Rachael Allen – författare

POETRY BOOK SOCIETY CHOICE Kingdomland is the debut poetry collection of Rachael Allen - a writer of rare vision and flair. The world she creates is suffused with surreal images and uncanny incidents. Unexplained violences and strange metamorphoses take shape in the 'glowering dusk'. And yet, all too clearly, we recognise life here on earth, its everyday griefs, dysfunctions and injustices. Where distinctions between murder and bloodletting, corruption and consumption are blurred. Where a pet tarantula or mimic octopus might find itself beside glands and processed meats. Landscapes shift and identities dissolve: 'the red bricks of the day' exist 'in a woman's chest', a human presence is 'embedded in the walls'. All appears changed, but familiar.Intercut with oblique verse fragments and a series of linked sequences, Allen blends elements of fiction and ekphrasis to create a haunting and unforgettable debut.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE FORWARD PRIZE FOR BEST COLLECTIONLONGLISTED FOR THE LAUREL PRIZEGod Complex is a sweeping and corrosive epic, a narrative poem that tells the story of the breakdown of a relationship against a backdrop of progressive environmental degradation. A grieving body moves through states of toxicity, becoming an instrument for measuring the impact of pollutants. an entwining of human and non-human, built environment and natural landscape blurs perspective and distorts logic, creating an erratic decline into disorder. Loss is divined everywhere: in human relations, in the ruptures of class and privilege, and the poisoning of the planet.It is through a purgatorial leavening of pain that the narrator comes to terms with the delicate, shifting states of the ecological systems that merge with and surround us to create new forms of being and devotion. The result is visionary - a book that vibrates with urgency and feeling.'This is a very fine book, quite unlike anything I've seen for a long time. It deserves to be read, and read again, and savoured.' Matt Merritt, Magma

Harley Quinn's journey gets even more chaotic as she falls in love and embraces her inner Super-Villain in the thrilling second book of the Harley Quinn origin trilogy.“Allen’s Harley is a fierce, righteous, brilliant, and preternaturally brave ball of chaos. I loved and feared every single minute with her.” –Dahlia Adler, author of Cool for the SummerWhen Harleen Quinzel wakes up in a hospital bed with no recollection of the past few months, she scrambles to pick up the pieces of her life. As she starts classes at Gotham University and an internship at Arkham Asylum, Harleen is determined to make her mark, getting paired with the most high-profile female inmate at Arkham—the notorious Talia al Ghūl. Talia is brilliant and fascinating, and as they spend more time together, the lines between good and bad begin to blur for Harleen. When she starts to see Talia less as a patient and more as a mentor, all of Harleen’s dark and dangerous pieces begin finding their way to the surface again. The only way to stop the terror that haunts the halls of Arkham Asylum may be to let her darkness out. . . .Follow Harleen’s rise from anxious college student to ravenous, chaotic feminist icon in the second installment of the Harley Quinn origin story.

When girls in Gotham City go missing, Harley Quinn is determined to track down their kidnapper. But the only way to outsmart a villain is to engage in a little villainy herself. Don't miss the adrenaline-racing conclusion to the Harley Quinn trilogy.In Gotham City even the heroes are wicked.Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy can't wait to cross off the final items on their summer bucket list. They still need to:Go to PrideGet mani/pedisFigure out how they can kiss without Ivy's toxic lips killing Harley. (Every relationship has its challenges!)But their to-do list gets more dangerous when young girls vanish from the streets of Gotham City. The only clues left behind are the dolls on Harley's doorstep from a mysterious sender known as the Dollmaker. The message is clear: come find me…if you dare.Award-winning author Rachael Allen delivers the fast-paced and fiercely feminist conclusion to the Harley Quinn trilogy.“Allen’s Harley is a fierce, righteous, brilliant, and preternaturally brace ball of chaos. I loved and feared every single minute with her.” –Dahlia Adler, author of Cool for the Summer

The moment Spencer meets Hope the summer before seventh grade, it’s . . . something at first sight. He knows she’s special, possibly even magical. The pair become fast friends, climbing trees and planning world travels. After years of being outshone by his older brother and teased because of his Tourette syndrome, Spencer finally feels like he belongs. But as Hope and Spencer get older and life gets messier, the clear label of “friend” gets messier, too.Through sibling feuds and family tragedies, new relationships and broken hearts, the two grow together and apart, and Spencer, an aspiring scientist, tries to map it all out using his trusty system of taxonomy. He wants to identify and classify their relationship, but in the end, he finds that life doesn’t always fit into easy-to-manage boxes, and it’s this messy complexity that makes life so rich and beautiful.

A YA romance—with a sparkling commercial voice and a dash of science—that explores a relationship over six years The moment Spencer meets Hope the summer before seventh grade, it’s something at first sight. The pair become fast friends, climbing trees and planning world travels. After years of being outshone by his older brother and teased because of his Tourette syndrome, Spencer finally feels like he belongs. But as Hope and Spencer get older and life gets messier, the clear label of “friend” gets messier, too. Through sibling feuds and family tragedies, new relationships and broken hearts, the two grow together and apart, and Spencer, an aspiring scientist, tries to map it all out using his trusty system of taxonomy. He wants to identify and classify their relationship, but in the end, he finds that life doesn’t always fit into easy-to-manage boxes, and it’s this messy complexity that makes life so rich and beautiful.