A North Tyneside author is coming back to the coast for a double book launch on Thursday November 10.
Award-winning novelist and journalist Daniel James is having a homecoming event to celebrate the release of a special edition of his cult debut novel, The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas , and a brand new essay collection entitled Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing , which is released on November 8. His debut novel was originally released in 2018 but was reprinted in 2022 with additional material, and named among the best new crime fiction by The Times in May 2022.
Described as a biography crossed with a novel and centred around a journalist's search for the truth about the famously reclusive missing British artist Ezra Maas, it was also nominated for The Guardian's Not The Booker Prize. It has also been placed in the permanent collection of The Library of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, the biggest library in the United States.
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The disappearance of the enigmatic artist at the heart of the story, who was a contemporary of Andy Warhol, is still regarded as one of the art world's biggest mysteries. And the Cullercoats author's next book, Nothing Is More Real Than Nothing, features fifteen essays, fragments and short fictions by guest authors, academics and authors all on the subject of Ezra Maas who disappeared at the height of his fame in the 1970s.
Former Whitley Bay High School and Valley Gardens Middle School pupil Daniel is excited to bring both books "home", saying it will be a special feeling to return to the coast for his first book event on home turf in more than three years. He will be joined at Whitley Bay Library on Thursday November 10 by American Studies academic Professor Brian Ward and special guest Matt Cook, author of Life on Other Planets .
Daniel said: " It’s always a special feeling to come back for a book event on the coast and I’m really looking forward to the event at the library next week. Libraries are so important, now more than ever, and I’m very grateful to North Tyneside Libraries for their ongoing support.
"It’s great to have two small independent businesses like Kork Wine & Deli and The Bound bookshop involved in next week’s event too. I’m a big supporter of local businesses and I can’t imagine a better way to launch my new book than on the coast."
The Ezra Maas Launch Event with Daniel James will be held at Whitley Bay library at 7pm on Thursday November 10 followed by an afterparty at Kork Wine & Deli on Whitley Road. To find out more about the event, click here.
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