thrilling is that the book goes in the directions you are not expecting. And at its heart there is the unmistakeable voice of this flawed, messy, anxious, kind of heroic teenage girl. The Scottish book of the summer * Herald *
Tom Newlands is a Scottish author living in London. He is the winner of a London Writer's Award and a Creative Future Writer's Award. In 2021 he was selected for New Writing North's 'A Writing Chance,' which aimed to showcase the most talented writers in the UK from under-represented backgrounds. Only Here, Only Now is his first novel.