Scarlett Thomas – författare

Stories are everywhere...Exploring the great plots from Plato to The Matrix and from Tolstoy to Toy Story, this is a book for anyone who wants to unlock any narrative and learn to create their own. With startling and original insights into how we construct stories, this is a creative writing book like no other. It will show you how to read and write better.

'Bright Young Things wanted for Big Project.'They're in the prime of their lives but our bright young things are all burnt out. Six sparky twenty-somethings just out of university and working dead-end jobs, they are all bored to tears with their lives and looking for a way out. When a mysterious job is advertised in the newspaper, they all apply. What they least expect is to find themselves prisoners on a deserted island. There's food in the fridge and they have a bedroom each, but there's no telephone, no television, and no way to escape.

** A WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH **WHAT DARK SECRETS WAIT TO BE UNCOVERED WHEN YOU CHECK IN TO THE VILLA ROSA…?The scintillating new novel from the author of The End of Mr Y‘Clever, emotionally resonant, packed with startling twists and dark turns and very funny indeed, this is fiction roaring on all cylinders.’ Guardian'Gloriously dark and tangled . . . clever . . . I highly recommend it.' Observer'A dark, twisty, savagely humorous plunge into a cauldron of toxic relationships . . . as well as a mystery loaded with menace, this is a smart, layered, stinging look at power and its abuse.' The TimesOne of the Daily Telegraph's '20 Best New Crime Thrillers to Read this Summer', 2024Still reeling from the chaos of their wedding, Evelyn and Richard arrive on an idyllic Greek island for their honeymoon. It’s the end of the season and out at sea a storm is brewing.They check in to an exclusive hotel, the Villa Rosa, where the proprietor Isabella — a strangely intense woman of indeterminate accent — flirts outrageously with Richard while treating Evelyn with a rudeness bordering on contempt. Isabella tells them the story of 'the sleepwalkers': a couple who stayed at the hotel the year before and drowned in a tragic and unexplained accident. It starts to feel like the entire island is obsessed with 'the sleepwalkers', but what at first seems like a fun tale to tell before bed quickly evolves into a living nightmare. Caught in a web of deception and intrigue, where nothing and nobody are quite what they seem, Evelyn and Richard discover that their island paradise may in fact be hell on earth and that their only means of escape is to confront dark truths about themselves and those they love. Exhilarating, suspenseful, and subversively funny, in The Sleepwalkers Thomas takes elements of Daphne Du Maurier and Patricia Highsmith and blends them with her own unique sensibility to create an unforgettable thriller of rare intelligence that cements her reputation as the most exciting and original author of her generation.‘Muriel Spark’s disreputable niece.’ Spectator ‘She's a genius.’ Douglas Coupland ‘Thomas has the mesmerising power of a great story teller.’ Financial Times ‘One of the most startling, unpredictable writers of her generation.’ Scotsman

** A WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH **WHAT DARK SECRETS WAIT TO BE UNCOVERED WHEN YOU CHECK IN TO THE VILLA ROSA…?The scintillating new novel from the author of The End of Mr Y‘Clever, emotionally resonant, packed with startling twists and dark turns and very funny indeed, this is fiction roaring on all cylinders.’ Guardian'Gloriously dark and tangled . . . clever . . . I highly recommend it.' Observer'A dark, twisty, savagely humorous plunge into a cauldron of toxic relationships . . . as well as a mystery loaded with menace, this is a smart, layered, stinging look at power and its abuse.' The TimesOne of the Daily Telegraph's '20 Best New Crime Thrillers to Read this Summer', 2024Still reeling from the chaos of their wedding, Evelyn and Richard arrive on an idyllic Greek island for their honeymoon. It’s the end of the season and out at sea a storm is brewing.They check in to an exclusive hotel, the Villa Rosa, where the proprietor Isabella — a strangely intense woman of indeterminate accent — flirts outrageously with Richard while treating Evelyn with a rudeness bordering on contempt. Isabella tells them the story of 'the sleepwalkers': a couple who stayed at the hotel the year before and drowned in a tragic and unexplained accident. It starts to feel like the entire island is obsessed with 'the sleepwalkers', but what at first seems like a fun tale to tell before bed quickly evolves into a living nightmare. Caught in a web of deception and intrigue, where nothing and nobody are quite what they seem, Evelyn and Richard discover that their island paradise may in fact be hell on earth and that their only means of escape is to confront dark truths about themselves and those they love. Exhilarating, suspenseful, and subversively funny, in The Sleepwalkers Thomas takes elements of Daphne Du Maurier and Patricia Highsmith and blends them with her own unique sensibility to create an unforgettable thriller of rare intelligence that cements her reputation as the most exciting and original author of her generation.‘Muriel Spark’s disreputable niece.’ Spectator ‘She's a genius.’ Douglas Coupland ‘Thomas has the mesmerising power of a great story teller.’ Financial Times ‘One of the most startling, unpredictable writers of her generation.’ Scotsman

The scintillating new novel from the author of The End of Mr YPatricia Highsmith meets White Lotus in this compulsive and brilliant gothic thriller‘Like a darker, funnier The White Lotus, The Sleepwalkers is horrifying in the best possible way. I loved every moment of it.’ James Smythe  ‘The Sleepwalkers is brilliant, savage and hilarious. The voice is so strong and so distinctive from the get-go, so bold and pitilessly funny. There is no whingeing here, just a fearless takedown which I read through in a single streak of pure delight. This is Scarlett's best yet, and I don't say that lightly.’ Bidisha Mamata‘Muriel Spark’s disreputable niece’ Spectator Still reeling from the chaos of their wedding, Evelyn and Richard arrive on a tiny Greek island for their honeymoon. It’s the end of the season and a storm is imminent. Determined to make the best of it, they check into the sun-soaked doors of the Villa Rosa. Already feeling insecure after seeing the 'beautiful people,' the seemingly endless number of young models and musicians lounging along the Mediterranean, Evelyn is wary of the hotel’s owner, Isabella, who seems to only have eyes for Richard.Isabella ostensibly disapproves of every request Evelyn makes, seemingly annoyed at the fact that they are there at all. Isabella is also preoccupied with her chance to enthral the only other guests — an American producer named Marcus and his partner Debbie — with the story of 'the sleepwalkers,' a couple who had stayed at the hotel recently and drowned. Everyone seems to want to talk about the sleepwalkers, but  what at first seemed eccentric, decorative, or simply ridiculous, becomes a living nightmare. Evelyn and Richard are separated the night of the storm and forced to face dark truths, but it’s their confessions around the origins of their relationship and the years leading up to their marriage that might save them.Exhilarating, suspenseful, and subversively funny, The Sleepwalkers asks urgent questions about relationships, sexuality, and the darkest elements of contemporary society — where our most terrible secrets are hidden in plain sight.‘She's a genius’ Douglas Coupland  ‘Thomas has the mesmerising power of a great story teller.’ Financial Times  ‘One of the most startling, unpredictable writers of her generation’ Scotsman

The mind-expanding new thriller from the bestselling author of The Sleepwalkers and The End of Mr. YHe’s running for his life. And he’s running out of time.On a sun-soaked Greek island, Jay is on the run. He’s been hunted since he was twenty years old: a contract on his life traded like a commodity, rising and falling with the price of Bitcoin. Stranded with no passport, loyalty points as his only currency and an assassin in hot pursuit, Jay’s only hope is to escape on a catamaran with a crew on their way to perform an exorcism on a dictator’s private island. When it becomes clear that his shipmates are even more dubious than they first seemed, Jay has to run again – this time into the arms of the beautiful Ellie, who is either his doom or his salvation. Caught in a web of high-finance, con-artists, the Book of Jonah and ultramarathons, Jay will have to choose between love and survival, and run for his life!Darkly funny, sexy, exciting, philosophical and enthralling, The Runner is an unmissable literary treat from Britain’s most exciting novelist.Praise for Scarlett Thomas‘Muriel Spark’s disreputable niece’ Spectator ‘She's a genius’ Douglas Coupland‘Fiction roaring on all cylinders’ Guardian‘Gloriously dark and tangled’ Observer‘A dark, twisty, savagely … a smart, layered, stinging look at power and its abuse’ The Times‘A work of peculiar, gonzo genius' The New York Times‘Like a darker, funnier The White Lotus’ James Smythe ‘Brilliant, savage and hilarious' Bidisha Mamata'A twisty Gothic tale of vertiginous depths and haunting power' Sandra Newman‘Ingenious and original’ Philip Pullman

The mind-expanding new thriller from the bestselling author of The Sleepwalkers and The End of Mr. Y He’s running for his life. And he’s running out of time.Jay has been hunted since he was twenty years old. A contract on his life has been traded like a commodity, rising and falling with Bitcoin. On the run once again, with no passport, and airmiles as his only currency, Jay will have to choose between love and survival, and run for his life!The Runner is a high concept literary thriller featuring high-finance, con-artists, the Book of Jonah, ultramarathons and how falling in love can change everything.Darkly funny, sexy, exciting, philosophical and thrilling, The Runner is the most gripping and intelligent novel you will read in 2026.Praise for Scarlett Thomas‘Fiction roaring on all cylinders’, GuardianGloriously dark and tangled', Observer'A dark, twisty, savagely … a smart, layered, stinging look at power and its abuse', The Times‘A work of peculiar, gonzo genius', The New York Times‘Like a darker, funnier The White Lotus’ James Smythe ‘Brilliant, savage and hilarious', Bidisha Mamata'A twisty Gothic tale of vertiginous depths and haunting power' Sandra Newman, author of Julia'Ingenious and original', Philip Pullman

IF YOU HAD SECRET MAGICAL POWERS, HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?After the Worldquake, Effie knows about magic - time in her grandfather's library has made sure of that. But there's still much she has to learn. About the Otherworld. And about the Diberi, a secret organisation with plans to destroy the entire universe.Effie and her school-friends are the only ones who can stop them . . . and time is running out.

Alice Butler has been receiving some odd messages - all anonymous, all written in code. Are they from someone at PopCo, the profit-hungry corporation she works for? Or from Alice's long lost father? Or has someone else been on her trail? The solution, she is sure, will involve the code-breaking skills she learned from her grandparents and the key she's been wearing round her neck since she was ten. PopCo is a grown-up adventure of family secrets, puzzles, big business and the power of numbers.

THERE IS MAGIC BEYOND THE REALWORLD . . .When Effie and Maximilian both mysteriously vanish, friends Raven, Lexy and Wolf don't know where to turn for help. Effie is in deep danger and she's running out of time. To make things worse, Raven's mother is caught up in a plot with the ruthless billionaire Albion Freake, who will stop at nothing to become invincible.Can the school-friends save Effie and Maximilian and stop Albion Freake's deadly plan, before it's too late?

EVERYTHING IS MADE OF MAGIC . . .Effie Truelove and friends Lexy, Wolf, Maximilian and Raven must use their magical skills to defeat the Diberi, a corrupt organisation intent on destroying the worlds at Midwinter. But during a visit to the Otherworld, Effie is mistaken and imprisoned for being a galloglass - a dangerous, selfish islander.Can Effie and her friends reunite before total destruction is wreaked upon the universe?

A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN TIME, EVENING STANDARD and METROWhen Tash, daughter of a Russian oligarch, is sent to an English boarding school, she is new to the strange rituals of the girls there. Theirs is a world of strict pecking orders, eating disorders and Instagram angst.While she spends her time with the other girls at the lake and the stables, a hand-picked few are invited to join the Headmaster at his house for extra lessons. Then her friend Bianca mysteriously vanishes, and quickly the routines of her dorm-mates seem darker and more alien than ever before. Oligarchy is the fierce new novel about power, privilege and peer pressure from the bestselling author of The End of Mr. Y.

'Hugely enjoyable' Observer'Wickedly funny' The TimesWhen Tash, daughter of a Russian oligarch, is sent to an English boarding school, she is new to the strange rituals of the girls there. Theirs is a world of strict pecking orders, eating disorders and Instagram angst.While she spends her time at the lake and the stables, a few hand-picked girls are invited to join the Headmaster at his house for extra lessons. Then her friend Bianca mysteriously vanishes, and the routines of her dormmates seem darker and more alien than ever before.

'Ingenious and original' Philip PullmanIf you knew a book was cursed, would you still read it?When Ariel Manto uncovers a copy of The End of Mr. Y in a second-hand bookshop, she can't believe her eyes. She knows enough about its author, the outlandish Victorian scientist Thomas Lumas, to know that copies are exceedingly rare. And, some say, cursed.With Mr. Y under her arm, Ariel finds herself thrust into a thrilling adventure of love, sex, death and time-travel.

Could a story save your life?If Kelsey Newman's theory about the end of time is true, we are all going to live forever. But who would want that?Certainly not Meg, a bright spark trapped in a hopeless relationship. But if she can work out the connection between a wild beast on Dartmoor, a ship in a bottle, the science of time and a knitting pattern for the shape of the universe, she might just find a way out.