Kitty Fitzgerald Knihy

Hailed as a "tour de force" (Los Angeles Times) and a "surprisingly sweet story" (Entertainment Weekly), Kitty Fitzgerald's Pigtopia is a spellbinding debut, featuring one of the most singular characters to come along since Christopher Boone in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Society has rejected Jack Plum. Born with a disfigurement, he is labeled either a monster or an imbecile by his abusive mother and thoughtless neighbors. But Jack has created a haven, his "pigtopia," a shelter where Jack hides from the world with his beloved pet pigs. Then Jack meets Holly Lock, a sensitive young teenager who lives nearby, and offers her a piglet. Together they forge an unlikely and beautiful friendship, until society and fate intervene and Jack's secret world is threatened by forces beyond his control. In language of stunning beauty, Kitty Fitzgerald has created a startling original world with characters that will capture your imagination and your heart.

'Root' is a collection of short stories which re-affirm the North-East's status as a vibrant area for new writing. The subjects of the 13 stories on show here range from the domestic - family relationships, gardening, bullying, adoption and loss - to the plain bizarre.