I wrote about client red flags for @itsnicethat and @africapombo & @williamknight__ created some of the most spot on visuals to accompany it. Thanks to @aylaangelos & @jennysbrewer for the commission and everyone who submitted their horror stories - it’s a jungle out there! The feature is up today and in my stories…
Best night. Worst hangover. Thankyou to everyone who came to the book launch last night and everyone who has bought a copy or helped spread the word. The biggest ❤️❤️❤️ to @michellekane1 who made this all happen. Watching Women & Girls is out now 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳
We are so excited to announce the acquisition of ULTRA - the debut novel by @daniellepender , author of the acclaimed short story collection Watching Women and Girls. Coming Spring 2027.
ULTRA takes readers deep into the heart of a fractured nation — and a family on the brink. Set against the volatile backdrop of England during the 2024 Euros final, this powerful work of fiction marks Danielle out as a stirring voice in contemporary British literature.
Lara returns to Newcastle for her stepbrother’s wedding after four years living abroad, just as football fever grips the nation. England is on the edge: reeling from a cost-of-living crisis, surging anti-immigration sentiment, and political unrest threatening to spill into the streets. What begins as a homecoming quickly spirals into a confrontation with everything, she thought she’d left behind.
In Amsterdam, Lara built a life of comfort and clarity — a career in illustration, a stable relationship, and emotional distance from her chaotic upbringing. But Newcastle is still home, and home is complicated. There’s her sharp-edged mother, still working as a cleaner on the estate. Her ailing father, her elegant yet icy stepmother, and Wayne — the ex she never quite shook off. And looming over it all: the release of her violent stepfather from prison.
As the summer heat rises and the nation’s tensions mirror her own, Lara must navigate the minefield of past trauma, class divides, and the aching contradictions of love and loyalty. ULTRA is a raw, resonant novel about the meaning of belonging in a country — and a family — that’s constantly shifting beneath your feet.
#Ultra #DaniellePender #WatchingWomenandGirls 4thEstateBooks
Made a book with this legend and a host of incredible experts about making, growing, giving birth and looking after a baby. Co-written with @midwifemarley Birthing covers everything you can think of from IVF, finances, sex &intimacy, nutrition, looking after your physical and mental health, Black maternal health, the in-depth details of birth and post-partum life inc identity & wtf is going on with the sleeping. If you or anyone in your life are pregnant or thinking about having a baby - get a copy! Big love to @imogenfortes for the many meetings and hysterical calls. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I’ve been writing a novel about a homecoming and for the family issue of @port_magazine I delved into the books I’ve been reading around the theme - what they can tell us about the experience from the perspective of those who leave and those who stay. What leaving means for a family and the fractured dynamics. It’s an absolute banger of an issue, get a copy when you can and don’t forget to call your mam. Thankyou to @aylaangelos for the commission ❤️❤️❤️❤️
In terrible times we need strong voices of resistance and rebellion and there was none stronger than Marsha P Johnson!! 💐 So happy to working with @tourmaliiine to bring the first biography of this iconic figure to the UK in May. Tourmaline’s brilliant writing brings Marsha alive on the page through her childhood, activism, art/performance, love and friendships. Trans and non-binary people have always existed and resisted, this book honours Marsha and her legacy but it’s also incredibly Iconique 💎 Out in May - it’s gonna be the book of 2025! DM if you’d like a press proof ❤️💐❤️
New era - Riposte Editions is a collection of literary journals. Very happy to be making things with good people again including @shaz_madani who has done all of the beautiful design. Pre-orders are at the link in my bio - more events and printed gorgeousness coming soon.
