When street-savvy London stray Archie accidentally stows away on a flight to Turkey, he’s just looking for shelter. But after stumbling onto a fishing boat in a quiet cove, Archie discovers he’s no ordinary feline – for with his polydactyl paws, he brings uncanny good fortune to vessels at sea.

From the sun-drenched harbours of the Mediterranean to the bustling decks of ocean racers, Archie becomes a legend among sailors. Yet beneath the viral fame and whispered tales of ‘the magical ship’s cat’, Archie yearns for something deeper: a forever-human who will love him not as a talisman, but as a companion.

It may be luck that drives Archie on this great Odyssey around the world, but love will be what calls him home – not to some place, perhaps, but to someone.

Heartwarming, adventurous and quietly profound, The Ship’s Cat is a tale of resilience, belonging, unexpected friendship and the mysterious ways love finds us.

Winner of The People’s Book Prize 2017

Beryl Bainbridge Award for Best First Time Author

Library Cat, the resident cat of the University of Edinburgh’s Main Library, is not like other cats. He is a thinking cat. You can tell by the canny glint in his eye, his disdainful whiskers and his unrelenting interest in books and piles of paper.

This is the Library Cat’s story. Join him as he adventures away from his favourite turquoise library chair and his preferred food (bacon rind) to go out into the big, bad world. Meet his cousins, Biblio Chat and Saaf Landan Tom; swoon during his brief encounter with the elusive Puddle Cat and hold your breath amidst his run-in with the terrifying Black Dog.

Part whimsy, part cat-borne philosophical novella, this is a tale about Library Cat’s search for meaning in a confounding world. But it’s about us Humans, too. Because with his black and white head bobbing a foot off the ground, Library Cat has seen Humans from a very different angle…

And he thinks we have it all wrong.

Winner of The People’s Book Prize 2017

Beryl Bainbridge Award for Best First Time Author 

Early morning, 1902. At 7/7 Marchmont Crescent, Eilidh the charlady tips coal into a fire grate and sets it alight. Overhearing, Grimalkin the cat ambles over to curl up against the welcome heat and lick his favourite human’s hand.

But this is to be his last day on earth . . . before he becomes The Ghost Cat. Follow Grimalkin as he witnesses the changes of the next 120 years, prowling unseen among the inhabitants of an Edinburgh tenement, while unearthing some startling revelations about the mystery of existence and the endless march of time.

A beautifully written cat’s-eye view of some 120 years of Edinburgh history. Prepare to be enchanted.

— Simon Brett OBE, author of the Mrs Pargeter series

The Ghost Cat is an Edinburgh delight: “mizzle-ridden” days were made for books like this!

— Lucy Ribchester, author of The Hourglass Factory

Pure Bliss

— Catherine Simpson, author of One Body