Aerth
Aerth, a novella about a young man who travels from ice-bound planet Aerth to its dark twin, Urth, was long listed for the Bath Novella-in-Flash Award in 2019, and has appeared on competition shortlists and semi-finalist lists three times. It is joint winner of the Weatherglass Inaugural Novella Award and will be published in January 2025. You can buy Aerth from the publishers Weatherglass Books or from any bookshop.
Some reviews:
"This novella, so concisely written, is a triumph: both an intelligent sci-fi thriller and a thought-provoking parable." Luke Kennard, novelist and poet (Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph, January 2025)."Moving and thought-provoking, this is a memorable debut from a writer to watch." Lisa Tuttle, novelist, (The Guardian, January 2025)
"Deep-forged, witty and resonant, this dimensionally stunning novella deals with dystopia and hope in a way that reveals them as profoundly related." Ali Smith, novelist, 2024
“I just fell in love with this very odd story…I hope a lot of people read this novel…One of the best books I’ve read in a long time…part science fiction, part dystopia, part coming of age story, it is so unique.” Eric Karl Anderson, The Lonesome Reader, book reviewer. 27/12/24; 5/1/25
"Aerth is a rare gift of a novel, tender but powerful, infinitely generous despite its slender page count." Peter Birchenough, Stanfords Bristol. December 2024.“How do we get a fix on home? We leave it, of course. In this splendid novel, we leave it for two parallel homes, two variants on Earth, each familiar in different, troubling ways. AERTH reminds us of Ursula K Le Guin's anthropological science fiction and the interplanetary melancholy of THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, yet it is entirely its own vision: a deeply felt story of exile and loss and recovery. Brimming with humour and ecological wisdom, it's one of those books you look forward to reading as soon as you've read it.” Gregory Norminton, novelist, December 2024.
"A radical imagining of alternate worlds, Aerth is a compelling indication of what is possible when the delights of genre writing (in this case speculative / science-fiction and climate fiction) are fused with the innovative form of the novella-in-flash." Michael Loveday, author of Unlocking the Novella-in-Flash (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2022)."Deborah Tomkins' prize-winning novella skilfully explores important contemporary issues in an illuminating way ...this book allows us to reflect deeply on our current world situation and the stark choices available to us. Highly recommended." Jude Higgins, Director, Flash Fiction Festival.
The Wilder Path
My novel The Wilder Path is joint winner of the Virginia Prize for Fiction, and will be published in May 2025. It explores personal and climate grief through the eyes of an older woman, but at its heart is love, for you only grieve what you love. Under various titles - titles are so tricky! - and also in various drafts, it was long listed in the Mslexia Novel Award (2015), was a Finalist in the Siskiyou Prize for New Environmental Literature (2018), shortlisted in the Yeovil Novel Prize (2019), long listed in the Eludia Award (2020), and for the Pageturner Award in 2022. You can preorder The Wilder Path from the publishers Aurora Metro Books or from any bookshop.
Other work
In 2010 I finished my first novel, which followed three generations in a rapidly warming Britain in the 21st century. It was far too long, at 130,000 words, but it was also fast outpaced by events. We are now seeing the type of flooding, heat waves, droughts and the beginnings of migration that this book explored, much earlier than had been predicted by climate scientists, geologists and others. This book has not been published.
My first novella, I Married a Wife, is the story of a lively young woman married to a staid middle-aged man, who gets more than he bargained for. It's in the form of linked flash fictions, and was longlisted in the Bath Novella-in-Flash Award 2018, and also longlisted in Ellipsiszine's Ellipsis Flash Collection Competition 2023.
My work-in-progress, another novel, is the story of a teenage boy drawn into an eco-fascist movement.
