A Guardian Best Books of 2024 Choice

'Absolutely loved this. Funny and heartbreaking in equal measure'
DOUGLAS STUART, Man Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain

'Glorious . . . so unusual, so moving, so memorable'
GUARDIAN

'Tom Newlands may make several prize lists for his stunning debut'
OBSERVER

'This isn't just a great first novel; it's a great novel. And Cora, the mad, chaotic, wise, funny narrator, is one of the great characters'
RODDY DOYLE

'It's not every day you read a modern classic. But this feels destined to become one. A thunderous achievement'
NATHAN FILER, author of THE SHOCK OF THE FALL

'Only Here, Only Now heralds the arrival of an urgent and unique new voice'
DAVID PEACE

Fife, in the blazing hot summer of 1994. Cora Mowat's mates don't understand her, but then Cora Mowat doesn't understand herself. She's stuck on a seaside council estate full of dafties, old folk and seagulls, with a thousand dreams and a restless brain that won't behave. She's dying to escape but unsure of what the future holds - if it holds anything at all for a girl like her.

When her Mam's new boyfriend moves in, tensions rise in their tiny house. Gunner means well, but he's dodgy - a shaven-headed shoplifter with more than a few secrets stashed under the bed. As their attempts to forge a makeshift family unravel, Cora rails against her small-town existence in search of love, acceptance and a path to something good. But sometimes you can't move forward until you find your way back . . .

In this extraordinary debut, drawn from life but written with riotous imagination, Tom Newlands explores what it means to come of age in a forgotten corner of Scotland and dream of a life that feels out of reach. Vibrant, lyrical and fiercely funny, Only Here, Only Now is a story about poverty, identity and family that shines with hope and resilience.

'A fantastic debut novel . . . it's a corker'
KATHY BURKE

'Cora Mowat is a feisty, Impulse-drenched, Lilt-blooded smasher of a main character and Tom Newland's prose is fierce and tender, taking us straight to the thudding heart of Cora's chaotic life'
VICTORIA MACKENZIE, author of FOR THY GREAT PAIN HAVE MERCY ON MY LITTLE PAIN

'Tom Newlands is the real thing. His story will change you'
MICHAEL SHEEN

'Funny, truthful, heartbreaking yet hopeful'
JENNIE GODFREY, author of THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS

Longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize 2025