2020

Kenneth Steven is a successful poet, novelist and children's writer who has published some 25 books. His BBC Radio 4 documentary on the island of St Kilda won him a Sony Award. His previous novel, The Well of the North Wind (SPCK, 2016), was a spiritual tale set on 6th-century Iona, whilst Beneath the Ice (Saraband, 2016) tells the story of the Arctic Sami people.

“Impressive... This novel is so realistic that it is reminiscent of Orson Welles’ classic The War of the Worlds (1938) fictional radio broadcast, which many listeners believed.”—Booklist; “This complex picture of a fraught political future will leave readers unsettled by its terrifying plausibility."—Publishers Weekly, starred review; "As tightly compressed and explosive as a block of Semtex." —Robert Schenkkan, Pulitzer and Tony Award winning writer of Building the Wall; "2020 is a compelling and difficult study of the darkness and pain of societies in conflict. Disconnection and misunderstanding feed the narrative, and leave the reader with no choice but to keep reading more.”—Eric Barnes, author of The City Where We Once Lived; “This book shook me… It caused me to reflect, to look into myself, to look at the world, to look at the UK, to look at the United States, to look at those around me and reflect.” NJ Thompson book blog; “An important book that should be read by everyone… A gripping and compelling narrative.” Undiscovered Scotland; “Clever and challenging… An honest and at times horrific view of the state of the nation, but run through with humanity and ultimately hope, Kenneth Steven has written a parable for our times, and one which we would do well to take note of.” Scots Whay Hae; “Artfully constructed… the tension is perfectly pitched.” The List; “Exerts the unsettling fascination of events that could easily come to pass.” The Herald; “Chillingly plausible, not to say prescient.” Scotsman