Unbound Firsts

Unbound Firsts is a new imprint for debut writers of colour.

Sign up to be among the first to receive two debut novels from exciting, fresh new voices.

Our Unbound Firsts 2023 Titles are scheduled for publication in Spring 2023. We’re looking forward to adding the books to our eclectic and growing list, among the ranks of brilliant Unbound authors.

Our inaugural titles are: Solange Burrell's speculative novel Yeseni and the Daughter of Peace and Paul David Gould's literary thriller Last Dance at the Discotheque for Deviants. 

Solange Burrell grew up in Bristol and then moved to London to study Journalism at university. She has worked in HR and as a building surveyor. She currently lives in Canada with her husband and Yeseni and the Daughter of Peace is her first novel.

'The year is 1748. Elewa lives in a small West African coastal village. When she finds out that she has Yeseni, a powerful gift that allows her to see events from any point in time, horrific visions of life on barbaric slave ships begin to come to her. Her oracle encourages her to travel through time to change the course of history, but warns her that if she goes she may never be able to return. It feels like whatever Elewa decides, someone will suffer. Will she choose the past or the present, the greater good of humankind or the peace of her kingdom?'

Paul David Gould grew up on a Huddersfield council estate and studied Russian at university. His experiences of work, life and love in Russia have inspired his first novel, Last Dance at the Discotheque for Deviants, a literary thriller set in Moscow.

‘The collapse of the Soviet Union has brought undreamt-of freedoms to Russia: freedom to travel abroad, to befriend Westerners – and even for an underground gay scene to take root. In this new climate of openness, twenty-one-year-old Kostya ventures out of the closet to pursue his dreams: to work in theatre and to love as his idol Tchaikovsky never could. But dreams turn to tragedy – not only for Kostya, but for his mother Tamara and for Jamie and Dima, the two young men he loves, as all three face up to the ways they betrayed Kostya.'

• Become a digital subscriber to receive ebooks of this year’s Unbound Firsts titles, and your name in the back of the books.

• Become a print subscriber to receive paperback and ebook copies of this year’s titles, and your name in the back of the books.

• Become a patron to receive advance proofs of both books before they're published, as well as first edition paperbacks, ebooks and your name in the back of the books. 

We've also created a pledge level for bookshops to become patrons of Unbound Firsts, where the name of your bookshop will be inscribed in the front of the book.

Our Unbound Firsts books will create a vital space for readers and writers of colour in publishing. Your support extends beyond receiving two debut books from new talent: it will also ensure that more people of colour are featured on our bookshelves and that the book industry better reflects the world we live in.

Kit: ‘All the good intentions in the world don’t pay the bills. Unbound Firsts recognises the value – the pounds, shillings and pence value – of publishing exciting new talent. Black writers deserve to be properly paid.’

Musa: ‘Unbound gives the author a rare amount of creative freedom – it trusts the author to tell a story in substantially the same form that they imagine it. When you are telling sensitive stories, creative freedom is – for me at least – the most important consideration.’

Chimene: ‘The only thing more radical than representing marginalised writers, is actually representing marginalised readers. There are entire demographics whose tastes, interests and access to books have been overlooked, which finally needs to change.’

Nikesh: ‘Unbound's track record for giving authors space to try new and innovative books that speak directly to their audiences is a brilliant way of engaging readers as well as giving artists space to develop.’