Fast-paced debut novel based on city's fair draws rave reviews

Simon Bristow

THE debut novel of a writer from Hull is set to send the literary world into a spin with a drama set around Hull Fair. Russ Litten, 41, has signed a one-book deal with Britain’s biggest selling book publisher Random House.

Scream if You Want To Go Faster will be published early next year under the William Heinemann imprint and is already attracting rave reviews.

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Set over the final two days of the fair with the 2007 floods as a backdrop, the book is a fast-paced journey around the lives of a dozen characters linked together through 10 interwoven stories.

It has been praised for its range and the authenticity of its voices.

Random House editor Drummond Moir said: “I took it home and sat and read it from start to finish and that’s something I do a couple of times a year. I just completely loved it. There’s a...wonderful blend of very moving and poignant moments and very hard-hitting, gritty bits. There’s a lot of aggression and tension, but it’s not a nasty, violent novel.”

Mr Litten, a former musician and advertising copywriter who has also written scripts for the film director Guy Ritchie.

Mr Litten will be reading from the book at the Humber Mouth literature festival in June.

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