26a : A remarkable first novel by DIANA EVANS

DIANA EVANS

Identical twins Georgia and Bessie live in the loft of 26 Waifer Avenue. It is a place of beanbags, nectarines and secrets, and visitors must always knock before entering. Down below there is not such harmony. Their Nigerian mother puts cayenne pepper on her Yorkshire pudding and has mysterious ways of dealing with homesickness; their father angrily roams the streets of Neasden, prey to the demons of his Derbyshire upbringing. Forced to create their own identities, the Hunter children build a separate universe. Older sister Bel discovers sex, high heels and organic hairdressing, the twins prepare for a flapjack empire, and baby sister Kemy learns to moonwalk for Michael Jackson. It is when reality comes knocking that the fantasies of childhood start to give away. How will Georgia and Bessi cope in a world of separateness and solitude, and which of them will be stronger?

Diana Evans has contributed journalism and criticism to Marie Clarie, the Observer, The Daily Telegraph, the Independent and the Source. She is a Graduate of the University of East Anglia's Creative writings MA and has published short fiction in a number of anthologies. Her first novel, 26a, received a Betty Trask award, a nomination for the Guardian First Book Award and was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel of the Year Award.It was the inaugural winner of The Orange Award for the new Writers. She lives in London.

The book is published by 'VINTAGE BOOK LONDON.2006.