Darren Simpson
Author of SCAVENGERS, THE MEMORY THIEVES, FURTHERMOOR and THIRST. Vivid, unruly fiction for older children and teens.
www.darrensimpsonwrites.co.uk
- I've been lucky enough to read an early copy of @nicolapenfold.bsky.social's #AndNowWeRun. 🎉 This book really showcases the power and complexity of nature - and of people, too! For all its brevity, this is a novel brimming with peril, thrills and warmth. 🏞 Thank you to @littletigeruk.bsky.social! 🙏
- Very late to the party but I've finally read Bob Mortimer's #TheSatsumaComplex. It's very very funny - naturally - but there's plenty of peril, mystery and romance on offer too. Hard not to read it in Bob Mortimer's voice, but that's A Good Thing. Genuinely had me guffawing out loud in places. 🍊
- Great news for your ears: #THIRST is out on audiobook! 🎉 Thanks to @wfhowes.bsky.social for making this happen, and thanks also to Ben Allen for his fab reading of the novel; he captures Maimsbury's atmosphere so well.🩸 You can stream or download #THIRST from all the usual places. 👍
- It's been a week of ups and downs, but the most soaring of those ups was signing a NEW BOOK DEAL! 🤓 Can't say much just yet, so soz for the vague-post. But it won't be long before things are officially announced. 🙏
- I've sensed a wry streak of humour in even @aptshadow.bsky.social's loftiest sci-fi novels, and this comes to the fore in #ServiceModel, a post-apocalyptic robot odyssey with shades of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. It's farcical, absurd, satirical, deeply philosophical and really good fun!
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- Over the moon to say that #THIRST has been shortlisted for the 12+ @sparkbookaward.bsky.social! 🥳 These awards are voted for by children and teens across a ton of schools, so I can't wait for young readers to get stuck into #THIRST and all the other fab titles. 📚 Congrats to all the shortlistees! 👋
- Just seen my #PLR statement. 🤩 It lifts my heart to think of all the folk taking my books out from libraries. ♥️ Thanks to every single person who's loaned out a Darren Simpson novel, and to PLR for turning these loans into the pennies that help to me write yet more books! We're all winners here. 🎉
- Jack Mackay's #GLOAM proved to be a welcome dose of wickedness. It's gleefully creepy and full of unsettling imagery, while also tackling themes of family, legacy and loss in a very moving way. Fab illustrations by Ben Joel Price too. See below for for one of my faves. 👌
- Thanks to the wonderful folk at @schoolreadinglist.bsky.social for including #THIRST in their Year 9 recommended reading list for teens aged 13-14! 🤓🙏 Do check out @schoolreadinglist.bsky.socian's awesome (and very discerning, naturally) resources at schoolreadinglist.co.uk
- Took the littlun to @waterstones.bsky.social Nottingham to spend some money he got for Christmas and was chuffed to see #THIRST on display. Thanks so much to the staff on this extraordinary top floor dedicated to YA and manga. Signed copies of #THIRST are available there right now! #signedbooks
- Reposted by Darren SimpsonFor our first online talk of 2026 we are hosting Dr Rob Symmons from @romanpalace.bsky.social who will be discussing the incredible archaeological finds and history of the site, including folklore-filled mosaics! Thursday 15 Jan, 8pm via Zoom Tickets £5 + booking fee from bit.ly/flaevents
- Just a quickie to wish you all the best for the new year. 🎉 Thanks for all the amazing support you've given me and #THIRST over 2025. ♥️ I'll make it up to you with something special for 2026... 🤫
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- #MotherNaked by @glenjamesbrown.bsky.social is one of the best books I've ever read. It's smart, poetic, bawdy, satirical and - for all its medieval trappings - contemporary and relevant. And Brown is as wily in his storytelling as Mother Naked himself. A novel I'll be revisiting, for sure.
- An excellent start to the hols with #WrittenOnTheBody by Jeanette Winterson. It's romantic, moving, subversive, beautifully structured and genuinely hilarious. And apparently written at Ruth Rendell's pad!
- I'm running a big old #GIVEAWAY on Instagram. 🎉 To win a signed and dedicated copy of #THIRST plus a bookmark and some folksy wildflower seeds, head to my Insta profile (darrensimpson44) and find the pinned giveaway post. Good luck!
- Happy Friday!
- I had such a fun time talking river lore, folk horror and #THIRST with @folklorepod.bsky.social (a podcast well worth your time). This episode is now available on YouTube and wherever you stream your podcasts. Features a fantastic track from @lunatraktors.bsky.social.👌 @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
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- This'll be out today! Watch this space...
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- A tad late to this, but just spotted that #THIRST was an Ousedale School Book of the Week! 🎉 Thank you to all at Ousedale. 🙏🩸 @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
- Go on. Climb in. I dare you.
- Wahey, #THIRST has been longlisted for the @sparkbookaward.bsky.social!🎉 These awards are voted for by pupils from across hundreds of schools, so I'm pleased as pie to be part of this. Happy reading, all! 📚♥️ @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
- Goodness, I had such a massive ugly-cry when I finished this book. And the tears seemed to rush up from nowhere! The result of a slowburn swell of investment and emotion. 👌 #Lessons by Ian McEwan is a testament to the epicness of every person's life. Superb.
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- [1] Delivered my last #THIRST launch event last week at Alderman White School. I couldn't have asked for a better final stop. I've had so much fun touring this book across schools and festivals. What a treat to meet so many pupils, librarians, booksellers and booklovers to talk #THIRST, folklore ->
- Anyone know what sort of cone this is?
- #THIRST is a Bounce Book of the Year! Thank you Tim Beeden and @bouncemarketing.bsky.social.💀🙏
- Always a privilege to help someone out of their reading slump! 🎉 #THIRST @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
- Have been in a slight reading slump of late and this just blew me right out of it! Absolutely brilliant YA folk horror by @darrensimpson44.bsky.social. A creepy, dark tale about folklore, nature and what people will do to survive. A must-read! 📚👍 #yalit #kidslit #schoollibraries
- Watched #SaintMaud last night, and this is the most I've been haunted by a horror movie since It Follows. Strange, unsettling and so very sad. A brilliant film.
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- If you fancy some middle-grade sci fi full of big twists and mind-bending science, you won't go wrong with @vsnelson.bsky.social's #TheGirlWhoSoldTime. This fun novel brought to mind Studio Ghibli, Villeneuve's Arrival and Michael Ende's Momo. All good things!
- Halloween may be long gone, but I'd like to point out that - just as dogs aren't just for Christmas - horror isn't just for Halloween.🩸 Horror never sleeps. You can be chilled by #THIRST at any time of year. Treat yourself via www.pushkinpress.com/book/thirst or your fave bookshop.♥️
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- Just two days left for you to bid on a signed and specially dedicated copy of #THIRST! 🚨 Bid by entering my name into the search box at www.jumblebee.co.uk/childreninread2025. Funds raised go to #ChildrenInRead.♥️
- [1] Though I've now given many a #THIRST presentation, last week I ran my first ever THIRST workshop. 🩸 I couldn't have asked for a better set of guinea pigs than the pupils at #ClaptonGirlsAcademy. After some discussion of folklore's relevance today, they were tasked with inventing folkloric ->
- This was fun. After a couple of admittedly tricky chapters, #TheBookOfElsewhere really got going. Kind of Highlander-meets-black-ops. It's got gore and action but there's philosophy and depth too. Makes me wonder what the film franchise will be like...
- Signed copies of #THIRST now available in @pagesofhackney.bsky.social! 📚 Have a scroll through my pics of this gorgeous indie bookshop, which boasts not only a fab selection of fiction and non-fiction for all ages, but also a ton of fascinating zines. 👌
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