People

Acclaim for first children's novel

University website manager Keith Brooke's career as a novelist looks set to take off in 2003 with the publication of his first children's novel.

Writing under the name Nick Gifford, Keith has been tipped as a new British talent to look out for by Waterstones Books Quarterly. 

Keith's novel Piggies, published by Puffin, is set to be a children's bestseller. Described by the publishers as a powerful and chilling horror story, Piggies transports the reader to a world where vampires are the norm and to be human is a freak.

In the novel, a freak storm carries Ben Aynsley to a shocking parallel world where he encounters the terrifying sight of a baby sucking on its mother's neck. As he despairs of getting home, Ben meets Rachel, a vampire determined to prove that she's not like other vampires.

Keith's adult novels and short stories have already enjoyed considerable success, and he edits a website, infinity plus, devoted to promoting science fiction, horror and fantasy writers.

Keith, who has been writing professionally for more than a decade, explained: 'I started writing for younger readers by chance. After years of writing for an adult audience, a friend persuaded me to aim for a different age group - I had a go and found that I loved it!

'It took me right back to the thrills of reading as a kid: the sense of discovery, the sheer wonder of stepping into another world through the pages of a book.

'I've never had so much fun writing. Piggies probably shows what a dark sense of fun I have…'

Piggies, which is set in Essex, was published by Puffin on 9 January, and costs £4.99.

Spy novel success for former student

A former American 'Green Beret' and student in the Department of Literature, has seen his PhD thesis, a spy novel, published in America.

During his postgraduate study, which he completed in September 2002, Brett F Woods wrote Autley House: A Spy Novel along with a 57,000-word critical commentary addressing the historical development of espionage fiction. Autley House has now been published by Sycamore Island Books and the commentary, entitled The Spy Novel: A History of Espionage Fiction, will be published in 2003 by Wind River Press.

In writing Autley House, Brett sought to encompass many of the techniques employed by the authors he examined in the commentary. Therefore the primary story requisites are drawn from factual geopolitical occurrences that have been interpreted, and subsequently entwined with fictional premise in order to achieve themes of conspiracy and duplicity. The story centres around the recruitment of Nazi scientists by American intelligence agents at the end of World War II. For the technical, investigative, and forensic aspects of the book Brett drew on his own experiences, including a tour of Vietnam with the US Army Special Forces - the American equivalent to the British SAS.

Brett's experiences at Essex also provided invaluable research opportunities. For those who know the history of Wivenhoe House, a familiar picture is painted when a character in the novel describes Autley House: 'a large, 200-acre estate outside of London. A French Huguenot family originally built it in the mid-1700s. We leased it from the British government and used it during the war for various intelligence and censorship activities.'

Brett said: 'The spy novel is one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the literate world. It parallels reality, articulates what is generally concealed and provides a glimpse into society's shadow world through the use of cover stories, double agents and international intrigue.

He added: 'My research found that almost all espionage literature is based on fact and as such, the evolution of western society can be traced through the evolution of the genre. Similarly, this meant that my research was directed not only to the literature itself, but also to the distinctive military, political and cultural environs that provided the foundation of a particular author's plots, themes and conspiratorial contexts.'

Whilst at Essex he studied under Dr Joe Allard but received support from a number of staff members in the Department of Literature. In thanks for Elizabeth Weall's particular perseverance when reading and re-reading numerous drafts of Autley House, Brett even named a character after her!

Also in the printed January edition of Wyvern:

• Literature student scoops Viking prize
• Hate lyrics in popular music
• Long service rewarded