Oxblood

**Winner of the 2022 Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award****Longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize 2022**‘Oxblood shows us that there are few places literature can’t take us, if the writer is brave enough, and gifted enough’ FRANCIS SPUFFORD'The master of northern noir' SUNDAY TIMES'Brilliant' DENISE MINA 'An absolute triumph' GUARDIAN'Powerful and so beautifully written' HARRIET TYCEWythenshawe, South Manchester. 1985. The Dodds family once ruled Manchester’s underworld; now the men are dead, leaving three generations of women trapped in a house haunted by violence, harbouring an unregistered baby and the ghost of a murdered lover.Over the course of a few days, Nedra, Carol and Jan must each confront the true legacy of the men who have defined their lives; and seize the opportunity to break the cycle for good.‘If I read a better novel than Oxblood in 2022, it’ll be a blinding year for fiction’ JOSEPH KNOX'A propulsive, bountiful, fearless work of art' OYINKAN BRAITHWAITE'One of the most powerful and urgent writers of our times' DAVID PEACE

With a brutal yet compassionate honesty, Oxblood confronts the past as it was and how it shapes who we are now, and confirms Tom Benn as one of the most powerful and urgent writers of our times, The master of northern noir, A rich archive of bygone badness, An astonishing piece of work. Captures the stories of three women from an underworld family with ferocious honesty and compassion. Audacious writing - visceral, rich and intense. Unforgettable characters haunted by violence and grief. Exceptional, Oxblood shows us that there are few places literature can’t take us, if the writer is brave enough, and gifted enough

Tom Benn’s first novel The Doll Princess was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Portico Prize, and longlisted for the CWA’s John Creasey Dagger. Benn’s creative nonfiction has appeared in the Paris Review and he won the BFI’s iWrite scheme for emerging screenwriters. His first film Real Gods Require Blood premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Best Short Film at the BFI London Film Festival. Oxblood was awarded the 2022 Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award and was longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize. Originally from Stockport, he teaches on the UEA Crime Fiction Creative Writing MA and lives in Norwich.@TomBenn

Book Partnerships

For the Fans