Climbers

KEITH GRAY’s debut novel Creepers was published when he was only 24 and was shortlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. His subsequent books include Ostrich Boys, which was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal as well as the Costa Children’s Book Award and has been adapted for the stage, The Last Soldier, which was shortlisted for the Scottish Teen Book Awards, and The Runner, which won the Smarties Silver Medal. Keith lives with his family in Vienna, Austria, where he co-founded the writer development community Kulturverein: Sunday Writers’ Club.

"Keith Gray is a fine author for young adults, with an understanding of teenagers that rings true. This dyslexia-friendly novella, for any audience, demonstrates that a book that is brief and written in simple language can still be profound … a neatly constructed page-turner" – The Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week"Spare, brief, limpidly clear, this novella from a multi-award-winning author distils the thin-skinned, painful sensitivity of teenage boys, desperate both to stand out and fit in" – The Guardian"Keith Gray is the real deal, a writer of intelligence, toughness, and heart. The Climbers is a moving, surprising story of competition, self-awareness, friendship, and the more you look, the deeper the damn thing gets" – Patrick Ness"Gray's writing is taut and unflinching. This is a powerful punch of a book" – Marcus Sedgwick"What a magnificent writer Keith Gray is … Short and direct, yet as complex and intricate as the twisted and treacherous trees his characters ascend" – Anthony McGowan"If [Keith Gray] had been writing when I was a kid, then I would have been a reader … He understands what it means to be a teenager … The Climbers is a gem of a book" – Phil Earle"The Climbers is superb – hard-hitting, unflinching, but touched throughout by warmth and soul. Sully and Nottingham are great characters – achingly real and I was drawn right into their rivalry. Proper British teen drama of the type I adore" – Bali Rai"It's a wonderful piece of writing, in just one hundred pages giving readers extraordinary insight into these two young men and the experiences that have shaped them. Readers will recognise themselves or their classmates in Sully and Nottingham and the story is as natural, tangled and deep rooted as the trees they climb. Superb" – Andrea Reece, LoveReading4Kids