I am the author of four novels and one work of non-fiction.
The first three novels, Curvy Lovebox (1997), Crumple Zone (2000), and Hooky Gear (2001), form a loose trilogy of urban tales that map out the underbelly of contemporary London using an experimental mixture of genre and voice.
With my debut novel, Curvy Lovebox, I became the first white writer to be published by the Black publishing house, The X Press. The second, Crumple Zone, is narrated by a young female teacher whose brother goes missing. The third, Hooky Gear, is told by J, a burglar whose life is falling apart, and gained a nomination for the Granta magazine’s list of 20 ‘Best of Young British Novelists’ in 2003.
The books have been widely praised for their ‘brilliantly literary’ first-person voices, their mixture of realism and humour, and their fine chronicling of urban sub-culture.
La Femme d’un Homme Qui, my fourth novel, was published in 2011 in France, in French, by Quidam, and was widely praised. One reviewer called it ‘a masterpiece’, another described it as ‘Alice in Wonderland on Lithium’.
I have contributed to short story anthologies, including:
New Writing 12 (2003)
New Writing 14 (2006),
Westside Storeys (2003),
Storeys of Memory (2001) The Wiener Library, Holocaust memorial book,
Scattered Ghosts is the non-fiction story of my Hungarian Jewish family over 200 years through war, Holocaust and Revolution, my parents having escaped to Britain in 1956. It was published in October 2013 by IB Tauris. It has been described as moving, inspiring, richly layered and an astonishing tour de force.
In addition, I have written radio plays – The Concierge and Karate Men Don’t Talk won awards at the London Radio Playwrights’ Festivals 1993 and 1994 – and wide-ranging journalism for newspapers and magazines, including a long-running series about London for The Times, reviews and features for Time Out, and a walk for the Time Out Book of London Walks Volume 2 (2001).
I regularly teach fiction, non-fiction and writing family history. I have toured with the British Council, and have participated in many spoken word and live literature events.
Bibliography
Curvy Lovebox The X Press, 1997
Crumple Zone Sceptre, 2000
Hooky Gear Sceptre, 2001
Storeys of Memory (contributor) Wiener Library, 2001
Time Out Book of London Walks Volume 2 (contributor) Penguin, 2001
New Writing 12 (contributor) British Council/Picador, 2003
Westside Storeys (contributor) The X Press, 2003
New Writing 14 (contributor) British Council/Granta, 2006
La Femme d’un Homme Qui Quidam, 2011
Scattered Ghosts I.B Tauris, 2013
A Country of Refuge (contributor) ed Lucy Popescu, Unbound 2016