Winner of the 2016 International Dylan Thomas Prize and the Sunday Times/Peter, Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year award and shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the Goldsmiths Prize.

‘Amazing and unforgettable.’ THE TIMES
‘Dazzlingly good.’ ROBERT MACFARLANE
‘Unlike anything I’ve read before.’ GUARDIAN
‘Captivating, poetic, and surprising.’ CILLIAN MURPHY

In a London flat, two young boys face the unbearable sadness of their mother’s sudden death. Their father, a Ted Hughes scholar and scruffy romantic, imagines a future of well-meaning visitors and emptiness.

In this moment of despair they are visited by Crow – antagonist, trickster, healer, babysitter. This sentimental bird is drawn to the grieving family and threatens to stay until they no longer need him.

This extraordinary debut, full of unexpected humour and emotional truth, marks the arrival of a thrilling and significant new talent.

In this moment of despair they are visited by Crow – antagonist, trickster, healer, babysitter. This sentimental bird is drawn to the grieving family and threatens to stay until they no longer need him.

As weeks turn to months and the pain of loss gives way to memories, the little unit of three starts to heal.

Max Porter’s extraordinary debut – part novella, part polyphonic fable, part essay on grief – marked the arrival of a thrilling new literary talent. This stunning hardback replicates the author’s personal first edition to celebrate ten years of a contemporary classic.

This is the story of a few strange hours in the life of a teenage boy.

He is wandering into the night listening to the voices in his head: his teachers, his parents, the people he has hurt and the people who are trying to love him.

He is feeling a little sorry for himself.

Shy is a novel about imagination, guilt and boyhood. It is about being lost in the dark, and realising you are not alone.

‘Contemporary fiction’s bard of ugly beauty and exultant despair.’ NEW YORKER
‘An act of humanity and grace, heightened by its distinctive form and artistry.’ TELEGRAPH

Max Porter’s book Shy was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 08-04-2023

‘Max Porter is one of my favourite writers in the world.’ George Saunders
‘Beautiful and haunting.’ Kevin Barry
‘The strangest, most beguiling and affecting of all his books.’ Ian Rankin
‘A miracle of language.’ Irish Times

This is the story of a few strange hours in the life of a troubled teenage boy.

You mustn’t do that to yourself Shy. You mustn’t hurt yourself like that.

He is wandering into the night listening to the voices in his head: his teachers, his parents, the people he has hurt and the people who are trying to love him.

Got your special meds, nutcase?

He is escaping Last Chance, a home for ‘very disturbed young men’, and walking into the haunted space between his night terrors, his past and the heavy question of his future.

‘An act of humanity and grace, heightened by its distinctive form and artistry.’ Telegraph

‘A little masterpiece.’ Irish Times

‘Luminous.’ Observer

‘One of our most exciting writers.’ The Spectator

Madrid. Unfinished. Man dying.

A great painter lies on his deathbed. In seven extraordinary written pictures, untethered from reality, Max Porter translates the explosive final workings of the artist’s mind.

Unfinished.

Man Dying.

A great painter lies on his deathbed.

Max Porter translates into seven extraordinary written pictures the explosive final workings of the artist’s mind.

‘Books this good don’t come along very often.’ Maggie O’Farrell

‘A magically beguiling work, a triumph.’ Financial Times

‘A thing of total joy . . . thrums with rhythm and life.’ Observer

Not far from London, there is a village.

This village belongs to the people who live in it and to those who lived in it hundreds of years ago. It belongs to England’s mysterious past and its confounding present.

It belongs to families dead for generations, and to those who have only recently moved here, such as the boy Lanny, and his mum and dad.

But it also belongs to Dead Papa Toothwort, who has woken from his slumber in the woods. Dead Papa Toothwort, who is listening to them all.

‘Startling, moving and overwhelming . . . Wonderful.’ Daily Telegraph

‘A devastating, disquieting and exhilarating book.’ Psychologies

‘Stunning and deeply affecting.’ Nathan Filer

‘A remarkable feat of literary virtuosity.’ Sunday Times

Max Porter’s book Lanny was a #6 Sunday Times Bestseller w/c 04-03-2019
Max Porter’s book Lanny was a #6 Sunday Times Bestseller w/c 11-03-2019