Announcing: The Arena of the Unwell by Liam Konemann
We feel like we’ve had loads of news of late, so why not throw in some more? We’re excited to announce our second book for 2022: The Arena of the Unwell, the debut novel from Liam Konemann.
You may recognise Liam as the author of the fantastic Inkling The Appendix: Transmasculine Joy in a Transphobic Culture (out this month, get your copy!). Turns out he’s equally good at fiction, and so we’ve gone and snapped him up.
It publishes in April 2022, and is available to pre-order now!
The Arena of the Unwell follows 22-year-old Noah as he is drawn into the co-dependent relationship of two older men in the indie music scene. In the absence of any real purpose, Noah spends his nights drifting between North London pubs and music venues, and his days sleeping off hangovers in the stock room of the floundering record shop where he works. He tries not to think about what’ll happen when his NHS-allocated therapy hours run out and he’s left alone with his mind again. Then his favourite band Smiling Politely announce a last minute set in a small venue. When the crowd turns violent Noah runs into the street, where he meets Dylan, the charming local barman he’s never quite had the courage to approach.
As Smiling Politely prepare to release their first album in five years, Noah finds himself pulled deeper into the toxic relationship between Dylan and his brooding, enigmatic friend Fraser. An amazing debut novel, and one to watch for 2022.
“Having worked with 404 Ink on The Appendix, I’m very happy that my debut novel is in their capable hands,” said Liam. “I felt that they understood the book and its themes from the beginning, and I’m so excited to be a part of their list. The Arena of the Unwell is about music fandom, queerness, mental illness and rubbish boyfriends, and was written while I was on the Spread the Word’s London Writers Awards scheme. I can’t wait to see it in the world."
We’ve long sought books that explore music in some form, and five years in we found the one. Liam’s such an effortless writer. When Laura was asked for a quote, she said, “We feel like we've struck the jackpot acquiring both Liam's Inkling and now his debut novel. Liam writes ill mental health and modern gig culture unlike we've ever seen, with a natural ease and dark humour that might be unmatched. To say we're excited to bring him to the reading masses is an understatement.“
What she actually said, initially, was “Omg we love liam, we love his book, buy it, omg” (copied and pasted the message) and that she’d get back with something more professional, but the point still stands.
We’ve found such amazing books from our most recent open call for submissions, and we really can’t wait for you to read Liam’s novel. You can pre-order below.
