Debut novels by CBC alumni we can't wait to read in 2023
BY Emily Powter-Robinson
26th Jan 2023
With January nearly over, lighter evenings aren’t all we have to look forward to as 2023 promises to be another bumper year for book releases. We've collated some of the must-read debuts by our talented former students that we can’t wait to read this year. From dark academia and gritty crime to wicked witches and historical comedy, here are the books that you should be adding to your reading lists this year.
The Things We Do To Our Friends by Heather Darwent
Order your copy (Viking, out now)
Readers won’t have to wait to get their hands on a copy of Heather Darwent’s dark academia novel, The Things We Do To Our Friends, as it was released earlier this month. Not only does it promise to appeal to fans of The Secret History and If We Were Villains, but the eye-catching neon cover will look stunning on your shelves.
Clare arrives at the University of Edinburgh with a secret. This is her chance for a blank slate – to finally become who she was meant to be. And then she meets Tabitha.
Tabitha is charismatic, beautiful and intimidatingly rich. Soon Clare is sucked into her enigmatic circle of friends and their dizzying world of champagne on rooftops and summers in France. Her new life has begun.
Then Tabitha reveals the little project they're working on, a project they need Clare's help with. And Clare can't say no. Because they know what she did...
An intoxicating feminist page-turner, this novel will take you on a journey from Edinburgh's dazzling spires to the dripping staircases and dark alleyways of its underbelly.
Heather was a student on our six-week Edit & Pitch Your Novel course and our three-month Writing Your Novel course in 2020.
Read her tips for building setting and atmosphere in your novel here.
The Circus Train by Amita Parikh
Order your copy (Sphere Publishing, out now)
The Circus Train is an atmospheric and magical story that will transport you to the wartime circus. Luckily, you won’t require any time travel in order to pick up your copy as Amita’s debut hit the shelves earlier this month. Check out our TikTok video of the UK launch here.
Deftly mixing the magic of romance and theatrical glamour with the horrors of a continent torn apart by war, Parikh's intoxicating debut centres on the wheelchair-bound daughter of an illusionist and the unexpected love she experiences as part of a travelling circus that traverses Europe in a luxury steam engine.
Europe, 1938. Even as the daughter of the extraordinary headlining illusionist, Lena Papadopoulos has never quite found her place within the World of Wonders – a travelling circus that traverses the continent in a luxury steam engine. Brilliant and curious, Lena yearns for the real-world magic of science and medicine, despite the limitations she feels in her wheelchair. But when a young French orphan, Alexandre, comes aboard the circus train, Lena's life is infused with magic and wonder for the first time.
But outside the bright lights of the circus, darkness is descending on Europe. War is about to shatter Lena's world, and take away everything she holds dear. And to recover what she has lost, Lena will have to believe in the impossible.
Amita was a former student on our six-month Writing Your Novel course in 2014.
Weyward by Emilia Hart
Pre-order your copy (Borough Press, 2 Feb 2023)
Stories of witchcraft and the supernatural have been having a renaissance moment over the past few years, and the trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Endorsed by Bridget Collins, Emilia Hart’s debut novel, Weyward, is sure to cast a spell over you.
A woman fleeing an abusive relationship heads for Weyward Cottage and makes a startling discovery about her ancestors.
Kate, 2019
Kate flees London – and her abusive partner – for Cumbria and Weyward Cottage, inherited from her great-aunt. There, a secret lurks in the bones of the house, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.
Violet, 1942
Violet is more interested in collecting insects and climbing trees than in becoming a proper young lady. Until a chain of shocking events changes her life forever.
Altha, 1619
Altha is on trial for witchcraft, accused of killing a local man. Known for her uncanny connection with nature and animals, she is a threat that must be eliminated…
Emilia was a student on our three-month Writing Your Novel course in 2020.
The Next to Die
Pre-order your copy (Wildfire, 2 Feb 2023)
If you’re after a fast-paced noir thriller, you’ll want to watch out for Elliot Sweeney’s debut novel.
Five years since his daughter's death. Now it's happening again.
Dylan Kasper is stuck. Living in self-imposed reclusion from his former life in the police, he's been in a downward spiral since his daughter's death five years ago.
All that changes when the son of an esteemed professor jumps under an inner-city train. His former colleagues call it suicide, but Kasper knows different. This has all happened before - to him, and his dead daughter.
Taking on the investigation himself, Kasper soon realises the terrible trouble young Tommy had found himself in. With nowhere to run, he thought suicide was the only way to keep his family safe.
But before long, Kasper's investigation makes him target number one. Can he keep his demons in check and stay alive long enough to bring those responsible to justice?
Elliot was awarded the HW Fisher Scholarship for his novel-in-progress (then titled Brown Eyed Girl) in 2018. He won a fully funded place on our three-month novel-writing course taught by Charlotte Mendelson in London.
Find out more about Elliot and his publishing journey.
Her by Mira V Shah
Pre-order your copy (Hodder & Stoughton, 23 Feb 2023)
Inspired by her former career as a City Lawyer, Mira V Shah’s psychological drama novel is intricately twisty and utterly addictive.
Rani has always felt like an outsider. First growing up among her white, wealthy peers. And now next to her successful, child-free friends. From the tiny rented flat she lives in with her family, she imagines being the kind of woman who owns the beautiful house across the street.
Then Natalie moves in. With her expensive clothes, adoring husband and high-powered job, she has everything Rani wants, and Rani can't help but be drawn to her new neighbour.
But as the two women strike up a friendship and begin to open up, Rani wonders - is Natalie's perfect-seeming life too good to be true?
Mira took our three-month Writing Your Novel course during lockdown in 2020.
Read all about Mira’s journey to publication.
Verge by Nadia Attia
Pre-order your copy (Profile Books, 11 May 2023)
Jump into a dystopian future and take an enthralling trip through a disunited kingdom in Nadia Attia’s debut novel.
The day Rowena Murray was born, 250 starlings fell like stones from the sky. Ever since, she has been marked by Death. First the visions; then her boyfriend died suddenly; now her father, too.
Salvation, Rowena is told, lies to the North: in Culcrith, where her grandmother can save her from the curse. Her mother's farmhand, a young Egyptian man named Halim, is to drive her.
The trip isn't easy. Rowena is rebellious, spiky, and sees bad omens everywhere; Halim is reserved, quiet and prefers to play by the rules; the land is mysterious and treacherous, with people who have married old traditions with new prejudices. The pair's battle of wills may yet develop into an alliance, if they can only let their guards down and let the wild in.
Exploring belief, loyalty and legacies beyond our control, Nadia Attia's thrilling debut is as magnetic and unpredictable as the curse Rowena is racing to escape.
Nadia took our three-month Writing Your Novel course in London in 2017.
Read about her journey to publication here.
The Unbroken Beauty of Rosalind Bone by Alex McCarthy
Pre-order your copy (Transworld, 15 Jun 2023)
Alex McCarthy’s novella is the definition of a short book which packs a punch. Beautifully lyrical with breath-taking details of the Welsh valleys, it’s a quietly devastating read.
Tucked into the Welsh valleys and encircled by silver birch and pine, the village of Cwmcysgod may appear a quiet, sleepy sort of place. But beneath the surface, tensions simmer, hearts ache, and painful truths threaten to emerge.
Sixteen-year-old Catrin Bone knows only what she has been told. Now, she is beginning to question her small world, and a version of the past that seems to entrap and embitter her reclusive mother, Mary.
Mary had a sister once, a girl of unparalleled beauty. Why did she disappear from the village in a shroud of shame all those years ago - and where is she now?
Meanwhile the Clements brothers, skint and all out of hope, run rampant across the hills and lanes. And old Dai Bevel, whose frailty masks a dark history, dreams of a girl he used to know...
The sins of the past are approaching, for it takes a village: to raise a child, to bring down a woman, to hide something monstrous and to look the other way.
Alex took our six-month Writing Your Novel course (online) in 2017, she is now represnted by Curtis Brown agent Felicity Blunt.
The Other Side of Mrs Wood by Lucy Barker
Pre-order your copy (4th Estate, 22 Jun 2023)
What do you get if you cross two competing clairvoyants with Victorian London? Lucy Barker’s historical comedy, The Other Side of Mrs Wood.
Mrs Wood is London's premier medium. She has survived the competitive world of contacting the beyond where many others have failed, has avoided the slips that revealed others as frauds and is still hosting packed-out seances with the great and the good of Victorian society.
Yet, some of her patrons have recently cancelled their appointments. There are reports of American mediums who are materialising full spirits and audiences are no longer content with the knocking on tables and candle theatrics of years gone by. And then, at one of Mrs Wood's routine gatherings, she hears something terrifying - faint, but unmistakable: a yawn.
Mrs Wood needs to spice up her brand. She decides to take on Emmie, a young protege, to join her show. But is Emmie the naive ingenue she seems to be? Or does she pose more of a threat to Mrs Wood's reign as London's most celebrated medium than Mrs Wood could ever have imagined?
Lucy Barker was a student on our six-month Writing Your Novel course in 2014 and she was a Curtis Brown First Novel Prize runner-up in 2019.
Lucy is now represented by Curtis Brown literary agent Lucy Morris. Read all about her journey to publication.
The Housekeepers by Alex Hay
Pre-order your copy (Headline, 6 Jul 2023)
Imagine Ocean’s 8 set in the Edwardian era and you’ve got The Housekeepers. With a cast of strong and memorable women, this heist novel will keep you gripped until the very last page.
Mayfair, 1905. The grandest house on Park Lane has just dismissed its housekeeper.
All manner of treasures lie behind the pillared doors - and scandalous secrets too. With the event of the season looming, nothing must go wrong.
But what no one knows is that Mrs King will be back at Park Lane on the night of the ball. She has an audacious plan in mind... and knows just who to recruit to help her clean up.
Housekeeper. Sewing maid. Kitchen girl. Thief.
Never underestimate the women downstairs.
Alex Hay was a student on our three-month Writing Your Novel course in 2015.
Read our interview with Alex and his literary agent, Curtis Brown’s Alice Lutyens.
The Revels by Stacey Thomas
Pre-order your copy (HQ, 20 Jul 2023)
Perfect for fans of Stacey Halls, Laura Purcell and Bridget Collins, historical fiction fans, run don’t walk to pre-order your copy of Stacey Thomas’, The Revels.
The stage is set and the witch-hunt is about to begin…
‘I am no witch. I have not sold my soul to the devil for powers. What I am has never openly been whispered of, yet it is enough that people would hang for it.’
England, 1645.
After his half-brother dies, aspiring playwright Nicholas Pearce is apprenticed to Judge William Percival, an infamous former witch-hunter who is under pressure to resume his old profession.
In a country torn apart by civil war, with escalating tensions between Catholics and Protestants, Royalists and Roundheads, and rumours of witchcraft, Nicholas hides a secret: the dead sing. He hears their secrets, but will he find the courage to speak up to save innocent lives, even if it means putting himself in great danger?
Stacey Thomas was awarded the Clare Mackintosh Scholarship for Black Writers in 2021. Stacey won a fully funded place on our Writing Your Novel – Six Months course taught by Simon Wroe and Cathi Unsworth.